Derailleur vs internal hub bike | Why I love internal gears on my urban bike commute
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- You all probably ride a bike with a derailleur - don't all us North Americans? -- but consider this video an argument in favour of a gearing alternative: the internal hub. These devices to change gears on your bike have long been ignored by those on the athletic side of cycling, but if you're a commuter or urban transportation cyclist, here's a look at why you might want to consider an internal hub.
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"How does it work? I dunno: It's all inside."- gonna use that line a lot from now on.
I have no idea how to fix defailleurs. LOL
K
I tend to use the phrase "it's sorcery" to explain what I don't understand and it tends to get a chuckle out of adults and "oh's" from kids LOL
Planetary gears are used, center fixed, gear ring driven by the chain and the planetary cage fixed to the wheel. There is a great video here: th-cam.com/video/mUyv7mLgCFQ/w-d-xo.html
apple falls down even earthball is flat
Couldn't agree more about internal geared hubs, especially for kids bikes. I see so many kids with bikes that are de facto one speeds because the deraileurs are out of adjustment and the parents don't know how to fix it and they can't afford to take it in for a tune up.
Kids bikes are a whole other issue!
You mean people don't know how to use a barrel adjuster? th-cam.com/video/gg6WWeaPGi0/w-d-xo.html
@@shannontrainer5857 ... Lots of newbies have no clue how to shift either. Yesterday i saw a kid about 7 with a triple defailleur. LOL
how do quick fix internal , not so much
I’m not a kid and this is exactly what happens to me everytime I’ve tried to shift 😂
This is a no-brainer: unless you have a performance racing or mountain bike the internal gears are superior, this is over 50 years of experience speaking
The biggest problem with the internal gears is the safety actually seeing as they generally go along with coaster brakes. At least in Europe a lot of the internal gear bikes ppl are using are older models with no handbrakes added (or they are functioning extremely poorly due to never being used). Then if your chain drops on a downhill you are totally fk'ed because there is no way to brake. My sister had just that happen to her and she ended up in the hospital.
@@samwayes I think you are a bit out of step with modern hub gears. Whilst there are still bikes with just one Coaster brake, they aren't that common. Most hub geared bikes use conventional brakes, whether rim, disk or hub brakes. Operated by cable or hydraulics. In the UK, a bike must by law have two independent brakes. The exception being fixed gear, which must have 1 brake.
I'd argue more mountain bikes could use internal hubs, since you don't end up getting muck on it.
@@cdgonepotatoes4219 no internal watt-munchers in any competitive sports - for recreational biking that might actually fly, tho.
How does a 3-speed hub-gear fare for a steep hilly climb ?
"Maintenance is a breeze. I've had this one for years and I've never had it serviced". He said that with a straight face and all sincerity whilst his chain is so slack it's flapping in the breeze. 3:17.
Well, to state the obvious, that's a chain tension problem, not a gear problem. 🙄
It just show how it still work despite him hate doing maintenance, or adjust chain slack.
Seeing this naked chain without a housing that you would normally see on this kind of bike makes me a bit sad. Looks very cheap too (from a Dutch perspective) haha.
@@piderman871 do you guys have chain guards on all your bikes over there? Here in Arizona I haven't seen a single one except on vintage bikes. I looked into buying one so I'd stop getting grease on my pants (they're quite baggy) but I can't figure out where I can get one. I asked a bike shop once and they just gave me a funny look.
@@blackravens5
They do. Chain guards are a necessity when commute by bicycle is a universal standard in the country. Can't risk getting a suit pant leg or skirt hem vhewed up to heck by the chainring, now can we? 😉 Although being in Car Culture Central, you may need to import one.
In the city traffic IGH is the king of transmission. Much faster, much more convenient gear changes. Super silent. Less maintenance. True joy of cycling.
I take my both my Rohloff14 and SA RD5w 50 miles out of the city and back too.
NEVER riding a defaileur again.
@@GordoGambler yes dérailleur are tricky. Internal hub is good and when you have develop enough strong leg, go for a single speed Wich is a non brainer bike and dumb maintenance
I absolutely hate derailer
From a mechanical point of view, I absolutely love the Sachs/Sram T3 hub. Had hubs made in the 1930's in for service. Clean the parts, grease, put back together and you have a hub good for decades still, with minimum effort.
Also I absolutelt detest sram with a clickbox, any speed! Holy hell who thought up that crap?
They are the best.
