# Shimano Nexus 3-speed + Sturmey Archer Thumb Shifter



## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

It works!

I mated a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub with a Sturmey Archer Thumb Shifter; removed the bar clamp, and mount the shifter onto a downtube mount.

Just lined up 2nd gear and away she went, shifting faster, crisper and better than the Nexus twist shifter. Plus, the bars look cleaner and the shifter on the downtube is old school.


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

1978 Raleigh Rampar


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

details.


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

Made in Japan!


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## JeepDave (Jul 21, 2012)

Which model shifter did you use? Is it a friction or 3speed indexed shifter?


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

JeepDave said:


> Which model shifter did you use? Is it a friction or 3speed indexed shifter?


I purchased the Sturmey Archer SL-S30, 3-speed indexed thumb shifter:

Universal Cycles -- Sturmey-Archer 3spd SLS30 R3T Thumb Shifter

Sturmey Archer did a great job designing this shifter. You can remove the bar clamp and mount the shifter directly onto a downtube shifter, with no modification, as I did.

The indexing seems to work just fine with the hub. Just adjust and set it up in 2nd gear. The shifter can over shoot 1st and 3rd gears and the hub still runs. The shifter actually seems to have a 4th click, beyond 3rd, but I don't use it. Index clicks are nice and chunky. The shifter is all metal and looks great!


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

BTW, I'm running a gear ratio of 42t x 20t. Seems to be about right for road riding. 3rd gear is useable on flat grade once you get the speed up, or slight decline. 2nd gear is more cruising on flat or slight incline. 1st works for steep hills.

Here's another pic, for pic's sake:


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

This Nexus hub is at least a year old, so I went in for a rebuild. Impressive, how you can open the hub up with bench tools. Hub shows minimal sign of wear. Solid little hub.


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## Ivan Solomin (Feb 22, 2013)

Hi! Could you spesify how exactly did you mount shilter on the downtube? Is there a prefab mount option when you remove the bar clamp, or some additional hardware is needed? Thanx a lot.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It's attached to a braze-on mount on the frame. Those are available as a clamp-around-the-tube option, if you dig deep enough. Sturmey-Archer also makes a bar-mounted version of that shifter. The OP posted a link to that very shifter, as a matter of fact.


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

^^^correct!

I ordered the exact shifter, linked above. If you remove the center bolt on the shifter, the bar clamp comes off. The frame has braze-on shifter mounts, on the downtube...common with older bikes. The shifter is designed to optionally bolt on to the downtube mount or the provided bar mount. Absolutely no modification was needed, it's a pretty slick design.


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## Mrgumby (May 6, 2013)

I'm looking to run an old 4speed SA hub with some new 3spped SA thumbies.. Do you reckon that '4th click' might do the trick...?
Thanks,
Matt



sriracha said:


> I purchased the Sturmey Archer SL-S30, 3-speed indexed thumb shifter:
> 
> Universal Cycles -- Sturmey-Archer 3spd SLS30 R3T Thumb Shifter
> 
> ...


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

Mrgumby said:


> I'm looking to run an old 4speed SA hub with some new 3spped SA thumbies.. Do you reckon that '4th click' might do the trick...?
> Thanks,
> Matt


It might work. There's no way for me to know for sure, but it seemed like it was a substantial 4th click. Another issue is the pull distance of the shifter compared to the distance required for the hub. With 3 speeds, it's more forgiving, because you really need 2nd to be precise. 1st and 3rd, you can over shift and the hub will still work.

A 4-speed might be different. It's worth a shot, if you really want that shifter.


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## selin (Nov 20, 2009)

I can't see attached photos! :-(


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## vexsis (Jul 2, 2014)

Hi,

It appears the Nexus 3 speed inter SG 3d-55 hub you used on your bike has an OLD of 135mm. What length spindle did you use on your BB to compensate for the wider rear hub over traditional road bike hubs?


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## 69clunker40CWC (Aug 12, 2014)

I put a Nexus 3 speed on my 1940 CWC framed (solid front and rear) 39 pound clunker. I have beaten the heck out of it for 50 miles hard trail riding and so far it has worked very smoothly and reliably. It shifts smoother and easier than my 24 speed Trek Excalibur. The posts I have read don't recommend this for trail use as it is more for commuter applications. I did have trouble with it on my first ride as it would self shift on big bumps, but after some adjustment fiddling it worked great. One mountain bike reviewer didn't like the gear ratios as he felt they were too wide. I run 28 x 23 and it works for most intermediate terrain. They also felt the brake was wimpy. The Nexus really has stoping power, way better than my Komet Super, Bendix Red Bands or the Chinese coasters on my path racer bike. I wonder if the Nexus will hold up to the trails? A path racer is something sold to wheelmen from 1910 up for a few decades to look like the current all out racing bike but was for riding on the street or paths. Here is one I built. It is light enough to easily ride 20 miles on our paved bike paths.


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## sriracha (Jun 23, 2004)

vexsis said:


> Hi,
> 
> It appears the Nexus 3 speed inter SG 3d-55 hub you used on your bike has an OLD of 135mm. What length spindle did you use on your BB to compensate for the wider rear hub over traditional road bike hubs?


I am still using the original bottom bracket and cranks that were on the bike when I purchased it.

I did have to bend the rear stays/dropouts a little bit to make room for the hub. A 3 foot 2x4 was used for leverage and I gently bent each side evenly so that the rear wheel slides right in. I felt kinda bad doing that to a vintage frame, but it's Tange Champion #1 steel and should handle it.


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## jds0912 (Feb 25, 2014)

Bike looks awesome. I'm trying to do the same thing for my city bike, but was wondering what hub you used to maintain rim brakes? The only 3spd nexus hubs I can find have coaster brakes. Did you buy the disc brake model? I love the idea of having more than one speed on my bike, but dont want the size/weight of a roller brake nor can I bring myself to ride with a coaster. LMK thanks!


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Sturmey also do a frame mount lever, and even one that mounts on the seatpost.


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## kvnptrjhnsn (Feb 17, 2010)

I know this is an ancient thread - but, I tried this and the only way I can get the 2nd gear to run correctly is to have a ton of slack in the cable for gear 1. Is that how yours works? I suppose it DOES work but I don't like the way it looks ha.


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