Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub shifting.

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

Back when I was a wee lad and you were lucky to have a 3 speed bike there was this unwritten law often quoted and held as gospel by all the kids on the street. You must pedal backwards when shifting your 3 speed, didn’t matter if it was Shimano or Sturmey Archer, it must be done. To shift while pedalling forward or heaven forbid not moving at all was to invite total mechanical catastrophe, the dreaded stripped gears!

Imagine my amusement upon returning to cycling years later to find that the Sturmey Archer technical sheet for my AB3 hub recommends shifting while pedalling forward under reduced load in use and allows shifting while the system is static. One site I was reading up on even suggested that pedalling backwards when shifting could shorten the life of some terribly important spring which resides somewhere deep in the bowels of my shiny new hub.

I’ve been living a lie all these years!

Did anyone else hear of the pedal backwards rule back when they were kids?

 

[phantom]

Back when I was a wee lad and you were lucky to have a 3 speed bike there was this unwritten law often quoted and held as gospel by all the kids on the street. You must pedal backwards when shifting your 3 speed, didn’t matter if it was Shimano or Sturmey Archer, it must be done. To shift while pedalling forward or heaven forbid not moving at all was to invite total mechanical catastrophe, the dreaded stripped gears!

Imagine my amusement upon returning to cycling years later to find that the Sturmey Archer technical sheet for my AB3 hub recommends shifting while pedalling forward under reduced load in use and allows shifting while the system is static. One site I was reading up on even suggested that pedalling backwards when shifting could shorten the life of some terribly important spring which resides somewhere deep in the bowels of my shiny new hub.

I’ve been living a lie all these years!

Did anyone else hear of the pedal backwards rule back when they were kids?

I always heard about it when the kids that had three speeds talked about it. I think they just wanted to try and be cool, like look at me I have a three speed and now I'm shifting. They knew nothing about if it was good or bad for a hub, it was a style thing.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

I remember a lot of kids riding their ten speeds halfway out of gear! That "chiggada" noise made by the chain, grinding away on the frame of the derailleur!

 

[GTs58]

My first 26 inch bike was a three speed and I never heard that unwritten Law. Three years later I had a 10 speed and I like to pedal backwards for fun but not when I’m shifting. If you bought the bike new at least a Schwinn, you would have an owners manual that should’ve told you what to do.

 

[phantom]

My first 26 inch bike was a three speed and I never heard that unwritten Law. Three years later I had a 10 speed and I like to pedal backwards for fun but not when I’m shifting. If you bought the bike new at least a Schwinn, you would have an owners manual that should’ve told you what to do.

Today it probably comes on an App.

 

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

My first 26 inch bike was a three speed and I never heard that unwritten Law. Three years later I had a 10 speed and I like to pedal backwards for fun but not when I’m shifting. If you bought the bike new at least a Schwinn, you would have an owners manual that should’ve told you what to do.

We didn’t have the luxury of Schwinns up here in Canada. It was Raleigh, CCM or store brand which, in the seventies, were mostly Japanese bikes.

I never saw a Schwinn up here until they showed up with Walmart. The only thing I would expect in the manual of a Walmart bike would be recycling instructions to minimize the amount of the toad that ends up in the landfill.

 

[GTs58]

My three speed was a Kent, a cantilever four bar frame with aluminum fenders and a Troxel cheap seat. The paperwork with that bike said to recycle after three years.

 

[SirMike1983]

The "pedal backwards" myth comes from the fact that the load needs to be reduced to release the clutch and that in some instances, the clutch does not properly align when going from High back to Normal (3 to 2 on later shifters). You don't need to pedal backwards to shift, but it won't hurt you either. As the manual says, you can coast and shift, or you can pedal forward under reduced load an shift as well with the AW hub.

One trick that performance riders would do in the days when the internal gear hubs were still used for sporting rides was to pedal under load, shift, and then slightly let off when the actual changing of gears was needed in a climb. It worked as a sort of delayed shift using the just legs to release the clutch enough. I've tried that a few times and it's kind of goofy feeling to me and seems to strain the shifter and cable more, but apparently some guys were able to use it effectively to shift at just the right time in the climb.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Yes a slight hesitation of the peddling is best , no need to go backwards. It sure takes a little getting used too.

 

[Coyote]

The only thing I would expect in the manual of a Walmart bike would be recycling instructions

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