The second bike I had was a 3 speed on a 10 speed frame. I loved it. The gearing was perfect for steep hills and full on downhills. When I got 10 speed it felt like a downgrade. I was always and still am fiddling with the derailers. I hate forgetting to down shift at a stop on a 10 speed. I loved shifting at a stop with my three speed. I still only really use 3 speeds. High medium and low. The rest is just a waste.
So simple. put a three speed hub on your bike and throw away all the derailers and shifters.. STOP this madness.
@@johngillon6969 You have never worked on a 3 speed hub.... but I do like them when they are working!
@@guym6093 my first bike was a single speed, my second was a three speed. I think it is a no brainer to simply switch out the rear hub of any ten speed and simply attach gear selector thing on the handle bars and cable. the front sprocket and chain. you can hire a bicycle shop to do it then you would have that most beloved bicycle of your dreams and cease this endless yearning for that object of your desire. peace and hippy love out you rascal.
@@johngillon6969 Yea replacing the hub is simple. They use to be dirt cheap 40 years ago. I use to take them apart to repair them. They are interesting and complicated inside. Just depends on what level you go to on your repair. I don't use bike shops much.
I gave your comment a thumb down. I rode a three speed (Sturmey Archer) when I was a child. At 18 I bought a ten speed racer and rode it for 48 years. Now I have a carbon fiber rocket ship with 22 (2x11) and I could not be happier. I have put a couple thousand miles on this rig and have spent ten minutes playing with my derailers. Three speed bikes or even single speeds might be fine if you are riding like an old lady on your way to the grocery store. I'm almost 70 and I want to go fast and not struggle on the hills. Is it about the ride or getting somewhere? If I want to get to Aldi I take the car. I ride my bike for fun and health.
internal hub with carbon belt. a bit expensive but these two are the best for commuting.
Not anymore. Check out Priority and their sister company Brilliant. Solid basic 3 speed internal hub/belt bikes can be had in the $400 to $550 range with them.
I've been running that for a few years. Now I also bought an ebike with igh and belt. Igh is great for ebikes cause they tend to eat derailleurs. Even 1x1 chain apparently lasts way longer than a derailleur on an ebike. I've just done 800km with it. So far so good.
I built the first bike with Sachs Duomatic from the seventies and the ebike has the new 5-speed shimano made for ebikes. Love the Duomatic! Both have Gates carbon drive. I also had the Alfine 8 Di2 and it was great too! Just wish the ebike could fit Di2 + Gates. Cables tend to freeze up around here during winter.
I bought a new commuter last year, Brilliant L-Train with Shimano Nexus 7 speed & Gates belt drive. For a daily beater it is excellent and way better in the rain, drip-dry. Buy the basic model and do accessories/fenders elsewhere (cheaper/better). For urban commuting, belt drive rocks.Super low maintenance.
@@LanceAvion L-Train with Nexus 7 speed is even better, can take hills and bridges a 3 speed dies on.
Dude, take care of that chain slack on your 3-speed! :D
I know .... looks like a slack piece of spaghetti
yeah, that was making me crazy. Break a link or five.
@@unreliablenarrator6649 if the chain doesn't slip I don't really see the problem, the bike also doesn't have that one tension arm thingy I have no clue what its name is, so some slack is good to remove the chain without having to open it.
@@cdgonepotatoes4219 the slack chain on a hub gear bike means either your wheel is just a tad too far forward, or you need a new chain cos its worn, or both!
Not all that important ! It's tensioned by gravity on the lower part of the chain :)
Love that you keep saying you don't have the time to ticker with derailleurs and bike maintenance, and then spend a huge chunk of all your free time running a youtube channel that discusses every little aspect of bike commuting! (thanks for doing this!)
Life is all about priorities.
There are quite maintenance free derailleur systems, but somehow they never caught on enough to become successful. Sachs Elysee for instance, and there has also been a Shimano variant. The difference is that the derailleur uses no spring, the gears change with a solid cable by manual power in both directions. The solid cable has almost no flex and almost no thermal expansion effect, making it shift properly almost forever, whereas almost all other derailleur systems need almost constant readjustment. My Sachs Elysee bike has six gears and therefore a pretty wide chain and everything is made of high grade steel, so there is almost no wear either, given you are using the right lubricant, like good Dupont dry teflon spray.
I think internal gears always make sense for a three speed. Not too much weight penalty. But after my 9 speed Alfine gave out around ~10000K on my folding bike, I replaced with a derailleur and the weight savings was a huge relief. Granted it’s a folding bike so carry weight is much more important than a non folder.
