Sturmey Archer XL-FDD 36h 90mm Dynamo Drum Brake Hub

I built this hub into a 26" (559) wheel for use on a year-round, all-weather commuter. The stopping power is excellent once the hub is broken in. Far better than I'd been led to believe and I have to wonder if the problem others are facing is that they are using direct pull/linear/v-brake levers with this hub. It must be used with levers intended for either rim calipers or cantilever brakes. I've found the hub to be smooth and the power output excellent. I too had been led to believe that the drag would be noticeable but while I'm willing to believe it is there, I can't feel it.As far as the weight goes... when evaluating this hub you have to consider all of the components it is replacing. You can't just compare this hub to some other hub. Hence the 'apples to apples' title. This hub provides braking and power generation so here is what it should be compared to...for rim brakes: hub, caliper/cantilevers/linear arms, pads, bottle dyno/battery pack. (it is heavier than this group, yes, but provides all weather braking which they don't)for disk brakes: hub, disk, disk caliper, pads, bottle dyno/battery pack. (very similar weight and I've personally found the drum brakes to require much less maintenance)Generally people worry about hubs being light because rotating mass has a greater impact on performance than fixed mass. The heavier portion of this hub is the brake assembly, which is fixed.That said, I own numerous bicycles and am currently working toward switching all but the one with a carbon fork to either Sturmey Archer front drum or drum/dyno hubs. So you can definitely say that I'm a happy customer.

Product seams well built, and builds easily into a wheel, dynamo performs as expected. Would be 5 stars put a small part is missing from the brake cable line which allows you to mount and use the break. The brake cannot be set up without this part, and although it is cheap to buy the whole mounting assembly (which will hopefully have the missing part) it will take a week or two extra time and shipping will be as much as the part itself.

I use this Dynamo to light a set of Bush & Muller lights. It does the job as good as i could expect. The drum breke i didn't tested yet, since it come with a wrong cable and i am still sorting it out with the seller.But would recomend for a friend!

Great if you have dynamo lights. Not recommended if you are touring for two thousand miles, though, as this hub lack efficiency. Perfect for utility and town work though, especially places like Chicago where you keep your bike outside and expect to take rides any time of the day or night. Otherwise the reaction arm can be a headache to attach to the fork--make sure you're good with kludging stuff together, or have a professional you can trust for that last finishing touch.Bueno.Oh! And I almost forgot. I wound up using a v-brake/direct pull brake lever as a standard road lever just did not pull enough cable to fully engage this brake. Works basically just as well for me either way.

Excellent item. Top construction and all. The customer service at Niagara Cycle Works acts more like a PR department. I placed a 3 star comment on Amazon about this purchase due to it having missing instructions. Rather than mailing me the missing part of the package, I got a lame excuse about Niagara only having the part in their warehouse for about 2 hours, and then found that the company wrote a rebuttal on the Amazon website that I didn't purchase the part through them. They could have simply sent the instructions. I feel they are more concerned with their bottom line than the customer. Anyway, great part, Sturmey is awesome. Buy it from a local business.

I built up this hub to use on my utility bike - a 650A wheeled department store cruiser. My main goals were to get a dynamo for easy, consistent light, but I was also excited to try out the drum brake as an all weather brake. Weight wasn't a big consideration, as it's on an old bike, but with all things cycling, it's good to be weight conscious, so the heft of the hub was a little disappointing.Well, the hub built up nicely and was a snap to set up, both wiring for the dynamo and also for the drum brake. It was claimed that the dynamo would produce some additional drag, and it is noticeable when you spin the wheel by hand, but actually riding, it doesn't seem to have any additional drag at all, even when on.The dynamo works well so far, too - it provides ample power for a headlight and tail light, and I've been very impressed with the power and modulation in the drum brake. I opted for the larger, 90mm, drum set up and I really enjoy the confident, strong stopping power it's supplied. In a recent trip loaded down with an extra 100 lbs of cargo (trail a bike, child, and groceries), I found that my braking was not just adequate, but quite good. A HUGE improvement over a rim brake on a steel rim, for sure.Overall, I'd rate this 4 stars. The 5th star would come if Sturmey worried a bit more about the weight, but overall, it's a great hub and I'm very, very pleased with the result!

A very high quality component. Worth the money. Heavy for those who are weight contious. I used it on a beach cruiser and love it.

This is an excellent hub for snow/dark/wet commuting.