I'm new...here.
I want to re-lace my wheel and change-out the 8 speed cassette and hub for a 3 speed, with brake, on a 24 speed touring bike.
I don't need all the gears, and I'd end up with a 9 speed bike I guess.
I really could use the extra brake in the 3 speed hub as I travel heavily loaded and don't have disk brakes.
Anyone done this, any ideas ? I know I'll need a chain tensioner already.
2008 Specialized Globe commuter converted to touring
james
So 3 speed internal in the back and 3 chainrings in the front? I don't think that will work very well due to chainline issues and the amount of slack you'd have to adjust for in the chain. I think you would also end up with a very wide gear range with huge jumps between each gear.
When people want to reduce the total number of gears and simplify a bike, they usually take off the front derailleur and just go single in the front, but leave the rear gears alone.
Is the main issue that you want a hub brake? If you can lock up your rear wheel with your current brakes, a hub brake won't be anymore powerful. But they are better when you have to brake for long periods as they don't build up heat in the same dangerous way and work a little better in wet conditions than rim brakes. If you want more braking power, you may be able to upgrade your existing brakes and get some improvement.
Maybe give us a better sense of what you want to achieve.
What type of hub brake will this be? If it is the normal "pedal backwards to brake" type: You cannot do this with more than one chain ring, as you need something to tension the chain correctly and you'll bend this thing when braking... the Sturmy Archer hub looks like it works this way, so be careful.
I don't know the new SA 8 speed hub, but I am familiar with several of the nexus and Sram 7 speed hub models. It seems Sram have less trouble with every day use, all kinds of weather. Somehow they rust less and water doesn't seem to enter the internal parts that easy. Some Nexus models are good, but many of them have had issues with the capsule that protects from dust and water to enter the system, and it really ruins the whole thing. It is hard to find a guy who knows how, and are willing to do a proper cleaning, regreasing and repair a faulty hub. What most often fails in the Nexus hub beside water, rust and proper care, is the brakes (coaster/pedal type). It consists of two or three cone shaped parts held together with a metal spring, and it either breaks or goes out of place. This cone shaped brake part is much smaller than what you might be used to see in a single speed or older three speed hub. Sram models seem to have less trouble with this. These hubs are generally very good, and long lasting though.