I have a Priority 600. By far, the best bike I have ever owned. I rode it from Nashville Tn. to Natchez MS. the last week of Oct 2020. Not one single issue. It was fantastic!
I also have one. After having a bike with a pinion transmission i wont touch a derailleur anymore. I wont consider any bike that has a derailleur
I love my 600 as well! Great bike 🚲
I just got a Priority Continuum Onyx (the CVT bike he shows in this video, actually). I'm kinda curious about the 600, but the range on my Continuum seems to be plenty for me right now. Maybe someday.
I'm waiting on my Classic Plus. I'm never going back to a derailleur again. I hate it.
My Priority Classic Gotham has an internal 3-speed hub. I wish it was at least 5 speeds, but I love it so much more than having a derailleur. The Gates carbon belt drive helps too!
For around 1900 Bucks you can fit your bike with a 14 speed Rohloff hub. 14 gears inline, no overlap like with a derailer. So you will cycle in the right gear, not too low or too high.
You can upgrade that for more gears and it will work the same way. There are several choices.
All internal gear hubs I've used have had this nasty tendency of freezing in cold temperatures. Can't move at all when that happens. From experience I can say maintaining them is a pain in the ass compared to derailleurs. Sure, the chain sometimes pops off from my front gear and I've had my rear wheel to eat one derailleur but that's nothing compared to being on the opposite side of the city and suddenly having no gear at all because your internal gear hub freezes again. For warm climates they might be okay.
Simple fix .... OIL the insides. My XL-RD5w has ALL my record speeds and distance days, 46 mph.
Rohloff14 on my 120 lb tour bike of course. LOL.
Tension the chain my dude!
Yes I was looking at that🧐
goodness, it was bugging me, too
Seriously, I was waiting for that thing to fly off and kill a pedestrian.
I'm a huge fan of the Shimano 333 internally geared 3-speed hub from the 70's. They work beautifully, are easy to set up and adjust, and you can't hurt those things. I like them better than Sturmey Archer hubs, which have spots between the gears where the pedals can break loose if not adjusted right and put you onto the pavement if you are standing up and peddling hard (this happened to me once, face planted onto my forehead) Shimano hubs have their own design for patent reasons and don't have the breakaway points. The old Shimano hub is simple and wonderful to ride. Especially with the twist shifter. I have three 26" bikes with this hub and a 16" folding bike with a Shimano 3-speed hub although not the 333. The 333 hub came on "department store" bikes made in the 70s (Sears, Huffy) which were American made and actually well built and reliable. Although I have several derailleur bikes the 3-speed internal geared bikes are my favorites.
And now we're seeing more (in the UK) internal hubs on e-bikes with carbon belt drives. A really good mix for commuting. Now I just need them to complete the new road that runs from my home town to my work town. It has a really wide cycle lane. Awesome!
I've got a 3 speed hub geared bike and so far I'm quite impressed with it. Ideal for commuting over mainly level terrain. I would be interested to try one with more gears to see it tackle some steeper hills.
Internal hubs are a no-brainer for city cycling.
Love being stuck in 14th gear with your derailleur at a traffic light? yeah, me neither
On that merit a mountain bike with 3x7 gears is better than a 14 gears road bike because you just need a turn of the left handle and lift the rear a second to just derail once, if you try to reduce your gear by too many steps the chain can fall off which isn't fun.
@@cdgonepotatoes4219 I have a 3x7 on my city bike, where I never switch the front gears (always in second) I never had problems with my chain going of, but I know how to properly adjust my derailleur (probably not the case for most city cyclers) and have a lot of habit when it comes to switching gears in city traffic.
But, as I said, you won't have these problems with internal hubs in the first place
@@richiericher9084 What I said wasn't what I consider "ideal", just broad lines the way I deal with the difficulty of switching gears on a standstill (using the front gears, thanks for fixing my vocabulary, which is basically dropping 7 gears at once).
If I ever get the chance to buy a bike with hub gears that suits my liking you can bet I'll make it mine, after my experience with chains that keep falling off (to be fair I'm not really a bike nerd or enthusiast) I won't look back.
Simple, just downshift as you come close when you see the stoplight go yellow or red.
Pull the front brake, push forward on the handlebars to lift the back wheel, click the shifter and turn the pedals with one foot. It's a bit fiddly, but not a big deal. If your foot is clipped in, even easier.
In general I shift down as I'm slowing down, so I don't find myself in that situation anyway, but when I do, it's not the end of the world.
