Is a hub gear less bother than a derailleur?

[Pale Rider]

Hub gears are said to be lower maintenance than derailleurs, but is that true?

I like to keep the bike maintained properly, but I'm not obsessional about it.

I've never done much to the derailleur bikes I've had, basically the occasional clean and cable tensioning, so I wonder if I would do a lot less to a hub geared bike.

It's a general question, but in my case it's between XT derailleurs or an 11-speed Alfine hub on a hybrid bike for leisure use.

 

[Chris S]

I don't know about Alfine 11-speeds but Sturmey Archer 3-speeds usually outlast the bike. SRAM (Sachs) have an even better reputation, probably because they're manufactured to a higher standard. They change perfectly every time.

I think there is one dodgy Shimano hub but I'm not sure which one it is. I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to let us know.

 

[Bromptonaut]

The Alfine would add quite a lot of weight cp a derrailleur. While I love the hub gears on my Bromptons I don't think I'd choose one on a utility bike where dr is possible and far enough above road to be out of danger. Yes it needs a bit more maitenance but only to extent of spray of lube and a good clean now and then.

Hubs can be finicky to set up and a pain when punctured.

 

[Herzog]

Hubs can be finicky to set up and a pain when punctured.

Indeed! My winter bike used to have a hub gearing. Getting a puncture in the depths of winter with semi numb hands, trying to undo all of the gubbins that come with a hub gear is not fun.

 

[snorri]

Derailleurs are great if you have some sort of fetish for chain and cog cleaning and gear adjustment tweaking, otherwise, hub gears are the way to go.

 

[Mushroomgodmat]

my wife has a hub gear on her run around - its true its probably less work than a standard rear derailleur adjustment is hardly rocket science.

 

[Shortmember]

I don't know about Alfine 11-speeds but Sturmey Archer 3-speeds usually outlast the bike. SRAM (Sachs) have an even better reputation, probably because they're manufactured to a higher standard. They change perfectly every time.

I think there is one dodgy Shimano hub but I'm not sure which one it is. I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to let us know.

I think the dodgy hub you're referring to is the Nexus 8.I had a Carrera Subway fitted with one and it
lasted just 12 months of easy commuting and then it literally fell apart.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I had a bwr on my last Brompton and it was a pain in the ass from the first week until the last 200 km (of the 19,000 miles it did) i did with pennine_paul. I constantly had to strip and clean/ replace the main bearings. The inner tolerances were too tight to run with grease. It only worked with a little bit of thin oil.

I've now got a standard sturmey 3 speed hub, lubed with grease and its great so far, it has a reputation of never needing to be touched for tens of thousands of miles. I'm going to couple it with a schlumpf mountain drive I've got on order to give me 6 evenly spaced gears.

 

[Night Train]

[QUOTE 2316956, member: 259"]No, definitely the Nexus 7.[/quote]
Isn't that the one with the very large diameter loose bearing in one side that has a dust shield that traps water in the bearing resulting in corrosion in a bearing that can't be changed?
Daft design.

I much prefer enclosed gears for the lack of maintenance and being able to shift while stopped.

I am very, very tempted by the BB gearbox, particularly on a recumbent trike.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Pinion-gearbox-first-ride-2011.html

 

[gaz]

Having used a hub gear and a single speed quite a bit in the last 3 years and having recently gone back to a derailure setup for my commuter. I can safely say it's much easier to get the wheel out with a derailure.

 

[Pale Rider]

Thanks for the replies.

It seems from a maintenance point of view there's no strong reason to choose one system or the other, so I can make my selection on the one I most fancy using.

Ease of wheel removal is a good point, but one I'm not too worried about.

My puncture per mile rate is probably the same as everyone else, but since I don't do thousands of miles a year, punctures don't come around very often.

 

[Moodyman]

I own a bike with Alfine 8 and a two with derailleurs. The hub geared bike is far lower maintenance, but if you live in an area with varying terrain you're often not in quite the right gear due to the gaps in-between gears.

Also if both bikes are fitted with mudguards then there is little difference in maintenance though hub geared is still slightly quicker to clean.

Also bear in mind that hubs need an annual overhaul which not everyone can do.

Whilst wheel removal can be tricky I use puncture resistant tyres and punctures are very rare.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We have a bike each with Rohloff hubs, removing the rear wheel involved 1 extra action, turn a knock to disconnect the external gear changer and you can then remove the wheel as normal (though our wheels are not on quick release levers, but need an allen key instead), so I guess it depends on the bike on how easy it is to remove the rear wheel.

As for less maintenance - definitely and parts last much longer as well. As standard KMC chain on my rohloff hub bike lasted me 14,500km cycling over the course of 1 year. the front & rear sprockets were changed at 5,000km due to changing terrain (from flat to mountains) so the set I wore out lasted 9,500km before needing changing. This included at least 1/3 of that time on dirt roads/tracks. Oil changes took 10-15 mins per bike every 5,000km.

 

[Pale Rider]

@Moodyman

Gearing is a thought, but I don't change a lot so should be OK with 11.

I had read something about an overhaul/oil change, as you say I doubt many bike shops can do it properly, so that could be a consideration.

@SatNavSaysStraightOn

By common consent, the Rohloff hub is far superior to the others, so I don't think we are comparing like with like.

A Rohloff and belt drive appeals to me greatly, but paying for such a set-up could be a problem.

 

[Mary Poppins]

Hello bike people. I have recently bought a genuine dutch bike with 8 speed sturmey archer hub gears. I took it for a test ride and found it very difficult to get past gear 5 on the flat and found it very difficult to get up a very moderate incline in 1st gear. Now I'm not the fittest but could it be that the gears are set too high? Can they be adjusted so that the lowest gear is even lower. I know nothing about gears! Please help!