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Was trying to find a 36 spoke, Sturmey Archer, kickback hub for a wheel I want to build up. I have mixed feelings about my current kickback wheel, but I thought a larger wheel for mainly goofing around and commuting on would be fine, but 36 spokes seem to be in short or non-existent supply.
But then I found, on a couple of European bike shop sites, mention of the 36 spoke automatically shifting hub, like the old Sram/Sachs Automatix.
Model number A2KAM or A2K. I believe there's a disk and rim brake model. It does not appear, at least where I could find it, on Sturmey Archer's site. For my use, automatic shifting sounds better than kickback. No more wondering if you're still in high gear halfway up a hill. No more trying to downshift only to find you were already in low gear, and now you've upshifted. But with so few legit-sounding references to the hub, I wasn't sure it actually existed. I found one that I could get shipped, though, and decided to take a chance.
It appears to be a real thing. It's not in a wheel yet, so I don't know how well it works. It might be a while before I get that done, too, although I'm anxious to try it, so we'll see. But at least it seems to be an actual product, and not a figment of someone's imagination.
![IMG_4365.jpg]()
But then I found, on a couple of European bike shop sites, mention of the 36 spoke automatically shifting hub, like the old Sram/Sachs Automatix.
Model number A2KAM or A2K. I believe there's a disk and rim brake model. It does not appear, at least where I could find it, on Sturmey Archer's site. For my use, automatic shifting sounds better than kickback. No more wondering if you're still in high gear halfway up a hill. No more trying to downshift only to find you were already in low gear, and now you've upshifted. But with so few legit-sounding references to the hub, I wasn't sure it actually existed. I found one that I could get shipped, though, and decided to take a chance.
It appears to be a real thing. It's not in a wheel yet, so I don't know how well it works. It might be a while before I get that done, too, although I'm anxious to try it, so we'll see. But at least it seems to be an actual product, and not a figment of someone's imagination.