Also, I like 1x setups, so I'm only shifting on the rear. If you frequently switch chainrings on the front in normal riding (most people don't), then it might matter a bit more.
In the early 1950s I had a Schwin with a 3 speed internal gear set, right here in the chew ass A. Loved it!
I"ve got two primary bikes. My year-round, all-weather bike is a belt drive with a Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub with integrated dyno hub, lighting, full fenders, and hydraulic disc brakes. It's a dream and nearly maintenance free. My fair-weather bike is a chain-drive single speed, caliper brakes, no fenders, no anything else. It's also an amazingly low maintenance bike. I don't miss dealing with the finickiness of a derailleur (especially a rear one) at all, as they can easily get out of tune being racked up with other cyclists smashing theirs into your derailleur as they lock up or a number of other ways. They get caught on things easily when trying to transport or portage the bike, and it's just more cogs and pulleys to collect excess oil and grime.
How is the maintenance cost to work on the internal hub? I’ve heard mention once about oil? Also,what if you need to change a flat tire or put in some new treads/tires? Vielen Dank for any answers.
@@rickyn1135 maintenance depends on what kind of IGH you’ve got. Most of the 3-8 gear hubs are typically sealed and aren’t really serviceable by a consumer easily. But they also don’t really need service unless something is going wrong - and when things go wrong, it’s probably dying. That said, they can be taken apart and dipped in a special grease and put back together. The higher end hubs, like the Rholoff and the Shimano Alfine 11 use a transmission-like oil. That is more easily serviceable, where the oil can be drained and replaced. Again, not a common thing that need to be done. I’ve had my Alfine 10 years and have had the oil replaced once. I should probably do it again. And I could do it myself with a kit. bikeshed.johnhoogstrate.nl/bicycle/drivetrain/shimano_alfine_inter_11/oil_change/
Regarding changing the rear tire? Knock wood, but I spend the money on really puncture-resistant tires: Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. Excellent weight for the durability. In 13 years of urban riding, I’ve never had a puncture flat on one. They’re expensive but worth it.
Regarding fixing a flat, it’s not the IGH that makes field repairs difficult (as it can more easily be done with an IGH with a chain). It’s the belt drive, which needs very specific tension on it when remounting the wheel. Not easily doable in the field. I’ve seen tips on how to patch a tube without ever removing the wheel, but I hope never to do it. I e actually never taken the rear wheel off myself, mainly because I never spent the money on buying the tools to check the belt tension and to adjust the esoteric bottom bracket for the tension. Some belt drives use a different system for belt tension. But generally, once it’s dialed in, it’s set until you need it serviced again (which I do anytime I need new Schwalbes or new pads or rotors on the hydraulic brakes. These are all things I’d rather have a pro do every 2-3 years. Still a shit-ton cheaper than having a car serviced.
On my single speed, I take care of all the maintenance. It’s so simple that I can.
I had a 1965 Schwinn Traveler with the Sturmey-Archer 3-Speed hub, one thing I really liked was you could move the shifter to the next speed then stay in the lower gear until you let off the peddling then it would shift almost like a automatic transmission to the next gear.
I had a BSA motorcycle that did that, it was a pre selector gearbox
I've been cycling since around 1957 (and still ride 10-20 miles most days) and have had many bikes over the years. But only once have I had one with derailleur gears; almost always 3-speed Sturmey-Archers. My mum bought me a 10-speed racer when I was about 13 and I didn't like it at all; (1) couldn't down-shift after stopping at a traffic light and (2) this was when the gear levers didn't have 'stops' so you could easily be sort of not-quite in gear and (3) the shifters were down on the frame, not on the handlebar.
I also rode ten-speeds with shifter levers down on the crossbar; intersections and stop signs were a pain, because I had to take a hand off the handle bar and my eyes off the road precisely in a moment I needed the most control and attention.
I’m a regular cyclist. I use my bike for everything, work, shop etc. I used to ride a pretty normal setup- a 2x11. I started to realise that I’m not like the Lycra clad weekend cyclists with the carbon bikes who seem to think they’re Lance Armstrong. First I noted that I rarely used my front derailleur, so I got rid of that. Then I noticed that whilst I do go through most of my gears I don’t stay in a lot of them. So I switched from a 1x11 down to a 1x8.
Now I’ve bought an Priority Apollo belt drive drop bar bike with an internal hub gearbox. Best bike I have ever bought although I’m gonna change the crank and rear gear when I can to handle the hills near me better.
