The S3X is here

?

press 'go advanced' then scroll down to see the option of uploading a photo.

yes thanks - i think they were too big. i've retaken photos at 1m pixels and actually loaded onto my own thread in the classifieds. re lash discusion - yes there is a little but as jackie stewart said - if you're not accelerating you should be braking. if you cruise at just the right (wrong) speed, you can feel it as lashy - but that means you're in wrong gear / have bad pedaling form i.e. just aren't accelerating or braking. apart from that - i took it out yesterday and it was great!

is there not a lurch in your pedal speed whenever you change gears?

no it's ok , you have to 'go loose ' on the pedals for it to change gear anyway - if you push the shifter but still push cranks hard - it'll wait until you've un weighted the pedals- but really don't try to shift down twice (all way from top to bottom) if you're at speed - i've not had a problem with that and it'll never do it on it's own as top is default. when changing anyway it's pretty smooth but keep legs loose and ready when changing down - i can do full front/ rear cranks sets of these c. 320 - looking into crows foot 3 trailing, 3 leading, and balc / silver mix to highlight the patterns too.

Hi Mate,
Do you ride around in 2nd gear most of the time changing into the other 2 gears for ascending and descending? Is there any drama with riding around in the middle gear most of the time and is there any noticeable drag that bothers you? Or is it quite negligible?

I couldn't find the 'lash discussion' using the search function or going through a lot of your posts.
Cheers.

cheers, that makes me want to try one out even more.

yea - i set up the middle as my fav. - near 63 inch - 42/18 - maybe a bit longer and use it most - hardly notice any drag - maybe none - but that might just be me. - yes low for up and long for down. but the top gear is useful even on the flat / very slight downhill. i ride a flip flop 42/ 18 & 20 on my normal fixie - had that over cat and fiddle, snake pass, woodhead pass, holme moss, long hill - which is great but on the way down, and at the end of 3/4 hour ride or so - it's murder
to spin home sometimes so it's good then too.

re: lash - there is a little - but if you accelerate or brake it's fine - just don't dawdle and 'cruise' - or do that and change gear.

see bike here:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread40688.html

Thanks mate. Looking at doing an 800km charity ride next year here in Australia and I believe some parts are quite mountainous. I ride 45-17/18 here in a reasonably hilly city on my 22km commute and it is perfect. But long descents and ascents would kill me with just one choice of gear and the roadies/bunch would get away I reckon. Glad to hear there is not much noticeable drag as this is a great solution for longer mountain rides.
Cheers.

I notice that there's been a big silence about the S3x for a while.

Is that because it's so great that everyone is too blissed out riding it to post here,
or is it so bad that the people who've got one are embarrassed to admit it?

In other words, has anyone actually used an S3X in anger for a long time, and how was it for you?

I'm thinking of getting one, but as back wheels seem to be the bane of my life and I'm no lightweight, I'm worried about getting a mashed set of epicyclics AND a dented rim:-(.

Dave.

They work, but that's about it, it got a bit of play as you needed that in order to change gear (when it come to internal hubs, you need to reduced the weight on the pedal to change gear effectively).

I think it's quiet because people still like their simple fixed wheel bicycle, as far as I know, a handful of forumeanger riding them.

who know I might change my tune after my fixed wheel mini-tour (once I put a spinner gearing), and get a bicycle with 3 a speed fixed build for.

Of the people I know who have used one, only Clarion is a regular on this board. As I recall, he's found it interesting, with the minor drawbacks mentioned by Ed, but also the advantage of being able to spring some surprises on freewheeling racers.

I've got an s3x on my fixeh, as far as I know so has Tilover?

I have enjoyed the range of gears as it has allowed me to use a much higher GI and still cope with moderate inclines.

I would say the mechanical loss is its main disadvantage, even though this is not massive in planetary systems it still saps your energy to the point that you feel it.

I am using a bar end shifter to select the gears and even with getting used to not pedalling while changing it has become a bit fiddly to find the gear.

The other problem that I have had is the cable has stretched through use, as the shift to the lowest GI is quite tough. This inturn has proved dangerous as the gear pin has bounced out under power. (I have been flat on my back infront of a queue of traffic after trying to pull out of a junction because of this)

I stripped and checked the gearbox over after the incident and could not see any damage so I assume it is cable stretch, (although I have read after breaking in you should tighten the axle collar bolts if there is play which I did after reassembly) it is pretty heavy tool steel construction, but the selector pin is very small in comparison.

If they could make the gear change alot more positive, ie. like a motorbike gearbox, I believe it could be very good.

It is a lot of fun tho.

Tilover just recently added a 3 speed fixed hubs, so will see what his verdict will be.

it also worth running a back brake too, as the bike can freewheel if it wasn't adjusted properly.

yup, actually i've been really crap and not even built it up yet - reluctant to dismantle the goldtech on open pro ceramic to swap rims over - anyone know where i can get a pro ceramic for less than £80?

OK, so, in summary, a 3-speed fixie is a lot of fun, but dangerous at junctions?

One thought I had is that, since there's a lot of force on the rear forks when one is cranking up,
presumably, if they aren't perfectly rigid, they'll flex a tiny bit, thus effectively lengthening the cable relative to the gearbox,
thus possibly popping you into neutral.

Does that make sense?

Why more so than on a derailleur geared bike? Does the hub use very little cable travel to change?

If it does flex so much that it skip gears, then full length cable outers = problem gone

Out on it again today. Likes a ~~ boss~~ pleb.

Think I was overly critical in my comments above.

You just have to be careful on gear selection as it is not indexed.

been riding mine recently... getting used to it, loving it more and more - first big long ride coming up this weekend - can't wait!

Are you getting used to the little play? I mean the 'slack'?

Anyone else try out the S3X? Am recovering from some quite extensive knee surgery and while I want to get back to riding fixed, I'm not sure I should go honking up hills out of the saddle like I used to - so having a choice of gears is appealing...

Run a rear brakes as well and lower the GI on your fixed wheel bicycle.

Thanks Ed, that was already in the plan. You heard anything more about the S3X though?

Lots of people rode with them, tilover is one of them.

Best to make the change (lower gi and add rear brakes) first before deciding on an expensive change to see if it's necessary.