Originally Posted by
thebigkick
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This is great advice that has just recently smacked me in the face. I love this bike yet I've recently been falling for a beautiful Eddy Merckx and possibly a Colnago. Thing is I've invested all this money in very specific components that may not fit a newer or different bike. Lesson learned. I guess that's life.
But I'm still happy with the Benotto. Except I'm now going to redo the drivetrain. The Sturmey Archer S2C isnt cutting it.
The loud clank when braking and when you hit just minor bumps in the pavement the gears shift.
Thinking of a Phil Wood rear hub, SA 3speed (Austin has lots of hills) or SA 5 speed and some brakes from Paul Components in the near future.
S2C (with spokes) will be up on Craigslist/eBay soon.
I think that putting a multi-speed (well at least more than 2 gears) hub on that bike is a good idea. I've seen the hills in Austin... Some of them are BIG! Unless you gear the bicycle very low and plan to coast down all the hills, I'm not sure a 3-speed will be sufficient in Austin. A SA AW with a 44t chainwheel and a 24t cog will yield you 37/50/66 gear inches so on the flats you'll be a little undergeared. If you use the same chainwheel and cog with a X-RD5(w) you'll get 31/37/50/66/79 gear inches, a slightly more useful combination though there is no gear that puts me as close as I'd like to the 70 gear inch mark. Changing to a 22t rear cog results in 34/41/54/72/86 which is pretty workable gearing, at least for me.