My first bike was a stick shift 3 speed hub. It was awesome. I don't know why kid's bikes aren't all like this today.
Some current cruiser bikes with a 3 speed internal transmission use a rear coaster brake, but with a front rim brake. Myself, I am done with coaster brakes. But, internal hub transmissions seem to add a lot to the price of a bike over a derailer. Also, if a internal hub transmission does have a problem, I wouldn't want to tear one down and fix it. Now, having a drive belt with a few gears sounds great to me. I live in Hawaii, and rusting chains is a given here.
Pay more upfront, but far less over the years in reduced maintenance, not to mention saving time and frustration.
I like internal hub gears, but they have one disadvantage over derailleurs that you haven't touched - efficiency. A roller chain is just about the most efficient means of transmitting power that exists, and in terms of efficiency a derailleur is in essentially the same as a single speed (OK, plus a couple of tiny extra chain guide sprockets) because it only uses one sprocket at a time. The hub gear though, still has the chain but then adds a lot of complex mechanism in the form of gears, which leads to greater transmission losses.
True, but a poorly aligned/tuned derailleur can increase friction as well.
@@lelsewherelelsewhere9435 But a badly adjusted derailleur is probably still better than a geared hub, from an efficiency standpoint.
If you're dropping your chain, or making awful clickety clicks, that's a separate problem, but efficiency-wise, it's no contest.
I am well aware that this is an older video. I just built a schwinn Kluncker. 1979 26" beach cruiser. I had a very great set of araya 7x hoops that I added a 7 speed internal gear hub. Powered coated the frame and added other new components. I loved it. Friends love it. People I don't know love it. I'm mechanically inclined, so I am good with repairing my bike. Ride on ... 👍
No doubt about it. The internal hub is the go-to for in-town riding. On my Specialized Crossroads 1.0 I had a 7-gear Shimano derailleur system. I then switched over to a Shimano Alfine 8 internal hub and I can't be happy enough with the change. In city riding which is stop and go sometimes you have to stop on a dime. With an internal hub you can downshift at a stop as opposed to a derailleur where you must be in motion to shift gears. Also, the Alfine 8 shifts so smoothly /that I can almost swear I'm not shifting. And you can ride long distances as well. Definitely, internal hubs for me.
One of the advantages of internal gears is that it's easy cover it protecting your clothing and the chain and mechanism itself. It's hard to find a city/touring bike in the Netherlands without such a cover. A must have for any commuter bike I would say
I'm nearly buying a new bike with hub gears, 8 speed, and belt drive , heaven 🎉
Yes, the traditional 3-speed internal hub is easy to use, durable. However, fixing a flat tire can be much more difficult. To remove the rear wheel one must take a number o0f mechanical steps, some of which are very confusing. If it is a small puncture one can leave the wheel in place, partly remove the tire to game access to the tube to patch.
Add to that, having real good tire that "never" get flat (like the SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS), and it's not an inconvenience at all.
I bought it for me birthday, July 10th and have not stopped riding it! I get lots of compliments!!!
The most outrageous number of gears I'm familiar with was the 105 speed Quetzal recumbent. Triple chainring and 7 speed rear cluster connected by a 5 speed mid-drive.
For my next bike I'd like a Nuvinci or an Alfine. I've heard the Nuvonci is sluggish at low speeds because it's not turning fast enough to lock up, but I haven't tried it so I'm not sure.
But it looks promising.
Hello from the UK! I use a bike to get to work, and got fed up with the derailleur getting fouled up with dirt and needing regular attention. Then the chain kept slipping which resulted in me being deposited on the ground and quite badly derailleur, I figured that I only regularly used 7 of the gears, and some of those very briefly. I believe the popularity of the derailleur is down to ignorance, cost, and also the fact that 21-speed sounds better than 3-speed!
My perfect bike= hub gear, chain guard, proper mud guards, parcel rack with semi-rigid bag (oxford c14 bag), 700c wheels with road tyres (not too skinny)
Thank you for your video :-) PS - tighten up that chain!
Great comment. Thanks for sharing!
Derailleurs have the lowest internal friction losses of all systems, they are very efficient. They are also lighter. So in applications where performance is most important, they are the choice. When other factors become important, such as bad weather protection, etc such as in commuting, then the qualities of an internal gear hub can make them more attractive. So it’s not ignorance, there’s a good reason for the choices people make.
@@PRH123 You are not wrong for people who take cycling seriously, like yourself.
