O.k., we all
know the name Sturmey Archer.... they produced the most popular
three speed bicycle rear hub in the known universe.... and that
very rear hub, in its "A.W." guise graced the rear wheel
of just about every Chopper sold in the U.K.
“But....” I here you shout, “But who were "Sturmey
and Archer"?
A Mister Frank Bowden pioneered Raleigh Cycles. He bought the founding
company at the turn of the century, and gave it the cash (and brain)
injection it needed to become the largest cycle company of the 20th
century.
Master Bowden was a cyclist.... his legs ached on hills just like
most early cyclists, and he realised that gears were required on
modern bicycles.
He bought Raleigh in 1888, and by 1902 was on his way to producing
the 3 speed gear hub.
In 1902 he dug out two inventors, Schoolmaster Henry Sturmey, and
engineer James Archer.
Both these guys had invented three speed hubs - Bowden’s brilliant
idea was to put them together in a workshop and lock them in until
they invented the Sturmey Archer we all know and love.
Patents soon flowed out of this workshop - history doesn’t
record if it was at the Raleigh Factory or not - and soon the ‘Three-Speed
Syndicate Limited of Nottingham’ was in production of three
speed rear hubs.
I suppose the fact that the company had ‘…of Nottingham’
in its name is a fair indication of the factory connection. That
name was a tad long, also they needed a name short enough to be
stamped on a three speed hub, so the name smartly changed to "Sturmey
Archer Gears Limited" still too long for the rear hub, so they
settled on plain "Sturmey Archer”.
1905 to 1908 saw our heroes rarely absent from their inventing shed
and by the outbreak of World War One they were producing motorcycle
gearboxes for the army.
The next few years are of no interest to us, it’s the invention
of the A.W. gears we’re interested in!
1936 Saw the invention of the A.W. 3 speed gear set, that remained
in production until the 1990s.
For the uninitiated, the AWT lettering on the side of the Raleigh
Chopper MK1 gear console simply means A.W.Three.
![Sturmey Archer Hub](images/saaw.jpg)
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