SRAM 36h Automatix 2 Speed Coaster Brake Rear Hub,Silver

The hub performs well, even without modification. However, I'm tired of manufactures selling unfinished products. There were no big surprises when I opened the box, however they should have included the strap for the brake arm and some technical info. The box contained the hub,dust cap, C-clip and 19t cog - nothing else. The strap was quickly acquired off an old kids bike I use for parts. And I have calipers to get the flange dimensions to build the wheel:WL, width from center to left flange 27.5 mmWR, width from center to right flange 27.5 mmdL, left flange diameter 70.0 mmdR, right flange diameter 70.0 mmS, spoke hole diameter 3.0 mmSo far I'm my complaints are limited to a 10 cent strap of sheet metal (and the screw and nut), and I few dimensions that SRAM has failed to provide. Not too big of a deal, and I already knew this from other reviews. SRAM help us out and give your customers what they need to turn this $75 hurricane-ready paper weight into something a bit more useful. Raise the price by a dollar to cover the extra expense of a sheet of paper and the strap kit.I built the hub up on a 26x1-3/8 rim, and put it all on a old 3-speed I rescued from the garbage. I'm using a 36 T crank and the 19 T cog that it came with. I intend to use this bike for short rides. The 1st gear something nice and low to help me get up little hill and getting started from a stop, and the high gear to prevent me from spinning out when I want to cruise a bit faster. My first ride on the new hub I was very impressed with the automatic shifting. It is a very smooth transition between direct and overdrive, and much more comfortable feeling than I excepted. However, I felt it shifted up too soon for my use. Around 9.5 to 10 mph, which was acceptable, but a bit premature. And the brake squealed every time I stopped. I assumed that the roller brake was in serious need of some grease.With my brand new hub screaming for grease and the need to adjust the shifting speed to something more of my liking, I disassembled the hub. There was no surprise that there was a little grease on the bearing, the internal gears that very little grease and the brake shoe didn't have enough grease to do more than maybe prevent some rust during shipping. I adjusted the spring (opened it up about 45 degrees) on the centrifugal clutch, put plenty of grade 00 grease (it's very thin) on the gears, grease the bearing with philwood bearing grease, and applied a generous amount of automotive bearing grease to the brake shoes.Now with everything back together, I took it for a test ride. The shift was perfect, very smooth and at the right speed for me and my setup. However, the brake still squeals as much as ever. I don't know if other hubs have this problem, or if there is something defective with mine. Maybe it the noise will stop once it's broken in. The noise while riding is very little, I can just barely hear the pawls ticking away.Overall this is a great hub and I might just get another one in case they stop making it. However, SRAM if you are reading this, it would be great if you could offer a few models (maybe make it with a yellow, red or blue band) with different springs so your customers don't have to modify your product to make it useful to them, frankly it's plain crazy not to include the brake arm strap, don't be cheap with the grease (are you doing this to keep the published weight down? No one who buys this hub cares about a few grams) and please publish some technical information.

We've had these for about five months and only have about 100 miles on them since we bought these to make casual biking on our $125 Wallworld $chwin beach cruisers more enjoyable. We like our beach cruisers clean lines without cables and thought these would be a great addition to our bikes. We had a local bike-shop do the hard work of actually re-lacing these into the stock wheels (about $90 in parts and labor at our local shop) and our initial thought was that these were cool but the cog that comes with it makes the low gear pretty tough to pedal and (we're older) enjoy the casual riding. For younger people (or more physically fit people) the smaller cog that comes with the SRAM 36h gearing is probably not an issue. But after some research I discovered changing the cog to a 22 tooth changes the ratio and subsequently makes pedaling easier. We took it back to the local shop and within hours we were literally speeding away with ease. Although with the larger cog we don't actually shift gears unless we reach higher-speeds (cot exactly something we do on short cruises) but this is still for longer rides knowing you've got another gear to shift up to and downshifting helps on the hills. I would recommend this item but understand if you're older and thinking you'll do the same as us to make your cruiser better, you may want to consider changing the factory cog to a 22 tooth cog before going down this road.

Works well, and is built like a tank. Do not get this if you're concerned with weight!!! :) The ratios are good for climbing and top-end with a 21 rear and a 48 tooth front...at least that's what I run. Make sure that you keep the axle from turning a bit otherwise it will begin to lock the wheel and will make your ride that much more difficult. The coaster brake works well, though coaster brakes on 700C wheels don't really work as well as disk brakes.I ride about 40 miles round trip 2-3 days a week, and this 2-speed has worked quite well. I switched to a single speed (or 2 speed) because I wanted a more durable chain (broke several Wipperman) on my multi-speed cassette, and also a couple of Shimano cogs...I'm not too concerned with weight...I just want the durability, and so far this works well.

UPDATE 2/24/17After a few rides now the real deal - I still think this is a great hub AFTER you customize the internal mag shift spring. If you don't the 2nd gear kicks in waaaay to early and is a pain in the a$$. Shimano should have this adjustable in reality. The low gear (1st) is really solid for around town and most hills. I am a former street and mountain racer so my legs can handle this gear going up steeper inclines- however I have a feeling most everyday riders would find it too much on even a moderate hill. I do love the cable free ease and fun of the bike. Especially building it myself. Hope this helps anyone...This is so great for my fixie build - HOWEVER - depending on your spin style you may have to adjust the low to high gear shift change speed - there are plenty of tutorials on this online - it's easy. For me - and most people - it shifts too early. Otherwise GREAT rear hub!

Installed this on a Schwinn to replace the old Yellow Band 2 speed hub that needed repairs and boy this thing did the job and more! I wanted a 2 speed hub to sort of keep the bike true to its roots while the original got repaired, I didn't expect this to be anything super special, but boy this hub makes the bike a dream to use (with new rims and tires as well). I will likely leave this on as long as I am riding the bike though and just save the original parts if I ever sell it, it works so well. The 19 tooth sprocket that comes with this makes it easier to pedal then the original 18 tooth, not too much, but a little, and then when it shifts up it cruises. I stand up to help get up to speed faster in the higher ratio, but once up to a good speed I can sit down and happily pedal the bike at probably 30mph on level ground and cruise. The bike flies now, I fly past people on any other bike. I need this on every bike I use for travel