ptmilan

Does anyone sell a 26 x 1 3/8 wheel with a 7 or 8 speed hub and hopefully aluminum rim? I have my late dad's old raleigh with full chaincase to fix up. It would be more rider friendly to have the extra gears and to have the aluminum rim to help braking. Thanks

lasauge 

Your question got me curious so I took a look and don't see such a wheel available, so your best bet would be to build your own - that is, if you can find at 590 rim which is also not easy. But if you go that route your tire choices are always going to be extremely limited as well, so I'd suggest that you'd be much better off converting to 650b wheels which are slightly smaller (584mm iso vs 590mm iso for 26x1-3/8).

nlerner

I agree that finding a 650B wheelset is likely easier these days than a geared 650A one. You might take some measurements, though, and see if a 700c wheel might fit. I have 700c wheels with 32mm tires and fenders on my 1950 Raleigh Lenton Tourist, which originally came with 597mm wheels. I've also put 700c wheels on Raleigh Sports frames, and they seemed to work.

jiangshi

Change the rear sprocket to a bigger one than what is on there.

brian3069

Sun Ringle has 26 x 1 3/8 rims. The problem will be the drop out spacing, your frame is 120mm, an 8 speed hub is 135mm. I'm not sure the dropouts can be spread the far without damaging the frame.

https://www.modernbike.com/590-26-inch-rims

sykerocker 

You won't need the extra gears. Rather, just change your rear sprocket for a 23 tooth and you're essentially dropping third gear on the bike to second, second gear to first, and first suddenly becomes a useful climbing gear.

Russ Roth

This is your issue. The frame is almost certainly 120mm and stretching it to fit a 130mm road hub would be difficult, a 135mm would be worse and there aren't any real road hub options for that size. You might be stuck with 3sp, the older 4sp nexus that I had was 120mm but I can't tell if any of the nexus 7sp come that narrow. Sturmey Archer might have something with one or two more gears that would help as well. Either way, you're looking at having something built since its an odd rim size now and rare in aluminum as well.

There's also this https://sunxcd.net/hubs/

nlerner

FWIW, unless it’s an MTB, rear spacing for 8 speed on up is 130mm for most hubs. And this was likely originally 115mm for an S-A IGH. So still quite a bit of stretching needed.

John E

I am not sure whether he needs a lower low or smaller gaps between ratios. Yours is sound and standard advice if one simply needs to drop the entire range of ratios and doesn't mind coasting on downhills.

sykerocker 

Isn't that the reason downhills exist?

cudak888 

I believe the current Sturmey-Archer 8-speed IGHs on the market are geared for 20" folding bicycles (meaning you'd have to run something like a 28t front ring to make one work).

This leaves you with the Shimano Nexus hubs and the discontinued SRAM G8/G9's - both of which require 10-10.5mm dropout (axle) slots. By your description, chances are your father's Raleigh is from an era when they used 8mm dropout (axle) slots, unless it's a post-1980 model made for the European market. Not sure how keen you'd be to file the bottom of the dropout slots on what's probably an intact older Raleigh (this would file off and possibly chip the original paint back there).

The recommendations here to gear down the original 3-speed are wise, and worth a try. If it's still not ideal for you, a current Sturmey 5-speed might be suitable and should slide in as the old 3-speed did. If the bike has factory drum brakes, they still offer that too in the 5-speed range.

Sturmey-Archer | Products

Incidentally, I've tested the first-gen Sturmey-Archer X-RF8 (not the "8(w)") on a 26" bike. Where the old AW hubs have excessively wide spacing, the 8-speed felt too narrow and excessive. That's coming from someone who likes single-tooth increments on a derailer-equipped bike. Front ring is a 28 tooth just to make it work.




-Kurt

bikemig 

+ 1 on a 5 speed sturmey archer and building alloy wheels with 650b rims. This will give you much better tire choices, a bit more room under the fenders for a little fatter tire, and let you deal with any gearing issues you might have.

sykerocker 

Make that with +2 with the only caveat being you don't want to try using the original shift levers under any condition. They suck (guess how I know), they'll snap easily (guess how I know), and they're such unobtanium that if you do find a set you don't put it to use (well, guess how . . . . ). Regular 3-speed bar shifter and a thumb shifter on the left is the way to go. That final change has turned mine into my primary commuter.

Bianchigirll 

Along the same lines, I’ve been wondering if I can just stuff my 700c wheels, with 8spd, into a 3spd frame. Would they fit the frame?

cudak888 

I was thinking of the current rotary hubs, like the RX-RF5. Single cable, single lever.

The S5's are fine for an enthusiast who knows what they're getting into and has a fair tolerance for the dual shifter controls from using derailer drivetrains. They're a pain in the butt for someone looking to add just a bit more usability to a city bicycle.

Also, Sturmey did make much beefier, metal 5-speed shifters too. I've owned two of these NOS, but never mounted them. They are very strong, but IIRC, the detents felt weak on the 3-speed side.

(Pic: https://threespeedmania.wordpress.co...peed-shifters/)


Depends what it is. Raleigh? Dropouts will require modification, fenders will probably have to go, and expect clearances for 23C. A Raleigh Sprite built for 27" wheels will require dropout mods, but will have the clearance. Any other 3-speed, it's a "try it and find out" scenario.

It's easier to turn a 700C road frame into an IGH Raleigh Sports than a Raleigh Sports into a 700C bike.

-Kurt