Dutchie Dapper or Gazelle heavy duty NL ?

[mjr]

I've found a local chap who has a gazelle HD, he's kindly letting me have a test ride, though I don't know what size it is.
On looking at the specs they do a 54, then it jumps to a 59 - why no 56/57 ? [...]
Question about the nexus 7 speed hub on the Gazelle:- does it take grease or oil ? What kind ?And how often do you change it ?
Thanks again.

Disclaimer: I've not got that bike and never had that hub. Right?

The 5cm jump in frame sizes is probably because traditionally these sort of frames had 2" steps in sizes. If you're really in between sizes, you can futz a bit more with seatposts, stems and bar shapes to get it close enough for most people.

Officially, Nexus 7 hubs take an annual oil bath. Unofficially, semi-fluid grease flooding once and then a half-teaspoon more every few months is the best guess so far - excruciating detail with plenty of freak horror stories (including my own collapsing bearing) and links to other resources like hubstripping at https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=93935 - but I wouldn't do that if you want to keep the hub warranty as most servicers will probably freak out at the dark grey slime covering everything instead of the official black stuff.

 

[simon.r]

I've decided that it doesn't matter too much to me how much a bike weighs because between Nov 2015 and this morning, I've made the Dutchie another kg heavier (or more like 700g) by fitting a dynamo, two brake hubs (including the cabling and brackets for the back one) and substituting an X-RD3 for the Nexus 3, so now it's 19kg! It feels more responsive though, which seems strange.

Even so, it's not going to be the heaviest by far: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...overeign-buckingham-mens-classic-bicycle-20-5 claims the Pashley Sovereign is 20kg but that's the smallest of the three on http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/roadster-sovereign.php (which doesn't state weights) and I've some doubts about its accuracy, based on what I remember reading elsewhere. And then you get makes like Hercules or Atlas which seem difficult to lift...

A reasonable road bike may be two-thirds the weight and a race-spec one a third, but then they can't carry a passenger on the rear rack seat while towing a trailer... bikes are optimised for different jobs.

I posted this a while ago:

Out of interest I've just weighed my Sovereign. It's the 24.5" double top tube model, 8 speed, so I guess as heavy as they come. With panniers, D lock, empty shopping bags, a few tools, lights and a pump (i.e. in its normal state) it comes in at 29kg!

Having said that, on the trip home from Sainsbury's tonight with 30 bottles of beer, 2 bottles of wine and 4 cans of cider on board it would have weighed significantly more. And it performed faultlessly.

No wonder it takes more effort to pedal than my "best" bike which weighs about 9kg!

 

[Chess]

I've decided that it doesn't matter too much to me how much a bike weighs because between Nov 2015 and this morning, I've made the Dutchie another kg heavier (or more like 700g) by fitting a dynamo, two brake hubs (including the cabling and brackets for the back one) and substituting an X-RD3 for the Nexus 3, so now it's 19kg! It feels more responsive though, which seems strange.

Even so, it's not going to be the heaviest by far: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...overeign-buckingham-mens-classic-bicycle-20-5 claims the Pashley Sovereign is 20kg but that's the smallest of the three on http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/roadster-sovereign.php (which doesn't state weights) and I've some doubts about its accuracy, based on what I remember reading elsewhere. And then you get makes like Hercules or Atlas which seem difficult to lift...

A reasonable road bike may be two-thirds the weight and a race-spec one a third, but then they can't carry a passenger on the rear rack seat while towing a trailer... bikes are optimised for different jobs.

Hi mjr. Why did you upgrade the brakes ? Please post some pictures. Very interesting stuff this... .

 

[mjr]

Hi mjr. Why did you upgrade the brakes ? Please post some pictures. Very interesting stuff this... .

General pictures get posted to https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tales-from-todays-utility-ride.194502/ from time to time, like https://www.cyclechat.net/posts/4990629 and https://www.cyclechat.net/posts/4993785 - is there something specific you're looking for? I've ditched the plastic coatguard but not yet fitted the cloth one I bought. I guess winter is coming so maybe I ought. Edit: an earlier configuration with V-brakes shown in https://www.cyclechat.net/posts/4636656 - it looks like the coat guard was broken by then so it's taken me longer than I thought It still had the chaincase on in https://www.cyclechat.net/posts/4276570

I upgraded the front brake because it had V brakes and no dynamo when I bought it and the lovely @amasidlover gave me a XL-FDD hub. I upgraded the rear brake because I wanted to switch to a Sturmey Archer hub anyway, I suspect I've worn the driver on my Shimano hub by stomping on the backpedal a bit much (I'd prefer the sprocket only to push forwards so at worst it gets snug and sticks there, rather than rocking back and forth) and there was pretty much no price difference between the X-RD3 and S-RC3 when I was buying so the extra non-consumable cost was some new cable clips and a brake lever.

