agg1337

i know what single speed is, just didnt know what he was abbreviating. thanks for clarifying the IGH, i honestly didnt even know they existed. it seems like an awesome piece of hardware and has definitely captured my interest. my guess is that theyre way expensive...and way out of my knowledge bracket.

rhm

Rohloff's 14 speed hub is over a thousand bucks, but you can pick up old 3 speed hubs --which are nearly indestructible-- dirt cheap. The Sturmey Archer AW hub, introduced in 1936, is the most famous. They were made until a few years ago with no major design changes. A slightly modernized version is still in production.

noglider 

The Sturmey Archer AW hub is incredibly reliable and durable. They typically need NO maintenance at all for decades. They just work and work. You're supposed to put oil them every few weeks, but most people don't, and they still work most of the time. I'm riding a 49 year old English three speed bike, and everything is original. Look at the pictures. There is one sprocket and no derailleur. You could run one of these. An AW hub goes for about $25, and there's little reason to care how old it is. Mine is from 1962 and runs like new.

With an IGH, you can shift while pedaling or coasting or stopped at a light. I usually shift into first after I stop so I can make a quick start. I love it.

The 5 speeds are nice. The 8 speeds look fantastic. You can get one with a drum brake for $170. You get a lot for your money, and it's all the gears you need. 21-speed bikes and the like really only have a few useful gears.

agg1337

IGHs seem awesome. its the most fun thing I've learned about in a long time. Thanks dudes!

Would the Survey Archer SW hub work with everything else my bike has? Things like the shifters, and front derailleur setup? I feel like I'm grasping the mechanics of a bike easy enough, but the compatibility between different products keeps me lost.

rhm

No, you'd have a different shifter (there's a few to chose from) and just one chain ring, no front derailleur.

noglider 

Disadvantages to IGH's:

- they're a bit heavier
- they introduce a bit more friction
- they're more expensive


I build my bikes from stuff I collect, and most of them come with derailleurs. Or I buy derailleurs cheap or get them free. So I haven't bought an IGH in over 30 years. The one time I bought one was when I replaced an AW (3 speed) hub with a S5 (5 speed) hub in a Raleigh Twenty (a folding bike).

But they're really sensible, and I'm thinking harder about them.

agg1337

update 7-8-11:

Derailleur hanger threads officially shot...probably going to try the IGH. what are my options for shifters? everywhere i read kept saying they used twist shifting and that clearly wont work for me? im not a fan of the bar end shifters so i hope thats not my only option.

agg1337

Update 7-11-11:

Since the hanger threads were beyond (cost effective) repair, ive officially decided to make this bike a single speed. today i ground off the hanger and the shifter posts.

Hanger gone:


Posts gone:


had to use a dremel with 1 cutting wheel and 1 grinding wheel. thats literally all i had access to today so it might look kinda sketchy.

printing vinyl within a day or two.

anyone have experience with plasti-dip?

Mike Mills

When I was studying IGH's, I came across the Rolhoff hubs. That IGH is probably the exception to your rule, Tom (which I otherwise agree with). Try as I might, I just could not bring myself to buy a Rolhoff. They seem to be a technological marvel but:

- they're a LOT heavier
- they're VERY expensive
- require a special dropout on the bike or some wierd bracket
- require TWO shifter cables
- have a strange shifter housing

They just weren't sensible (to me). I thought long and hard and decided to Not get a Rolhoff IGH.


I think the Rolhoff IGH needs a little bit of work. Failing that, I suspect they will always be extremely rare.

rhm

Re Rohloff....

The Rohloff hub is also noisy and is said to require over a thousand miles of "break-in" to get to peak performance.

The weight thing is, in my opinion, a red herring. Yes, they weigh more than a regular hub; but you have to compare the weight of the whole system they replace, which includes all the rear gearing, all but one of the chain rings, both derailleurs, longer crank spindle, and so on.

