Author Topic: Does anyone have experience of the Sturmey Archer X-RF4 4 speed hub?  (Read 3129 times)

Mark Manley

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One of my bikes, not a Thorn has a Sturmey Archer RX-RF5 5 speed hub which apart from being quite weighty compared to others, it is the same as the Shimano Alfine 11 speed also makes an annoyng noise in the first four gears which I first thought was a mistake in the setup but apparently is not unusual with that model.
I am considering replacing it with the above 4 speed which has slightly less range but enough for my purposes and is considerably lighter but before I spend more money with SJS am interested to hear if anyone has experience of this hub and their thoughts on it.

martinf

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Re: Does anyone have experience of the Sturmey Archer X-RF4 4 speed hub?
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2022, 08:49:41 PM »
No experience of the X-RF4 four speed hub. AFAIK, this hub is aimed mainly at small-wheel bikes, for a normal-wheel bike you would need a rather small chainring to get a reasonable gear range, and small chainrings wear fast.

I did consider the X-RF4 for use on a Brompton a few years ago, but I ended up using old Sturmey-Archer S5/2 hubs manufactured in the early 1980's instead - the  S5/2 is very slightly heavier than the X-RF4, with 5 gears instead of 4, closer gear steps and slightly more range. And in my experience very reliable, I have done over 100,000 kms with S5/2 hubs. I still have 3 of them in service, but they have become rare now.

More recent Sturmey-Archer "small" 5-speed hubs (Sprinter, 5-Star) were less robust than the S5/2 and had reliability problems, but I don't know how the "large" RX-RF5 does in this respect.

If you can manage with just 3 speeds, an old Sturmey-Archer AW3 can usually be found fairly cheaply on Ebay, the last one I got was about £20.  In my experience, the AW3 is very robust and will keep going for decades. Weight is similar to the X-RF4.

For use on large-wheel utility bikes I am very satisfied with the Shimano Nexus 8 in the "Premium" versions, I currently have six of these in service on various family bikes.

The Nexus 8 Premium is about the same weight as the Shimano Alfine 11, quoted weight (probably without the fittings and gear shifter) is 1685g.

Direct drive on all the Shimano 8 speeds is gear 5, so IMO they are more suitable for large wheel bikes than the Sturmey 8 and 4 speeds, which have direct drive in the lowest gear. 

The latest iteration of the Nexus 8 Premium is the Shimano Nexus SG-C6061 range, these have better-quality internals than those in the entry-level 6011 range, so the hub is claimed to be more efficient. In practice, I don't really notice the difference between Nexus 8 Premium and Rohloff for local riding. The Rohloff has much more range, so is good for very hilly areas.

The jumps between gears on the Shimano Nexus 8 are closer than those on the X-RF4 and AW3, which suits me better. Overall range is 307%, which is enough for local utility riding in my area. 

Externally the difference between the entry-level 6011 and the premium 6061 is that the latter is labelled with a blue line on the hub shell.  Alfine 8 is more expensive and has a better finish on the hub shell, but the internals are very similar to the 6061.

If you choose a Shimano Nexus 8, be careful about the version. The DI2 version is often offered for sale at a low price (SJS currently have them on sale at £99), but you need the expensive electronic shifting gubbins because the DI2 will not work with mechanical shifters.

Shimano hubs for mechanical shifters are often sold without the fittings - gear shifter, cable, sprocket, and "cassette", the latter is the essential kit of parts that transmit the cable movement to the rotary gear change on the hub itself.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2022, 08:00:20 AM by martinf »

Mark Manley

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Re: Does anyone have experience of the Sturmey Archer X-RF4 4 speed hub?
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2022, 08:57:28 PM »
Thank you for your detailed reply, I am giving some thought to the good old three speed of which I have three bikes with them fitted but the range is a little too small for what I use this bike for, I do have one of the older 5 speeds but as you say nice low mileage ones are few and far between now, I might just bit the bullet and give the 4 speed a try and see how I get on.

martinf

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Re: Does anyone have experience of the Sturmey Archer X-RF4 4 speed hub?
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2022, 08:31:58 AM »
Another thing to take into account is the efficiency in the various gears.

At one time I had a Shimano Nexus 7. This had nice regular and fairly close gear spacing, plus an easy-to use gear shifter. But, even after I converted it to use oil rather than grease, it was noticeably less efficient than my old S5/2 hubs, which have fewer sets of planet gears.

The Sturmey Archer X-RF4 will be most efficient in gear 1, and least efficient in gear 4, when both sets of planet gears are engaged at the same time. This is good if you live in a hilly area and spend most of the time riding uphill then coasting down the other side. Not so good if you spend most of your riding time on the flat.

A traditional Sturmey Archer 3 or 5 speed is most efficient in the middle gear. Simple three-speeds are generally more mechanically efficient than hubs with more gears, with the (possible) exceptions of Rohloff, maybe Kindernay, and the better-quality Shimano 8-speeds.

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On my Sturmey Archer S5/2 hubs, for local rides I mainly use gears 2, 3 and 4, which, according to tests, are more efficient than the "extreme" gears 1 and 5.

When using the highest gear 5, I don't notice the relative inefficiency, probably because the biggest slowing factor at speed is air resistance.

At the other end of the scale, going from gear 2 to gear 1 on moderately steep hills doesn't give as much advantage is it should theoretically, the reduction in gearing is offset somewhat by the lower efficiency.

Mark Manley

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Re: Does anyone have experience of the Sturmey Archer X-RF4 4 speed hub?
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2022, 12:29:21 PM »
Yes I noticed that first was the direct gear which will be helpful around here where it is rather hilly, I have just pushed the button and ordered one from SJS and will report back in a week or so when hopefully it will be installed.
The other benefit over the later 5 speed is it uses the same 35mm ID sprockets as my other SA and Shimano hubs rather than the 50mm ID so playing around with gearing will be easier as I have a fair selection of sprockets.