[CR]Sheldon Brown and his planetary love of Sturmey Archer

(Example: History)

From: "garth libre" <rabbitman@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 04:23:43 -0400
Subject: [CR]Sheldon Brown and his planetary love of Sturmey Archer

Two days ago, I was skimming Bicycle magazine at a stand when I saw an article about famous illuminaries of the bicycle world telling their favorite things about cycling. I think it was Mr Brown who said his was the internal gearing of Sturmey Archer. I myself, am torn on this issue because during the 60's I very much loved my three speed Dunelt and My Rudge. ( I later converted one in 1970 to a semi racer with turned down handlebars and with the removal of fenders, kickstand etc before going Peugoet 10 speed in 1971 in my last year of high school). I also know that the internal hub with planetary gears was inherently a fine design, very elegant, but with fatal flaws. The internal mechanism was a little heavier then a freewheel and provided a little more internal friction and less gearing options. The upside was that the thing was indistructable, easy to set up, and made for stronger, less dished wheels. Now I think someone eventually built a ten speed or maybe a five speed version (Japanese). Why wasn't it or isn't it possible, to construct a close ratio ten speed version with less internal friction, and a lighter outer case? Can you see the possibilities? You select the gear spacing you want from a catalogue and have a wheel built up with your favorite rim and spokes, ultimately affecting the final drive with your selection of a single chainwheel. It would be easy to get a good chainline, the final product would be bombproof, and you still get an elegant bike that has caliper brakes (assuming that a high end version would scrap the coaster brake concept- which it should). You don't have to worry about getting dirt in the gears, or Sti, or friction downtube shifters, or chain suck. Why the whole set-up could be the basis of the next bike boom. A close ratio ten speed version would be elegant, practical, and retro while being something of a modern classic. I just saw a modern ten gear rear cluster at a shop, and the whole thing is starting to look a bit like the internal workings of a swiss watch anyway. Garth Libre