Internal geared hubs?

Anyone built up a bike using a modern 8 speed geared hub? I have been thinking about this for a while.
The clean lines and smoothness of a SS but with 8 gears would be ideal.
The spacing on my frame is for a 120mm hub but the geared hubs are 135mm. Would this squeeze into my frame with some persuasion?
Any other problems i could encounter?

dunno about spacing and all that,
im running one this year in a Gary Fisher Paragon 29er,
its sweet, really smooth and like the simplicity of it,
surf the 29er thread for info,
oh and Im obliged to tell you to use the fucking search function, theres already thread on this subject.

found some threads on 3sp sturmey archer but not modern 8sp hubs.

what is the axle width of the hub you are running?

I dunno, it fits in the standard MTB frame,let me go and measure the bastard.....

its like about 125 mil between the inside edge of the frame, bearing in mind it has a rotor on too. why am I even doing this cant you find out from a geek somewhere on a tech forum?
all you need to know is my 20 10 29er is the only one of its kind in the world , runs sweet as a nut, and goes fast as lightning.

Nice one....cheers for the info.

the other thing is,
there is a yawning chasm between 5/6 gear,
so buy a Rohloff.

or just ride fixed and HTFU

rohloffs weigh more than a sack off bricks though, then again most internal hub do...
plus, if something goes wrong inside, you've got to find someone who will take the fucker apart.
oh and of course as mf said, HTFU.

the simplicity of it,

simplicity?

How would you like to buy my charge tap off me so you can give it a go?

How would you like to buy my charge tap off me so you can give it a go?

What size and how much?

do it! its a bargain, remember n+1, lets have a happy ending.....leave it with you.

^^Its a small (54cm). £350.

^^Its a small (54cm). £350.

too small for me. good price though.

Don't most Sturney hubs gears fit 120mm spacings? Do they do an 8 speed?

[googling that now]

Bingo
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/products/hubs/cid/5/id/6/specs/1

didn't read the thread, so may be missing somethign, but if you squeeze a 135 into a 120 you're going to have to adjust your current chainline by a whopping 7.5mm, likely, unless there's some way to adjust the placement of the cog in back... not sure. at the worst it'll be impossible. at the best it'll be adjustable at the back. Most likely you'll just have to deal with it up front and thats going to be a pain in the ass

I have the charge tap. right now, I am having massive issues with it. On any kind of gradient and full weight (ok, I admit... more than most!) it skips like buggery. Chain is correct tension, and the indexing is correct

It definitely feels like its slipping in the hub.

Soon as I can, im getting a single speed built up and will run with that

Just my 2 pence worth..

didn't read the thread, so may be missing somethign, but if you squeeze a 135 into a 120 you're going to have to adjust your current chainline by a whopping 7.5mm, likely, unless there's some way to adjust the placement of the cog in back... not sure. at the worst it'll be impossible. at the best it'll be adjustable at the back. Most likely you'll just have to deal with it up front and thats going to be a pain in the ass

This^

I read somewhere that an alfine set-up weighed the same as a XT set-up. This made me think that from an off-roading perspective, all this weight would be over the rear contact patch, which is great. But with only eight gears, you are basically in between single speeding simplicity, and multi gear smooth cadence. This appeals to me, it may not to others.

Also you can change gear when stationary, which is cool.
Your chain wrap is better.
Your chain line never changes.

I'm planning on putting together a extra rear wheel for my single speed 29er, with an alfine. Getting to distant trails with uber long cranks and 55 gear inches is a bit of a PITA.

^ I have a charge duster 8 which uses the Alfine set up. I would reccomend it to anyone as a no fuss trail bike. There is more than enough of a spread of gearing and changes are smooth and quick. Altho it doesn't like changing under load - especially into the smaller gears. You do get used to this tho.

No problem with a Rohloff going wrong. Lifetime guarantee! Send the wheel back to the factory and they can repair it and turn it around in under a week.

Also, you can run internal gearing with a triple crankset.

Why won't someone buy it then! I want money for a road bike.

Convert your tap to a road bike? you can get STI shifter for the internal geared hubs;