Rear hub/cassette upgrade recommendation for Birdy
- Thread starter CEBEP
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I wonder if there is any feedback on Efneo GTRO gearbox ?
It’s 3 gears,
1st gear - 1:1
2nd gear - 1:1,429
3rd gear - 1:1,786
Like schlumpf speed hub it will keep the chain line the same, but unlike schlumpf it’s 3 speeds has handlebar shifter.
It’s 3 gears,
1st gear - 1:1
2nd gear - 1:1,429
3rd gear - 1:1,786
Like schlumpf speed hub it will keep the chain line the same, but unlike schlumpf it’s 3 speeds has handlebar shifter.
Could be wrong, but this looks like an alternative to a triple front chainset. To get a full range of gears, it would be used in conjunction with a normal rear derailleur.
berlinonaut
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- Berlin Germany
Rohloff does not sell directly to consumers. You can buy a Rohloff hub in any qualified bike shop. Btw. not different to Shimano.
I.e. this shop in Germany will build a Rohloff of your choice into a wheel of your choice conveniently. https://www.radsport-erdmann.de/de/...categories_id=0&keywords=Rohloff&inc_subcat=1
berlinonaut
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- Location
- Berlin Germany
Efneo are relatively new to the market. They are from Pland and startet out as a kickstarter crowdfunding a couple of years ago if I remember correctly. As many projects they failed to deliver on time and had a bit of suboptimal communications back then with their supporters. In the meantime it seems to have become a "normal" business, but still a niche market and there are not too many user experience reports and I do not know any bike that would come with it from factory. I think I read a review in an American recumbents/trike forum (probably bentrider) a while ago. I've always been curious about the thing but not curious enough to buy one. Indeed it replaces a triple chainset or a Schlumpf. Could be interesting if you want a belt drive or have a rear hub motor like the Zehus that in it's basic version only offers single speed. Efneo do offer a Brompton version btw..
Exactly right
I don’t have much knowledge about this topic and not aure if I’ll want to experiment considering how much it costs and that no one installed and used it on Birdy that I’m aware of. I don’t know what chain line value for my Birdy is, Efneo has 42mm to 46mm range. Also it has reaction arm which should rest against the frame and I don’t know if it will affect the fold in any way.
berlinonaut
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- Berlin Germany
Under normal circumstances the S/A three speed hub for derailleur cassettes would be a better, lighter and much cheaper choice (and would offer way more freedom in terms of both: size of the chainwheel as well as chainline). But you out-ruled it already a couple of posts ago. Solutions like the Efneo or the Schlumpf are mainly for those who don't have any other choice. Florian Schlumpf initially developed the Schlumpfdrive for the use on unicycles.
berlinonaut
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- Location
- Berlin Germany
Yes and no. The most obvious setup for the Efneo in my eyes would be if you have a hub gear like the Nexus/Alfine 8 and want more spread. With the Efneo you do not need a chain tensioner (as you would need with a triple chainset) and, as it's direct drive is in first, you linder the issue of having too much torque on the hub gear. Plus you could run a belt drive. Did however not check if Efneo is offering a belt version.
Obviously you could use it with a derailleur setup as well but other cases like rear hub motor, single speed or hub gears seem a more prominent usecase to me.
First impression: Birdy rides nothing like Brompton. @berlinonaut was right, two absolutely different bikes. So I had to have them both.
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Uodate: I’ve changed hub and rear cassette to Shimano. It’s 10s 11-32. 36 and 34t cassettes didn’t work for me as they were rubbing against the fork. Other users seem to fit 36t on their birdies but it didn’t work for me. Chain wheel is stock 52t. Now gearing on high gear almost matches my 6 speed Brompton but not enough for some steep hills here in Istanbul where I have to get off the bike and walk the bike up the hill. I don’t want to go with rear/front hubs due to weight/cost and decided to go with double front chain ring. Installing 53-39 will somewhat improve higher gear bringing it to Brompton and 39t will bring lower gear development to 1.75 which is close to Rohloff lowest gear value.
Here is the comparison of this setup with my 6 speed Brompton. I plan to use 39 chainring only on those very steep hills. This should cover all my need for gearing. After some research I came up with two options and need your advice. I already ordered Ridea FD adaptor to use with FD.
Option 1: use srock hollow crankset and only buy 53/39 BCD 130mm chainrings + derailleur. It would be cheaper and will not compromise factory chain line. But I’ll need to find BCD130 chainrings locally.
Option 2: my mechanic suggests to upgrade front drivetrain entirely to Shomano 53/39 including front cranks/hub. He also says he will make sure the chain line will not be an issue. They are authorized Ahimano service center and have all parts and models to try different setups. Also this way the whole drivetrain will be Shimano.
What do you think is the best way to proceed and why. Also what do I need to keep in mind with such upgrade.
There are 2x chain ring factory models and I know that it can be done.
Here is the comparison of this setup with my 6 speed Brompton. I plan to use 39 chainring only on those very steep hills. This should cover all my need for gearing. After some research I came up with two options and need your advice. I already ordered Ridea FD adaptor to use with FD.
Option 1: use srock hollow crankset and only buy 53/39 BCD 130mm chainrings + derailleur. It would be cheaper and will not compromise factory chain line. But I’ll need to find BCD130 chainrings locally.
Option 2: my mechanic suggests to upgrade front drivetrain entirely to Shomano 53/39 including front cranks/hub. He also says he will make sure the chain line will not be an issue. They are authorized Ahimano service center and have all parts and models to try different setups. Also this way the whole drivetrain will be Shimano.
What do you think is the best way to proceed and why. Also what do I need to keep in mind with such upgrade.
There are 2x chain ring factory models and I know that it can be done.
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
RoadCC just published a test of the Birdy touring. As with most of their tests of folding bikes it is quite obvious that they don't have much experience with folders and clearly are not daily users, thus missing experience and knowledge about relevant criteria for longterm/everyday use of folders that are not obvious. But despite that lack this test is IMHO above average within their range of folding bike tests and - more important - in sum generally mostly correct (generously ignoring some stranger aspects + statements 
). A lot of detail pics as well.
https://road.cc/content/review/birdy-touring-295093
). A lot of detail pics as well.https://road.cc/content/review/birdy-touring-295093
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