hub gears, how good are they?

marjorie dawes

i have seen plenty of bikes with the new modern hub gears from shimano, sram and rohloff, has anyone done any big distances? do they work out to much heavier than a duralier assembly? and do they offer the range,

i quite like the idea of the cleaner less cluttered looks, and possibly lower maintenace,,

ugo.santalucia

I think anyone who cycles long distance uses hub gears, as they need little or no servicing. Before anyone steps in, long distance is NOT a sportive, but rather PBP or a tour around the globe.

Not meant for racing, a bit heavy and lacks gear overlap necessary in races

getting_on_a_bit

I've had a rohloff on a Thorn commuter for 6 years....fit and forget....just keep the chain clean and that's it...still using the original cables...just change the oil once a year which is simple.Yes it's fairly heavy so I would not have one on a bike that you wanted to sprint on but that's not what they are intended for.My range of gears is very similar to my mtb 3x8 set up...having 14 gears though does of course mean bigger jumps but not an issue at all for a commute,just make sure that you choose the right 'direct drive' 11th gear which you want to spend most of you riding in...it's almost silent from day one whereas others start off a bit noisy [think of the noise of a derailler inbetween gears when not indexing properly] but do get quieter over the years...only a couple annoy me slightly now around the 5th and 6th.

mercia_man

I've got a Rohloff on a Thorn tandem and agree with the above - it's fit and forget. Just lube the chain and change the oil in the hub once a year. Simple.

Gear range is similar to an MTB or touring bike triple set-up. The change is so smooth, you go up and down in the gears all the time - like a sort of infinitely variable transmission on a car. Sometimes my wife on the back can't even tell when I've changed gear. Gaps between ratios are slightly bigger than an average triple derailleur system but perfectly acceptable for touring and general use.

The only slightly tricky change is between the top and bottom set of seven ratios. You just have to ease off the pedals a bit - similar to how I used to change on my old Sturmey Archer three-speed hub gear. But the bottom seven ratios are definitely less efficient - it feels a bit like pedalling through soup and a couple of the ratios have a sort of whirring clockwork sound.

I would say it's an excellent system for hassle-free touring, commuting and leisure riding but not so good for fast performance riding.

MichaelW

Shimano Alfine is a good system but the oil dip requires some disassembly. The new 11 speed is better.
I dont use mine for distance (its my grab and go city bike) ; the combination of hub gear with disc brakes and hub dynamo, fat 26" slicks, flat bars and a heavier than needed frame all make the bike feel a little sluggish compared to my tourer.

Are you considering a belt drive? You need a split triangle system.
There are several methods of chain tensioning, horizontal/sliding vertical dropouts, track ends, eccentric bottom bracket. The spring-loaded chain tensioner is strictly for retrofitting a derailure style bike and is not recommended because it picks up dirt and spoils the clean lines.

janwal

I've had the Alfine 8 speed hub for 6 months on a belt drive hybrid and I've yet to find a hill I can't get up usually ahead of mates on road bikes!Using sheldon browns gear charts my range is 2.2 to 6.8 (24tooth rear 50tooth front) A 34/50 compact with 12-25 cassette would give you 2.7 to 8.4. So low gear is actually easier for climbing but my bike is steel so 10lb heavier than my carbon scott so feels slightly harder but not a lot.I'm sure on an aluminium frame it will be spot on.It does spin out at the top end though but I'm not bothered about that. The 11 speed alfine is same at low end but gives you more at high end.But it's £300 more. Just not worth it to me.If you can get a belt drive it's brilliant no oil no chain cleaning just wash and go.Removing rear wheel for a puncture not hard just make sure yellow dots on rear hub are alined before removing gear cable and replacing and your fine.Loads of stuff on youtube.

amaferanga

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I think anyone who cycles long distance uses hub gears, as they need little or no servicing. Before anyone steps in, long distance is NOT a sportive, but rather PBP or a tour around the globe.

Not meant for racing, a bit heavy and lacks gear overlap necessary in races

What absolute rubbish! Everyone doing PBP has hub gears - you really think that? Don't think I saw a single hub gear when I did it. Which PBP did you do where you saw everyone had hub gears?

To the OP - I had a SRAM S7 hub gear once. It was ok. Good for commuting, but would be rubbish for long rides. Rohloffs are much better with closer gear spacing, but still only suited to touring and commuting IMO.

If you like the uncluttered look then you want a fixed or singlespeed bike. Perfect for year round commuting. What do you mean by big distances though? Lots of miles a year or long rides?