Conference noted::bicycle

>    Do people still buy and use these, especially when cheap discount
>    store twelve speeds are available for similar prices?
    
My old boss used to race a 5-speed in certain Time Trials, etc. Figured 
that if you only need a few gears anyway, why bother with extra 
shifters, chainrings, etc. He had the bike done up with light everything 
and it weighed around 19-20 lb. For most road work I think he rode a ten, tho. 
Musta worked, as I never *saw* him lose a race on ANY bike he was riding, 
altho he never won the Nationals Road Race (best was 2nd).

Also, we had a dandy kid's 3-speed in the shop for a while - a Gitane 
with about 14" frame, maybe 18" wheels and a 3-speed freewheel and 
derailleur.

No love lost for the internal 3-speed type hubs; miserable to work on 
and have cause some of my worst crashes when they de-synched at bad 
times.
                                              ken

One time I pulled up at a stoplight and the bike next to me
had a combination derailleur internal hub setup.

It was a three speed internal hub with three cogs on it and
rear derailleur to switch between them.  I guess you get more
usable combinations on this nine-speed than on a ten-speed.

Two weeks later I mentioned it to someone I was riding with.
He said, "Oh, sure.  My other bike is sort of like that.
It has a three-speed hub, a two cog rear-derailleur, and a
triple on the front."

I wonder where he gets replacement parts.


I'm told that Sturmey-Archer makes a five speed with an alumin(i)um
hub shell.  This could probably be made into an excellent commuting
bike.  Anyone know where to find these beasts?

-Jeff Bell

> I'm told that Sturmey-Archer makes a five speed with an alumin(i)um
> hub shell.  This could probably be made into an excellent commuting
> bike.  

	One advantage of a 3-speed or 5-speed hub:  you can put an
	enclosure around the chain to keep the rain and dirt off!  
	That's something you can't do on a derailleur bike.

	Another good item for commuting in the rain:  A combination
	3-speed/Coaster brake hub.  No more problem with rim brakes
	sliding on wet rims!

    re. .2
    
    I had two "Humber" English bikes.  I had the first one converted
    to the 9 speed configuration three cogs with the 3spd Archer.  I
    LOVED this setup!  You could even pre-shift  When the thumb shifter
    was changed from 1st to 2nd under load it would not change until
    the load was dropped.
    
    I would start in 1st pedal hard then snap to 2nd while spinning
    in 1st,  when the RPM started to max-out the bike would change to
    2nd, then I would snap to 3rd etc..
    
    Both bikes were converted by a "little old guy" in a bike shop in
    Chesshire Ct.  They both had the same ending,   stolen
    
    John_who_loves_his_Paramount_but_would_still_like_his_Humbers_back!
    

I guess this isn't a sub-ten speed like the base note, but one of the 
bike mags many years ago had a brief blurb on a bike with all the speeds 
you'd probably ever want, built similar to the one in the last couple 
replies - 5 speed internal rear hub, 6-spd freewheel, triple chainwheel 
AND a 2-spd internal Bottom Bracket (I guess similar to an internal 3/5 
hub). A 180 speed bike. Nowadays you could get a 7-speed freewheel to go 
with it too...

                           ken_ten_speed_but_only_use_six

    re. .5
    
    This setup on my Humber was very simple.  It was like having 3 "ranges"
    to select from: LOW for offroad, and large hills.  
    		    MED for around town and most riding
    		    HIGH for tail winds and down long hills
    
    The range was very wide. I mostly used 1-3 (first could pull excellent
    wheelies) 4-6, and 9th.  this was 7 very used gears.  I don't know
    why production bikes don't use this set up.  The 3 speed hub never
    had any problems (first in SIS) (first in thumb shifters).  For
    non-racing this was the BEST all round bike I ever owned.
    
    John_who_also_has_a_IBOC_but_still_wants_his_Humbers_back!

> 5-speed hub, 6-sprocket freewheel, triple crankset AND a 
> 2-speed internal Bottom Bracket... A 180 speed bike. 

	I only have 21 speeds but then again I only have to
	deal with two shift levers, not 4.  One advantage of
	a freewheel on a 3-speed (or 5 speed) hub:  you can
	have a very wide gear ratio without needing a
	rear derailleur with a very long cage.

    
    	As a kid back in Smalltown USA, I remember that my
    	neighbor had a black Schwinn Wasp with a two-speed mechanism
    	of some sort.   Shifting was accomplished with a short, sharp
        back-pedal stroke.  Any idea if the shifting mechanism was
    	in the bottom bracket... or was it in the rear hub?  It also
    	had a coaster brake.
    
