Sturmey Archer S30 3-Speed Internal Hub - 36h, 18T Cog, No Brake

Can I change the sprocket to a 16T? Will that affect gear shifting?

I can't imagine the circumstances where I would buy another Sturmey Archer hub. Impossible to get all 5 gears out of it. Shifts terribly. Hangs up. The only thing it does really well is shift up. Down shifting is next to impossible and making the adjustment to get the finial gear doesn't work at all. Now I'm going to have to spend another couple hundred dollars to get a new hub and have the wheel rebuilt. Never again.

The unit I received was from Niagara Cycle and it is Sturmey Archer item number "HKS3F.QLSD.S00.BX" with Spec 36H/175/127,DLS30,18T,fitting". What all that translates to is:36 spoke holes175mm long axle127mm OLD (over locknut dimension) that actually measured 127.46mm18 tooth cogThe weight is listed in SA literature as 1015 grams and is accurate --- for a bare naked hub. The real world weight with anti-rotation washers, left castle nut, right mounting nut, long guide nut, plastic cap and gear indicator is 1090 grams. The axle diameter is 10mm with 7.8mm flats.Per Sturney Archer Specifications:Hub Flange Spoke Pitch Diameter: 67mmHub Center to Flange Center (left): 28mmHub Center to Flange Center (right): 28.6mmSpoke Gauge: 13/14 gaugeThese are all correct as far as I can determine. The spoke holes measured just under 3mm in diameter. The flanges have a 50mm separation and are 3.29mm thick on the drive side and 3.21mm on the other side.The unit came with a two lever handlebar mount click shifter (Part number HSJ958 = DLS52 Shifter) and cable. This is for the right side ONLY. In fact SA does not build any three speed shifter designed for the left side (minus one star). However the parent company Sun Race does but it has different index points (for a front derailleur): DL M93. However one can swap the ratchet plate and indicator between these two shifters to produce a left hand shifter that works with the SA 3 speed hubs.SunRace M90 Thumb Shifter Left Front Replacement with Cable 3 SpeedThe package includes all parts for two "fittings". One based on the long ugly fulcrum arm and the other based on the long guide nut.Maximum dropout thickness is 6mm. Otherwise you need grind down the 4.2mm thick anti-rotation washer on the drive side (my frame had 8mm thick dropouts). The anti-rotation washers do have notches for position adjustment screws.ONE YEAR LATER:The hub works fine. I am fixing to order another but will purchase a twist shifter that can be LH mounted.The biggest problem with this unit is that one has to spend additional money to replace the crummy Sun-Race RH trigger shifter.

I'm a bit disappointed by the misinformed reviews tarnishing this hub.I've been running mine for about 5 years now without incident. Once adjusted properly it has performed flawlessly, no slipping or missed shifts. The chunky rapid fire style shifter seems like overkill, but works great, always shifting quickly and confidently.This hub is on my former commuter and errand bike turned dirt trail and townie bike. I've swapped the sprocket to a 17t from the supplied 18t, now with fat tires I've switched to a 19t shimano nexus sprocket which is also compatible and can be run with a 3/32" chain which is nice. I've ridden this hub in all weather from well below 0°F to pouring rain and brutal heat with no problems whatsoever. I will say though, I am nice to my hub. I ride it hard, but never shift under load because I want it to keep working well. I have no complaints about this hub, the only negatives are the difficulties in changing a tire because the removal of the wheel is more laborious and you need to take pressure off the pedals to shift, but these are the minor shortcomings of the internal gear hub and should be understood before buying.

This seems to be an updated version of the classic Sturmey-Archer AW hub, which has been around since the beginning of the last century. It is now made in Taiwan, and sports a new aluminium alloy body shell which saves a bit of weight over the old model. So far it's working perfectly and smoothly.The provided sprocket is perhaps a little small for most uses, but that's just my opinion. It's easy enough to replace it with a different one.The new-fangled trigger shifter is not as versatile as the old shifter, but it's not a problem to substitute the older unit. Note that you will also need an old-style cable if you do that, the supplied cable for the new shifter is a conventional gear cable.One big improvement over the old AW hub is the new roller guide for the indicator chain, much smoother than the old hollow nut design.