The 8-speed XRD8 Sturmey-Archer hub that comes standard on the box bike is a fine hub and a good value (retail less than $200). This being said, the XRD8 is at its core a Sturmey hub and subsequently carries on the company’s eccentric tradition, albeit the better parts of the company’s heritage. Now made in Taiwan, Sturmey hubs still use the same intellectual property that put Sturmey on the map in the early 1900s, now with much higher quality control and vastly improved materials.

I’ve always heard that old Sturmey hubs were challenging, with later models being downright terrible in quality, but the company has moved through so many iterations over the past 100 years, it’s worth understanding the hub not only as it exists today, but also where it came from.

Before I recount the company’s history, it’s important to note that the Sturmey XRD8 hub is well-suited for the box bike as the geometry of the bike is such that riding out of the saddle is not terribly relevant or convenient. Yes, you can, but you really don’t need to and it’s simply easier not to. Quite simply, Sturmey hubs have never been well-designed for out-of-the-saddle quick-shifting, due primarily to the hubs’ slower engagement characteristics and penchant for ‘freewheeling’ while the gears are disengaged inside the hub during shifting.

Sturmey hubs have never been used in mountain bikes or performance-oriented road bikes due in large part to the nature of their design, which results in the behaviors described above. But this was never the focus of the hub. They have always been built for city and town bikes, and more recently for utility bicycles (thanks to improvements in materials and tolerances).

When using a Shimano Nexus hub, you can definitely shift the hub while applying pressure on the pedals, but you may encounter grinding or popping as the spurs engage. Ideally, the Shimano hubs work best when pedal pressure is lessened or released while shifting. The Shimano hubs will always shift, but if shifted under pressure, they may groan a bit. This being said, Shimano hubs usually shift quickly and accurately.

Sturmey hubs shift in a very similar fashion, though they are far less tolerant of pedal pressure while shifting. This is because they simply take longer for the gears to properly fall into place. If you’re applying pressure on the pedals while the gears are re-aligning, the hub will disengage, which is in effect a means to reduce internal damage. Unfortunately, it’s not a behavior well-suited to out-of-the-saddle riding! This is simply the nature of the hub and has been known in Sturmey hubs for decades. Fortunately, the XRD8 does not suffer much from this heritage.

Anyone who owns an internally geared hub of any make can attest to the fact that you learn how to get the most out of the hub by learning the best method for shifting. This is just as true for the Sturmey XRD8. Once you learn its characteristics, it shifts beautifully and securely –all while running disturbingly quiet (much more-so than any Nexus I’ve experienced). Of course, all of this is contingent on the hub being properly aligned and the cables at the perfect tension. Once all these elements are in place, you can experience truly trouble-free, smooth, quiet and enjoyable pedaling and shifting.

I have taken the time to review the installation and adjustment manual provided by the manufacturer and I have adjusted the hub according to their specifications. Overall, I find the XRD8 to be quite predictable. In fact, even under pressure while shifting, the only place in the range where you might encounter disengagement is during the 4-to-3 downshift split, or perhaps the 3-to-4 split –though more likely on the downshift. Again, this can be experienced only when riding while pressuring the pedals, and rarely.

The easiest way to get the most from the hub is to simply stop your cadence just before shifting, then re-engage pedaling. The hub will be in the gear you selected. This behavior has become second nature for me and the hub rewards with quiet, smooth operation. All this being said, I’d love to try the box bike with a Nuvinci hub. I think they would make a great match. :)

Now for a brief take on the rocky history of Sturmey-Archer:

Originally a a division of Raleigh Industries, Sturmey-Archer made a wide variety of hubs (mostly 3 and 5-speed), beginning in 1902. Raleigh, –Sturmey-Archer’s parent– was purchased in 1960 by Tube Investments (which also owned Reynolds and Brooks saddles). Under the guidance of Tube and plagued by several decades of declining quality and overall reduction in company size due to decreasing bicycle use, Raleigh went from employing more than 7,000 employees in 1960 to just 700 in 1987.

Derby International purchased Raleigh in 1988. Derby would eventually own Raleigh of England, Raleigh of America (formerly owned by Huffy USA) , Nishiki, Kalkhoff, Univega, Gazelle, CyclePro, Haro and Diamondback. At the time, Derby was the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world.

In 1999, after failing to invigorate the market and the company, Derby sold the land housing the Raleigh and Sturmey-Archer factories to the University of Nottingham and auctioned-off Raleigh’s equipment while selling the Raleigh name to a private financial management firm. Another British management firm, Lenark, subsequently purchased Sturmey-Archer and Brooks. Lenark eventually sold Brooks to Selle Royal of Italy and Sturmey-Archer to SunRace of Taiwan in 2000.

SunRace invested significant resources moving Sturmey-Archer’s machinery from England to Taiwan, but upon arrival, SunRace engineers and executives found that most of the machinery was no longer capable of manufacturing parts to the degree of precision appropriate for modern manufacturing tolerances in a competitive global market.

Sheldon Brown’s Web site recounts an interesting anecdote from a veteran Sturmey-Archer employee:

“Back in the day, sometimes a batch of internal parts would be just a bit out of tolerance, maybe a bit too small, or a bit too large, whatever. The production people would take a sample to the engineering department, where a grey haired engineer would check it out and often say ‘Well, it is a bit out of spec, but not really enough to cause failure, so let’s let it go.’

SunRace didn’t have those engineers who had grown up with Sturmey-Archer in their blood, so when they found a batch of out-of-spec parts, they would say ‘That’s out of spec! Melt it down, and make new ones, and do it right this time!’”

SunRace has invested significantly in Sturmey-Archer since 2000, working to propel innovation within the company while repairing the company’s image. Production quality has increased dramatically, as have the quality of materials. Who knows what the future may hold for Sturmey-Archer.