Mystery 2 Speed Hub

[CCR]

A while back my lbs was telling me about an old hub that had some kind of manual switch on the hub to switch gears, not a kickback, but said there was something you pushed or flipped on the hub to change the gearing. I have no idea what they were talking about and honestly they didnt remember much more than that about them. I dont think i believed them at the time but i dug this video up for murray bmx and it mentions them. Anybody got one of these things ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTFTj4B04g

 

[Bicycle808]

A while back my lbs was telling me about an old hub that had some kind of manual switch on the hub to switch gears, not a kickback, but said there was something you pushed or flipped on the hub to change the gearing. I have no idea what they were talking about and honestly they didnt remember much more than that about them. I dont think i believed them at the time but i dug this video up for murray bmx and it mentions them. Anybody got one of these things ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTFTj4B04g

First of all, awesome video.

Second of all, the quote from the voice-over guy was "...and it's easy to change sprockets with the adjustable rear wheel clip..." They sort of show it, but you can't see jack. So, i googled: bicycle "adjustable rear wheel clip". That got me nowhere, either.

But, see what I did on the video, plus what the guy said about "changing sprockets" rather than "shifting gears", I'm thinking it's something along the lines of an easy-off snapring (circlip), so you can change the rear sprocket in a hurry to adjust to track conditions?

Googled that too; still no answer... but a cool mystery.

FWIW, Schlumpf 2 speed bottom brackets have been around for decades, and you shift those by clicking a button on the BB with your heel.... But, nothing to do with the hub...

 

[deorman]

I suspect it's a little bit misleading reference to having long horizontal dropouts and snap ring sprockets. :|

 

[CCR]

Thanks for the perspectives, the 2 speed bb is a new concept to me too. They also have a bunch of 2cog free wheels there from an old buy out at my lbs, similar to the surly dingle cogs but old school. They definitely come across some oddball stuff there. The idea of some kind of lock out on a 2speed hub has my interest though, a guy could easily come up with a way to turn a screw on an old axle shifting interal geared hub too I suppose.

 

[frameteam2003]

Two speed hubs go back to the 1800s and Hi-wheelers.Manuel bendix two speeds have a toggle and so do new departures activated by a cable.Would not be too hard to machine a toggle that would shift those with out the cable.Also I've done a torpedo conversion from 3 speed coaster to 2 speed fixed gear.

 

[kingsting]

Might be an early Bendix manual two-speed or maybe a Suntour Holeshot? New Departure made two-speed conversion kits for their hubs too. They all had levers and cables to change the gears.

 

[Danimal]

That Murray commercial was so cool. I think I actually remember that from when I was a kid!

But to the point, it seems to me like the commercial hinted at a rear hub with easy to change rear sprocket (like a bendix with a snap-ring).

 

[CCR]

The shop made it sound like an internal gear thing, but they do have a box full of those old holeshot looking double cogs. I knew they made them but just figured you picked your gear by adjusting the wheel, thanks for the holeshot info kingsting 8)

 

[alecw35]

I used to have a BMX plastic mag wheel that had a snap ring to hold a cassette cog. cog was splined, a bit like a Shimano multispeed cassette. It was all worn out and loose tho. so never used it.

 

[Voyager Al]

I have a Shelby with a Bendix 2 speed with the Bendix shifter that looks like a brake handle. Pull it IN to shift to 2. Push out to downshift to 1

 

[Bigcam59]

I believe Sturmey Archer made a manual 2 speed a few years ago to cater to the fixie crowd.You switched between 2 gears via a thin screwdriver thru the hollow axle. At least that is how i remember it

 

[CCR]

I believe Sturmey Archer made a manual 2 speed a few years ago to cater to the fixie crowd.You switched between 2 gears via a thin screwdriver thru the hollow axle. At least that is how i remember it

That's kind of what the bike shop described, flicked or pushed something on the hub. But they were talking about 20 years ago. I think kingsting might have the right idea with the holeshot comment, for some reason they have a drawer full of 2 cog freewheels collecting dust there.

 

[Bicycle808]

I believe Sturmey Archer made a manual 2 speed a few years ago to cater to the fixie crowd.You switched between 2 gears via a thin screwdriver thru the hollow axle. At least that is how i remember it

SRAM made one like that, but it switches between fixed/freewheel.

 

[cashman]

The Bendix Multispeed wouldn't be hard to eliminate the cable. I think you could take a 3/8" x 24 thread union nut and thread some kind of pin in the center of it. It'd have to push the pin inward at least 3/8" and maybe just a tad more?

 

[Bigcam59]

I believe Sturmey Archer made a manual 2 speed a few years ago to cater to the fixie crowd.You switched between 2 gears via a thin screwdriver thru the hollow axle. At least that is how i remember it

SRAM made one like that, but it switches between fixed/freewheel.

That's the one I was thinking of. Thanks. 8)

 

[CCR]

The Bendix Multispeed wouldn't be hard to eliminate the cable. I think you could take a 3/8" x 24 thread union nut and thread some kind of pin in the center of it. It'd have to push the pin inward at least 3/8" and maybe just a tad more?

thought along the same lines myself when I was rigging up my klunker, if a guy had a deep acorn nut you could just capture the pin in the axle, would have to use a lock nut with it so it wont get lost riding though

 

[CCR]

Ran across this on ebay, reversed theory but interesting ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMX-Vintage-Bik ... 1e7e587182

 

[Bicycle808]

Interesting thread, from elsewhereland....
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthrea...untour-dual-freehub-in-a-36-or-32-spoke-wheel

Could THAT be the mystery?