Moving rear sprocket outward

Question

I'm trying to fit a Veer Split Belt to my old city bike. However, I have noticed that the front and rear sprockets are not well aligned. I can't move the front sprocket inwards, so the only way to align both sprockets is to move the rear sprocket outwards. My rear wheel has a Sturmey Archer 3 Speed internal gear hub. Is it possible to move the rear sprocket outwards?

Answer 1

Looking at their site, it appears Veer doesn't offer offset 3-notch type cogs. That's one approach if it existed.

You could downsize both gears to get clearance up front while keeping the gearing you want. That's expensive but perhaps the simplest mechanically.

You have clearance to give in back, so you could pursue the option of respacing the hub and re-dishing the wheel. Thinner 3/8x24 locknuts exist, so the question becomes does the thinnest viable option give you the beltline you need. On the hub setup end, I believe with this SA hub you wouldn't have to do anything more involved than go to a push rod that's shorter by the thickness lost. (They come in all different lengths to accommodate different dropout thicknesses).

Adding a dimple to the chainstay is not as crazy an idea as typically assumed, and you could probably get 4mm or so further in up front this way. A good way is a c-clamp, a pill-shaped slug of solid steel (cow magnet) for the business end, and a block of wood with a groove cut in to support the chainstay on the backside. The paint will flake and it will be scary and it is at your own risk, but it almost always works.