Folding Bikes - Sturmey Archer 8spd questions...

Does anyone have one of these? I would really like to put one of my R-20's together with one of these at the rear. I just cant seem to figure out which bars I might be STUCK with using with the shifter that it comes with. I am assuming (yikes) that they all come with the same type of shifter, and possibly they are even simular to the Sram shifter.
If anyone has any photos of the shifters, and even shifters on alternative handlebars, I'd appreaciate it. I am hoping that I dont have just the option of relatively straight bars. Im hoping to use a mustache or pursuit bar.

Thanks for any help you might have...

R-20's: Let's keep em our lil' secret...

Twist grip only on a SA 8sp.

Is it a plastic fastener to the bar or is it metal? I guess Im wondering if it would span (bend, stretch) enough to go around a bend in a handlebar?

R-20's: The "Green" alternative to folders...

Theres ways to get around that. There's the Hubub, or a similiar device made from an quill stem, that enables using a twist shifter on drops and other bars. I've even seen somebody use one on TT (or pursuit) bars. In that case you HAVE to use at least one brake lever that clamps on (as opposed to those TT-bar-specific levers that mount in the ends of the bars).

And somewhere on Sheldon Brown's site is a picture of his own solution, using a threadless stem and a short piece of handlebar to mount a twist shifter. I believe it was on a bike with drop bars. Might have to dig around to find it, I think it was on one of the earlier versions of his R20.

Theres folks here who've gone the homemade-Hubub route or done something similiar.

I don't think that the SA8 shifter will make it around drop bars. The solutions above sound much better.

I believe you could mount the twist grip on something like this, but I'm not certain. It's something I intend to test, and if it doesn't work, I'll develop a product which will do that job.

Within the last few days I mounted an SA8 shifter to my R20. I first tried to snake it around the curves of a set of trekking bars, but that definitely did not work. Of course it worked fine as long as I mounted it on an open, straight section of bar. The clamp is metal but surrounded by plastic. BTW, I've had to carefully adjust the shifter cable to get it to work correctly. On my hub I must line up the yellow pointer with one of the red marks to get it to work. Yellow pointer to yellow center doesn't work at all.

Does anyone have one of these? I would really like to put one of my R-20's together with one of these at the rear. I just cant seem to figure out which bars I might be STUCK with using with the shifter that it comes with. I am assuming (yikes) that they all come with the same type of shifter, and possibly they are even simular to the Sram shifter.
If anyone has any photos of the shifters, and even shifters on alternative handlebars, I'd appreaciate it. I am hoping that I dont have just the option of relatively straight bars. Im hoping to use a mustache or pursuit bar.

Thanks for any help you might have...

R-20's: Let's keep em our lil' secret...

You'll see a picture, as well as other pictures, of what I did for my R20 SA8 spd. shifter here (http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/hopperja/1973%20Raleigh%2020%20folder/). I also wrote a bit about my R20 in BF here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=333630).

I took an old bar end, clamped that onto my steerer tube extension, cut it down to length, and put the shifter on that. I've ridden the bike almost 600 miles since then, and it's working perfectly! It feels very similar to reaching for a bar-end shifter, so if that doesn't bother you, then reaching for a shifter mounted to your steerer extension tube won't bother you. For your reference, I measured the inside diameter (ID) of the shifter while clamped onto the barend, and it's exactly .892". I'm not sure what maximum unclamped ID would be. Good luck!

Here in the states there are a couple of different places that sell the Sturmey 8 speed hub, and comparably the prices arent bad... http://store.airbomb.com/Items.asp?Cc=475%2DT%2D512 http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=64597887442&d=single&c=Components&sc=Hubs&tc=Sturmey-Archer&item_id=SU-XRD8 I figure I would put a Sturmey on the R-20 since it was original equipement. The Sturmey kits I have been looking at are inexpensive and complete to boot!
I figured a cool way to fit the shifter, but its kinda hard to explain so I'll be trying it if I ever get started on the next R-20... Its kind of like the device Sammy posted, but I'll try to use some scrap parts.

R-20's: "Making smiles since 196? " :)

Hopperja ! That is exactly was thinking about doing! Thats great. Very Cool.

Very nice convertion too Hopperja! Why did you raise the rear basket? were there clearance issues? How do you like the SA 8Spd? is the gear range decent? Good with hills and with going fast? I guess the same questions for you to Sahadev:)

R-20's : Built to last...

PHATATUDE,

The Wasp has drop bars with the shifter mounted near the stem. I had to use older narrow steel bars which I cut, mounted the shifter, then mig welded the bars back together. Not the best idea if you need to remove the shifter, but there seems to be a few of those bars around here, so I can just cut them again.
However I've found a better solution, use MTB flat bars with Origin 8 drops bar ends, that way you have the benefits of removing the shifter relatively easily and having the drop bar style.