However, many people, especially the younger generation, don’t even know what a hub gear is! There are a lot of people using entirely the wrong bike for the purpose which they use it for, such as a mountain bike with off road tyres which will never see a muddy track, the people who have road dirt sprayed up their back because they don’t have mudguards, and the ones who cycle with their knees around their ears because they have their saddle set to low, these are the people who my comment was meant for (and I see a lot of them!) This is in the UK, possibly not so true in some other countries? All the best.
@@gord307 .... And they are getting worse. LOL..... 1x MTBs with a 30T crank. They are going 16 mph in HIGH gear. Fricking HILARIOUS. But then, 99% never will go near highways anyway.
You know, when I was a Child, we were literally bragging about how many gears our new bikes had...
It really comes down to cost, ignroance, and the fact, that derailors *are* better in many sport applications.
I mean have you ever visited a bike shop in eg the USA? It's barely possible to find any commuter bikes there, because most customers only use bike for sports over there.
And many People just have no blooody Idea.
I personally have 21 Gears, but I only use 7 of em. I don't ever use my front derailor, therefore I'm allready missing 2/3 or all gears. And I gotta say, 7 is great. I almost allways find that "seatspot" gear among those 7. My next bike will most likely be an internal gearhub.
Thank you for this, you've got yourself a subscriber! Very informative, especially as I'm looking to buy my first commuter bike - the Marin Presidio 3.
i love my nexus 7 speed Internal hub gear bike, ive done 700km+ bikepacking trip w it and can vouch for it! all combined ive ridden that thing easily more than 7k over the years. Your right that they are low maintacne thing but you should oil it atleast once a year.
One problem with internal hub shifting is that neutral gear is between medium and high, where the crank just turns free without turning the rear wheel. My father had a nasty accident on a three-speed bike where the shifter was controlled by twisting the right handlebar grip. He knocked out five of his top front teeth and cut open his chin. He was a mess. The next morning at church he was asked what happened. They thought he fell off a motorcycle and not a bicycle.
Me too! I had an old Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub bike that would suddenly lose drive when standing on the pedals going up hill!! Very dangerous, and I have the scars to prove it(!!!) - and complicated to fix, too. The reason the vast majority of bikes use derailleur set-ups is that they are proven to be more efficient (up to 99%) , lighter, and FAR cheaper. Modern hub gears are great tech, and I've nothing against them, but they will never match derailleurs in terms of energy loss, due to the number of, and friction involved, in the internal parts. Also, derailleurs are simple to maintain. I use teflon lube on my ebike (every 200 miles) and a chain and cassette last me 3000 miles+ (1 years riding). Use whatever gear system you like, but above all enjoy your bikes and stay safe! :)
That power loss may happen with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed, but not with a Rohloff. Gear 4 and 11 are direct drives = 1:1 gear ratio.
I so much prefer internal hub gears because they are easier, faster and more resilient. I will never go back to an old fashion derailer
Everybody knows that hub gears have more frictional losses than derailleur.
@@shannontrainer5857 ... NOT my SA RD 5w. Middle gear is direct drive, used 70% on the highway. I go 45 mph down 9% hills.
@@GordoGambler Hey, I read some of the descriptions in your videos, Turns out you're upright bike IGH fanboy.(Fanboy is too kind of a word; Nazi is more like it.)
@@shannontrainer5857 ... LOL. One time I went riding my 3x8 in the spring 30 miles. Snow, sand, puddle, sand, etc. I barely got home the chain was grinding so bad. ROFL. There's nothing wrong with my fenders and flaps either.
Plus my bikes can carry WAY more than a box of kleenex. ROFL.
NO busted spokes either. Go read about those on CGOAB deFAILeur blogs. ROFL.
Let's see you ride 8,100 miles on a 120 lb bike. ROFL.
@@shockadellick ... GaRbaGe....
My favorite bike: '73 Raleigh Sports, 3spd IGH Sturmey-Archer model "AW", Brooks B73 saddle (3 coil springs!), original self adjusting rim brakes, 37×590 Schwalbe's. I've had the hub apart twice; 2nd inspection looks as clean and unworn as when I reassembled it ten years previously. Added bonus: Shimano 3spd is a drop-in replacement for these S-A hubs, and is equally bombproof 😊
With the derailleur my bike repairshop advised to have the gears (and chain) check every ~4000 km and replaced if neccessary. With an internal gear maintainance is usually limited to a once a year check to see if the cable still fits (as it stretches a mm or so).
