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Thoughts on a Sturmey Archer X-RF8 (on a Dahon Curve) 200km and 10 commutes later

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Thoughts on a Sturmey Archer X-RF8 (on a Dahon Curve) 200km and 10 commutes later

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Old 04-07-16, 10:57 AM
  #26  
BruceMetras
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Originally Posted by edelay
That is a nice looking hub. Can you point me to do full photos of each of the bikes?
Thanks, they are favorites of mine ..



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Old 04-07-16, 12:34 PM
  #27  
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>Fair enough. I've got an X-RF8(W) I've been riding for the last six years and it's noticeably freer running than another bike I have equipped with a Nexus 7.

Good to hear. There is hope that this hub will loosen up a bit as a put on the km's. I do about 5,000 per year commuting.
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Old 04-07-16, 12:35 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by BruceMetras
Thanks, they are favorites of mine ..
Those are gorgeous bikes. Well done Bruce.
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Old 04-09-16, 07:36 PM
  #29  
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I have an xrf8 on a Raleigh Twenty and 451 wheels. Once dialed in it works well. I have found the best adjustment isn't necessarily with the marks lined up exactly. In fact mine are "misaligned" by a few mm. No slipping but I do not pedal when shifting as stated in the instructions. I also went from the stock Raleigh 46 tooth chain ring to a 42 tooth and find the gearing evenly spaced and to my liking.

Last edited by veloceleste; 04-09-16 at 07:39 PM.
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Old 04-21-16, 06:26 PM
  #30  
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Hi folks.

Just an update on this. The hub went out of adjustment after another few weeks of riding. Adjusted them and now all gear (including the problematic #4 ) shift perfectly. I can shift while still pedalling, but I let off on the power. So the downsides are now

- harder to pedal than a Shimano Nexus
- noisy whizzing sound in all gears except #1 (direct drive)

My hope is that after a few thousand km's the hub will be easier to pedal and quieter. I will of course, update you folks on this.
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Old 05-31-16, 01:28 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by leoho5
Thanks for the feedback edelay. I'm intrigued by the X-RF8 hub because of the higher gear inches for small wheel bikes but it's unfortunate that many owners are not satisfied with the efficiency and noise level.

I have been thinking about modifying a Curve D3 with an X-RF8 and Gates Carbon Drive. Do you think there would be enough frame clearance for a 12mm belt?
Sorry for posting in the old thread. FYI, the XRF-8 uses a different kind of cog than all other IGH's. Nobody makes a Gates cog for it yet.

I'm currently looking at having a sheetmetal adapter made (laser cut) that would let you use off-the-shelf 104mm BCD chainrings on it, which of course wouldn't work great for a folder (the idea was to adapt a cog big enough to use on a regular 559/622 bike). But it might let you do a Gates drive if one were commercially available.

Another forum member (Dan Burkhart) serviced their XRF-8 and replaced the lithium grease with ATF fluid, and has reported good success with it being smoother, quieter, and more efficient. I haven't tried it in mine yet, but I'm wanting to give it a shot.
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Old 05-31-16, 01:55 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by FunkyStickman

Another forum member (Dan Burkhart) serviced their XRF-8 and replaced the lithium grease with ATF fluid, and has reported good success with it being smoother, quieter, and more efficient. I haven't tried it in mine yet, but I'm wanting to give it a shot.
Thanks for the link. Good to know there is a solution to this, even if it is beyond my mechanical skill level. Would be interesting to see if Sturmey Archer eventually comes out with a oil lubricated hub. Does ATF stand for Automatic Transmission Fluid?
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Old 05-31-16, 02:01 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by edelay
Thanks for the link. Good to know there is a solution to this, even if it is beyond my mechanical skill level. Would be interesting to see if Sturmey Archer eventually comes out with a oil lubricated hub. Does ATF stand for Automatic Transmission Fluid?
Yes, correct, Automatic Transmission Fluid.
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Old 05-31-16, 04:43 PM
  #34  
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For almost two years, I've been using ATF in my Alfine 11 instead of the super expensive oil sold by Shimano*. No problem so far.

*
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-TL-S70...dp/B005G0BG52/
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-SG-700.../dp/B005EPI7V0
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Old 05-31-16, 05:46 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Winfried
For almost two years, I've been using ATF in my Alfine 11 instead of the super expensive oil sold by Shimano*. No problem so far.

