So the short drop bars and stem (thanks Vinnyc!) arrived yesterday, so now it’s only missing a smaller sprocket for a bit more speed on the road, and some Scwalbe Smart Sam tyres for when it wants to go off road..

It was a singlespeed for a while (hence the sticker), but I finally got round to rebuilding the Sturmey with some new cones and a bit of float fluid oil lube action.. Gonna see how long it takes me to break the axle!

I’ll need a problem solver for when this lot gives up. It’s quite a weight of zip ties though, so I think it’ll last a while..

If you look closely just above the rear brake mount on my Pompino, you’ll see how I solved the cable problem for my S-A 3 speed.

You won’t break the axle. Mine has done a heap of offroad and singletrack.

I used a plastic P-clip from a reflector and an adjuster. By mounting it above the brake boss it can’t slip down.

I’ll take closeups if you want.

I like that! Is the adjuster from an old calliper brake then? It’s hard to make out from that pic. I’d have thought you could take one of those old adjusters and use it to close the clip. TBH, I’m probably going to keep with the down tube routing, as I’ve not hit it with my ankle yet. I’ll make up a little zip tie guide to pull it out the way and stop it rattling in the high gear.

The old incarnation of this bike had something similar going on:

But I was a bit worried that reaching round and changing gears would be taken as indicating by motorists!

EDIT: Volvo Claude Butler for sale!

I think that’s where the adjuster came from – can’t remember, but certainly looks like it.

I used to have my gear lever mounted like that too. The benefit – no need for an outer. 🙂

I liked it coz it was a sort of stealth Sturmey.. It well confused the London fashionistas!

What ratio does your belt drive end up as then? I’ve got 42/19 on there at the mo.. I was aiming for the top gear to slightly over-run the 42/16 that I had as a singlespeed, but middle ends up too low to be that useful. I’ve got a 17t and an 18t in the post though.

55/22

I generally aim to get the direct gear on a S-A to around 65″ which is a useful all purpose single speed road gear. That way bottom is around where i would have a ss mtb and top gear is about what I run my fixie at.

42/17 should be almost the same as that then, although I prefer to spin, so 18 might be the magic number.

I went by Sheldon Brown’s advice that you should be pedalling along mostly in top, and have 2 spare low gears.. But then what’s the point in having gears if you’re always going to spin out downhill? I’m used to SS, so grinding up hills isn’t a problem.

I am liking the fact that changing it into a CX bike will just involve a tyre swap, loosing the mudguards and a quick sprocket change.

Also liking the fact that we seem to have found a *real* niche here.. Nobody else seems bothered!

They’ll be common as much next week.. Mark my words!

Just do the belt drive conversion to preserve your niceness. 🙂

It is dead simple on a Pompino.

You can keep that niche..
I got a job lot of KMC 3/32 singlespeed chains.. 10 at £2 each! When they run out, I’ll think about it.
The other thing is those Gates rear sprockets are prone to shearing off.. The sprocket interface is designed for steel, not aly. Might have just been a batch problem though with the 2 I had to send back, but out of 2 bikes sold it wasn’t a great success rate!

I like it. I’ve got a pomp with an alfine 8 jammed in the back. Favorite bike as it always just works!

I like that, looks great.

Very cool.

I was thinking about a sturmey coaster 3 speed on mine, and really like the idea of the ‘stealth sturmey’ shifter location.

Interesting!
One question if you don’t mind, why Sturmey?

I run a 3-speed Shimano Nexus hub gear with coaster brake on my commuter (Kona Bike) and it’s superb. The coaster brake is excellent in traffic – you can go from brake to accelerate in an instant. Also a lot kinder on knees than a fixie (which I used to run).
With a Hebie chainglider and a hub-dynamo, it’s about as low maintenance as you can get.

StirlingCrispin – Member
…One question if you don’t mind, why Sturmey?…

I’ve seen old S-A hubs with over 50,000 miles on them and still working perfectly. You can buy individual small parts for them if necessary rather than a complete assembly.

I’m sure the Shimano 3 speed is just as good though.

why Sturmey?

It cost me a fiver, and it fits in a 120mm spaced frame… Mind you, I’ve got the frame because of the wheels, so that doesn’t really count as a reason! If I ever end up doing something very long distance I might get a sturmey 8 speed, as they come in a 120 flavour as well. Once they’re worn in (at about 2000 miles, apparently!) they have very low drag, especially if oil lubricated.
And, as epicyclo said, it should have a longer lifespan than my knees.

Epicyclo, is your rear sprocket a 2 part thing? It looks that way on your bigger pic.