Sturmey Archer 8 speed hubs

[NicksGarage]

I'm looking at the Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub but what puzzles me is that first gear is 1:1. On my Nexus 8 speed, fifth gear is 1:1. Someone told me you can set up the SA hub so that you get lower gears by clocking the sprocket differently. Has anyone heard of this? I like the range on the Nexus hub just fine and already bought another one for my next build, but since I'm using an SA front drum hub I was thinking of using the SA rear hub to match.

Any insight into these hubs would be helpful.

 

[expjawa]

I think that the SA 8-speed was developed with 16 & 20" wheeled bikes in mind (ie folders), that's why its geared so tall. You'd have to drive it with a pretty small chain ring to get a reasonably normal gear-inch range with 26" wheels/tires. I've never heard of clocking the sprocket to change gear ratio - I can't picture what that would, mechanically speaking, that would change anything. First gear is a direct drive, and the other ratios are geared with planetary sets. The ratio strictly tied to the number of gear teeth in the cluster, just like a car transmission. The only clocking that I recall was for the drum-brake version, getting the reaction arm in the correct orientation depending on the style of dropout. Doing a quick google search revealed nothing at all regarding doing something to change the gear ratios. I'm pretty sure that's all fixed hardware.

 

[Rooski]

Yeah..... you would have to use a small chainring.

Also, I don't have any experience with that particular SA 8 speed hub, but I did try out an SA 5 speed drum hub, and I didn't like the way it wouldn't shift under a load nearly as well as either a 3 or 7 speed nexus. Almost had to stop pedaling before that 5 speed would shift, and I found it annoying.

 

[expjawa]

Traditionally, you don't shift an internal gear hub under load - its like shifting gears in a car without using the clutch while on the throttle. That's abusive to geartrains anywhere. Admittedly, you can get away with it on bike a lot of the time, but you should at least lighten the load on the drivetrain when you're doing it. My Nexus 7 on my Schwinn Classic Deluxe Seven doesn't shift well under load, does much better if you back off the pedal force a bit. All that said, the Shimano hub probably is a little more refined than the SA, but at the end of the day, either hub is still better off shifting while coasting.

 

[NicksGarage]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't think it sounded right that you could adjust the ratios by the position of the sprocket. I guess I'll stick with the Nexus 8. As for shifting while pedaling, you can do it with the Nexus under normal pedaling without harm. If you're going up a steep hill you do need to stop pedaling to shift. And I got the upgraded Nexus 8 this time which is supposed to be even smoother than my original one.