Sturmey Archer S2 Duomatic Hub after 15 months weekly use

[Halfamillion]

I was reading some negative threads on the Sturmey Archer Duomatic hub. The comments I have read seemed to be hearsay and not based on any real experience. I first saw one of these S2C hubs in my teens when a school age friend had a new Raleigh pushbike fitted with a Sturmey Archer Kick shift coaster hub many years ago (1970s). The trigger shift three speed Sturmey Archer were still very common at our high school and Shimano 3 speeds were also becoming available. Early last year, I purchased a Sturmey Archer S2 Duomatic hub wheel (without coaster brake) and fitted it to a fixie. I have been riding about 40-50 km a week for about 15 months now using this hub. I initially had difficulty in maintaining the right gear but soon learnt that “Kick Shift” is actually a very gentle and small back shift of the pedal crank. If you kick or aggressively reverse the pedals it will not shift as it was originally designed to operate a coaster brake with the heavier pedal application on the S2C models. First or direct drive is indicated by a silent or very light ratchet sound and second or 30% geared overdrive has a strong ratchet sound. The change point is indicated by a toggle ‘click’. Phantom shifts can occur if you bunny hop pathway concert joints, hit bumps or ride through kerb side gutters while coasting or allow the pedal to rock a bit. Once you master the gentle shift action, it is a dream to use on urban streets because there is no need to look down at handle bar shifters or chains while riding in traffic – your vision is always watching where you are going! I have the standard 46/18 tooth chain sprocket set which is high geared but excellent for speeding when keeping up with the traffic. I call low or direct drive ‘climb’ and 30% overdrive ‘cruise’ as terms used in aircraft. There are other front chain wheels and rear sprockets available. The rear sprocket (e.g. 19/20/21/22 teeth currently available) is changed by just removing the wheel, a wire sprocket retaining circlip and refitting another rear sprocket. This will allow a faster launch or steeper climb in the direct drive and a lower cruise gear ratio. My hub is overdue for an annual strip, clean and regrease but is operating excellently. It is a very simple, inexpensive and efficient drive option which works well in hostile urban vehicle environments.

[Nate]

+1 on the S2 hub.

im 90+ Kg, was doing 80km/week City-Chatswood (sydney - 10k's each way, pretty hilly), then started doing 180k's/week City-Davidson.

Given the massive climb i really need a 3rd gear & more spacing, but apart from that the hub was faultless.
A SUPERB solution & combination - cheap fixie + S3 = PERFECT commuter.
Run a fat 1/8" chain that never needs cleaning - guards & disc brake = perfect!

[Classikbike]

Good that yours are working.
Sturmey is not the company it once was. Heard at a bike show this year that there are now 0 OEM bike brands working with them because of too many problems and that all switched back to SRAM, Shimano and the others

[Nate]

Good that yours are working.
Sturmey is not the company it once was. Heard at a bike show this year that there are now 0 OEM bike brands working with them because of too many problems and that all switched back to SRAM, Shimano and the others

In the first 2 lines the OP states that they want to provide factual information about the S2 Hub, from someone that has experienced it - due to the amount of uninformative hearsay elsewhere.

You then post uninformative & unsubstantiated hearsay in the 3rd post.


Forgot to mention I purchased a second wheel after i got the first one, for my backup bike
at $100 (usual sydney discount place - stanmore rd) - its a damn fine price for a wheel & has held up well & truely on average roads during the commuter beating.

[Halfamillion]

I wonder if the service price of a Sturmey Archer S2 is similar to buying a new one???? Even the 3 speed are only $150. I was thinking of stripping the Duomatic S2 hub and upgrade the bearings to SKF Grade#20 balls and use Durace grease to reassemble - e.g. make it go real fast! Although the UTube videos on servicing do not specify any Sturmey Archer specified or preferred grease for the bearings and pawls???

[Halfamillion]

I just found my original thread, now it is Feb 2016, and my original Sturmey Archer S2 is still performing well, I have been averaging about 70 km per week going to the gym and school. I completed a strip clean grease and assembly eighteen months ago, and all went well, using Shimano Durace grease on the pawls etc and Motorex 2000 grease in the ball bearings. Sturmey Archer does have a grease listed on their site but I have not found it available here. I have just completed another strip, clean, grease and assembly. I found negligible or minimal wear on the gears although they have signs of being well used. I found some chrome plating lift in the 3/16" ball tracks on the inner race which is part of the drive hub (sprocket fits to it). I scrapped and ground the chrome plating away to base metal on the race and upon reassembly fitted loose 3/16" SKF Grade# 2 ball bearings, standard it has Qty 14 in a nylon spreader, loose balls requires about 25. This will carry a higher load or place a lower surface load on the bearing races, therefore extending bearing race fatigue life. Other than that, the quality build and finish of the S2 hub seems very high. I have also replaced the wheel bearings on each side, which were Qty 7 1/4" balls in an metal retainer, with Qty 10 loose 1/4" SKF Grade #20 ball bearings. It is now as good or better than new and ready for another 18 months of riding. After three years weekly riding, I'm very impressed with this Sturmey Archer product. These hubs work well in a urban environment because I can concentrate my attention 100% on watching where I am going and on other traffic.

[Halfamillion]

That was along time ago, and the Urban fixie, converted to Sturmey Archer S2 is still operating a few times a week excellently. Only issue is the COVID-19 has closed the Gyms that I was riding to and from, so I have switched to Road Bike Training. I have rebuilt the hub e.g. strip clean and re-greased a couple of times and replaced the Sturmey Archer 20 tooth rear sprocket and Izumi track chain a few times. I had no issues with hub, the use of SKF #20 free ball bearings without the cartridge spreaders gives me more long term confidence. Its been eight years of weekly commuting to the Gyms. I much prefer the Sturmey Archer S2 when riding in the City Urban environment due to it's hands off ease of use.

[robsta]

I also have an S2. it really needs a service. Is there a specific video or instructions for this hub?
Cheers

[10speedsemiracer]

The manual is available at Sturmey-Archer S2

[stevenaaus]

I think they're using a Sturmey Archer kickshift 2 speed hub on this japanese made boutique low rider.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXYoVrhmHjM
Not sure if it's the same as a S2 ? Interesting.

[Halfamillion]

Still working well after 10+ years of weekly use. Only use it once a week now for 30km urban riding. Need a Sturmey Archer spanner to open the hub for servicing. It is showing some wear, wheel bearing cones replaced with bearing balls. Still functions well.