tergal

Hi,

Recently i brought an old second hand frame, it looks like it was a cheap race frame . I posted about how much trouble i was going to be in i was .

Anyway, after much umm and ahhing i decided i don't want it has a drop bar road bike. So i intend to turn it in to a comfortable commuter . I was looking at using a internal gear hub/wheel, and while reading on Sheldon browns website i discovered they actually sell them too .

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheelsint.html .

WE507 Shimano Alfine 8 with 700c Sun CR-18 Rim, 36 DT Spokes. $349.95

So my question is , does anyone see and issue with this plan and what is your thoughts on that wheel strength and durability wise ?

So please point out the obvious flaws in my plan ... because there will be sum

paisan

Spacing of the hub(130mm) vs the frame(??) might be a problem, but that can be remedied pretty easily if the frame is steel.

dscheidt

wheels are expensive to ship. Everything in that wheel comes from Asia, I suspect you'll be able to get a wheel locally cheaper.

tergal

Yes and no, there are not a lot of local builders and even fewer who offer what i am after. If anyone knows of one please let me know .

In saying that shipping from US to Aus isnt too bad, but it would depend on price of a local built wheel with those components. will look in to it

Yea need to finish stripping the bike and will measure it . It is steel so i have some options there. Thanks for the reminder

CliftonGK1

The only durability issue is that you'll get tired of that wheel and want to replace it with something different before it ever wears out!

Seriously, the CR18 is the most insane durable rim I've used, outside of the bomber hoops on my enduro racer. I've been using a pair of CR18 mirror polished 32h hoops on DT Champion spokes for the past 4 years of randonneuring and year-round commuting. These are the longest lasting rims I've ever had. They're currently sitting at over 14,000 miles, whereas previous rims (DT Swiss RR1.1, Alex DA16, IRO Cold Fusion, Mavic Open Pro) have barely lasted me past 8,000 miles.

tergal

Sweet, thanks for that always good to hear from someone who owns the product you are looking at, well part of it

DiscTruckerMF

how old is this old steel frame. it could be even narrower than 130mm in the rear end. otherwise, no reason why you couldn't create this bike. IT's ultimately a question of how much you wish to spend. fyi, someone is selling one on EBay. if you know someone in the states that it could be shipped to who would then ship it out to you, you may save some money. https://www.ebay.com/itm/110978602237...84.m1423.l2649

otherwise, you could build up a regular geared bike with derailleurs for very cheap but I never hear complaints from anyone running IGH wheels


EDIT: also, they now have an 11 speed alfine hub you may wish to look into if you want more range.

tergal

I saw the 11 speed hubs, but they seem to double the price of the whole rig . Spacing should be worked out this weekend.... free time i use to have so much of it

Edit: oh and i shot off a few emails to places in Brisbane to see if someone does work with these hubs.

ksisler

Only things I could point out are as follows;
1) No matter what you achieve or degree of clevernous, the common thread is that old road frame, even if you chrome plate it!
2) Adding to #1 is that a race frame is not really a good start if the objective is a commuter with upright bars.
3) IGH's remain rather pricey to buy off the shelf. Can't be avoided.
4) Regarding the "WE507 Shimano Alfine 8 with 700c Sun CR-148 Rim, 36 DT Spokes" you cited for $349.95... well frankly for that same $349 or even $249, you can buy a complete new bike from Bikesdirect.com that in the end will be a better bike without having to lay out $1,000 to make it ready. Examples here :

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rt_al_xiii.htm
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...cane/550ht.htm
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...e_trail_x4.htm
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._sporterra.htm

5) The last one is actually an example of a vnice commuter with the 8 speed IGH built in already and for $399 delivered. However since this is well past the end of the peak bike buying time of year, that one happens to be sold out---it is very popular. In a month or so, such will be back in stock. There are probably other IGH ones that are still in stock at this time. If not, find several of what you would want and email them and ask when then will be available in stock. It is not that unusal for a few sold out items to suddenly become available again due to cancelled orders, late surprise arrivals, etc. BTW: I have not financial interest in the company, but I have bought from them with success and I also buy from my LBS and also build my own frames and wheels, so not shorting anyone...

6) As always, if you are mechanically disinclined, always save back a bit of funds to have someone with the right skills and tools to go over any bike purchase and tune it up properly.

7) Oh, and in the end you can have an excellent IGH or RD based bike and still have the option of selling off the exist bike to cover the billls...

Hope this helps you in your path forward. Feel free to PM me or better yet to post to the forum so everyone can have a go at helping.

tergal

Hi Ksisler ,


Thanks for all the information . To be fair i know money wise i could just go buy a bike and i would have a bike straight away . The primary reasons i am doing this is

-- Experience , i learn by screwing it up and then putting it back together
-- frame size, i am 6, 6 on a average day find large comfortable bikes can be an issue .
-- Fun

There is also the bonus that i can buy a bit at a time, which is a lot easier to budget in to life especial around x-mas and bills . I like that last bike wonder if they would let me just buy their wheel for half the price .

While i may be able to get a bike for 350 locally, i don't know if i would trust it to hold up under my weight day in day out on a commute.


This is turning in to a hobby for me, especial as i still have my Commute bike so i don;t need it in a hurry .


Oh and i found a place in Brisbane that specialized in painting bikes ... so no chrome


---------------
Small update i received a response from the local place in regards to the wheels .

These are the prices for hubs, they're not cheap because Shimano is crazy expensive to get in AU, so I understand if you would buy them elsewhere and let us build the wheel.

Alfine are 135mm and Nexus is 132.3mm spacing.

So we can build those in 700c wheels.

We can do that with rims from Velocity or HPlusSon, the rims are roughly, depending on what model $100, for spokes we charge $1.50 for silver and $2 for black Sapim double butted and for a wheel build we charge $50 per wheel.




Strong rims from Velocity are for example Chukkers and from HPlusSon the Eero and Todestrieb.



So more information to add to my collection

Rowan

Have you clarified with the sellers of the hubs that the shifting mechanism and cabling to the hub as well as the shifter on the handlebar are included in the price?

tergal

Nope completly forgot to ask them will ask that today .


Stiped the bike down this week , the spacing is 135mm which is good ... i can put the sledge hammer away

Alfine are 135mm and Nexus is 132.3mm spacing. least the ones built here are