I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I absolutely love the Sturmey-Archer drum brake on the XRD-8 hub. It is consistent, powerful and gentle in its modulation. I find it very well-suited to the higher weight demands of the carrier pigeon box bike. This being said, many folks may not realize that this fine drum brake is also available for anyone who prefers externally geared transmissions to internally geared hubs.

Our friends at Sturmey are happy to accommodate the niche market for roller brakes by offering not one, but two unique non-geared hubs that come with their super-effective 70mm drum brake: the XRD-C freehub and the XRD freewheel hub.

The XRD-C features the a freehub body that will accommodate an 8 or 9-speed Shimano-compatible cassette body. The XRD hub features a thread-on freewheel hub body, which will accommodate any 6, 7 or 8-speed thread-on freewheel. Both hubs are available with 183mm or 174mm 9mm solid axle lengths and fit perfectly in any bike that has a 135mm spread between the chainstays (most any bike). The weight of these hubs is about 1.5 and 1.75 pounds, respectively — far lighter than their geared counterparts (those weight figures include the beautiful 70mm drum brake).

Sturmey-Archer fans rejoice, your pallette of options has just expanded!