*
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-TL-S70...dp/B005G0BG52/
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-SG-700.../dp/B005EPI7V0
I've heard quite a few people recommend doing this instead of paying for the suggested oil. And have zero issues.
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Old 03-19-18, 06:44 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by tds101
I had contemplated purchasing a Dahon Curve and doing this upgrade myself. I'm thankful for your user review. Now I know, said also prefer a Nexus 8 speed hub, to not go through with it. I had a bike w/the Sturmey-Archer 5 speed hub, and it's inefficient gear spacing & noisiness made me a bit crazy. I just wish the Curve was 135mm OLD instead of 120mm OLD.
hey, uou can go and tweak shimano nexus and alfine to 122mm just messing with big bad nut on left side.
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Old 03-19-18, 06:56 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by BromptonINrio
hey, uou can go and tweak shimano nexus and alfine to 122mm just messing with big bad nut on left side.
Hmm,...thanks for the info. I'll look into getting another Nexus 8 speed hub. I'd use it for my Dahon Speed Uno, which I converted to a Shimano 3 speed,...
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Old 03-19-18, 07:05 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by tds101
Hmm,...thanks for the info. I'll look into getting another Nexus 8 speed hub. I'd use it for my Dahon Speed Uno, which I converted to a Shimano 3 speed,...
I think i should rectify my statement.
messing with big bad nut on left side changing it for Mutch narrow one, as narrow as possible, will reduce the original old in 6mm.
this will allow you go from 135mm to 129mm.
to reach 122 mm the aproach is thouger, as you need to remove dust cap and somesort casemod it to mutch smaller nuts.
this will allow you to go even further, from 129 to 122.
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Old 03-19-18, 07:13 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by BromptonINrio
I think i should rectify my statement.
messing with big bad nut on left side changing it for Mutch narrow one, as narrow as possible, will reduce the original old in 6mm.
this will allow you go from 135mm to 129mm.
to reach 122 mm the aproach is thouger, as you need to remove dust cap and somesort casemod it to mutch smaller nuts.
this will allow you to go even further, from 129 to 122.
The 8 speed Sturmey-Archer hub is a better idea,...it's 127mm, and can easily be reduced in width via the same method. Thanks for the brainstorm!
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Old 03-20-18, 06:50 AM
  #40  
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Reading this thread has given me even more respect for the 3 speed hubs. I'd read many comments about how they are more reliable than the hubs with a higher number of gears but didn't actually realise they were also the most efficient, a benefit of their simplicity no doubt. Saying that the Shimano model is a little less efficient in the 3rd gear. Maybe that is one of the additional reasons Brompton choose their 3 speed hub plus mini derailleur setup. Interesting thread anyway.

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Old 03-20-18, 07:34 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
Maybe that is one of the additional reasons Brompton choose their 3 speed hub plus mini derailleur setup.
… or that the SA hub is more narrow than the Nexus 3, making for a tighter fold?
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Old 03-20-18, 07:46 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Winfried
… or that the SA hub is more narrow than the Nexus 3, making for a tighter fold?
I meant 3 speed hubs in general, I had a feeling they may have used a Sach's hub in the past and looking at that chart the Sach's hub is very impressive for efficiency in all 3 gears.
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Old 03-20-18, 12:23 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
I meant 3 speed hubs in general, I had a feeling they may have used a Sach's hub in the past and looking at that chart the Sach's hub is very impressive for efficiency in all 3 gears.
Where does this chart come from? Regarding the efficiency of the 3-speed hubs: They have far less transmission and mechanics inside, therefor they are more efficient. Still I have some doubts regarding the chart: The S/A and Sachs 3-speed have their direct gear (w/o any transmission inside the hub) in the second gear. Therefore this should be the most efficient gear and this is true from my experience. Same goes for the Rohloff - direct gear is the 11th, but in reality the 8th seems to be even a tiny bit more effient.

The German magazine "Fahrradzukunft" did two measurements on the efficiency of geared hubs a while ago. This is the outcome:


(initial test round, picture taken from here)

The second round with slighly enhanced equipment for measuring brought slighly different results:



(picture taken from the article here)

The results seem to differ from your table, therefor I'd be interested where they come from and how the measurement was done.
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Old 03-20-18, 02:17 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by berlinonaut
Where does this chart come from? Regarding the efficiency of the 3-speed hubs: They have far less transmission and mechanics inside, therefor they are more efficient. Still I have some doubts regarding the chart: The S/A and Sachs 3-speed have their direct gear (w/o any transmission inside the hub) in the second gear. Therefore this should be the most efficient gear and this is true from my experience. Same goes for the Rohloff - direct gear is the 11th, but in reality the 8th seems to be even a tiny bit more effient.

The German magazine "Fahrradzukunft" did two measurements on the efficiency of geared hubs a while ago. This is the outcome:


(initial test round, picture taken from here)

The second round with slighly enhanced equipment for measuring brought slighly different results:



(picture taken from the article here)

The results seem to differ from your table, therefor I'd be interested where they come from and how the measurement was done.
I nicked it from post #17

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Old 03-20-18, 03:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
I nicked it from post #17
Ah, thanks! Had overlooked that! Very interesting!
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Old 03-20-18, 05:27 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
I nicked it from post #17

Oh yeah,...
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Old 03-27-18, 01:44 PM
  #47  
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I wonder how Sturmey RF-4's efficiency compares. I'm happy with it.
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Old 03-28-18, 01:02 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
I meant 3 speed hubs in general, I had a feeling they may have used a Sach's hub in the past and looking at that chart the Sach's hub is very impressive for efficiency in all 3 gears.
The SRAM Sachs 3 Speed is a great hub. I just picked up 4 of them on closout (not really sure why, but hey). The Vitesse D3 uses it with a coaster brake. I don't love the coaster brake but it has a great spread of gears and rolls really nicely. Great price just now too (dissappearing very soon).
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Old 03-28-18, 02:30 PM
  #49  
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As the OP has already disclosed, the Sturmey-Archer S80 XRF8 8 speed hub is 120mm. It's not perfect, but it fits the bill.

https://www.amazon.com/Sturmey-Arche...rcher+S80+XRF8
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Old 03-31-18, 03:52 PM
  #50  
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spacer nuts on the left end can be thinner... to fit that 120 frame..
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