I've had trouble with S-A hubs (although only the 8-speed version) that were all the result of pawls breaking inside the hub. The S3X is a simpler hub that should be more reliable. I'll let you know in 20 years ;-)
And of course the lack of ticking while pedaling is nice for those of us who prize a quiet bike. --Eric N www.CampyOnly.com CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy > On Jan 21, 2014, at 9:15 AM, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > >> On 01/21/2014 11:34 AM, Eric Norris wrote: >> Roy: >> >> In its current incarnation, my QB has a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed fixed hub >> (S3X) with a one-speed freewheel, making it a "standard" 3-speed. I'm really >> enjoying this setup, which expands the range of terrain that I can >> comfortably cross. >> >> Gearing starts at about 74 inches in third gear (direct drive through the >> hub), then goes down to about 56 and 44 inches. That's enough to get me up >> hills to about 10% or so. Beyond that, I just get off and push. >> >> The combination of the S3X hub and a freewheel, I think, provides a more >> durable and easily reparable system. Because it's a fixed gear hub, the S3X >> doesn't have any pawls on the inside, making it simpler and stronger. All of >> the pawls on my QB are outside of the hub in the freewheel, which can be >> easily fixed or replaced. Without pawls on the inside, the system is also >> silent while pedaling--a standard S-A hub is always ticking. >> > > Other than the ticking, what's the advantage over a Sturmey AW? Those > certainly have a history of reliability and a track record that extends if > not back to the mists of time, certainly back to the dawn of the last century. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.