#1 on my list is, of course, England.
Top reason: BSC (60°) thread, special case, 13/32″ x 26 tpi.
Let’s just call this the Sturmey-Archer thread from hell. It’s doesn’t conform to SAE, ISO, JIS, DIN or any other modern standard. It’s not even Whitworth (55°), which you might imagine. It’s a special case, used only by SA, of the BSC (British Standard Cycle) standard. This system was set up for british bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers in 1938. (British Standard 811-1938, Updated BS 811:1950)
You may ask yourself, “Pete? Who cares about this kind of stuff? Anyway, It’s ancient history now.”
No. It’s not. Sturmey-Archer has recently made a huge push back into the modern cycling market. Their products do fit many holes in the range offered by some of the other manufacturers. Here’s the rub; most of their product still uses the BSC 13/32″ x 26 tpi thread. They could have retooled and switched to the nearly equivilant M10x1 (Japan) or M10 x 26 tpi (campy). I belive that this is a huge mistake and holds their product back.
Case in point. I want to do a coaster brake wheel with a two-speed kickback. Great! Sturmey is making a nice looking model now. All I have to do is respace it to 135mm. Simple? No. Not simple.
Luckily, Harris Cyclery Stocks nuts and washers from Sturmy if I need them. We will see how this goes.
Here’s a handy chart for some help in the world of fasteners for the wrench bros: http://www.britishfasteners.com/images/nuts_bolts_key.pdf