Alternative shifter mounting for IGH with drop bars.
 

Well, I finally finished my long delayed i-Motion 9 project. As we all know, drop bar mounting options are very limited for IGH shifters, so I thought I would share my solution.
I decided to make an aero clip a permanent part of the handlebar assembly, complete with interupter levers directly mounted to it. So why not mount the shifter to it as well.
http://cid-c5aa741102f41823.skydrive...bike%20017.jpg
Seems to work OK, except for the fact that the gear indicator window is not easilly visible. Not a big problem for me, as I don't pay much attention to which gear I'm in at any time anyway. Need slower gear, shift down, need faster gear, shift up, like that, ya know?
Complete bike.
http://cid-c5aa741102f41823.skydrive...bike%20016.jpg
As for opinions of the Sram hub, and comparisons to my other gearhubs, not really ready to render an opinion yet, but my early impressions are, it ain't going to stack up favorably to the Shimano hubs.

From the photos, it looks like the aero bars and the drops are the only hand positions available. Is this a problem? I don't know if you're interested, but the Versa STI-style IGH shifter is soon available as a stand-alone component. It's $200, so there's a lot cheaper solutions.
Since you have experience with other IGH's, could you share some more details on why you think the i-Motion might not be on par with the others?

Yes, well I did limit my available hand positions a bit, but on the hoods seems to work pretty good, as well as in the drops or in the aero position, so it's not bad.
We'll have to see if they do offer an STI for the Sram. It pulls a lot of cable.
Just did a 12k on it to get some more impressions.
First, it's noisy. (Ratcheting sounds.)As noisy as a Shimano 3 speed in some gears. Much noisier than even the first generation Nexus 8. I don't normally mind ratcheting sounds, my Sturmey Archer 5 speed ticks in 4th and 5th, and I don't mind it at all, but this is more like angry bees noisy.
The claim is that it shifts under load. It does that, but not very smoothly. The Nexus 8, Alfine and Rohloffs shift much nicer under load.
The claim is that cable attachment is the easiest of any gearhub. Yup, I've gotta give em this one. It's pretty slick.
It has a slight advantage over the Shimano hubs in ratio range, and who knows about durability at this stage, but over all, I can't see that this hub is worth the additional cost over the Alfine.

I hve a Swobo Dixon with the iM9 and it seems to be getting smoother with age. I also have the Rohloff and it is IMO the best gear hub going, which it ought to be at the price.

No experience with the Alfine yet but just finishing building up a Steelwool Tweed with one, using the Jtek shifter mounted on Nitto Randonneur bars. I did find that the Jtek requires installing a in-line cable adjuster as there is no provision for cable adjustment included with the shifter.

I don't have the J-Tech shifter on any of my own bikes yet, but I did do a build for a customer with one.
Story here.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=519800
I did note the requirement for an in line cable adjuster. Not a big deal, but not ideal either.
You're gonna love the Alfine, but one word of warning. You won't be able to tell what gear you're in by the sound.:D
Let's see some pictures of that Steelwool when you're done.

I agree with your assement of the im9. I had mine on a mtb, it's not up to the task whereas Shimano Alfine is. I've moved mine to a commuter bike and now I'm racking up miles in an attempt to break it in. I poured two cap fulls of Mobil 1 ATF in it (had some around), it shifts much better. The noise is annoying, esp compared to an Alfiine. The steps are much more even that the Shimano Alfine/Nexus, it's noticable on a commuter.

One other point is there's NO spare parts for the im9, no sprockets, no drive side dustcaps. Without the drive side dustcap, I can't pull it apart and inspect/lube the im9, the dustcap isn't re-usable.

The even gear steps are not something I worry about. I don't need to keep that tight of control on my cadence.
Where did you access the internals to pour in the oil? Has any of it leaked out?

Are you willing to try out one of the new Sturmey-Archer hubs? Take a look at their latest catalog:
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/pdfs/S..._Catalogue.pdf
Lots of neat new stuff:
Fancy thumb shifters
Bar-end shifters!
3, 5, and 8-speed versions
70mm and 90mm drum brakes
dynohubs
fixed-gear 3-speed hubs... in colors.

I don't know what's going to make it to the US, but... wow... :thumb:

I'm an old time trialer so the cadence thing is noticiable, not required. I also commute on a Nexus 8R35, I do find I adjust my speed to have a comfortable cadence, old habits die hard!

To add oil to my im9 I removed the non-drive side axle cone and slowly added the ATF by pouring it into the hub alongside the axle. I have a slight amount of seepage around the disposable drive side dust cap (the big black plastic cover between hub sheel and cog). Also a little seepage on the non-drive side cone. That may be because I don't have the rubber dustcap on, I have been fighting the axle adjustment on this hub. I've run old Sturmey-Archer hubs with oil for years. Trick is to keep the level below the axle/cone seals, if you add too much oil, it'll leak out until the level is below the axle seal.

I am much happier with this hub now that I'm running with ATF. As soon as I can source a disposable dustcap, I'll pull the guts and clean them in paint thinner, then run only ATF.

I'm already using the rapid fire style shifter on my SA 5 speed, and I like it a lot.
I'll probably try a wide range SA 5 speed next, maybe with the bar end shifter.

One member of the Yahoo IGH Bikes group linked to in my signature block below has just reported loss of third gear on his new wide ratio 8 speed SA hub after only about 250 miles. All other gears are working fine and no strange noises noticed from the hub. Third gear though provides no drive. He is going to provide more info once it is determined what the problem is.