What kind of hub would suit me

[dpjpandone]

I live in northeast ohio and the area has a lot of mild hills. I can pedal through these on my single speed cruiser, but it's quite hard some times. I would really like to have 2 or three gears to help with this, but i want to keep my coaster brake, and would prefer not to add a shifter (if possible) I really love the clean lines on my cruiser and I went with a cruiser instead of a mountain bike or road bike because I wanted something low-maintenance with no cables to adjust.

So, can someone recommend an internally geared coaster brake hub that does not require a shifter cable. The two types I've seen are kickback, or centrifugal/automatic. If you can please tell me why you like/don't like either of these, and which brand/model you prefer.

Thanks!

 

[aka_locojoe]

I've got a few old Bendix kickbacks and a newer Sturmey Archer kick back on my bikes. I like them all. I probably ride the Sturmey Archer the most. Kicking back takes a little getting used to but it soon becomes second nature.
I'm curious about the auto shifting SA but not sure I want to give up control of the shifting.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

@Wildcat has been running the Sram Auto for a while now, hopefully he will chime in for you...

Luke.

 

[Bicycle808]

I'm about to buy one of the SRAM Automatix 2speeds; i've got a Fichtel & Sachs Torpedo Duomatic, and a Sturmey-Archer s2-- both are kick-backs. As others have said, these are your best options and, if you want to avoid a manual shifter, they're your only options. From what i've read online and heard from other rides, the SRAM has the best braking and is awesome if you can live with auto. Drawback: it's 120mm wide between the jam-nuts, whereas the Sturmey S2C is 116mm and the older Fichtel&Sachs are even narrower, at about 112mm. (I've never measured, but i think the Bendix kickbacks are 116mm wide, or thereabout.)

Regardless, you gotta get yerself a 2 speed; here's a vintage ad that explains WHY:

 

[rickpaulos]

I have a Trek Lime. Fully automatic 3 speed. Alternator built into the front hub powers a servo that shifts the 3 speed rear hub. works well. There is a set screw for adjusting the shift points.

Only seen them as oem on a handful of bikes. Trek, Raleigh, etc. Never seen them as an aftermarket kit.

 

[Wildcat]

I have a Trek Lime. Fully automatic 3 speed. Alternator built into the front hub powers a servo that shifts the 3 speed rear hub. works well. There is a set screw for adjusting the shift points.

Only seen them as oem on a handful of bikes. Trek, Raleigh, etc. Never seen them as an aftermarket kit.

Someone here was or is using that same setup for a build. I can't find that thread now. Having 3 speeds is a plus especially with auto shifting.

I have 2 SRAM Automatix 2 speeds that are all I ride now. One is coaster brake, the other freewheel. I didn't pay attention when I ordered the first one and got the freewheel, so I ordered another one. I also have ridden a yellow band Bendix kickback 2 speed quite a bit. After a little while, it's second nature to shift up and down. The kickback hub, like the old Bendix or newer SA have the advantage that you choose when to shift. But it will shift if you aren't paying attention and let the cranks move back while coasting, and when you stop, it may be in either gear. The auto always shifts up at a certain rpm of the hub whether you want to or not. So the cog and chain wheel sizes make a big difference. I have a small chainwheel so I am turning the cranks at about 70 rpm when I shift to high. Another advantage is the Automatix always is in low gear when you stop. It uses centrifugal force to shift to high, so hitting a bump may do the same thing, shift to high. It also will stay in high gear until you let off pedaling, then it will drop to low gear if you are going slow enough. The brakes on kickbacks and the auto work off the low gear, so you have more leverage when stopping. Bendix called it power brakes, and they do work very well.
So either type of 2 speed would work well and not have any cables or shifter. The Automatix has held up very well for the year and a half and I ride hills and don't go easy on it. I recently switched the guts from one hub (non coaster brake version) to the other so I could have brakes on my other wheel. The parts didn't show any wear that I could see. And it's still cheapest on Amazon. I think the SA hubs are cheapest there too.

 

[Walker]

that was my winter build off bike that had a 3 speed auto wheelset. Hub works pretty well, sometimes its annoying that the hub cant see hills coming and shifts when you're just building up momentum. Worked fine in the pouring rain last weekend.. I need someone to hack he control box so I can run some pushbuttons on the handlebar..

 

[G-Matt]

I know you didn't want a shifter cable , but I have nexus 3 speed internal hub geared works well & still a very clean and economical way to go
Also you can shift it when you need it your in charge not the bike .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wildcat]

You can find ways to hide the shift cable, or have a short one with a suicide shifter. I used the tank on my old bike to hide the shift cable of a shimano 3 speed w coaster brake. In that case, you could go up to 8 speeds (I think) with coaster brake.
SRAM also has a 3 speed auto in the works. It's being used on the world bikes in Africa if I remember right, not available yet for resale.

 

[Walker]

stick shift on the seat tube really isn't that inconvenient. This one is Shimano.

 

[dpjpandone]

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for the really helpful and insightful feedback! I think after reading the positive remarks about the automatic hubs, I'm going to try one. This should be a good opportunity for me to learn how to re-lace a wheel too. The only time I did that was when I was a kid we used to twist the spokes on our bmx rims. Probably a stupid thing to do, but we sure thought they looked cool...

Thanks Everyone
~Jon