Folding Bikes - Opinions Wanted for Internal Gear Hub

I bought a Moulton APB last month, with a Sachs Dual Hub, 3speed internal and 7speed cassette

I really like the wide gearing range for small wheels, I think it's set up for around 19-106 gear inches so I really have a nice range

so what I want to do is upgrade the Moulton....strip it down and new bb, front suspension rebuild, repaint and new wheelset

I want to build a new rear wheel with either

Sram Imotion 9 internal gear hub

or a

newer Sram DualHub with new derailleur and shifters

between these 2 hubs about $30 price difference

and will be built up with Sun C18 rims


I am open to other suggestions, I was thinking of the SA 8speed but read of Jur's and others problems, so maybe that might not be the way to go

open to any ideas...except a Rohloff ;) also have read some have had problems with Shimano Nexus Alfine??

anyone have or use the imotion 9 ?? thanks all for any feedback

http://www.sram-imotion.com/
...::: POWERED BY SRAM :::...

...
I want to build a new rear wheel with either

Sram Imotion 9 internal gear hub
or a
newer Sram DualHub with new derailleur and shifters
...

thanks all for any feedback


What's the weight difference between the iMotion9 when you subtract the cassette etc, versus the DualHub?

Regards
T

... I really like the wide gearing range ... it's ... really ... nice ...

so what I want to do is upgrade ...

Okay, forgive me (a) for chopping up your words so drastically and (b) for not giving the advice you want, but seriously... why upgrade the wheels? Is there something wrong you haven't told us?

Don't get me wrong, upgrading is lots of fun... I'm always doing it myself... but it's not always necessary.

--If you want a Sturmey Archer 8, wait until the new version comes out.
--Alfine / Nexus are good, but my limited experience doesn't indicate that they're all that much better than the SA 8.
--NuVinci is very nice too, but soo heavy.
--None of the above is going to give you as much range as you have now.
--If you go for a different hub system than you have now, you may have to change the crank/chain ring as well. Certainly you can't use the same chain ring for a Sturmey as you would for a Shimano.

My suggestion would be: overhaul the bike, paint only if really necessary, tune up, clean and polish everything, and put it back together into as new condition, and ride it like that for a while before you upgrade anything. And if you find anything about it that's "really nice," don't change it!

Here's what hubstripping.com (http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/i-motion-9-sram/) (quoting Velojournal (http://www.velojournal.ch/CMS/images/stories/vj6_06/sportschaltung.pdf)) had to say, for anyone who might not have seen it:


"When you need a silent, easy shifting hub take the Shimano Alfine. When you need a real gear more, harmonical gear steps and a easy mounting and dismounting hub go for the SRAM i-MOTION 9. "Regards
T

I bought a Moulton APB last month, with a Sachs Dual Hub, 3speed internal and 7speed cassette



Whoa!! Doco!.. kind of just inserted that little tidbit without any stories..:lol: .. where's some 'before' pics so we can share in your efforts.. :thumb: