Ningishzidda
Senior Member
If hub gears were lighter, it was easier to remove the wheel and the owner could adjust the individual ratios, they'd be on every bike in the Tour de France, but they're not.
Is a hub gear less bother than a derailleur?
- Thread starter Pale Rider
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Ningishzidda
Senior Member
Either, change the front ring for a smaller one, change the rear sprocket for a larger one, or both of these.
Tip. Gear 5 ought to be 52" +/- 2". This then makes the middle ratio equivalent to Starley's Safety Rover. It requires the rear sprocket to have half the number of teeth of the front ring.
I don't know much about modern hub gears but when I was a bicycle mechanic (over 30 years ago) I repaired a few sturmey archer hub gears, the damage was, as far as I can remember, always due to bad or no maintenance. With correct adjustment and a good quality oil they will go on for years without letting you down.
Hub gears are aimed at the utility market, not racing. Just because they are sub-optimal for racing doesn't mean they aren't better in other applications.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
If I had a support vehicle with bike mechanics and a full set of spares following me every mile of the way...........................................................
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Hi and
.As it is the 8 speed Sturmey Archer, is is very possible it has been set up over-geared.
The 8 speed hub interested me so I've been taking a look at the specifications with the idea of building up something special of my own at some time (I can't afford it but I can dream.
)This hub was designed to be used on small wheel bikes such as folders and shoppers so 1st gear is 1:1 ratio and all the others are geared up from there. (Specifications here) This is different from most other hubs where it's the middle gear that is 1:1.
What it means is that you have to gear it low to start with to get a nice range. For the build I had in mind I'd have had to use a 28 tooth chainring and the largest available sprocket, which is 25 tooth. (Giving a range of approx 30 to 98 gear inches for those who'd like to know).
If you count the number of teeth on your chainwheel and the sprocket, it's possible to work out what your gearing is currently.
snailracer
Über Member
If you are having trouble engaging the high gears, it's possible the gear shifter cable is grossly misaligned and you are missing several of the lower gears - it would also explain why you are having difficulty climbing in 1st gear (because it might actually be 3rd gear!). Try adjusting the shifter cable to see if you can get all 8 gears.
The Sturmey AW is definitely reliable, I can't comment on any other as I haven't owned them (yet!).
To prove the point, I did 40 hilly miles on my 63 year old AG (AW with dynamo attached) hub on Sunday.
I've grown to love the SA hub and now that I think about it, I haven't rode any of my derailleur geared bikes since last August.
An AW with correct (for the rider and terrain) gear ratios will cover about 95% of the cycling most people will ever do and require a lot less maintenance than any of those irritating dangling things that seem to have been designed to collect as much muck as possible.
To prove the point, I did 40 hilly miles on my 63 year old AG (AW with dynamo attached) hub on Sunday.
I've grown to love the SA hub and now that I think about it, I haven't rode any of my derailleur geared bikes since last August.
An AW with correct (for the rider and terrain) gear ratios will cover about 95% of the cycling most people will ever do and require a lot less maintenance than any of those irritating dangling things that seem to have been designed to collect as much muck as possible.
Mary Poppins
New Member
Thank you for your reply, would I need to take it to a specialist bike shop to have the gears adjusted?
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
probably is the best answer, but if you can give us a rough idea where in the country you are, there may be one or two of us that can help you.
Ningishzidda
Senior Member
I'd be Impressed if the bike had 53 ring and 15 sprocket.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
It will depend on how much 'bother' you take with a derailleur setup and how much gear range you want/need. For anything less than a Rohloff or Alfine 11 then you could easily just run a 1x8 or 1x9 derailleur setup. This could be cheap easy and long lasting with minimal maintenance.
I have Rohloff, SRAM I-9, Alfine 8 and did have a Sturmey 3 speed - wheel removal with a hub gear just means an extra step as you need to disconnect the gear cable before removing the wheel in the normal manner. This is easiest with the SRAM I-9, then Rohloff then Alfine 8 and finally SA 3 speed. Both Rohloff and I-9 are so easy as to be not even a consideration and the Alfine isn't far behind. However rohloff then wins out, for me, on being able to have a QR skewer. There is a weight penalty on anything over the 3 speed but this is only significant with a high end derailleur setup, at the lower end of the scale it's a lot less though still there.
If I'm honest you can go through a long list of pros and cons both ways but for me it really came down to riding style. I tend to favour varying cadence and getting out of the saddle in short bursts so that suits a hub gear. But over and above everything else I love the ability to change gear when not pedalling. In fact I probably make most of my gear changes in this way particularly on familiar routes when freewheeling in preparation for something I know is coming.
Savings on maintenance and replacement parts are a cumulative effect that builds up over time. Eventually any hub gear can pay for itself but this can take years in the case of a rohloff. It also may never be viable if you're talking a simple 1xX derailleur drive train.
Right now a rohloff wheel and all fittings would set you back about £1k an Alfine 11 about £5-600 and an 8 about £250-300. I'm still wary of the A11 though, I recently ordered an A8 and got an A11 in error I was then given the option of keeping the A11 for the price of the A8....I returned it for the A8.
I have Rohloff, SRAM I-9, Alfine 8 and did have a Sturmey 3 speed - wheel removal with a hub gear just means an extra step as you need to disconnect the gear cable before removing the wheel in the normal manner. This is easiest with the SRAM I-9, then Rohloff then Alfine 8 and finally SA 3 speed. Both Rohloff and I-9 are so easy as to be not even a consideration and the Alfine isn't far behind. However rohloff then wins out, for me, on being able to have a QR skewer. There is a weight penalty on anything over the 3 speed but this is only significant with a high end derailleur setup, at the lower end of the scale it's a lot less though still there.
If I'm honest you can go through a long list of pros and cons both ways but for me it really came down to riding style. I tend to favour varying cadence and getting out of the saddle in short bursts so that suits a hub gear. But over and above everything else I love the ability to change gear when not pedalling. In fact I probably make most of my gear changes in this way particularly on familiar routes when freewheeling in preparation for something I know is coming.
Savings on maintenance and replacement parts are a cumulative effect that builds up over time. Eventually any hub gear can pay for itself but this can take years in the case of a rohloff. It also may never be viable if you're talking a simple 1xX derailleur drive train.
Right now a rohloff wheel and all fittings would set you back about £1k an Alfine 11 about £5-600 and an 8 about £250-300. I'm still wary of the A11 though, I recently ordered an A8 and got an A11 in error I was then given the option of keeping the A11 for the price of the A8....I returned it for the A8.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
The oil change is a simple enough job, annually or every 5000km., instructions come with the oil. Overhauls should not be necessary, just the usual checks of cables.
No! I generally gear my Sturmey bikes to have a 72" top gear. I don't need anything higher on the sort of routes I usually ride. On Sunday, I was riding 44/22 on a 28" wheeled roadster, all 45lb of it. I also have 46/18 on a 20" wheeled folder, 46/22 on 26" wheeled sports roadster and 46/22 on my 3 speed Kalkhoff road/touring bike.
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