Hub Gears

[PBancroft]

Right, that's it. I've had enough.

My poor little GT Avalanche has had its day. We've had some good times together, but mostly its been slow going and hard work. It's time to put her down, and get an animal better suited to the road.

I've been looking at bikes with enclosed hub gears - no specific reason, I just like the idea. Can anyone with any experience make any pointers/recommendations - or reasons why I should stick with a derailleur?

 

[Theseus]

I have a Ridgeback Nemesis. The version I have not only has Nexus 8 hub gears, but also roller brakes although I think the spec has now been changed to disks or V's.

There is some maintenance required, but not very often.
Taking the rear wheel off means detaching the linkages first, something that took me a while to figure out at first, but then I read the instructions. The roller brake presents more of a problem than the gears.
If I was to get another hub gear bike, and I would if space/finances/SWMBO allowed, it would be a Rohloff Speedhub as the first choice. Failing that I would want to take a closer look at the Alfine or one of the Sturmey Archer or SRAM offerings.

 

[biking_fox]

If you're prepared to spend some serious money, go and speak to Thorn bikes in Bridgewater, not too far from you. Very friendly, helpful, and some superb Rohloff bikes.

Other than that I believe Shimano's Alfine is better than the Nexus. There is a long thread on here month or two back.

 

[Tynan]

surely you need a reason to do something off the beaten track?

what's wrong with the tried and test route?

 

[Arch]

surely you need a reason to do something off the beaten track?

what's wrong with the tried and test route?

Well, if the tried and tested route is derailleurs, then the reason is all the benefits of hub gears - low maintenance, don't get all gunked up, ability to shift stationary (handy if you have to stop quickly at lights), suitability for enclosed drivetrain. Well suited to commuting especially.

Also, as hub gears have been around as long as, if not longer than derailleur, they are pretty well tried and tested.

My summer hack is derailleur, my winter hack is hub geared.

 

[MacB]

my commuter has the SRAM I-9 and no problems after 1500miles though amechanical would probably mean a return to Germany. My pub bike has the Sturmey Archer SRF3, modern version of the AW, and I'm very happy with that. If I upgrade my commuter(fancy a titanium one), or the SRAM wears out, then I think it will be Rohloff next.

 

[PBancroft]

OK, I think I've decided. I went to visit the LBS after work today and we had a long chat about the benefits and drawbacks of hub gears, and whats available in the upcoming new range for 2010 (it amused me greatly that he referred to this as '010, as in '08, '09...).

I need to wait until September/October for my employer to pull their finger out and start their C2W scheme, so I'll wait until the new range is out before I make my choice. I will be going for enclosed hub gears though.

I'll also take a test ride on the Trek Soho... I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be little more than a gimmick, but I want to see how well the belt drive works in action. If it works well, that may well be my choice. Tynan is right... off the beaten track it is!

 

[Bollo]

If you want to try a well run-in Rohloff-equiped bike, give me a PM and you can drop round next week. Bolletta and the Doris are 'at her muvvah's so outside my very civilised working day I'm free.

As well as the Rohloff, I've owned a Nexus-equipped bike in the past. In terms of robustness there's no comparison. The Nexus seemed to get a bit rattley after a year or so, although it never failed. In the same period, the Rohloff felt barely run-in. The Nexus's gear range for lumpy Winchester cycling was right on the limit for me as well, although a smaller chainring would have helped.

The downsides of the Rohloff are price, price and price, especially with the current Euro exchange rate. It feels heavier than a decent touring deraillieur setup, although this could be that the weight is all on one place. Although there's loads of conflicting stuff on the net, the lower 7 of the 14 gears do feel less efficient to me. Locally I've never used anything lower than gear 3, and that's towing the week's shopping in a trailer up an 8%.

The most bizzare disadvantage of hub gears in general is that, because they're practically zero maintenance compared to a derailleur, the rest of the bike gets a damn good ignoring as well, until your brakes 'suddenly' stop working.

 

[garrilla]

I had a Trek 4120 (the forerunner to the Soho) for a a while. It had a nexus hub. When it worked it was a dream. But it failed a couple of times - once, a small plastic coupling snapped and had to go through the distributer to get a new part, took a while - and the second time something would make it slip and neither I, friends or the LBS could resolve it and eventually it just peed me off.

I've got a couple of mates who have Rolhoff and they say they are brilliant.

 

[Wolf04]

I'll also take a test ride on the Trek Soho... I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be little more than a gimmick, but I want to see how well the belt drive works in action. If it works well, that may well be my choice. Tynan is right... off the beaten track it is!

Roller brakes!!!! Also read a review recently saying that the reviewed bike cables pass through a frame eyelet preventing the removal of the back wheel. This was as fitted at the factory it was sorted easily by LBS but worth looking out for. As for the carbon belt, how much is a replacement over say a new link. Also wonder if you need to replace the sprocket or chainring (beltring?) when changing belts as you would with a chain. Interesting bike but to many unknowns for me and roller brakes!!

 

[Theseus]

Roller brakes!!!! Also read a review recently saying that the reviewed bike cables pass through a frame eyelet preventing the removal of the back wheel. This was as fitted at the factory it was sorted easily by LBS but worth looking out for. As for the carbon belt, how much is a replacement over say a new link. Also wonder if you need to replace the sprocket or chainring (beltring?) when changing belts as you would with a chain. Interesting bike but to many unknowns for me and roller brakes!!

Nothing wrong with roller brakes. They provide consistant braking regardless of the weather conditions and are just as effective as V, caliper or canti (can't comment on disk as I don't have any). They need no adjustments or replacement pads, just the odd squirt of grease into the appropriate hole when/if they start grabbing.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Are roller brakes a type of drum brake?

 

[Theseus]

Yes

 

[MartinC]

Nothing wrong with roller brakes. They provide consistant braking regardless of the weather conditions and are just as effective as V, caliper or canti (can't comment on disk as I don't have any). They need no adjustments or replacement pads, just the odd squirt of grease into the appropriate hole when/if they start grabbing.

Yes, they do what they say on the tin. Good for town bikes. Drawbacks are they're heavy and on long descents you can fry the grease in them.

 

[Jelly Mould]

I have a hybrid/town-bike bought in 1997 that has roller brakes and the 7 speed nexus hub.

I'm now on the 3rd set of brakes - they don't seem to get on with really steep Sheffield hills, despite doing the grease replacement. The latest set are the more modern BR-IM70 version, and these (so far) seem to cope much better. The front brake is also scuppered by a "power modulator", intended to stop inexperienced cyclists from throwing themselves over the handlebars, but in effect just prevents you from ever fully using the brake fully effectively. Sheldon Brown also disliked Roller Brakes...

The gears still just about work - I've never bothered maintaining them (I think you're meant to oil-dunk the internals once a year or so). Sometimes shifting up into 2nd and up into 5th cause problems, but re-selecting the gears normally cures any glitches. It's great around town, but I hate doing long distances on it - the gears seem less efficient than on my Audax bike, and the roller brakes add a little drag to the wheels, and weigh rather more than "normal" brakes...

The advantages are very little maintenance, and the bike stays much cleaner as there's less oil/brake dust flying around.