The ASC has a certain amount of backlash (play) before taking up the drive, whether pedalling forward, or backpedalling to slow down, so IMO, you don't get the same feeling of being at one with the bike through having the instant response to input and instant feedback from the machine you experience with a single speed fixed.
However, this can be weighed against the benefits of having a lower gear for hillclimbing, and a higher gear for descending (or two lower gears if you use top as your normal gear). It's a matter of personal opinion as to whether the trade-off is worth it.
My personal choice is to ride an ASC for the sake of experiencing something different, not as an alternative to a single speed fixed, which I also enjoy for its own merits.
Neil Foddering Weymouth, Dorset, England
>From: "Cheung, Doland" <CheungD@bv.com>
>To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Subject: RE: [CR]ASC Sturmey Hubs
>Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 10:01:31 -0500
>
>Not a bash on Fraser or anything, but I was wondering are the ASC hubs
>"worth" $200-300 USD? I don't want this to become a debate on "worth",
>so maybe a better question would be is an ASC $200-300 better than a
>fixed-free setup or a fixed-fixed setup? I'd love to try an ASC, but
>I'm hesitant to dump the money into it only to find that I'd prefer the
>better efficiency of a true fixed and the adjustability isn't really
>needed.
>
>Doland Cheung
>SoCal
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
>[mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Fraser
>Cunningham
>Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 10:39 AM
>To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]ASC Sturmey Hubs
>
>Well I have been 'outed', it seems.... So I admit it! I am willing to
>pay a somewhat silly price for an ASC hub... I am a fixed wheel addict,
>and I am scouring for an ASC hub to compliment that Mercian road and
>path frame I recently acquired for a very 'unsilly' price from Hillary
>Stone.
>
>Yes, I am the one who pushed the price to where it ended, and I'm now
>kicking myself, wondering how much higher the winner would have gone....
>Oh well...
>
>Anyhow, I really like the statement that Jerry made: "That said, I think
>there is still a place for "friendly" prices among CR members..." And
>since I am a CR mamber, albeit a very new one, I would be eternally
>grateful to any one of you good people if you would put me out of my
>misery and lead me to the 'Holy Grail' of fixed wheel bliss, and sell me
>an ASC hub that you are not using....!
>
>Be assured that if I ever get my hands on one, it will get used to the
>fullest extent that my legs can manage! And the machine it will grace
>will certainly be a proper classic machine!!
>
>Yours in hopeful anticipation,
>
>Fraser Cunningham.
>
>Cincinnati, Ohio.