Internally geared hubs??

ilovedirt

So I'm getting pretty bored of snapping mechs and hangers, I was thinking an internally geared hub, but all I can really find is the Rohloff which is FAR too expensive, and Shimano Alfine, and I'm not really big on the idea of cup and cone bearings and the solid axle (as a few of you probably know). Is there anything else out there or is that pretty much it until the gearbox bikes come down in price?

rockmonkeysc

Alfine is excellent, I don't like cup & cone but I would still buy an Alfine hub. I think SRAM have a geared hub but it's only 9 speed, latest Alfine is 11 speed.

ilovedirt

Yeah, it does look like Alfine is the only real choice... I'll have to mull it over. If any actual Alfine users could provide some insight that would be great

rockmonkeysc

I have rode a Charge Duster with the Alfine 11 geared hub & it is excellent. It will shift when your not pedalling, it's fairly slick & has a good range of gears. You can feel the weight of it though.
A few friends have them on their winter bikes and other than an anual service they don't need much maintenance. They are easy enough to strip & service yourself.

ilovedirt

Fair enough. Are they heavier than a cassette and mech? I can't see them being a great deal heavier in all honesty.

rockmonkeysc

More rotating mass

ilovedirt

I guess, would still be preferable though I think.

mrmonkfinger

I've done the sums before, decided to put up with the odd bashed mech. You're talking about, roughly, 750g - 1kg extra there:

alfine 11 1744g

hope pro2 312g, xt cassette 264 g, derailleur ~250g


There's slightly less difference if you're also losing a front mech & shifter, but that probably isn't the case on a 224.

ilovedirt

This is for the ragley, which is single ring as well (and it's a 223, not a 224). It's not as important on the downhill bike as if I break something, I can just coast back down. Not really the case on the XC bike.

allthegearnoidea

with an Alfine you Do loose the front mech as well, if you take into account the weight of the hub and assosiated cables, and look at the weights of the Front mech, front rings, front shifter, rear cogs, rear mech and extra chain length they come out pretty much equal,
we used to have long chats down the bikeshop about it, nothing saying you cant get the alfine built up on a stans rime etc. so whilst the weight is on the centre of the rear wheel you loose weight of all the rest the bike,

a Good set of cup and cone bearings and well set up you'll have a Super slick low resistance wheel, bikes lived a long time on C&C hubs! ;-)

occasionally look out for them with interest, although the disc versions often dont hang around long!

there is ofcourse the STurmy Archer range, they do a 3 speede internal hub With a hub body that will take pretty much any modern cassette! so your normal 27sp+3 additionals per cpog effectively! 85 combo's!

there was a chap on STW that set up a hard tail on an Alfine8 And the Hammersmidt, sadly though, he said the two together was just Too draggy, (frankenbike was how it was refered) mainly fornt end draggyness, Great idea though!

ilovedirt

Yeah, I don't run a front ring anyway so that's no bother, however it would mean that I would be adding a fair amount of weight to the bike, I didn't realise they were quit that heavy...
I wouldn't bother with one of those sturmey archer ones, as the whole point is to not have a derailleur at all, not to increase the number of possible gear ratios.
I might just leave the idea and wait until gearbox bikes become more mainstream/affordable. Seems to be the only real option!

passout

These systems look good but you are moving more weight over the back wheel. So, depending on how you ride, you 'may' have more pinch flats; the bike 'balance' may be slightly effected. These aren't observations, more questions I would ask if it was me.

Don't SRAM now make one?

ilovedirt

Yeah, it's only 3sp though and designed for commuters.

And I get enough pinch flats as it is!

YeehaaMcgee

ilovedirt wrote:

So I'm getting pretty bored of snapping mechs and hangers,

That's not normal. have you got the chain the right length? Having too short a chain will cause that.

ilovedirt

Chain is the right length (if anything it might be a bit long), I'm just clumsy. I need to learn to stop pedalling when I hear a stick in my back wheel...
To be fair, this is only the second mech I've ruined this year, however it's just inconvenient and something I'd rather not be paying to replace if I don't have to.

YeehaaMcgee

Humour me... How exactly did you measure your chain. People generally ride for years without breaking a mech. They're surprisingly resilient when they're set up properly.
I've just got a gut feeling that something is amiss, which will be cheap to fix, but you're looking at the most expensive "fix" possible.

On top of that, what is your problem with solid axles?

oodboo

passout wrote:

Don't SRAM now make one?

SRAM make one. I think it's 7 speed and runs off a grip shift. At least that's the set up I used but the shifter was mounted under the seat.

rockmonkeysc

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

So I'm getting pretty bored of snapping mechs and hangers,

That's not normal. have you got the chain the right length? Having too short a chain will cause that.

Too long mech will cause the same problems. Go single speed.

lawman

Sounds like he's just lacking finesse in the riding stakes :P A guy round our local trails is the same, he just breaks shit for fun seemingly If you break loads it might be worth investing in something proper beefy, like a saint mech and if you break that, well you should probably just buy the cheapest mech you can and replace like for like whenever you do break it

nferrar

There's the NuVinci N360 as well, doesn't seem very popular though and probably weighs a ton. It's CVP though so pretty funky. http://www.fallbrooktech.com/cycling/n360

ilovedirt

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Humour me... How exactly did you measure your chain. People generally ride for years without breaking a mech. They're surprisingly resilient when they're set up properly.
I've just got a gut feeling that something is amiss, which will be cheap to fix, but you're looking at the most expensive "fix" possible.

On top of that, what is your problem with solid axles?

I'm not stupid, big ring - big ring + 2 links, and it's a hardtail so no chain growth. As I said, a stick got caught in the spokes, I didn't stop pedalling in time. The time that it happened before was exactly the same. It wasn't a case of the chain being too short or some other thing like that.

And I'm not looking for the most expensive fix possible, I'm just thinking out loud. I've already got a couple of new hangers and a cheapy second hand mech on the way.

oodboo

This sounds like a job for:

mrmonkfinger

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Too long mech will cause the same problems. Go single speed.

How does a too long mech cause mechs to break?

YeehaaMcgee

mrmonkfinger wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Too long mech will cause the same problems. Go single speed.

How does a too long mech cause mechs to break?

He's a singlespeed advocate - don't expect any sense.

ilovedirt

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Too long mech will cause the same problems. Go single speed.

How does a too long mech cause mechs to break?

He's a singlespeed advocate - don't expect any sense.

paul.skibum

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Too long mech will cause the same problems. Go single speed.

How does a too long mech cause mechs to break?

He's a singlespeed advocate - don't expect any sense.

But do expect to smell pot and see manky toes poking out the end of a pair of sandals.