Yep, considering the bar end shifter and this elegant design move, I think Sturmey's engineers deserve a raise.
One thing though, to achive a spread of 56.6 to 90.5 gear inches with a 42 tooth ring, a 13 tooth cog is required. The smallest freewheels that fit standard thread are 16 tooth, right? So freewheeling will entail a significantly lower gearing without some fiddling with chainrings.

This is a minor gripe though. I'm still very excited.

bikes_direct, make sure to place a huge OEM order to ensure production of this hub for the rest of us!