ArmChairRider

Test 2 completed successfully.
Weather was nice and sunny in Florida today at 86F, 67% humidity and a SW breeze at 8mph. Dark clouds off in the distance over the northern lands of Crest'burg'.
Made my flight check down the dead end street here, neighbors doing some kind of woodwork outside.
Looked like a door or window on a sawhorse. ~It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood~
Anyway, I can't believe I'm practically 'spinning' on this beach bike, especially with the taller gearing. There is only a very short moment between gears and then I'm on the way to spinning again.
Didn't come close to breaking a sweat (that there is a milestone in itself). Legs got a good workout and I made time in every instance. 3rd gear surprisingly enough is very doable. First gear is still good for parking lots and more, especially on one small incline that I took at a respectable rate without over pedaling or straining. Second gear is still good for Hollywood stops and getting on down the road. Was having a good ol' time, passed right by the intersection to my home to do some more. Still could have done a lot more, but I left my house door open with its storm door closed and I had to get back to my doglettes. It actually feels almost like... what's that word? ... Oh yeah... a bicycle! :0)

ArmChairRider

Phil's can turn a thread on a spoke.
https://philwood.com/products/tools/spokemach.php


Those fancy wheels are a little too expensive for me right now.
I got two options:
Buy steel
or keep trueing my wheels.
(If I get confident enough with trueing this wheel, at one point I may just build a wheel, as long as it is perfect, that's all I ask)
Whoops, third option:
Lose some serious poundage.
(Though that might still not be enough even at my idea weight)
Those are doable for me right now.

fietsbob

Less Money Bicycle Tools | C-700 SPOKE THREAD CHASER

But just buy a Mainstream replacement wheel with 36 spokes

Machine Build thru your L:BS... then they will do a little maintenance tensioning

after the sale and hand check it before you take it Home.

ArmChairRider

Might be the way to go.
I guess some of the logistics of me handing them my 3 speed hub would have to be dealt with.

fietsbob

Sturmey Archer Is promoting this as the better coaster brake Hub.

Sturmey-Archer | S1C Silver

[ IDK if your 3 speed is adequate cheap, or just thats what you have ]

also 3 Sturmey-Archer | S-RC3

& 5 speed IGH Sturmey-Archer | TS-RC5
Possible a distributor can ship a Built wheel for less than the parts cost if both are coming from your favorite retailer

ArmChairRider

Okay thanks,
I'll look into that.
Mine is a Shimano Nexus 3spd that came with the bike.

kingston 

I punched your gears into sheldon's calculator and came out with 49/66/90 Gear Inches assuming you have 26" wheels on your cruiser. 66 GI is a good cruising gear. I can see why you wouldn't like your previous setup at 42/58/79 GI. 58 is too low and 79 is too high. I run 39/52/69 on my Sturmey Archer 3 speed with 3rd as my cruising gear and two lower gears for hills. Something you may consider if you find yourself not using 3rd gear.

ArmChairRider

Thanks Kingston,
That's cool.
I got a Hookworm tire on a 26" wheel on the rear so it is a little taller than a 26" tire/wheel combo right now.
The fenders can just barely accommodate it and I have to punch the back of the wheel to make it go forward enough to drop the axle into the rear dropout. haa ha
Thanks for the link. I'll plug my tire in and see what I come up with.
Yes, it does make a great deal of difference.

fietsbob

A serious granny Gear is adding The Swiss Mountain drive 2 speed crank set.

ArmChairRider

They didn't have my tire size on Sheldon's calculator page so I went to the other table on his site showing the radius ratios and found one close to mine and plugged that tire and crank into the calculator.
Gain ratios: 3.9, 5.3, 7.2
Gear inches: 50.1, 68.4, 93.3

kingston 

While 68" is a good cruising gear, you'll need a good downhill to make use of the 93".

ArmChairRider

A barely perceptible but long enough decline in flatland works great.
Momentum is key.

MrWasabi

I'm thinking of a 3 speed myself here in FL. I'm not looking for super speed but want something geared more towards FL riding with a little more top speed when needed over a useless 1st gear. What's a good combo to shoot for if I replace the front and rear sprockets?

kingston 

Second gear in the 65-70" range seems like a good place to start. I'd keep whatever chainring is on there and find a couple of sprockets to get me in that range to see what works best.