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Servicing Sturmey-Archer 3-Speed Hubs
Original article: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer_3-spd.html on sheldonbrown.com
- Reproduced with the permission of John Allen and Harriet Fell — all rights reserved. The version on sheldonbrown.com is authoritative.
- Mirrored: 2026-10-05 · Last update of the original: see original
Cross-section of Sturmey-Archer 3-speed drum-brake hub
General information
nother article on this site covers maintenance issues that apply to three-speeds as well as other Sturmey-Archer hubs:
Read that article along with this one.
There are also articles on this site covering
- Internal-gear hubs, in general
- Sturmey-Archer hub models
- Disassembly of Sturmey-Archer hubs
- Special alignment and adjustment (Sturmey-Archer Dynohubs, hub brakes, shifter parts)
- Use and maintenance of Sturmey-Archer hubs
- Parts and names (older Sturmey-Archer hubs)
- Sturmey-Archer corporate history
- Sturmey-Archer date and model identification
Gearing
he common Sturmey-Archer three-speed hubs provide a direct drive middle gear, a high gear that is 4/3 of the middle gear, and a low gear that is 3/4 of the middle gear. (The principle of operation is explained on another page on this site.) Among current hubs as of 2010, the S3X fixed-gear hub is different, with two step-down gears and a direct-drive gear, and a special Brompton hub has a wider range to use with two sprockets and a derailer for a total of 6 speeds.
By modern standards, the typical English 3-speed bicycle is geared rather high. Most have 46/18 gearing, which gives gain ratios of 3.83, 5.11 and 6.81 (50, 66, and 89 inches; 4.00, 5.28 and 7.12 meters.) You can make riding a lot easier by customizing the gearing. 20 and 22 tooth sprockets are readily available, as well as smaller sizes for speed demons or small-wheel bicycles. It is also possible to modify Shimano cassette sprockets with a Dremel grinder if you need something bigger. This is not particularly difficult to do. There is more detailed information on this on another page.
Sturmey-Archer has manufactured many models of 3-speed hubs over the years.
Documentation on current and recent Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hubs
Sturmey-Archer has the widest surrent selection of three-speed hubs of any manufacturer. Most have aluminum shells, and are relatively light compared with hubs of other brands. The information below is compiled from a review of the Sturmey-Archer Web site, Sturmey-Archer catalogs, and a Web search. Technical information is available for most, but not all, current Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hubs. The newest three-speed coaster-brake hubs have been added to the comparative parts lists in Sutherland's Handbook of Internally Geared and Coaster Brake Hubs, now online on this site.
Rows with yellow backgrounds in the table below are for hubs which are lsted in both the 2010 and 2015 catalogs. Links in the "Model" column will take you to Sturmey-Archer's page about the hub. Rows with green backgrounds are for hubs new since 2010. Rows with white backgrounds are for "ghost" hubs -- no longer sold, not in the 2015 catalog, and parts may no longer be available. On the other hand, many parts lists are available which were not in 2010, listed in the Documentation column.
- Specifications
- Fitting Sets (for most hubs -- unless indicated in individual entries)
- A site with information on several hubs
- Another site with information on several hubs
| Model | Features | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| AB3 | 90 mm drum brake, steel shell | Like SAB3; Also see AB/C. |
| AB/C | 90 mm drum brake, steel shell | Technical information. Another source Internals like S-RF3. Installation and parts list. |
| AW | No Intermediate Gear version -- not the classic AW. Steel shell. | Technical info Parts list |
| AWC | Coaster brake, steel shell | Technical information Rebuilding instructions and comparative parts list, in Sutherland's |
| AWC 2003-2005 |
Coaster brake, steel shell -- slight modification of the earlier version | Technical informationAnother source Rebuilding instructions and comparative parts list, in Sutherland's |
| AWC(II) | Coaster brake, steel shell -- slight modification of the earlier version. Same as S-RC3(II) except for the shell. | Technical information Another source Parts list Rebuilding instructions and comparative parts list, in Sutherland's |
| BWR | Special Brompton extra wide-ratio 3-speed used with 2 sprockets and a rear derailer to make a 6-speed hybrid-gearing system. This hub is apparently sold only through Brompton. | Procedure is the same as for the S-RF3; driver and planet cage assembly are different. Video of disassembly/reassembly on Brompton site (requires that you establish a login). Video of disassembly-reassembly, narration is in French but you should be able to follow this anyway. |
| CS-RF3 | Splines for cassette (hybrid gearing) | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| CS-RK3 | Splines for cassette (hybrid gearing) disc-brake fitting |
Installation Fittings Parts list |
| QS-RC3 | Gearbox for tricycle. Has reverse gear and coaster brake. | Installation Parts list |
