The much vaunted Sturmey Archer XRF8 hub gear..please help

[bongofury66]

My wife's new bike (a Summer Mist...lovely dutch /sit up and beg type thing) has a SA 8 speed hub gear.. Ist gear is as low ratio as it gets ......direct drive - 40 chainwheel and 20 sprocket...60 inches. She ain't happy!! Ordered a 25 tooth sprocket which according to the blurb is as big as I can change to. It would be very expensive to change crank/chainwheel as they are integral to each other. Does anybody please have some ideas how you adjust these things/change sprockets....even take the bloody rear wheel out..............or will it have to be a bike shop job?. I am just hoping that she des not get a rear wheel puncture. Wonder why I ride a fixie??>??

Any help please!!!!!!

many thanks

Tim

 

[Piemaster]

Does seem a tad high (I've just had a look at sheldons site) Maybe someone else knows more but isn't one of the applications of the hub small-wheel folders? would help explain the ratios

Could you fit a smaller chainset? Like this maybe? If 33T isn't small enough you could try one of these:

 

[betty swollocks]

Done a bit of Googling: looks like the SA 8 speed was designed for small wheels. You won't get the gearing as low as you probably need and v small chainrings risk breaking the hub gear because of the high torque loading.
Netherlands is flat.

 

[bongofury66]

Thanks, both of you. I am at least going to keep the 40 at the front but go for a 25 at the rear. Any best guess whether I could get away with a 36 at the front........the Nexus looked good but I think the chainline could be tricky. Do wish i knew what I was doing!! Blackpool is flat (known as Little Holland)...........but those pesky south westerlies. Thanks again