2,600km on an 8 speed bike? I am about to go off on a 2,600km tour from Austia through Italy, finish in Malta. I originally planned to do this solo trip on my Giant Trance x2 full suspension but decided not to since it is too high maintenance.

So after a lot of searching (budget being the greatest restriction), I have chosen a Bianchi Hybrid camaleonte http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bianchi/camaleonte-iii-alfine-2009-hybrid-bike-ec019250. Now I'm confused, since it only seems to have 8 gears!

What are your thoughts on the bike? Would you recommend adding on new chain rings if it is possible? 

Thanks

How many km per day are planning? 200km

Are you going to ride over the passes? Yes

What gear are you going to carry? Tent, clothes and cooking stuff

Will you have other riders with you? no

What level of riding and touring experience do you have? I've done 2,000 km in 9 days on a high-end mtb

...and it only has one chain ring, os it is a 1x8 setup..in the mountains :S

Should I look at another bike? It is looking like it! Or is it easy to add 2 other chain rings to the bike?

Thanks
Ian
The problem won't be the number of gears. Even 3 could be enough - if they were the right ones and you don't mind being slower. More important is the range, the difference between the lowest and the highest gear.

The range of the Alfine 8 speed hub is higher than what you would get of a traditional chain derailleur with only 8 gears (1 front, 8 rear). But its lower than the range of an Alfine 11 speed, a Rohloff hub or a common mtb setup.

I use an Alfine 8 speed on my commuter. I only really use gears 4 to 8. 4 or 5 are perfect to start from traffic lights, 8 is perfect on a slight descent.

The cog can be replaced to shift the gears in one direction (I plan to install a smaller one to get the used gears more to the middle, leaving the highest gear for faster descents or tail winds). That is not however something you can easily do on the road.

Whether the gear range fits your needs can be simulated with your other bike. There exist some gear ratio calculators online, most of them include the common internal gear hubs. Plug in the values of your Trance (wheel size, cassette sizes, ...) and find the ratios that correspond to the gears on the Bianchi (I think my Alfine came with a 20 teeth cog ... might be 22). Then try if those gears are right for what you expect on your trip.