Originally Posted by hbob
How does the low gear on the internal gear Shimano compare to the stock gearing on the Downtube FS?
I live in the hills.
Hbob
That's one of the beauties of the hubgear ... you can easily tailor your gear range by just replacing the rear sprocket.. The stock Downtube runs 46 11/28 drivetrain(254%) giving you approximately 32 to 81 gear inches.. The new Shimano 8spd hub has a 307% gear range.. if you wanted to keep the top 81 gear inch figure using the Shimano, your low would be 26 gear inches... if you wanted a lower range, you could change the rear sprocket to say a 21t and would have a low around 21 gear inches.. hub sprockets are cheap and available from vendors like Sheldons.
Bruce