Hub gear advice

[annirak]

I had a NuVinci N330 hubgear, but it has effectively worn out. I want to switch to something that's got more positive engagement, and maybe higher efficiency.

My use case is commuting with a trailer, all weather, about 22km/14 miles per day. I have a couple of steep up-hills, but they're short.

For a frame, I have a Foffa Nuvinci Black, which is a steel disc brake bike, with a belt-compatible frame, an eccentric bottom bracket, and downward-facing dropouts. It has flat bars and a quill stem.

Ideally, what I want is: a gear hub (not another enviolo hub), something that works with drop bars (probably not yet), not a grip shifter, low/scheduled maintenance, belt compatible. My budget is <=£500, which rules out Rohloff, and Kindernay, and probably points me squarely at Nexus/Alfine.

Reading about alfine & nexus, most of the complaints seem to be related to indexing problems with the shifter. The di2 system is supposed to fix this and be the lowest maintenance option for Shimano hubgear shifting. That said, the cost of the di2 parts seems really outsized; it appears to cost about £500 for just the di2 parts, not even counting the hub, and that's a basic shifter, not STI shifters. So unless I am misunderstanding di2, it looks like it totally blows my budget.

I've also seen concerns that Alfine isn't good for heavy use, like with trailers, but I see a lot of nexus hubs on cargo bikes and e-bikes. So maybe nexus is a better choice for my use.

I'd be curious to know if there's a way to do di2 Alfine on a budget. I'd be interested if there's a way to bodge something with di2 e-bike parts (e.g. nexus-5, or EW-EX010 Di2 Adapter). Otherwise, it looks like either Nexus or Alfine and, when I switch to drops, micro shift.

 

[wiggydiggy]

I've Sold this now but I used it as my 26 mile a day commuter for year or so. I never ran a trailer but it regularly had at least one pannier on it. It also did a Coast to Coast ride with no issues.

One thing I found that helped was I changed the rear sprocket to a larger one to give me a lower gear - I'd previously struggled occasionally.

The hub never gave me any issues, there was a knack for deattaching it which seemed simple enough. The front gear had an off-centre axle hole so to keep chain tension you could rotate it.

I do regret selling it a little but I was downsizing, and hadn't ridden it for some time.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/withdrawn-ridgeback-flight-04-2016-shimano-alfine.284269/

 

[annirak]

I think I'm just going to go with Alfine 8. I'm going to try and run it with drop bars, but use a flat-bar shifter. Worst case, I'll use a bar extender and attach it below my bars.

 

[MichaelW2]

I think I'm just going to go with Alfine 8. I'm going to try and run it with drop bars, but use a flat-bar shifter. Worst case, I'll use a bar extender and attach it below my bars.

My Alfine8 has been in daily use since 2008. I haul shopping on a trailer fixed to the solid axle. For heavy use and esp, for riding below freezing, the oil dip method results in a more freely spinning wheel and better shifting.
Alfine does not reward stomping on the pedals.

 

[annirak]

My Alfine8 has been in daily use since 2008. I haul shopping on a trailer fixed to the solid axle. For heavy use and esp, for riding below freezing, the oil dip method results in a more freely spinning wheel and better shifting.
Alfine does not reward stomping on the pedals.

Thankfully where I'm located, below freezing is rare, but I'll bear that in mind. I didn't manage to source an Alfine 8 in the end; I got a Nexus 8 instead. Hopefully that will be good enough

Thanks for the feedback!

Next I need to work out how/whether to convert to hydraulic discs.