Strumey Archer 2-speed kickback hub

I stumbled across SA 2-speed hubs on amazon, and am interested in them due to their simplicity (Less things to go wrong). They have 100% and 138% drive, which would be adequate for my needs on an ebike (Torque n' speed!) I was thinking of making a chain-drive project with this, and kicking back with my feet to change gears. There could be logistical problems around using such a hub, but I'm sure with a bit of imagination that will disappear :wink:

Now that I think about it, I doubt if it will work, since I would either need a free-wheeling crankset or a dual free-wheel if I was to have chain drive, and that doesn't allow me to pedal backwards.
Oh well, the tried and true Sturmey three wins the day.
On another note, I wish the gov't didn't force us to have functional pedals on our bikes, it's harder to integrate them into a system than to set up the motor drive-train! Arghh!

If you intend to use a brushed motor, a momentary reverse switch would not be too difficult. There would need to be a pause at shifting (as there would be with a 3-speed).

There's a freewheeling version that could be used as a front hub along with a momentary reverse switch on the motor for shifting. If you wanted to use one as a mid drive going to the left freewheel of an eZip hub or a freewheel hub on the front wheel, it would be a way to get a double reduction.

In any case one of the benefits of using a kick back hub is that the gears are unloaded during shifting.

As for the legal requirement for functional pedals, there's always electronic transmissions where you pedal to spin a generator and combine the two power sources electrically. *I don't know if a given authority would consider that to be consistent with the intent of the law.

I think I might end up using it for one of my regular bikes instead of an ebike. I think it would be a simple and discrete addition to my flying pigeon, since it could serve as an extra brake and give me a nice boost up hills, and it won't clutter the bike (It's already covered with shiny rods going all over the place )