Making cycling easier, making cycling safer
Sturmey-Archer (full company name Three-Speed Syndicate Limited of Nottingham, later Sturmey-Archer Gears Limited) was a manufacturer of gear hubs for bicycles. It also produced gearboxes for motorcycles, and built-in engines.
Sturmey-Archer originated in Nottingham in 1902 when Frank Bowden (see Bowden and JD) met educator Henry Sturmey and engineer James Archer. They had both developed gear hubs for bicycles. Bowden brought the pair together who then formed the Three-Speed Syndicate Ltd. of Nottingham. Sturmey-Archer's hub was used by Bowden in his bicycles. Sturmey-Archer remained part of the Raleigh group founded by Bowden.
Later, Bowden went on to build motorcycles. Sturmey-Archer produced gearboxes for dozens of motorcycle makes and was commissioned by the British Army to make motorcycles at the beginning of World War I. After that, the company produced built-in engines for many brands. Its last product was a 50cc two-stroke engine built by Radco from 1958 to 1960.
However, the most important product remained the three-speed bicycle hub, which could be operated from the handlebars via a bowden cable and was fitted to very many bicycles. Later versions with four, five and even seven gears were also released, operated with two bowden cables, but these were rarely used directly by manufacturers.
In 2002, the company was acquired by industry peer Sunrace from Taiwan. Production in Nottingham ceased in September of that year. Sturmey-Archer has been producing in Taiwan ever since. The European headquarters is located in Mijdrecht.
