Internal gear
 

does anyone run one of these? I was thinking of putting a 3 speed on my single gear bike. What kind of parts do i need?

You need a 3 speed internal hub, and you then need to get it relaced into your current rim, or a new one.

shifter and cable too.

It depends on the bike. This type of conversion is always more difficult than first envisioned. Without looking at your bike, here are some potential issues that I'd want to check out.

1. OLD (over locknut dimension). Measure the distance between the stays where your rear wheel fits. You'll need to buy a hub or wheel that matches that dimension or you'll need to mess with your bike's frame.

2. Brake. If your bike has rim brakes, you're golden. If your bike has a coaster brake, you can get an internally geared hub that has one.

3. Cable routing. If your bike wasn't designed for gears, it probably doesn't have any cable guides or stops. Finding clamp-on fittings to match your bike will probably be the most frustrating part of the whole job. I'd make sure that I had the cable routing figured out, including acquiring the parts, before I spent money on any of the other hardware.

4. Shifter. Actually pretty easy. Just be sure to get one to match your hub. Internal geared hubs don't generally respond well to "make do" shifters.

5. Dropout slot height. Make sure the flat on the hub is the same width as the dropout slot height. Or, buy approporiate washers to adapt. The axle on internal hubs has torque and must be secured; thus, the flats.

I ride an old Schwinn 3-speed & like it. Was a pig with an 18-tooth sprocket. Low wasn't low enough & medium was marginal for flat & no-wind. Now with the front 46 (is it 46?) and rear 22, it's about right. Low is low, medium is kinda low for flat & level & no wind, but high is usable with a slight downgrade or tailwind.

-Rich

I didn't think about that - probably because I have very limited internal hub gear experience. Kind of proves my first paragraph doesn't it?

See my Web sites below. My Flickr one has photos of my Dahon Boardwalk- formally a single speed-which I upgraded to a Sturmey-Archer AW three speed hub over 4 years ago-including close-ups of the rear hub. My Geocities one has the Selection part devoted to the upgrades, including the list that I used when I bought the bike and upgraded it right after purchase. Please see the page at: http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/Selection3.html