I built an old Sekine SHC into a SA AW 3 speed recently. I wanted a cruiser type bike with the speed and agility of a beater roadie. I simply laced the hub into a new rim - didn't change the axle or anything (standard 117mm O.L.D.), but did add a small spacer to the left side to help offset the resulting dish and to make the O.L.D. 120mm, which is what I squashed the frame down to (was 126mm). It works well, but the left side has only JUST enough axle protruding past the dropout. Give it a go - 3 speed roadies are fun!