Author Topic: Sturmey-Archer S3X 3-speed fixed - who's interested? (Read 62943 times)

rogerzilla · « **Reply #100 on:** 19 June, 2010, 09:00:02 pm »

There are no pingfuckits. Honestly. This does not apply to any other SA hub though!

woollypigs · « **Reply #101 on:** 19 June, 2010, 09:04:01 pm »

I had a go on a fixie today that had the 3 speed hub, now I want one. What are they going for now ?

rogerzilla · « **Reply #102 on:** 19 June, 2010, 09:37:11 pm »

About £180. They're not actually worth it once you see what's inside (it's a hack of the X-RF5), but they're unique.

Butterfly · « **Reply #103 on:** 20 June, 2010, 04:09:23 pm »

Quote from: Tim Hall on 18 June, 2010, 10:34:42 pm

"And this is the piling swivel, Which in your case you have not got."

One of Clarion's very favourite poems.

'They call it easing the spring'.

clarion · « **Reply #104 on:** 20 June, 2010, 08:35:33 pm »

Roger, shouldn't this kind of material be kept to the Not Safe For Work board?

TimO · « **Reply #105 on:** 21 June, 2010, 11:39:40 am »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 19 June, 2010, 09:00:02 pm

There are no pingfuckits. Honestly. This does not apply to any other SA hub though!

I guess all the pingfuckits are the freewheel pawls, and there shouldn't be any in this.

Tim Hall · « **Reply #106 on:** 21 June, 2010, 04:42:39 pm »

Quote from: Butterfly on 20 June, 2010, 04:09:23 pm

Quote from: Tim Hall on 18 June, 2010, 10:34:42 pm
"And this is the piling swivel, Which in your case you have not got."

One of Clarion's very favourite poems.

'They call it easing the spring'.

He's a man of taste (just look who he's getting married to).

The round I mentioned up there ^ in the Tandem Club Quiz was entitled "The Naming of Parts". I'm pleased to say at least one person understood the reference. We're very ~~araldite~~ erudite in the TC y'know.

itsbruce · « **Reply #107 on:** 04 August, 2010, 10:33:45 am »

I was in Edwardes in Camberwell, the other day, and noticed they have a Charge Plug fitted with an S3X hanging in the window. Very tempted to try it out (to get a feel for both the Plug and the S3X) but I can't afford to buy it right now.

clarion · « **Reply #108 on:** 26 September, 2010, 10:08:32 pm »

Courtesy of the kind generosity of a forummer, I have now had the opportunity to try an S3X (just round the block for now, but I shall be trying it out for a commute).

The lash is interesting, and I had to try hard to stop my brain telling me my chain was loose. $:-\$

The change is nice & positive. I like that. I wish it had a trigger, but there you go - can't have everything.

Once you get the idea, it starts to feel like a SEEKRIT WEPPUN.

Should be a blast tomorrow.

Bledlow · « **Reply #109 on:** 07 April, 2011, 09:09:34 pm »

Quote from: Tim Hall on 18 June, 2010, 10:34:42 pm

"And this is the piling swivel, Which in your case you have not got."

So . . . you did that at school, too?

itsbruce · « **Reply #110 on:** 08 April, 2011, 08:27:23 am »

Why leave it to school? It's a lovely poem to read in the Spring of any year. Or any time you want to be reminded of Spring, while caught up in gloomier times/work.

robgul · « **Reply #111 on:** 29 May, 2011, 10:33:52 am »

I'm increasingly tempted to build my new fixed with one of these - BUT I'd really like to have a try with one - none of the shops around me have a bike to try.

So, is there anyone within reasonable striking distance of Stratford-upon-Avon that has such a machine that I might have a spin on please? (Ideally to ride 15 - 20 miles - not necessarily hills, just to get the idea of changing and the ratios)

I'm tall, 6'4", but for a test I could probably ride any size and find out whether it's for me or not.

Thanks

Rob

rogerzilla · « **Reply #112 on:** 29 May, 2011, 11:13:37 am »

You can borrow mine if you like. The cable stops clip on.

Adrian · « **Reply #113 on:** 22 June, 2011, 08:14:07 pm »

I have just geared mine down a bit from 48x16 to 48x18. Leaving it in the top gear before meant that I was never getting up to speed between each set of lights. With the lower gearing it feels much more like a proper fixie.