I'm sure Rohloff specific dropouts are a vast improvement but they'll work in any dropout. Vertical dropouts will require a chain tensioner (which sucks).

Two cables doesn't seem so bad when you figure you're replacing two derailleurs, each of which has a cable. The technical reasons for the two cables is pretty obvious, and it makes for much better shifting.

But despite what I've just said, I must admit that it can be a major pain to set a Rohloff up on a bike that wasn't designed for one, and you will end up with a somewhat cludgy setup with zip ties holding cables where they dont seem to belong, a cable clamp on the chain stay, and so on.

And you can't get a Rohloff shifter for a drop bar.

Re IGH in general...
I don't believe they introduce more friction. They are more expensive than cheap crap, but compared to expensive crap they don't seem so bad. And the weight thing again... just not a big deal.

katezila

I'm glad you're going through with this! Can't wait to see more!
You could go for a flip flop single speed and fixed, and if you don't like the vinyl you can probably fetch a pretty penny on CL in the hipster market.
I like the idea of the text being blended with the grain. Maybe a nice organic script that could pass for part of the grain. The sort of thing you only notice once you stop to look.

agg1337

Reviving my thread once again!

Last thursday (7-14-11) i finally decided to dedicate some more time to this project. While i haven't really gotten anything substantial done, i did get to mess around with that Plasti Dip stuff that i mentioned interest in a few posts back.

I decided to dip my brake levers just as an excuse to mess with the stuff. by the look of things they came out just fine and i am happy with them. I was then left with a lot of extra plasti dip...soooooo i decided to do a little more experimenting.

the seat that came off of this bike was is poor poor shape. the leather was falling off of the foam, the top had a few holes in it, and the staples were rusting away. instead of just pitching the seat, i removed the leather and staples and was left with the foam mold of what once was a complete seat. i then proceeded to spray the Plasti Dip over the foam in hopes of forming a suitable barrier between the foam and the world. i think i succeeded. \

Here are some pics:

levers:




seat:




aside from a few places where the Plasti Dip settled over some missing foam (obvious in pictures), the seat came out really great. it is very flexible but tough...plus it saved me some money. now i just have to see if it holds up to some use.

realestvin7

Your butt ain't going nowhere where you're sitting on that thing!

agg1337

3-29-12
Revival...again...

Its been 6 months since ive posted and/or done anything with the bike this thread revolves around. FINALLY printed the wood grin vinyl and am going to start applying tomorrow. Ill get some pictures of my progress once i get to the shop in the AM. hopefully there will be some remaining interest in this little project of mine. wish me luck...

JesusBananas

Ooh, neat project. Didn't know about this thread. I'm interested to see the final product!

agg1337

Update 3-30-12:

Here is the wood grain I chose. I'm thinking about painting all of the lugs tan just incase I can't get them wrapped well enough.

JReade

I'm anxious to see how this turns out.. the frame seems like a very good candidate, especially after the hanger is fubared anyway..

agg1337

Update 3-30-12:

Put some enamel on the possible "problem areas". Need to let it dry overnight, then ill start the vinyl tomorrow.

conradpdx

What about the pick guard and Tuners?

agg1337

The problem with trying to make it look like 2 different types of wood is in the vinyl. Seaming 2 obviously different patterns together is so so obvious. The "organic look" gets lost in printing...

agg1337

Update 3-37-12:

Started applying vinyl today. its going pretty smoothly. hopefully ill get the vinyl done tonight and rebuild it tomorrow. i think the LBS is closed on sundays tho and i need some parts so it may have to wait.

heres a couple pics:

brockd15 

Nice work, looks like it going on really well.

NormDeplume

Can't wait to see this put back together.

mbbiker

NICE! looks amazing so far can't wait to see it finished.

agg1337

Update 3-3-12:

Clear coat is on. Rebuilding has begun. 18t freewheel baught. 40t up front. Almost everything else will be the stock/original '86 Le Tour parts. Sorry for the phone picture but i left my camera at work.