Sturmey Archer 9-speed

[Chris S]

I've just come across this 1965 Apollo on the US ebay. It's got a 3-speed freewheel driving a 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub to give 9 gears! It looks like you have to losen the wheel to move the chain from one cog to another. This would also mean readjusting the gear cable and brakes so it's not something you'd do before leaving home.

The rest of the bike looks failry standard, apart from a horseshoe lock on the rear wheel. I think the $650 'Buy it now' price is a bit optimistic though!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-196...975?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cd5033d7

 

[Teuchter]

You're right, that would be a bit of a hassle to do before every ride depending on wind direction. I suppose you could have a loaded touring gear and an unloaded morning ride gear.

Don't Brompton do something vaguely similar (only with a derailleur fitted) on their 6 speed bikes - 3 speed SA hub plus 2 speed cog?

 

[TheDoctor]

Indeed they do, and the SRAM dual drive has a 3 speed hub and a 9 speed cassette.
Pretty sure that Sturmey is meant to have a rear mech...

 

[tyred]

There used to be a Cyclo conversion with 2 or 3 sprockets and a simple derailleur. Presumably the derailleur is missing in this case or someone with a Sturmey with a threaded driver stuck a 3-speed freewheel block on and changed manually.

I often thought about doing something similar as it is possible to fit 2 x normal dished sprockets if you remove some of the shims on a normal AW hub.

Alternatively, a double chainset and spring loaded chain tensioner would work, with or without a front mech.