I believe you could mount the twist grip on something like this, but I'm not certain. It's something I intend to test, and if it doesn't work, I'll develop a product which will do that job.


You can absolutely do this, and I know because I do it now (while I pursue some brifters...)
The bar can be slid to one side so that it is assymetrical.

The mounting can be oriented in two different ways, you just turn the top plastic part 90 degrees.
So whatever way works with your mounting position. eg.. I've mounted to both a vertical post and a horizontal post (handlebars)

They make them in two sizes. I think have the smaller of the two. Even at full assymetrical position, I don't think the bar extends 100% through the gripshift. No matter - the securing screw on the gripshift has plenty of surface to tighten down on. If you really want the bar all the way through your gripshift for some reason (aesthetics?) then you can either modify it so that it slides further over maybe - or you can buy the bigger one. They come in black and silver I believe.

It is a little hard to twist in the one direction (upshift?) when it is not on the handlebar as part of your grip-combination.
hope that helps

This is great news 4cmd3 - I'll have to mount a twist shifter for either an SA8 or a Nexus4 on my Mini Moulton speedster, and now I know I can do it for a tenner!

I mounted my SRAM 7 Shifter on a bar extension a bit like the Spacegrip that bolted on to the top of the stem in place of the normal removable plate - I think I have a pic [looks]

Sorry - no pic.

The thing with all these fixes is your bike ends up bristling like a battleship and loses the mimimal elegance. I like the 'cut the bars' approach' best even if it's the biggest hassle - not just because it will look nicest but because it will work best too.

Just a thought - Don't Bike Friday sell separable bars that collapse in half - and if so - would they be a good way to get a gripshift on the bike - I think it might work?

http://store.bikefriday.com/index.php?cPath=3

Bike Friday bars... thats another good idea... doesnt Chris Heg have a set of Friday bars on his R-20?

R-20's: Obstacles evoke creativity...

Very nice convertion too Hopperja! Why did you raise the rear basket? were there clearance issues? How do you like the SA 8Spd? is the gear range decent? Good with hills and with going fast? I guess the same questions for you to Sahadev:)

R-20's : Built to last...

Thanks for the positive comments. Originally I had the rear rack raised to give me more clearance for mounting panniers. I found this didn't work very well (wasn't laterally stable), so I took off the rack extensions. Now I'm not using panniers, but picked up a Nelson Longflap to use instead. This should give me plenty of space for day trips, probably even overnighters.

Re: the SA 8spd hub, I really like it. It works as intended, is very easy to adjust, and can shift when at a stop. It's great! I have noticed, however, that it engages better if I do a quarter pedal backwards after shifting. This seems to seat the gears better so they don't hop around on me. Regarding range: I have, at least what I consider to be, very strong legs. I don't have any problem going up a hill in 1st gear, and then hitting 40 mph in 8th gear going down! The steepest of hills, however, I would not be able to ride up. For all the riding I do, it works perfectly (I live in the Cascade foothills of the Puget Sound area, Washington, USA).

I like that idea. Did you need a shim between the barend and the gripshifter? I ask because none of the barends I've are as large a diameter as a mountain handlebar.

I was going to ask why you didn't put the barend on the handlebar itself, but I suppose the bracket was too small.

I don't remember shimming. However, for a very thin, economical shim you can cut a strip from an aluminum soda can. I've used this before when mounting bar-ends on flat bars and it worked well. You could also use aluminum roof flashing (inexpensive at the local hardware store); this would be a little thicker.

Yes, you're right. The bar diameter was too large for the bar end to fit.

For those of you considering getting the SA8, I picked mine up from aebike.com (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30), but it doesn't look like they have any now. I got it from there because I did my entire build myself, so I ordered all my parts in one order - aebike seems to have the lowest prices.

This is another way to mount a grip shift or similar (same diameter as thinner area of MTB bars):

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=60001184&sku=13291&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand%3A%20Minoura

I have ridden the bike maybe 20 miles since getting it assembled. I think I have finally dialed in the hub adjustment so it now works in all gears and doesn't slip. The cable is probably still stretching as well.

It works well. It shifts crisply, especially shifting to a lower gear. I would greatly prefer a trigger shifter, though, like the SRAM on my DT IX. I'd like to try the Shimano Nexus trigger shifter as a comparison to this one.

I'm running a 48T chainring and a 25T sprocket on the hub. IIRC there is a 23T sprocket available as well. It's mostly flat around here and so far I've used gears 3-5 most of the time. Gear three has a definite buzz or rub to it. Hopefully that will go away as the hub wears in.

Here is a link to photos of both of my bikes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcstaley/sets/72157604011405932/

Sahadev, nice work! I didn't see a parts list anywhere, or comments about your building process. For example, I noticed you're not using the stock crank. What are you using? And the BB... did you retool it or using Phil Wood rings?

Don't keep us hanging, you've got to let us know...

Thanks, Hopperja. I am writing up a summary about the bike. Will post it soon.