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Kick-back hub
A two-speed hub, usually with a coaster brake, which switches between its two gears each time the pedals are rotated backward. This system doesn't require any hand controls or cables. Kick-back hubs were formerly made by Bendix and Sachs, and were popular on folding bicycles and inexpensive tandems, and are currently in production by Sturmey-Archer.
Bendix (U.S. company) made 3 models, distinguished by colored stripes running around middle of the hub shell.
- The "blue band" model offered direct drive plus a higher gear.
- The "yellow band" and "red band" flavors offered direct drive plus a lower gear. The difference between the yellow and red models is in the brake. The red band had a disc-type brake, like the old New Departure coaster brakes, while the yellow band used a pair of brass shoes pressing against the inside of the shell, as with newer Bendix and other "modern" coaster brakes.
Note that the sprockets are not interchangeable on these hubs: they only took a 20 tooth sprocket.
Sachs/Torpedo (West Germany) also used to make a kick-back hub. These were most commonly installed on folding/take-apart bikes, where they offer the advantage of not requiring any cables to run from the front to the rear of the bike.
The Sachs/Torpedo hub, unlike the Bendix, did allow sprocket interchangeability, using the same 3-splined sprockets used by most other multi-speed hubs (Sturmey-Archer, Shimano, SRAM/Sachs, etc.) Sprockets are available from 13-24 teeth. The Sachs/Torpedo unit is also quite a lot smaller than the Bendix models. SRAM, which purchased Sachs, introduced a kick-bakc hub shortly before it stopped producing internal-gear hubs.
Sturmey-Archer currently (2017) makes kick-back hubs with and without a coaster brake.
