So I picked it up last night. It's in pretty good shape for a police auction bike, needs a bit of a tune up but that's about it. One thing I'll mention about Avenir - cheap ass components. Really cheap. Other than that it rides well. My girlfriend who's been a nay sayer on the whole folding bike thing was suprised at how well it rides. It doesn't really fit me well but then again, I'm 6'3".
Now the nitty gritty. The rear wheel Over Locknut Dimension looks like it's just a hair under 110 mm (rough measurement). This is going to limit my options for internal hub. I was hoping for the Shimano Nexus 8 speed but it looks like that'll be out of the question. The Sturmey Archer X-RF8 has an OLN dimension of 116 mm so I guess that's a maybe. The X-RF5 has an OLN dimension of 113.7 mm so it's probably a better bet for fit. And, of course there's the SA AW 3 speed. It has an OLN dimension of 107.7 which is pretty much a perfect fit.
Looking at the chain ring it had 52 stamped on it so I'm guesing it has 52 teeth. Does that sound right? Using
Sheldon Brown's gear inch calculator I can get the following:
Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed:
With a 18T rear sprocket I'd get a range of 43.3" to 77" Not too bad I suppose.
Sturmey Archer X-RF5:
With a 17T rear sprocket I'd get a range of 38.1" to 85.7"
With a 15T rear sprocket I'd get a range of 43.2" to 97.1"
Sturmey Archer 8 speed might be geared a tad bit high:
With a 23T rear sprocket I'd get 45.2" to 137.9".
With a 25T rear sprocket I'd get 41.6" to 126.9".
On my Cannondale Bad Boy I usually use the middle chain ring which has a range of about 28" to 86" so I'm thinking the 5 speed may be the way to go. Does anyone know the OLN dimensions for the SRAMs or Shimanos?