Originally Posted by
The Old Peddler
This is my daily ride. This is quite the opposite of a single speed beach bike but I still think of it as a " Cruiser". It was originally an Electra Townie 21D (2010) with a Suntour suspension fork, rim brakes, two derailers (3 X 7), and 26 x 2.0 tires. I changed it to have a Shimano Alfine 11 speed internal gear rear hub, disc brakes front and rear, Halo SAS rims, Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35 tires, Wellgo pedals, a Thudbuster seat post and recently a Cloud 9 anatomical saddle. Shimano had a bolt-on chain tensioner that allowed me to keep the front derailer for a total of 33 speeds. Now that may seem like a lot of gears and probably has some overlaps but I choose to use this as 3 sets of 11 gears. I pick the chain ring to suit the terrain. The 48T chain ring is for open roads where high speeds are the norm. The Alfine 11 has an extra low 1st gear which allows for standing starts without having to change the front derailer. The middle ring (38T) I find is good for urban travel where there are low speed limits, frequent intersections and traffic lights. The small chain ring (28T) works well for very low speeds, off road and hill climbing. The Alfine low gears give speeds similar to a mountain bike.
The Alfine 11 was an expensive hub at that time (cost more than the bike) but I felt this was a logical next step. I already was familiar with the Nexus 3, 7 and 8 speed hubs. The Alfine was setup for a disc brake but the Electra rear fork was not, so I had to make a mount to match the disc caliper to the hub rotor. The Suntour front fork already had bosses for the disc caliper, thus I only had to build a new wheel with a Surly disc brake hub. I was concerned about the reliability of the new 11 speed hub but I have never had a problem with it. It still shifts smoothly and easily with a flick of a finger even when standing still.
I feel I should mention the Thudbuster seat post. When I put that on the bike, I was very surprised how much of a difference it made in ride comfort. Along with the new Cloud 9 saddle I am a happy rider.
The Old Peddler