I even have a problem using a derailleur as I always forget to gear down when I approach a traffic light. With internal gears I just gear down when I stopped.
My fairly new Moulton SST has an 11 speed Shimano Alfine. My initial impression is that this is really a very good internal hub gear indeed. I've used a few IHGs over the years as well as a hybrid system.
As you say the IHG is much less maintenance than a derailleur however removing a rear wheel can be a little bit more complicated with the hub gear.
How the planetary IHGs actually work is rather fascinating actually.
I’m building a 29” BMX with an internal hub, doing research, thanks for the info!
i'd be curious if the axles hold up
Here in Germany internal hubs are very common, but since 10 or maybe even 20 years 7 or 8 gears are much ore common here than 3 gears. One nice thing about them is, that they work for many years with absolute no maintenance.
thats how you trash any hub with internal gearing..., as with any other hub
@@bb1039 I bet there are more hub that get destroyed by wrong maintenance than by no maintenance.
I have a 2 bikes with 7 gear hubs for in my garage. both bikes were used every day at whatever weather for far m more than 5 years. The hubs got zero maintenance and still work fine. Another bike before was thrown away after 10 years, the 7 gear hub was still working fine, but most of the rest of the bike was broken. I'm talking about rather cheap bikes for about 400 - 500€.
If you plan to use your bike for 50 years or want to resell it after some years, maintenance of course makes a lot of sence. But if it gets used for transportation every day at every weather it financially doesnt make much sense to spend a lot of time and money for maintenace.Today most peole buy a new bike because they wnat a new one, not because their old one is broken.
@@jeanyluisa8483 a lot true here, my point still stand that most parts are better off with looking after even if seemingliy works fine for years
cheers
Adding to my notes on the bike I'm shopping for, thanks.
I commuted by bike for 25 years - always with a derailleur-equipped bike - because that was what was available on lightish bikes at a reasonable price. I'm retired now and want something that won't go wrong on my jolly outings - the Enviolo hub with belt drive sounds perfect, even if it will cost me a little more.
This is strange for me. I mean I live in Europe (Poland to be exact) but all bikes sold here have derailers. MTB have them, trekking have them, even city bikes have them. The only bikes in which I've seen internal hubs were city bikes for rent, but my guess was it was due to maintaince and the fact those bikes spend their lives outside, rail or snow.
I suspect that Rohloff and Pinion are too expensive for the average Pole.
My daily rider for the last 15 summers is a 40 or 50 year old Glider (really a Raleigh Sport rebadged for the long defunct Eaton's department store chain) with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub. The most practical bike I've ever owned by a long shot. As a bonus I got it for $C40 (plus another $30 or so to make it roadworthy since it had been sitting in someone's garage for a couple of decades). I've had to spend money on repairs since, of course, but only once on the hub (second gear wasn't working and I needed to take it to a shop where someone knew the hubs).
I've never ever had good luck with derailleurs. I love my 3-speed. I have the gear ratio setup so that I have a super-low climbing gear I have a flat gear and I have a Tailwind / downhill gear. Most of the time I ride it like a single speed and just leave it in second gear which is direct drive. Plus I like having a coaster brake. I have that coupled with a decent front caliper brake. I do admit though that I would like to upgrade to a disc brake on the front end. Although to be honest 99% of the time I just use my coaster brake.
I have an internal 8 gear on my Recumbent trike, with a Bafang mid drive e-assist motor on the front. Speed is not an issue for me. Constant speed is, and getting up hills is, and with this combination, riding is fun again. Love those internal gears.
The derailleur system isn't just better because of weight savings, but also because of efficiency. A well-maintained derailleur system, even a cheap one, wipes the floor with any internal hub in that regard. Only the most expensive gear hubs come anywhere close (and even then still not quite), like the Rohloff hub. However the key word here is "well-maintained".
Disadvantages of derailer:
1. Brake for a red traffic light in gear 10 and good luck getting up to speed when it turns green. With an IGH you can switch back to a starting gear. That is why IGH are used in commuter bikes.
2. A cassette needs replacement every 3000 km/ 1400 miles and the chain 6000 km/ 2800 miles, so high maintenance costs. So a Rohloff is cheaper in the long run. I can replace the oil of my Rohloff for 25 Euros.
3. Your derailer is open and venerable for dirt. Bye efficiency. A IGH is closed and reliable. That is why world traveling cyclists prefer the IGH.
Sure, when cycling long distance in the countryside I would pick a derailer too. Or go for speed, like with a velomobile.
