Just built this on the weekend. This is gonna be my townie/commuter from now on.


Made almost entirely out of stuff I had lying around. Frame, wheels, bottom bracket, brakes, stem, bars and pedals all found for free.
Saddle, post and cranks from a hand-me-down (also free). I replaced the threaded rear hub with a Sturmey Archer AW I found on eBay, fashioned a cable splicer out of a pinch bolt and a finishing nail so that I don't need the special double-ended shifter cables. I also McGuyvered a rough pulley for the cable and attached it to the seatpost binder.
I had a 5-speed SIS/friction shifter that has exactly the right spacing between 1st and 5th to match the SA hub's clutch travel (I made sure there was no chance of gear-grinding or slipping). Bar wrap was just left over.



I need to go find a good rack for the back, then I've got a wire basket someone gave me wine in a couple Christmases ago that's going on top of it (the rear brake is on the inside of the triangle because of interference with the shift cable and possibly with a rack) and hopefully I can rig up a front rack too. Also it needs some fenders and lights.

I like it a lot already, even though the frame feels as dead than the beaver I posted in the roadkill thread. The only things I paid for were the SA hub, a fresh shifter cable and the chain (technically I paid for the tires in the summer, too).

I love the sound of an AW.