We love building custom bikes, but each custom comes with a learning curve. This Quiver cafe build is outfitted with SRAM's I-motion 3 internal hub.
This hub is a terrific option to add a few gears to your build. It's affordable and simple to use.
The kit includes, hub, cable and cable housing. Make sure your shifter is in position 1 and there is no slack in the cable or housing. Attach the cable clamp at a distance of 20mm from the cable end. IMPORTANT: Orient the cable clamp so that the nut is facing outward and the clamp is parallel to the sprocket. This orientation creates the most clearance between the sprocket and the cable clamp. Tighten the cable clamp.
We tighten it snug to start, once the system is fully adjusted we tighten to the recommended torque. Hook the cable clamp onto the actuation cable on the hub. There is a slot on the cable clamp that fits over the outermost barrel end of the actuation cable. Pull the cable taught and slide the plastic retainer on to the cable stop bracket.Step 8: AdjustAttempt to shift the hub using the twist shifter, You should smoothly shift between the gears with a smooth transition between gears. Adjustments can be made to cable tension using the barrel adjuster on the twist shifter, Rotate the adjuster toutward to tension the cable and inward to loosen tension.Step 9: Check your workTake a minute after any install to check every bolt for the correct torque and insure cable housing is secure and free from moving parts.Written by: Nick Ginster. PeterJune 11, 2014@matthew I rode geared for years in the city, messengering, commuting, etc. Converted a diamond back mountain bike 21 speed to a sweet street ride.
Eventually after riding it for as many years as half my life, I decided to treat myself to a new bike. I got a Felt 3 speed and it was stolen. Then I found Fyxation. We built the bike I really wanted tweaking what i didn’t like about the stolen ride. I’ve been riding this for 8 months now and it is the best. Looking to do a few tweaks but they are minor and subjective.
I love the bike. I might have liked my Shimano Nexus hub more because it was quieter but it’s hard to compare as that bike is not in my life anymore. PeterNovember 05, 2013My ride!!! I hope it wasn’t too much of a headache. Did the SRAM present a unique challenge over other internal hubs from other companies or are these instructions there to help people make this same (totally awesome) build?3 gears is really all you need in Brooklyn and I imagine other cities. Here’s why I think it works perfectly for NYC riding (even after frequently hearing the refrain that NYC is flat and therefore you don’t need any gears:The easiest gear comes in handy at traffic lights – more so than on hills unless you live in, say, SF. One advantage bikes have over cars is the acceleration off the line.
Sram Internal Geared Hub
Having an easy gear allows this and when it’s internal you can shift while standing still at the red light that quickly stopped you.The middle gear is for cruising and for fast uphill riding.The hardest gear for speed on flats and downhill.On downhills usually I do max out. I’m looking forward to seeing how it will be with this hub and a different size crank compared to my old ride that had a Shimano nexus and smaller crank.And having everything contained in the hub, it doesn’t matter if I ride to work in the snow and home on the salt covered streets. Shifting stays constant, secure and weatherproof.Thanks for building the wheel and the whole bike, Nick and team. I cannot wait to ride it. Leave a comment.
Amongst all of the high zoot show bikes of NAHBS, SRAM had something new that was decidedly not as sexy, but still very important. Bolted onto the back end of a World Bicycle Relief Buffalo bike, SRAM was showing prototypes of their new 3 speed kick back hub. Simplicity and durability are important, especially when you’re talking about a bike that will reside in remote villages in Africa without a modern bike shop close. So to offer more speeds without the need for a shifter or cables, SRAM has upped their sealed kick back hub to 3 speeds.
Offering a 186% gear range, shifts are carried out by back pedaling slightly which clicks up to two, then three. As soon as you brake on the coaster brake, the system resets to first gear.The hubs will make their way onto bicycles for regular consumers as well, but for the Africa bikes, the hub includes a special featureSRAM had various hubs on display including the coaster brake, a hub for rim brakes, and a potential disc brake version in the works. When you look at the shifting mechanism on the axle, it looks pretty simple but according to SRAM’s engineer for the project it was a fairly complex problem to solve. Parts of the shifting mechanism are made of plastic, but they are pieces that simply slide horizontally to engage the shifter. Since no torque is applied to these pieces, SRAM says they should outlast the hub.
The first version offered will be the coaster brake versionWhich will be installed on the new Buffalo bikes. These are the bikes provided to rural Africans through purchases, work-to-own & study-to-own programs. In addition to the three speed kick back mechanism, the Africa Bike hub has another trick up its sleeve.That’s right. Can your bike shuck corn? Equipped with a PTO cog on the non-drive side and a rear wheel stand to lift the back off the ground, all of a sudden the bike is a different kind of machine. Obviously equipped with a corn shucker here, but as you can imagine the possibilities are huge.
Sharpening stone? If you can hook a chain to it and make it run, there is potential.
This may seem like an odd addition to a bike, but when it’s your main transportation and equipment, maybe for an entire village, it could change lives. SRAM hopes to have the new coaster hubs shipping by the end of the year – to both World Bicycle Relief and consumers.