Originally Posted by
weshigh
Since the Sirius doesn't have a small enough front crank set to work with the Sturmey Archer right now it's getting to the point of too expensive to make that conversion happen. Dangerously close to new bike prices by the time its all said and done. So for the time being I think I am going to upgrade my daily commuter to the Nexus or Alfine IGH...
The Shimano 8 is a great hub, but don't do a conversion based around it to save money. A quick price check indicates (in general, depending on where you buy them) an XRF8(W) + FCS80 is still a little less $$ than an SG-8R36 and a fair bit less than an SG-S501. The Sturmey hub also comes with a (twist) shifter, not included with the Shimanos, but if you want to use the Jtek with a drop bar that's moot.