[Riding for Sanity]

I saw 2 Cruisers on Schwinn's 2009 website that have New 2-speed kickbacks. Who makes these hubs, are they available aftermarket??? I think this would be great on my SS road bike, with a Big Azz Sturmey 90mm drum brake up front of course!

 

[wheelbender6]

Bendix and Sachs made them in the past. There is currently an NOS Sachs 2 spd on EBay. Cheers

 

[BikeLazer]

i'm only familiar with the old bendix. well made, engineering masterpiece, easy to maintain(if you make the tool). one part wears out though, and when it does the hub won't shift.

no idea who makes the new one.

 

[prude]

I'm pretty sure the Bendix was the only 2-speed "kick-back" or "automatic". Well, I think Sachs made an "automatic", but I don't think it was a "kick-back". The shift spring on the Bendix didn't really wear out; the little tab on it bent out straight, and it wouldn't shift. The cog was integrated into the mechanism; and when it wore out, the hub was pretty much shot. I've never been a big fan of the "kick-back"; it was heavy, draggy, and just a bit fragile. I've got a couple of the REALLY old 2-speed manual-shift hubs.
My guess would be that perhaps Sturmey-Archer(SunRace) or somebody else revamped the old Bendix design; since I'm pretty sure Bendix is out of business, and I imagine the patent has run out. It may be a bit different than the original Bendix, as are the new SA 3-speeds from their original counterparts. At this point I'm just speculating; I'll be stopping by my old shop this weekend, so I'll see if they have any of the bikes in, or at least any more details...

 

[BikeLazer]

it is heavy and there is some drag, but that's just part of the draw!!

 

[pursuiter]

...and just a bit fragile....

I road one for 3 winters in Iowa, heavy, draggy, maybe, but fragile? Not in my experience, just the opposite, I found 'em to be bulletproof. Any issues with old hubs I've had were always fixed with a good overhaul.

 

[BikeLazer]

yeah, had one on my urryday bike for years in wisco winters. Not Fragile!!!

 

[pursuiter]

Don't be hating on Bendix 2-speeds

 

[wadester]

Don't be hating on Bendix 2-speeds

Why do you hate the blue band hub???

 

[pursuiter]

LOL, I never saw anything except 28H so I never picked one up.

 

[prude]

LOL, I never saw anything except 28H so I never picked one up.

I think they only came in 28-hole; for kids' bikes. The blue band consisted of a direct-drive gear and over-drive, where the red and yellow bands were direct-drive and under-drive.
As far as their fragility; they don't hold up very long to aggressive shifting. Other than that, they're pretty bomb-proof. The lack of a shift cable makes for a nice, clean look...

 

[BikeLazer]

two speeds rule

 

[prude]

two speeds rule

Thank you for your pointed statement.
Well, I talked to my old shop buddy last night, and it seems as if the two-speed is yet another Schwinn project that never materialized. Kind of like the belt-drive 3-speed cruiser of a few years ago; except that there WERE actually a few of those.
Sounds like Sachs DID make a 2-speed kick-back, although VERY few ever made it to these shores...

 

[Schmucker]

So, do the parts for the old Bendix hubs have any value? My LBS has a huge drawer of Bendix parts from forever ago and they really will just sit there.

 

[pursuiter]

I don't think NOS parts are worth too much. There's plenty of stuff on ebay, nobody really wants Bendix hubs except old Schwinn cruiser restorers. The 2-speed was an option, lots of people didn't like the kick-back shifting. A NOS redband has buy-it-now for $100.

 

[prude]

If you've got an old 2-speed kickback, I would at least stock up on a few of the shift springs.
They don't have any parts for a 2-speed manual, do they?

 

[pursuiter]

prude, do you have any experience actully using these hubs, I mean riding them?

 

[prude]

Fairly limited, but yes. I've overhauled them a few times when I worked at the Schwinn shop, and I've had several friends running them. They're really quite good, but I decided pretty early on, there, that they weren't quite my "cup-of-tea". I opted to get a couple of 2-speed manual hubs when they became available, but I haven't really decided what to do with them yet. Chances are, one of them will end up as an alternate rear wheel on my chrome cruiser; it's kind of a street-fighter, and it'd be nice to get the hole-shot...
Bottom line is: They're obsolete. If you wanna run one, it would be prudent(no pun intended) to have some of the spare parts on hand; and I would avoid very hard use.

 

[Schmucker]

Sadly, the shift spring is one of the empty bins in the drawer. All sorts of other crap though.

 

[itsdoable]

NOS SACHS Duomatic 2-speed kick-back hub.

36 hole. These were reportedly pretty robust. The main issue is the 110mm spacing - I don't have a frame for it yet, or it would have been laced up.

They also made an automatic shifting version, which had a centripetal weight sensor that would shift based on wheel speed. Last I checked, both version are available NOS, but they need to be overhauled (old resinified oil removed).