Adrian · « **Reply #114 on:** 16 September, 2012, 12:58:35 pm »

Hey Roger did you feel it when TJ split your rim?

clarion · « **Reply #115 on:** 16 September, 2012, 04:59:12 pm »

I worked Roger's rim hard. I kept pounding away till it just couldn't take any more.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #116 on:** 16 September, 2012, 05:21:53 pm »

Is that the Open Pro? I always knew they sucked. Impressive wear for less than a year, though - I never ran a brake on it, so it was "as new".

The ceramic front rim on my commuting fixie has easily paid for itself after three winters. I got it in a sale and only paid about £40; I'd easily have trashed one conventional rim by now. It doesn't even wear the brake pads much now that it's run-in - it's had the same pair of Swisstop blue pads for 18 months and they're only about 1/4 down.

clarion · « **Reply #117 on:** 16 September, 2012, 05:27:14 pm »

It is the Open Pro, and I can't complain about Mavic. I've put a lot of miles into that wheel, and it's my bloody stupid fault for not keeping a closer eye on the wear. Oh - and it took 55km of mostly off-road riding (and then sitting in the sun) from the split being noticed to it actually failing. I was honking up hills in the dark with a camping load and praying that it would hold.

clarion · « **Reply #118 on:** 13 March, 2017, 10:04:05 am »

Am I the only person in the world still riding with an S3X?

Spoke failure on the tourer forced me back onto the fixed for commuting, and I love it!

I did have a scary moment when it went to Brixton Cycles for a service, and the chap rang me to say it was probably dead as it had a load of water in it, mixed with swarf

I established that the iron filings were from the badly engaging gears when I was using the SA indexed lever, and he bathed the workings in oil as a last ditch attempt. To his surprise and delight, it came up lovely, and was reassembled. He wasn't convinced about using a friction lever, so I gave in and said he could fit an indexed one. LSS, he rang me the next day to say he'd gone back to the friction lever.

Bit of a tweak at the weekend to re-splay the brake levers which he had 'straightened' (tbf, I hadn't explained), and the cockpit is pretty much perfect.

Could do with some better legs, but, all in all, it's been good and surprisingly quick

rogerzilla · « **Reply #119 on:** 15 March, 2017, 11:51:00 am »

The ASC is a lot nicer to ride but has the same "will it/won't it" bottom gear issue, which makes hill climbing a nervy affair. In fact, the way to adjust an ASC is just to get the cable ultra-tight in bottom gear, and let the others look after themselves.

clarion · « **Reply #120 on:** 15 March, 2017, 01:41:25 pm »

I no longer have any concerns about finding the gears on the S3X. The Shimano lever I use coincidentally has just the right length of throw that, if the cable is *just* slack in top, the bottom gear engages neatly at the other end. Of course, it's possible to engage neutral if you want to, but you're not forced abruptly into it by rogue indexing.

Pleased* to hear the ASC is running well.

* and a little jealous

rogerzilla · « **Reply #121 on:** 23 March, 2017, 09:51:00 pm »

The ASC is a far more complex design - there are two epicyclics, one of which is only used to rotate the primary sun gear slowly in the direction of the drive to narrow the gear ratio in middle gear. It's ingenious and doesn't sap much power; SA used to trumpet the slow speed of the internals as a major contributor to efficiency.

clarion · « **Reply #122 on:** 24 March, 2017, 03:46:00 pm »

That's clever!

Gattopardo · « **Reply #123 on:** 25 March, 2017, 11:53:53 am »

So what are the prices or should I convert a 3 speed hub?

rogerzilla · « **Reply #124 on:** 28 March, 2017, 09:24:09 am »

An S3X is about £200, I think, with shifter. An ASC is more than that without the (incredibly rare) shifter, although any SA 4 speed shifter can be converted to an ASC shifter if you have access to a grinder. Most ASCs are 40 hole, which is a PITA these days, and getting a complete one with the right indicator and toggle chain is tricky.

To be honest, neither of them are all that satisfactory due to the lash and the presence of false neutrals. The ASC is preferable as it's quieter, has closer ratios, and is more efficient, but you'll never quite trust low gear when climbing out of the saddle. Could a better one be designed? Undoubtedly, but the R&D costs would be horrendous for such a small-volume item. Both ASC and S3X are based on existing 4- or 5-speed models to save miney.