1/8 Inch Cogs Compared: Sturmey Archer vs Two Threaded Cogs

 Let's compare a couple recent offerings in threaded cogs compatible with old-style Sturmey Archer threaded drivers. To keep things simple, all cogs are 1/8 inch wide because that is the traditional size for a Sturmey Archer hub. All of the cogs are 22 teeth large, a common size that people use to make climbing hills easier. The cogs must be relatively affordable, newly made, and relatively easy to buy (e.g., find it on eBay, Amazon, online bike shop, etc.). Lastly, let's compare these cogs to a basic, new Sturmey Archer 22 tooth cog for the usual 3-spline driver. 

Fronts of the cogs: L- Vuelta, R- Action

 

Offering 1: Vuelta brand threaded cog. (on the left in the above photo)

• Price: $18.00, including shipping.
• Source: eBay
• Style: matte chrome type finish, slotted for weight reduction, rounded profile teeth.
• Other Notes: comes with a lock ring for fixed gear bikes. 

• The Vuelta cog threaded onto the old style Sturmey driver without any issue. There is a lip one side of the cog to add extra threads and allow spacing by flipping the cog over. Sturmey Archer users will probably just use a spacer ring. Teeth are uniform 1/8 with no signs of manufacturing lines or roughness. Sizes available seem to be 15 teeth up to 22 teeth. The cog is not dished at all, but does have that lip that allows you to flip over the cog to set your spacing, if need be. The back side of the cog has the manufacturing information printed on it. It's not obvious or to noticeable, but be warned that if you want a totally plain looking cog, one side does have manufacturing information on it. I couldn't readily find the country of origin. 

 

Back sides of the cogs: L: Vuelta Cog, R: Action Cog

Offering 2: Action brand threaded cog. (on the right in the above photo)

• Price: $21.00, including shipping
• Source: Amazon
• Style: matte nickel finish, multiple round holes for weight reduction, old style pointed profile teeth
• Other Notes: does not come with lock ring but has deeper lip on one side.

• The Action cog also threaded onto the Sturmey Archer driver without an issue. The lip on this cog is larger than that of the Vuelta. There are also more threads on this cog than the Vuelta, because of that deeper lip. This cog has old-style, pointed teeth versus the Vuelta's more modern round tooth. This cog also is not dished. Instead, you flip it over and use that lip to set the spacing. Manufacturing quality seems alright, though the cog I received did have some residual manufacturing lines running along the edges of the cog teeth. The Action logo is tiny and engraved on one side. You'll barely notice the logo. The matte nickel type finish has a retro kind of appeal. There's a kind of "steam punk" element to the multi-hole weight saving. This cog did not come with a lock ring, so you may want to consider that if you're using a fixed gear Sturmey Archer hub (not a common thing, but they're still out there...). Allegedly these are made in the USA, according to the ad. I don't see a country of origin on the cog itself. All teeth are 1/8 inch.

 Tooth Comparison:

Vuelta Cog

Above is the Vuelta cog. Photo shows the relatively modern style rounded tooth profile with pronounced ramps for the chain to slide onto the teeth.

Action Cog Teeth

Above are the teeth of the Action cog. These are more traditional teeth with points and a less pronounced ramp. Manufacturing lines are visible along the teeth.

L- Action Cog, R- Vuelta Cog

Above, you can see the Action cog on the left has a deeper mouth than the Vuelta on the right. The Action cog has a couple extra threads and a little more range for spacing if you flip it over on the driver. The Vuelta cog comes with a lock ring, which is something you want if you're running a fixed gear Sturmey hub. In either case, you'll get more precision spacing by going with your regular Sturmey disc spacers.

Control Comparison: Sturmey Archer Three-Spline Cog

• Price: $8 to $15 usually.
• Source: Amazon, ebay, lots of places
• Style: chrome finish, traditional three-spline Sturmey cog.
• Other Notes: readily available, traditional type cog

• This cog is what you normally get for the regular Sturmey Archer driver. They slide on, and you use the ring spacers to set the chain line. The cog is helpfully dished. Sturmey Archer information is engraved toward the inside edge of the cog, but it is not too noticeable. Tooth profile is pretty generic. It's mostly a traditional tooth style, though I note the teeth are a bit more rounded and modern in profile than the originals from the 1950s and 60s. This cog looks fine on most bikes, but it is a bit bright and "new looking" if you're putting it on a very old bike. You can't argue with the price usually - they're not all that expensive. I believe these are made in Taiwan with the other Sunrace/Sturmey offerings of today. All teeth are 1/8. There's a little play as it goes onto the splined driver, but the snap ring holds it down well enough. If you mess up your chain line, it's MUCH easier to fix it with this cog than with the thread-ons. These cogs pop right off, whereas pulling the threaded cog may mean pulling the driver and getting out the chain whip.

 

Sturmey Archer Modern Cog

The above Sturmey Archer modern cog shows a kind of hybrid tooth profile - less rounded than the Vuelta, but more rounded than the Action. It has fairly substantial ramps for the chain sliding onto the teeth.

 

Final Thoughts: I would have no objection to using any of these three cogs. Each went on the drivers OK, and each is reasonably well made. The Vuelta was a little cleaner in terms of manufacturing marks than the Action, but the Action is not all that bad. The nickel finish and round holes of the Action give it a kind of "steam punk" retro look. The Vuelta is "all business" with its slotted cuts and more modern tooth profile. Unfortunately, neither modern threaded cog was dished like the old thread-one Sturmeys. Unfortunately neither modern thread-on cog had a dark blue finish like the old Sturmey threaded cogs. The Sturmey Archer three-spline cog also was reasonably well-made. It's a little bright if you're putting it on a really old or worn bike, but it will work.  

If you want to run a threaded driver and cog and you are running an old school roller chain (Perry, Union, Raleigh, Diamond, etc.), then I'd lean toward the Action cog. If you're running a modern chain (e.g., SRAM, KMC, etc.), then either threaded cog will work. With a modern chain the Vuelta would run a little smoother, but either would be alright. With either of the threaded cogs discussed here, you need to get your chain line right the first time, or else have to pull the driver, remove the cog, and start over with the set up (a real pain!).

The main issue is these threaded cogs are much more expensive than the Sturmey. I was easily able to find three-spline Sturmey cogs for around $10 new. Even the more expensive sellers were in the $15 to $18 range. The threaded cogs both were in the $20 range or so (Vuelta a little less, Action a little more). The lock ring in the Vuelta set is nice if you have a fixed gear hub, but a basic AW type hub won't really benefit from that. 

But at least you have a couple decent, affordable options for cogs if you really want to use that old school Sturmey Archer AW with a threaded driver. It's easier to swap to the three-splined driver, but why not also put those threaded drivers to good use?