Thanks, alr! I would love to have help. The wheelset is by far the most expensive thing about the bike, when you add in both hubs, rims, spokes and labor. That's nearly $400 on a good day. Saving anything I can really helps. I always laugh when someone suggests to another rider that they "just get a new wheel." Depending on the bike and hub, that can be crazy expensive for most folks.

My rims will be $70 shipped. The spokes are $72 at the bike shop (stupid stainless steel goodness!). Labor is $55 a rim. Hubs... around $200, and that's with the discount my friend is snagging for me. Sheesh!

I think, though I respect Tom and rhm a great deal, that the tiny chainring is just a deal-breaker to me. Like brifters are to some other folks: I just don't like the look, no matter how nice the resulting ride is. Just don't like it, and will always eye it with dislike. So unless I covered it completely, which would entail a new chainguard and a lot of fussing, it isn't worth it. According to another thread on the Forum, the full cases don't fit the Sports without major hassles. I'm going to go with working with what I already have. It doesn't make sense to fiddle with this when I already have a working chainguard that simply requires a normal chainring to be effective.

I rode the Nexus 7 again today on the Viva. Didn't get above the fourth gear. It shifts fine, but I don't know... there's just something appealing about an SA, as you all agree, I'm sure. I could just go with a Nexus 7, which has very even, small steps between the gears, and will only cost me $20 more than the SA 5 (same price as the SA 8), but I like the look of the SA hub and the weight loss and the thumb shifter and...