After 33 years, a new edition of Tony Hadland´s Sturmey Archer history has appeared last year. Much as I loved the first edition, which has been a constant companion in the world of old bikes for me, I have to say that the new one is just overwhelmingly nice.
Let´s begin with the appearance of the books. This is what the 1987, the first edition looks like:
It´s fine, handy in its format, and holds a wealth on information. It´s fine, handy in its format, and holds a wealth on information.
However, if one unpacks the new, the second edition, one is surprised by the colcourful, nearly gaudy, looks, and the box in which the book comes. The nice surprises continue when the reader leaves through the book. First rate printing and binding quality made in the EU, with a hardcover and stitched binding, simply lovely. The colour illustrations continue throughout the book where available; the day and age Hadland and Clarke explore used a lot of black and white of course.
The new edition keeps a lot of the useful info from the old one, especially the flowcharts which I like a lot. They show at a glance in how far the hubs, and there are literally dozens, differ.
Also the range of the rich SA history is amazing. It´s not too well known that they made one of the, if not the first variable hub gear anyway, and kept designing and producing innovative hubs for nearly a century. It was uncertain for a long time if the derailleur or the hub gear would carry the field in a long standing battle for the favours of the racing community, and that was largely due to Sturmey´s efforts, especially by creating close range two- three- and four speed hubs.
On its 367 pages the book covers everything from the million selling hubs like the AW or AB, well known to any rider of classic Dutch bikes, to the rarest products. Lamps, dynohubs, a moped engine, armament, motorcycle gearboxes, dozens of triggers, quadrants and other shifters, you name it, it´s in the book, and mostly accompanied by very useful technical drawings, sometimes even including parts numbers.
So, can people who are interested in bicycle hubs do without the book? Definitely not. It´s an absolute must, also because it delves into the history of the firm as such.
The Hub of the Universe is available from Pinkerton Press through the Veteran-Cycle Club.
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