Wright Bros

Years ago I saw a old Schwinn Corvette at a garage sale that had a 3 speed SA rear hub and a derailleur with 3 cogs for a total of 9 speeds. I've never seen reference to this setup before or since. Have you guys ever seen this?

dabac

It is rare, but it's out there. I think there's a bit written about it on Sheldonbrown.com. It takes a special Sturmey-Archer hub with a different driver than the usual ones. Don't think they've been in production in decades. It's supposed to be possible to assemble a 2x3 speed hub by removing a spacer and using dished sprockets.

Bandera

I have a 1956 SA/AW alloy shell IGH w/ a Cyclo 3-cog deraiieur set-up that's been in service for decades on several town bikes.
Most likely what you saw was a modification by the dealer for a customer back when, any AW could be retrofitted w/ the Cyclo conversion.

Functionally it's the best/worst of IGH & derail set-ups: Finicky, over complicated and requiring a degree in advanced match to select the "next" gear to shift to.
Very British.

"Let's see, is it one click up on the hub and a shift down on the cogs or the way around?"

-Bandera

Wright Bros

Very Cool, thanks guys. The one I saw was kind of pricey for garage sale fare.

Philphine

years and years back, when I was in middle school, my shop teacher showed the class his bike that he was doing this too. time and the fact that I wasn't as much into bikes then makes the memory fuzzy, but I do know it's possible.


a modern take is a hub made with an internal 3 speed and a 8sp (I think?) freehub drive. I see them on ebay pretty often but have forgotten the name without going to look it up (I think it's "dual drive"). I consider buying one off and on, just because it seems interesting.