Shiftable Hub

It is possible to turn a 3 speed bicycle hub into a 2 speed fixed gear
bicycle hub. You end up with a fixed gear bike that can shift between
two gears.

Sheldon Brown has a web page that describes 'converting a Sturmey Archer
3 speed hub into a 2 speed fixed gear'
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/awfixed.html). 'The Bikesmith'
(http://www.thebikesmith.com/special.htm) in Seattle also did three
speed hub conversions to two speed fixed gear. The Bikesmith recently
closed up shop, but he still plans on making the two speed fixed gear
hubs. The challenge is getting in touch with him now that he doesn't
have a shop.

So yes, it can be done. But you end up with a bicycle hub which would
only be useful on a giraffe unicycle. Getting it modified with a pedal
spindle so you could put the hub in a standard unicycle would be
difficult at best and impossible in practice.

A two speed fixed gear bike would be quite a kick though. 🙂

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It is possible to turn a 3 speed bicycle hub into a 2 speed fixed gear
bicycle hub. You end up with a fixed gear bike that can shift between
two gears.

Sheldon Brown has a web page that describes 'converting a Sturmey Archer
3 speed hub into a 2 speed fixed gear'
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/awfixed.html). 'The Bikesmith'
(http://www.thebikesmith.com/special.htm) in Seattle also did three
speed hub conversions to two speed fixed gear. The Bikesmith recently
closed up shop, but he still plans on making the two speed fixed gear
hubs. The challenge is getting in touch with him now that he doesn't
have a shop.

So yes, it can be done. But you end up with a bicycle hub which would
only be useful on a giraffe unicycle. Getting it modified with a pedal
spindle so you could put the hub in a standard unicycle would be
difficult at best and impossible in practice.

A two speed fixed gear bike would be quite a kick though. 🙂

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On the subject of shiftable hubs, I first contacted schlumpf innovations
the manufactuers of two speed bottom brackets,
April 2003 - a day after taking delivery of a my coker.

Being the owner of a recumbent trike with a mountain drive bottom
bracket (1 to 2.5 step down gear), which can be pedalled backwards, and
gears are changed by pushing a button in the middle of the axle with
your heel, and being aware that schlumpf also make a speed drive (1 to
1.65 step up), I decided to contact them about a geared unicyle hub.

Schlumpf replied promptly, telling me that they had just been
thinking about the same thing themselves, and a geared hub would take
about twelve months to develop.

In May this year I checked their website (www.schlumpf.ch) and they have
indeed made a shiftable hub. It is still in the development stage and it
is very narrow. I e-mailed them giving them the specs for a hub to suit
a remanufactured coker (self-interest) and they replied that they would
be making several variations of their geared hub.

Hope this may be of interest.

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d00dz, there is this harper fella,,,,, he made a shiftable hub, he said
it wuz gonna be made available 2 the public 4 under $50!!!
w00t

(joke)

john

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I found that schlumpf website too- it will interesting to see what the
cost will be on the geared hub.

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oxfordrider said:

*I found that schlumpf website too- it will interesting to see what
the cost will be on the geared hub. *

Based on the price for the bicycle parts he makes I'm expecting a price
of at least $450 (USD) for the unicycle hub with cranks. I wouldn't be
surprised if it was more than that due to the small unicycle market
compared to the bicycle market.

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cokernut said:

* In May this year I checked their website (www.schlumpf.ch) and they
have indeed made a shiftable hub. It is still in the development stage
and it is very narrow. I e-mailed them giving them the specs for a
hub to suit a remanufactured coker (self-interest) and they replied
that they would be making several variations of their geared hub.
*

Wow, this would change everything. Our dream may one day be reality.
A remain a very hopeful, --chirokid--

--
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"Other than that, the best maintenance is to keep riding it as this
helps to keep the eccentric nut on the saddle in optimal condition."
quote by Mikefule

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Uhm, I think Sturmey Archer made a 3 speed fixie a long time ago. But
they're hugely rare. I think Sheldons got something on it somewhere. I
think it was modeled the ASC? (maybe?)

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R.
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MuniTune said:

*Uhm, I think Sturmey Archer made a 3 speed fixie a long time ago.
But they're hugely rare. I think Sheldons got something on it
somewhere. I think it was modeled the ASC? (maybe?) *

Yup. Sheldon Brown has a page describing the 'Sturmey-Archer ASC
Three-Speed Fixed-Gear Hub' (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/asc.html).
Quite cool. I didn't even know such a hub ever existed until I went
browsing around Sheldon Brown's site yesterday.

Too bad it's a bicycle hub and not a unicycle hub. 🙂

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You could always make a real short giraffe with it. I'm up for it. How
bout it, science?

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