 

[simon.r]

Pashley's are excellent but only come with 3 or 5 speed Sturmey Archer hub gears. The Sovereign Roadster has 5 and those are a very 'kind' 5. Bomb proof and tackles any hills with ease very comfortable to ride. They are a tad heavy but I'd have nowt else.

The Sovereign is definitely available with an 8 speed Shimano hub and has been for about 2 years. See the specifications tab on this page: http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/roadster-sovereign.php

 

[petek]

The Sovereign is definitely available with an 8 speed Shimano hub and has been for about 2 years. See the specifications tab on this page: http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/roadster-sovereign.php

My bad and thanks for that heads up. I wonder how much the 8 speed is. 5 speed Sovereign Roadster is currently £695.

 

[simon.r]

My bad and thanks for that heads up. I wonder how much the 8 speed is. 5 speed Sovereign Roadster is currently £695.

£775 RRP (or £790 for the double top-tube 24.5” version).

 

[Chess]

Mjr linked this, ( see below) and to be honest i find it worrying. I've spent the last hour or so reading it.
I always thought hub gears were going to be more reliable than derailleurs ?
I'm not bothered about the lower maintenance, I don't mind it. The big advantage for me is the ability to change gear whilst stationary at lights ect - something I often get caught out with.
So, my question is:- how many miles can I expect from say a Nexus 7 ? Given that I'll be covering about 60 miles a week as it's my only transport and a replacement costs considerably more than a chain + cassette ect.
Which 7 or 8 speed do you guys recommend please for it's reliability / longevity ? I don't think a 3 speed will be enough for my requirements as I live in a very hilly area.
Cheers.


https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=93935

 

[mjr]

Mjr linked this, ( see below) and to be honest i find it worrying. I've spent the last hour or so reading it.
I always thought hub gears were going to be more reliable than derailleurs ?

They are. If you go browsing around that forum, you'll find far worse stories about some of the stuff we've done to our derailleurs! As I wrote when I linked it: freak horror stories.

So, my question is:- how many miles can I expect from say a Nexus 7 ? Given that I'll be covering about 60 miles a week as it's my only transport and a replacement costs considerably more than a chain + cassette ect.

Nobody really knows yet - the Nexus 7 was only released in 1995 and I suspect a lot of them are still rolling along...

A friend has a bike that I think has an Alfine 8 (model launched 2006) since a couple of years ago and it just works. He does over 100 miles a week although not all weeks are on that bike and I think he's just done the basic recommended servicing and taking it to a shop if it complains. I think that's the key thing: don't ever ride a hub gear when it's gone out of adjustment and troubleshoot it if it does ever start making strange noises - just because you can't see gears autoshifting or skipping or whatever doesn't mean it's not happening.

The smaller parts will probably wear out sooner than the legendary SA AW 3-speeds, but my 26-year-old one of those runs like it's nearly new, so it's all relative

Which 7 or 8 speed do you guys recommend please for it's reliability / longevity ? I don't think a 3 speed will be enough for my requirements as I live in a very hilly area.

If I was buying it on its own, I'd probably go for a SA X-RD8 but that's more my SA bias and local parts availability than any good reason. I wouldn't be in a rush to replace, say, an Alfine 8 if a bike I liked came with it. Choose the bike you enjoy riding rather than the hub.

(Edited to fix model name goof)

 

[Chess]

Thanks for that mjr.
I really like the gazelle HD, so im going for a look at them in York in a couple of weeks.
Good to know the hub gears will last too. I'm really sold by them, they can't be too bad if millions of Dutch ride using them in all weathers, been watching YouTube vids of them being ridden in snowstorms ( well impressed) with little to no maintenance, although I do intend to do regular cleaning and maintenance to keep it running smoothly as I enjoy working on my bike on a Sunday morning. It's my man shed time, then out for a tootle in the afternoon.
Thanks mate.