Sutherland's Handbook of Coaster Brakes and Internally-Geared Hubs
by Howard Sutherland, Ed Colaianni, and John Allen
Howard Sutherland has kindly granted permission for sheldonbrown.com to post the Handbook of Coaster Brakes and Internally Geared Hubs online. It covers hubs produced 1960-1992 -- some in production until SRAM dropped internal-gear hubs in 2015.
Also included here by permission are "lost pages" intended for Chapter 16 of the 6th (1996) Edition of Sutherland's Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics but never before published. These pages cover Shimano 4-speed hubs, the Shimano SG-7C21 7-speed, the Sachs Super 7/SRAM Spectro 7-speed with coaster brake and: Sachs/SRAM 5-speeds. The documents are draft versions, and some include John Allen's editing suggestions.
The Handbook sections are stored as PDF files. Inside those files, mousing over the icon shown at the right will reveal added information.
| Cover, title page and introductory note from Howard Sutherland |
0-1 to 0-4 |
| Chapter 1: Introduction; chainline; axle nuts; bearings; cleaning; sprockets; gear-shift mechanisms |
1-1 to 1-6 |
| Chapter 2: Single-speed coaster brakes -- also see our page about coaster brakes. |
| Table of contents, parts names, trouble charts |
2-1 to 2-5 |
Sachs Torpedo Boy, Komet Super, Komet Super 161, Pixie, Jet; Centrix, Karat
For Freilauf, see SC in the Sturmey-Archer section of this chapter.
| 2-6 to 2-9
|
| Shimano A, B, D, E, Mighty Mite |
2-10 to 2-16 |
| SunTour |
2-17 to 2-19 |
| Bendix 76, 70, 70J, Junior, RB, RB-2, Original |
2-20 to 2-23 |
Sturmey-Archer SC, SC1; Steyr; Perry; Torpedo
The SC is a licensed copy of the Sachs Freilauf.
Also see Torpedo models in the Sachs section of this chapter. |
2-24 to 2-29 |
| NK, Mattatuck, New Departure, Hawthorne (multiple-disc) |
2-30 to 2-33 |
| Chapter 3: Two-speed coaster brakes, and a two-speed without a brake -- also see our page about coaster brakes. |
| Table of contents, brake arm mounting, trouble charts |
3-1 to 3-3 |
| Bendix Red Band, Yellow Band, Blue Band Overdrive |
3-4 to 3-11 |
| Sachs Automatic A2110, Duomatic R 2110, Duomatic 102, Duomatic 101 w/o brake |
3-12 to 3-18 |
Chapter 4: Three- four-, five- and-more speeds
Sachs hubs w/o brake are similar to coaster-brake versions and are covered in the next chapter |
| Table of contents, cable adjustment, trouble charts |
4-1 to 4-7 |
Shimano 333, FA, F Type, G Type, cartridge type
Worth rebuilding? See the article on Shimano 3-speeds. |
4-8 to 4-16 |
Shimano 4-speed SG-4R30 Rollerbrake/brakeless, SG-4C-30 Coaster Brake
Material is complete but page numbers are not consecutive due to use of latest revisions.
Also see our page about the Shimano 4-speed.
|
lost pages |
Sturmey-Archer AW. AG, AB/C; Brampton; Hercules; Scintilla; Steyr; SunTour; Vibo
This is the classic AW, not the current model. See the article on S-A 3-speeds. |
4-17 to 4-21 |
Sturmey-Archer FW, S5, S5.1, S5/2, S5 Alloy
The S5 should be used only with the machined bellcrank. The S5.1 does not shift reliably -- convert to S5 or S5/2. See details on our Sturmey-Archer 4-, 5- and 7- speed page. |
4-22 to 4-27 |
Chapter 5: Hubs with coaster brake, and Sachs hubs w/o brake
Sachs hubs w/o brake are very similar to coaster-brake versions and are covered in this chapter. |
| Table of contents, cable adjustment, trouble charts |
5-1 to 5-7 |
Shimano 3SC and cartridge-type three-speeds with coaster brake
Worth rebuilding? See the article on Shimano 3-speeds. |
5-8 to 5-17 |
Sturmey-Archer TCW, S3C, AWC, AWC(II) and three-speeds with coaster brake
Updated in 2012 to the newest models! Note: the TCW is hazardous because cable misadjustment can disable the brake. See the article on Sturmey-Archer 3-speeds. |
5-18 to 5-27 |
Sachs 415, 515, H3111, H3102
The 515 and H3111 are three-speeds with coaster brake, the others without.
Also see our page about Sachs/SRAM internal-gear hubs. |
5-28 to 5-34 |
Sachs Pentasport 5-speed (pullchain and clickbox versions)
This is from a draft of unpublished material.
Also see our page about Sachs/SRAM internal-gear hubs. |
lost pages |
Sachs Super 7/SRAM Spectro 7
This is from a draft of unpublished material.
Also see our page about Sachs/SRAM internal-gear hubs. |
lost pages |
Shimano Inter 7-Speed with Coaster Brake SG-7C21
Also see our page about Shimano 7-speed hubs |
lost pages |
| Gear Table |
5-35 |
| Index |
5-36 |
About the Handbook
Since before 1980, Sutherlands' Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics has been an invaluable resource on bicycle parts compatibility, repair and maintenance. The 7th edition and the classic 6th Edition are available from Sutherland Publications.
The Handbook of Coaster Brakes and Internally Geared Hubs is now out of print, but available on this site. The Handbook provides very detailed information on these hubs, with exploded drawings, parts interchangeability lists, and disassembly/reassembly instructions.
Replacement parts for many of these hubs are no longer available from the manufacturers. That is not nearly as difficult a problem as it used to be, thanks to the Internet. Spare parts and spare hubs may be located through Internet searches and eBay, or may be as close as your local bike shop.
