Originally Posted by
invisiblehand
I recall you writing about a 5 speed hub but that there was something outside the driveside dropout. I've seen a few photos but don't recall anyone discussing the driveside thingy with respect to the fold.
Using Sheldon's calculator and the Sturmey Archer Brompton special wide three speed hub, 12-15-17 and 13-15-17 cassettes seem to produce a decent spreads. One would still have to do a double shift -- IGH and derailer -- to smoothly move up the gears; but I'd think that the additional range and choice with the rear cassette would make it less frequent.
The 5-sp hub looks exactly the same on the outside as a 3-sp one. So that is my one option for extended gearing. I also have a Schlumpf speed drive, giving 20 somewhat overlapping gears. Not sure if I would ever use that combination though. The Schlumpf is a first step to giving 2 lower gears with a smallish chainring, say a 38t.