        Former_schwinn_bantam,typhoon,and_collegiate_owner

    I had a three speed bicycle with a Sturmey-Archer rear hub many
    years ago.  I liked it.  Shifting up to a higher gear required a
    short pause in peddaling to make the shift; shifting down could
    be preselcted; the shift occurred when i let up on the force ap-
    plied to the pedals briefly.  I usually made the shifts at the
    bottom of a stroke, so i didn't lose much momemtum.  That bike
    was ridden a lot on dirt roads and wasn't built for it like the
    old cruiser i had before it.  The frame broke eventually.
         I've got a ten speed now.  But being a recreational rider,
    i seldom use all ten combinations.  I use both front chainrings,
    but only three of the five gears on the back end: high, middle,
    and low.  The other two don't seem to make much of a difference.
    Sometimes i think i might like to get one of those 5 speed plane-
    tary hubs; it would probably give me all the combinations i'd 
    want with less maintenance.
         The coaster brake was nice too when it was wet out, though
    i can remember locking it up and skidding a bit more than once.
    Of course, it unlocked if i let up on it a bit.  So it was pos-
    sible to stop the bicycle on a slick road by pumping the brake
    sort of like pumping the brake pedal in a car.
         Does anyone know whether Sturmey-Archer is still in business
    and whether they still make the five speed hubs?
    
    Andy

    I'm enjoying reading this note and all the replies... Here's another
    trip down memory lane.  Remember the Twist-Grip shifter?  I've been
    seeing ads lately for this 'brand new' development that let's you
    shift without taking your hands from the bars.  Seems to me that
    Sturmey had that back in the 60's.  At least I had a Montgomery
    Wards 3-speed bike that had it!  This was also advertised on the
    back covers of a lot of comic books, along with the ads for the
    2 speed 'automatic transmission' for bikes referenced in .-1!
    

	Cycle Goods has the following in their catalog:

	Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub, 28, 36, or 40 holes -  $49.95
	S-A 3 speed with coaster brake, 36 or 40 holes -  $62.75
	S-A 5 speed - appears to have hand operated internal
		brake  - $79.95

	all come with cables, shifters, etc.

	They also have front and rear S-A internal brake hubs and
	Shimano 3-speed hubs with and without coaster brakes.

		CycleGoods
		2801 Hennepin Avenue South
		Minneapolis,  MN  55408
		1-800-328-5213

	(these prices are from last year)

chris

    
    	I have a five speed bike with the Sturmey-Archer alloy hub.   It's
    real reliable, and I use this bike most during wet weather.   This
    is a very unusual bike; a 531 trek frame, with campy brakes, a '50s
    style campy chrome-moly crankset -- nothing but the snazziest
    components, collected over the years.    
    
    	Sturmey_Archer makes quite a range of unusual hubs, which I 
    experimented around with.    One other I tried was the 3-speed 
    generator hub.   The generator hub doesn't put out a lot of power, 
    and weighs a lot, but it's real smooth, and certainly interesting
    looking.
    
    	One problem I had with all this stuff;   When I tried to use
    the generator hub with a light alloy rim and 14-15 guage spokes,
    it seems the hub flange was of harder metal than the spokes, so
    that the spokes kept getting sheared off by the hub flange.   This
    was fixed when I switched to the five speed *alloy* housing hub.
    The alloy housing is much more compatible with other top-of-the-line
    components.
    
    	If you go to buy a three speed hub, it might help to be aware
    that there are two gear ratios available; wide and narrow ratios.
    The five speed hub, is essentially a three speed hub with an
    extra switch to give you both the wide and narrow range option
    in one hub.    Thus in wide range you get gears 1-3-5, and in
    narrow range you get gears 2-3-4.
    
    						Alan.

    
    Re: .4
    
    Hey, I'm from Cheshire, CT !!!  Also an ex-Humber owner (3-speed)
    which at $99 in 1969 was an expensive bike compared to the $35
    department store three speeds.  It even came with a frame pump and
    a leather saddle bag.
    
    That bike is still running, my brother uses it and although some
    of the parts are rusty it still has the original hubs and even one
    original Dunlop tire!  The only thing that ever got replaced was
    the Sturmey-Archer thumb lever thing which after going through two
    of them I finally replaced with a Bendix stick shift (still working).
    I still miss the Brooks leather saddle and am thinking of getting
    a new one for my Schwinn.
    
    I used it until 1978 and even did some light touring with it including
    a quick sprint through the Berkshires, on my way from Waterbury,
    CT to Troy, NY.  
    
    I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a three-speed Raleigh (the closest
    thing to a Humber these days) for someone who won't ride much and
    wants niceties like Fenders and upright bars.  Unfortunately it's
    more money than a lot of ten-speeds out there.