need advice on sturmey 8 speed internal hub

[ohchusan]

wow! thanks for all this important info guys! i really REALLy appreciate it!...
thanks goodness for all the willingness to share this info with me. i think you guys have helped me from making some costly mistakes.
looks like i will have to give deeper thought into this idea of mine.....

[blackcruzer]

hey thanks for the heads up guys. appreciate it.

actually after giving it more thought and finding out that shipping this 8sp hub with a matching front one (both drums) including shipping's gonna set me back quite a bit. i'm wondering if i should just buy a brand new (18-27sp) hybrid bike locally? i intend to ride about 16km one way to and from work so i'm between two minds now. as much as i'd wanna ride something more unique... i'm wondering if i'd end up killing myself trying to do the do with the fat tires and 8 sp up and down the gradients on route?

anyone here commute this type of distances daily with fat tires? i know its not really that far but i am clearly not as fit as i'd wanna be, i'm 42 this year and the ups and downs will prolly take its toll, hence the interest in a geared setup.

i'm also toying with the idea of using 700 wheels (if thats what they're called??) and tires on my canti frame, i've seen a few on this site and they look killer! anyone know off hand what the overall diameter is for a 700 wheel/tire combo? i could then use a derailleur set up right? or am i missing something? not very knowledgeable where it comes to bicycles as you can tell by now..

tia guys!

Okay, I've built, and ridden for long distances, a bike with a Sturmey 8-speed hub and a 24X3" tire.





First off: yes, the Sturmey 8sp is different from all other internal gear hubs in that 1:1 is the lowest gear, not somewhere in the middle. This means that you either need a 20" wheel, or a really small chainring. You can see in my pics I used the smallest chainring I could find at the moment, which was a 32T. It works fine for flatland riding. I used the 25T rear cog, and 32T in the front. I paid $135 for my 8-speed hub, got it from http://www.ebikestop.com which had the best price I could find anywhere. Right now, all the Sturmey 70mm front drum brakes are out of stock, everywhere. You'd probably find a 90mm drum hub, which will run you around $70. Plus you'd have to find someone to build the wheels for you (which I would offer to do, but I'm just too busy currently).

However, I rode the bike 115 miles for an MS tour in October. 75 miles one day, 40 the next. And I found out a few things I hadn't prepared for, mainly that when I got into some hills, the 32T chainring wasn't low enough. I currently have a 28T crank on it, and I think it would work for the hills now... but mainly because I can't stand and honk on this bike. I may even go down to a 22T. If you have a standard canti frame, you could probably get away with a 32T and stand on the hills.

Sturmey had a townie bike built for a trade show, look at the chainring they use:



Plus they used 700C (29") wheels. It is probably a 28T ring.

Shop around, the Sturmey hub is very good quality for the price. If you find a Shimano 8sp Nexus hub, they are quieter and geared for normal chainrings, but you can't get them with real drum brakes. And they're a good bit more expensive than the Sturmey hubs.

Let me know if you have any questions about it!
(Oh, and I'm 35... gears are a must!)

OK, are you saying that you leave the sturmey in first gear at all time. It sound like that hub is worthless unless you have a small sprocket upfront. I was gonna put one on my trike build, it got 24x100mm on the back.

[ohchusan]

blackcruzer, you read my mind...was gonnna ask which gear you leave it in on the flats FSM....