Drop bars and hub gears

[Woz!]

Does anyone have any experience of this on a single bike?
I'm starting to think that I'm looking for the impossible, but surely someone must have made one?

I'm thinking of getting a Roadrat with drop bars for commuting, but I really want hub gears because being able to change while stationary strikes me as a big plus. I'm currently doing a 12 mile each way commute on an old Raleigh racer with a six speed external mech on it and I find the range perfectly adaquate, so I think I could probably make do with a five speed hub and a big ring at the front.
The reason I'm thinking that a 5-speed might be enough is because a S-A 5 speed changer is the old style seperate 'switch' thingy and this might be able to be placed on the frame in the same place where an old-style racer has its changers.

Anyone got any experience of this, or am I insane?

 

[tyred]

No reason why not. Many old club racers had SA hubs and drop bars.

 

[tyred]

The only thing you need to check out is the rear axle spacing. Your bike is probably 10mm wider between the drop outs than a typical SA equipped bike. You would need a hub with a long axle (I think some had longer than others) and some 3/8" washers as spacers.

 

[Woz!]

No reason why not. Many old club racers had SA hubs and drop bars.

I think it was more common a while ago, but the more recent hub gears all have fancy integrated shifters that simply won't fit on a drop bar. This is why I'm looking at the more old school S-A 5 speed (and possibly 3 speed at a stretch!)

The only thing you need to check out is the rear axle spacing. Your bike is probably 10mm wider between the drop outs than a typical SA equipped bike. You would need a hub with a long axle (I think some had longer than others) and some 3/8" washers as spacers.

Cheers! I'll look into that.

 

[mickle]

The SA 5 speed was never very reliable or easy to set up compared to the bomb proof 3 speed. I'm a big fan of SRAM (formerly Sachs) hubs, take a peek at their range (especially the new nine speed) which measure 130mm OLND. As for the shifter, Thorn and other builders often fit 14spd Rholloff hubs to drop bar equipped bikes. The rotating shifter is fitted on to a stub 'handlebar' which is attached on to the stem.

 

[John the Monkey]

This one pairs an Alfine hub with STis;

http://www.bikeworldnews.com/index.php/2009/03/15/worlds-internally-geared-road-bike/

By combining Shimano’s Alfine 8-speed hub with the new Versa integrated shift-brake lever for Shimano’s internal hub, Dynamic has found a way to blend the lightweight performance of a road bike with the inherent simplicity of internal gearing.

 

[Arch]

I think it was more common a while ago, but the more recent hub gears all have fancy integrated shifters that simply won't fit on a drop bar. This is why I'm looking at the more old school S-A 5 speed (and possibly 3 speed at a stretch!)

There is now a bar end shifter for an 8 spd hub, available from St Johns Street cycles I think. A bit pricey, but it is out there...

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-...and-Nexus-Internal-Hubs--Right-Hand-19504.htm

 

[biking_fox]

John that Synergy looks absolutely lovely.

I've been looking at getting a Rohloff but so far put off by the MTb frames and bars they fit them to. Maybe I'll go for the Alfine instead.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Have you thought of putting a butterfly bar on? Loads more positions and will take a thumbshifter.

 

[mickle]

I thought we had all come to the conclusion that butterfly bars are plain wrong.

 

[tyred]

I've no personal experience of the 5 speed SA but Sheldon Brown says the hub itself was never the problem, the shifters were and that they can be made to work perfectly reliable with a normal 3 speed trigger shifter on one side and an old friction derailleur shifter on the other side. This works as there are only two positions for one cable and the other works exactly like a normal 3 speed.

 

[Woz!]

This one pairs an Alfine hub with STis;

http://www.bikeworldnews.com/index.php/2009/03/15/worlds-internally-geared-road-bike/

Nice, but it's well over a grand!

 

[John the Monkey]

I'd imagine that the VRS-8 lever will be on the market separately at some point though - the Alfine and Nexus hubs are already available as aftermarket items, of course.

 

[Piemaster]

I thought we had all come to the conclusion that butterfly bars are plain wrong.

They are. I have one on my bike. Not pretty but does the job for me.

Back OT. I'm slowly gathering together bits for an On One Pompino with an Alfine hub and drop bars.
Dropouts on my frame are spaced for mtb so no problem there.
Instead of using any spacers for the headset I'm intending to fit two stems, one for the drop bars, and one to hold a short length of straight bar to carry the shifter (front light as well maybe). Might require a bit of experimenting to get everything right but can't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[MacB]

Woz, search on my user name, Hubgearfreak and Piemaster and you'll find quite a bit of info. The Cotic, like the Surly Crosscheck, frame has 132.5mm drop outs which can take 130 or 135mm hubs.

My SRAM 9 speed isn't fully built yet, front wheel and chainset required, but I believe Mickle now has an SRAM hub and so does HGF.

Shifters I quite like the little stubby extra flat bar, like a high up down tube shifter position, for the twist shifter, if sticking with drop bars. I'm afraid I'm a butterfly bar convert, having bought a second set already.

To see pretty comprehensive hub gear info try:-

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/internal-gear-hub-review/

or

http://www.hubgear.net/

Sheldon is also good for info, especially when looking at selecting your cog and chainring size...good luck