WTD: Sturmey Archer hubbed wheels

[garethrl]

Hi folks,
I'm looking to build up a town bike and want a pair of wheels based around a three speed Sturmey Archer hubset. Spindles need to be long enough to accommodate 100 and 120 mm OLN F&R.

Ideally the hubs would have internal hub brakes too but that's not really essential. Rims could be 26", 700c or 27" as I have a fair amount of flexibility over tyre clearance.

So, is there anything out there??

Cheers, Gareth.

 

[legrandefromage]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/26-x-1-1-2-wheels ... 500wt_1182

 

[garethrl]

Wow - and I thought I'd scoured ebay exhaustively last night! How the hell did I miss those??

They look just the job, thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/26-x-1-1-2-wheels-sturmey-hub-brakes-3-sp-Post-Office_W0QQitemZ110482650293QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR?hash=item19b94774b5#ht_500wt_1182

 

[barry2017]

26 x 1 1/2 though, they have butchers bike size westwood rims. They are going to be incredibly heavy.

 

[orange71]

I was looking at doing something along these lines recently - any reason why I couldn't slot a pair of these into an ordinary MTB frame (albeit chainstays made need 'cold setting' to fit a slightly narrower axle/hub) and use thumbshifters to change gears? And canti brake levers for the brakes?

Thought it would make an interesting project a la Cleland.

 

[barry2017]

They're bigger than 26" mountain bike wheels. You might have the clearance, but you might not. Depends on the frame.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

In diameter terms, 26" is 26", so a 26 x 1 1/2" postie tyre should have the same total diameter as a 26 x 2" mtb tyre.

26 x 1 1/2" is also the same as 650B (584mm ETRTO) which is a growing niche with everything from light touring tyres to real knobblies popping up.

But these drum brakes were never really all that good, the hubs weigh a ton, and for anything rougher than a towpath I'd want something with better performance. I can see a hot-rod postie bike making a fun klunker, but there's a reason the Repack boys went with derailleurs and rim brakes.

 

[orange71]

But these drum brakes were never really all that good

as good as cantis or not?

better performance

in terms of durability or speed of gear change or what?

 

[barry2017]

When I built my Cleland-inspired mountainbike with drum brakes, I found a lot of people saying "Drum brakes? Are you mad?". No-one I knew had ever actually used them for offroading.

And the truth about drum brakes, and brakes on steel rims is this: yes, they don't stop you as well as discs, but actually, not half as badly as most people would have you believe. It's all about anticipation.

I think these braking and gearing systems that work, sometimes for decades, with almost no attention at all have been sadly ignored by an industry who tried to make every cyclist emulate the racer.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

as good as cantis or not?

Not. I'm sure there are modifications that can be made to improve them (and I'm sure Geoff Apps can tell you far more about that than I can) but stock Sturmey drum brakes aren't good stoppers. They're mediocre in all weathers with zero maintenance though, which is their advantage.

in terms of durability or speed of gear change or what?

I really meant the brakes. But for off-road use, this doesn't seem to be a great compromise - you add a hell of a lot of weight and end up with a narrow gear range, limited tyre choice and mediocre brakes. For an errand bike it's a different matter, but it would make more sense to start with a frame (Post Office surplus?) that's built to take the wheels.