Comments on: Sturmey Archer S2 Duomatic Kick Back Hub

By: JMac

JMac — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:56:45 +0000

Ive had my black S2 free wheel hub for about 4 months now. Its nice to have the versatile gearing of two speeds, but finding the right 138% gear-inch (GI) gearing was a bit of a bugger. After some different chainring and cog combos i settled with a 64.3 GI 138% and a 47 GI one 2 one low gear. This gives me a nice cruising gear but getting used to the tall low gear is making me change my climbing technique. taking me some time to used too mainly b/c it falls right between what technique youd use on a SS and a geared bike. I sometimes wonder if

The hub is laced 3x to a 32H Mavic Open Pro mounted to an on one ill pompino SS CX frame with canti mounts and 120mm spacing/track ends. Bikes really turned out fun.

By: Biggus

Biggus — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 06:59:22 +0000

Hey gang!

Got that coaster brake version for less tan a week. Im already reflex shifting and cant really describe how I shift the thing after a bit less than 200km. The clicketting high gear is almost silent and I only ear it while walking beside the bike. Laced on a 700c, mounted on a 1945 Huffman cruiser and a front drum brake on Abraham linkage fork, defo not a racer but a delight to ride and awesome look.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:30:29 +0000

Above: you guys are basically describing a normal kick back. Give it some time to wear in and expect it to be a little raw. If it’s “unacceptable” then kick backs are not for you…

By: Jørge U

Jørge U — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:51:04 +0000

↑ The above comment is about the Duomatic Kick Shift 2 speed hub with coaster brake.

By: Jørge U

Jørge U — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:27:22 +0000

Same with mine, when applying the brakes I would constantly hear a grinding noice, Ive adjusted the positioning of the coaster brake arm with the chainstay brake arm braze-on with flat washers for perfect alignment and symmetry and added Chain Tugs as I’ve seen pics of other Duomatics with them to no avail, and worst of all, the whole thing froze up on me when i accelerated at a traffic light. Supposedly Sturmey Archer offers a 2-year warranty from the date of purchase, so i will contact seller about problem!

I have a question; does anybody know if the innards of the S2 Duomatic with out brake would work in the B2C Duomatic steel hubshell??

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:22:59 +0000

I bought two of theses hubs online from a reputable ebay seller. I laced one up with a 26″ rim for a cruiser/street bike and kept the other in reserve. No matter what I do with the hub adjustments, I cannot get rid of this gawd-awful chunking when braking at certain speeds. It’s as if the hub keeps shifting back and forth when I apply the brakes of a given torque. Kinesthetically it is very unnerving and wholly unacceptable. WTF?

Anyone?

By: Scott B

Scott B — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:43:32 +0000

I agree…great concept but terrible product. My S2C was a mess from the beginning. Sturmey Archer/Sunrace replaced the hub without question but stuck me (and/or my bike shop) with the bill to re-lace the wheel. When pushed on the lack of logic in making a customer pay twice due to their faulty product the rep told me I was entitled to my own opinion but that they have been around for a long time so he wasn’t too worried about the policy/lack of service hurting sales. Unbelievable.

I haven’t tried an alternative hub yet but have to think SRAM would at least have better customer service.

By: Phil B

Phil B — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 05:53:25 +0000

As I posted earlier, it’s a great concept, but I had trouble from the start.

I’ve tried three hub cores and a whole replacement hub since March. Sturmey (Sunrace) has made no bones about the replacements, nor has QBP balked at re-lacing a new hub into my wheel. My LBS was also very supportive.

Mine was a S2C and I strongly suspect the S2 without the coaster brake would be less problematic; although the last new hub seemed fine in most other aspects for a short while, it skipped continually in low from the start (!), which was the last straw. I’ve had my money refunded.

What’s next? Probably a SRAM Automatix with a coaster brake. It would be good to adjust the speed for the automatic shift, but I have a feeling it may require a tear down so probably voids the warranty. I think they come from the factory set for shifting at 11.5 mph, and I would prefer a 8.5 setting. Chances are, I speculate, that the coaster brake would be less in conflict with the shifting, since it’s not dependent with operator input.

Anyone have any info on these?

Happy shifting,
Phil B

By: Street Bully

Street Bully — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:35:32 +0000

I just picked up my new 2012 Schwinn Super D and it has one of these 2 speed kick back hubs with a coaster brake. I HATE IT!!!!! Love the bike but this hub has got to go and go fast. How can I change it over to a 3 speed Nexus? Can someone please help me?

By: ecycled

ecycled — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:28:18 +0000

gentjim said: “This sounds really interesting. Would this work with a track bike rear triangle – i.e. with the narrower spacing at the dropouts?”

Yes. It should unless you have a very unique situation. I’ve just put together an older model (2001) Gunnar Street Dog which used 120mm track spacing/horizontal dropouts. Using the 148mm axle S2 Duomatic gave me the perfect urban commuter. CHeck it out here…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecycled/7449984816/in/photostream