The first seven of the following files provide amazingly detailed information on Sturmey-Archer hubs, from the earliest models to the present day. They have been compiled by English engineer and hub gear enthusiast Jim Gill. Although some of the material was originally published by Sturmey-Archer, the vast majority is Jim's own work and has never been published before.

Also provided is John Fairbrother's simpler approach to fixed-wheel conversions. These require the acceptance of some lost motion in the hub. John is an engineer and bicycle restorer based in Hampshire, England.

The Jim Gill files are in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF version 1.3), making them zoomable and easily printable, page at a time. If you do not already have the Acrobat Reader viewer/plug-in (version 4.0 or higher) for your browser, you can easily download it free of charge via this link.

Approximate download times for the files are given, assuming use of a 56k modem, a standard telephone line and no major web congestion. Recent versions of the Acrobat Reader may start to display the file whilst downloading but further pages may not be accessible until the download is complete.

For ease of use in the future, you may wish to save the files to your hard disk. Recent versions of the Acrobat Reader have a "Save" button, indicated by a "Diskette" symbol. Alternatively, on the page below, click on the file name with the right-hand mouse button and select "Save Target as..." from the pop-up menu. Having saved the Acrobat (.pdf) file to your disk, you will be able to access it rapidly whenever you need to, without waiting for a download.

If you want detailed instructions on how to repair and maintain Sturmey-Archer hub gears, follow this link.

Epicyclic Gears - Some Theoretical Considerations
Engineer and hub gear enthusiast Jim Gill explains how various hub gears work. Includes zoomable diagrams.
21 pages, file size 654kb, typical download time approximately 3 minutes.

Sturmey-Archer Hubs - Reference Tables
Zoomable dimensioned drawings and tables of pawls, drivers, axle keys, pinion pins, gear teeth, ballcups, hub shell dimensions, indicators and more.
14 pages, file size 445kb, typical download time approximately 2 minutes.

Sturmey-Archer Hubs - Axle Charts
Zoomable dimensioned drawings of axles for Sturmey-Archer hubs.
26 pages, file size 1,219kb, typical download time approximately 5 minutes.

Sturmey-Archer Hubs - Cone Charts
Zoomable dimensioned drawings of cones for Sturmey-Archer hubs.
7 pages, file size 265kb, typical download time approximately 1 minute.

Sturmey-Archer Hubs - Spring Charts
Zoomable dimensioned drawings of springs for Sturmey-Archer hubs.
5 pages, file size 148kb, typical download time less than 1 minute.

Sturmey-Archer Hubs - Triggers
Zoomable dimensioned drawings of triggers for Sturmey-Archer hubs. Includes how to convert triggers for use with fixed-wheel hubs.
5 pages, file size 443kb, typical download time approximately 2 minutes.

Fixed Hubs
Jim Gill's new (March 2002) compilation of how to convert a 3-speed to 2-speed fixed-wheel and how to convert 4-speeds to 3-speed fixed. Jim can be contacted at 60 Pointon Road, Billingborough, Sleaford, Lincs NG34 0LP, United Kingdom - tel: +44 (0)1529 240599O.
8 pages, file size 1067kb, typical download time approximately 5 minutes.

Modifications to Sturmey-Archer hub gears to produce fixed wheel gears
Engineer John Fairbrother outlines another approach to fixed-wheel conversions.

How to convert an FW 4-speed into a 5-speed
Two different methods are described in The Sturmey-Archer Story. Follow the link above to find out more about this book and how to purchase it.