| RS-RB3 | Rotary shifting. Band brake fitting, could be used for drive sprocket | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| RS-RF3 | Rotary shifting | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| RS-RK3 | Rotary shifting, disc brake fitting | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| RX-RD3 | Rotary shifting, drum brake. | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| S3X | Fixed gear | Installation Fittings Parts list |
| SAB3 | 70 mm drum brake | Parts list; like AB3 |
| S-RC3(II) | Coaster brake. This is the same as the AWC(II) except that the shell is of aluminum.. | Technical information Parts list Rebuilding instructions and comparative parts list, in Sutherland's |
| S-RF3 | 3-spline driver | Technical information,, rebuilding Parts list Another source |
| S-RF3 (N) | 9-spline driver | Probably like S-RF3 |
| S-RK3 | Brake disk fitting, 3-spline driver | Parts list |
| S-RK3 (N) | Brake disk fitting, 9-spline driver | Probably like S-RF3 |
| SX-RB3 | Wide body (chainline 65-69 mm), band-brake (threaded) fitting | Parts list |
| SX-RK3 | Wide body (chainline 65-69 mm), brake-disk fitting | Parts list |
| TS-RB3 | Gearbox for tricycle. Threading for band brake at left side | Installation (but no reverse gear) Parts list |
| TS-RC3 | Gearbox for tricycle. Coaster brake | Installation (but no reverse gear) Parts list |
| TS-RF3 | Gearbox for tricycle. Has reverse gear. | Installation Parts list |
| X-RD3 | 70 mm drum brake | Technical information Another source Yet another Parts list (says XL-RD3) |
| XL-RD3 | 90 mm drum brake | Like X-RD3; Installation Parts list |
Older Sturmey-Archer Three-Speeds
The classic Sturmey-Archer AW hub in cross-section
lmost all English 3-speeds have Sturmey-Archer rear hubs. The classic Sturmey-Archer AW hub is by far the most common model. It is quite easy to overhaul with these instructions. Parts for the classic AW are available from Harris Cyclery, and this hub is so common that parts can often be cannibalized from discarded wheels. (The current No Intermediate Gear version of the hub is not the old AW. It is mostly the same as the S-RF3 hub except for its steel shell.)
There have been several licensed and unlicensed copies of the AW: Brampton, Hercules, Scintilla, Steyr, SunTour, Vibo. Most parts are interchangeable.
The table below covers the more common older hubs and a few others of interest. It omits specialty narrow-ratio hubs and hubs discontinued before 1940. Old Sturmey-Archer three-speeds other than the AW and closely-related models (AG, AB) can be tricky or impossible to repair, due to parts un-availability.
Sturmey-Archer changed its parts numbering system sometime around 1950. Older parts numbers begin with the letter K and newer ones, with H. If the model of the hub is the same, and the description of the part is the same, the part is almost always the same, despite the different numbering. Some of the classic references linked below use the "K" parts numbers. Sutherland's Handbook of Coaster Brake and Internally-Geared Hubs uses the newer part numbers.
Older internal parts with a gray finish are reportedly more durable than newer ones with a black finish, due to a better surface-hardening treatment which had to be discontinued for environmental reasons.
The AW's internals will fit into many Sturmey-Archer hub shells of the same era, making it possible to keep a wheel in service. One exception is that the left ball cup of many if not all four- and five-speed hubs lacks an inner flange to center the planet cage. Sturmey-Archer historian Tony Hadland reports that 1984- and later steel AW shells will not accept S5 internals. Coaster-brake and drum-brake shells will not fit the AW.
Older Sturmey-Archer coaster-brake hubs have safety issues: The brake of the TCW and S3C was actuated through the gear train, so it was weakest in high gear, when the bicyclist was going fastest! The TCW could lose the brake entirely if the cable was misadjusted, due to the neutral-gear position between second and third,. The AW and its near relatives also have a neutral gear, and if the cable is misadjusted, these hubs can drop out of gear. Jobst Brandt has, in addition, described a tendency of these hubs to slip out of high gear into neutral in a hard sprint -- though this problem does not occur under more usual conditions of use. See comments on this topic by Brandt.
The Web sites linked below the table cover many additional older hubs. The Sturmey-Archer Heritage Web site has a wealth of historical and technical information. Tony Hadland's Web site includes an exploded drawing and parts list for nearly every Sturmey-Archer model up through 2001, as well as rebuilding information for many older hubs. Documentation on the older hubs is actually better than on current ones.
- Sutherland's Handbook of Coaster Brakes and Internally-Geared Hubs
- Sturmey-Archer 1951 Service Manual on the Sturmey-Archer Heritage site.
- Sturmey-Archer 1951 Service Manual on Vancouver Van Touring site
- 1956 service manual and 1902-2001 information on Tony Hadland's site
1956 service manual on www.toehead.plus.com - Rebuilding instruction for several hubs on Jane Thomas's site
