Evening all,

The current project is, as the title suggests, a commuter bike with an internally geared hub of some description.

I have the frame, itīs the remnants of a Winoura trekking bike that was dumped on the street minus its wheels and covered in dog do and sick. The initial clean up and strip down revealed a nice Tange frameset, I will post photos later but, so you have an idea of what Iīm building up, itīs a bit like a Cross Check with a marginally longer top tube. No dents or rust. Headset is fine and the BB runs smooth.

The frame has longish horizontal dropouts with a slight slant. Rear spacing is 126mm.

Questions:

Crankset. Iīm looking to enclose the drivetrain as much as possible so I imagine I need an IGH specific one - but which would you recommend? Square taper preferred. The existing BB īworeī a Shimano triple crankset, would I need to swap it out for a shorter spindle - I have a road double cartridge BB in the parts bin - or is there another standard for an IGH specific crankset, spindle-length wise?

Chain cover. I know absolutley nothing about these things so would love to hear your recommendations.

Rear hub. Budget wise I canīt stretch to a Rohloff, so itīs going to be Shimano 7- or 8-speeds unless someone can suggest otherwise. Or even 5, if one comes my way. Iīve never enjoyed riding a 3 speed so thatīs out.

Chainline. I would imagine this is dictated by the rear sprocket? Does one space the crank accordingly?

Thanks in advance all for any advice, suggestions and input, and sorry if any of these questions seem a bit daft.

Simon