There is also an old story about a woman beating one of the top racers to the top of a climb like Mt Ventoux with an IHG vs the racer's fixed gear. This helped move the racing community to a geared system (apparently). IHG make such great sense for around town it is a wonder that they are not more common. Mostly I believe it is based around the marketing of the derailleur system as the gold standard for cycling. Additionally most bikes with vertical dropouts do not adapt well to moving to an IHG. Still for probably 90% of the cycling population they make the most sense.
Some people say the Enviolo hub has the same drawbacks as a CVT in a car, which is motorboaty and imprecise: Sometimes you want to hold a gear.
I love three speeds. They are perfect for NYC. One of mine is a fixie conversion, but both of my bikes use the Sturney-Archer S-RF3 hub. Great hub, alloy shell, not too heavy.
It's why I love the Dutch bikes. Internal hubs, disc breaks and every thing else you can think of to make a bike reliable. You don't want to pull out your bike for your commute and find the derailer is messed up or the break line needs tightened. If you have to be some where on time, you need something that works.
My first bike age 10 was a Raleigh RSW 16 Mk II. It had internal Strurmey Archer 3 speed gears, and an internal hub rear brake, on the front wheel was an internal hub dynamo. The fat tyres and the low centre of gravity made it a great bike. Wish I still had it.
That's "Sturmey" FYI
@@meteoroz thanks , never noticed the typo
Just bought a 3 speed dutch bike to use in winter. I'm definitly not it's first owner, so I bought it at the shop to give it a full maintenance. Can't wait to use it!
I date back to Sturmey-Archer gears (4 speed), and my experience was that the hub was great, until things went out of adjustment, then fixing was a real pain, so, only less maintenance in the sense that you can't easily fix the bloody thing if it does fail.
Oddly I preferred derailleurs after I changed over, and yes you do have to baby them, but the mechanism is easy to understand, so fixes tend to be trivial (of course, until wireless electronics and actuators take over, ugh)
The Rohloff hub has reliable shifting. I shift 2 gears up and 4 gears down. Also the gears are spaced closer together, so I always ride in the optimal gear. In the long run a Rohloff is cheaper, because cassettes and chains wear out in a few thousand miles and need replacing. A Rohloff is guaranteed for 40,000 miles.
This was really helpful thank you
Best part about internal hub..... no ka chunk sound when you change gears! So smooth. First time I experienced this was on an old beater rental in Amsterdam. Got home from my holiday and bought a 3 speed internal hub commuter immediately!
If you hear a ka-chunk on a derailleur system, you're shifting under load. That's a no-no.
While I have always admired the elegance and robustness of the classic Sturmey-Archer hub, the notion that commuters are better off with just a few gears does not apply broadly, and more nuanced advice would have been better. Most commuters don’t have tree-trunk thighs or elite VO2 maxes, and need lower gears to efficiently climb hills, and sometimes even to fight headwinds. The minor maintenance required to keep derailleurs humming is far less inconvenient than straining your knees or having to get off and walk, and it’s smart to do basic maintenance or have a bike shop do it occasionally no matter what drivetrain you use.
The oil change of a Rohloff hub is easy that any one can do it. Costs only 28 Bucks.
I love the Alfine 8 and Gates belt on my commuter except that huge 5-6 speed gear ratio jump which gets me every time.
That said, for mountain biking, the 1x derailleur based drivetrains are just so good these days. I am interested in trying one of the Pinion based gearbox bikes though.
Speaking of commuting, I've also been really happy with the Busch and Muller IQ-X lighting system with a Shimano Alfine dynamo hup I upgraded to recently.
Great video, thanks.
I've ridden >20k miles on my 2010 Gazelle bike with a Nexus 3 hub. My gears have never been serviced, and am still on my original chain (either original, or at least on the bike since 2012). My bike has been the single most reliable mode of transportation I have ever owned!
I'm a MTB guy myself, but I really walked away with a different perspective here. I want to try an IGH for my next bike now.
I switched to a Nexus 7 speed MEC bike a couple of years ago and I will probably never go back to derailleur gears. I'm a year-round cycle commuter and leasure rider: for me it's a no brainer : )
I wanted to widen the gear range of my 8-speed folding bike, and looked into my options. While I could add a smaller chainring to the stock 52T, it was less practical to also add a larger chainring. I also wasn't too keen on dealing with a clamp-on front derailleur because the seat tube is quite large in diameter. Instead, I opted for a 3-speed internal hub that also has a 8-speed cassette. I have the a mix of both worlds... and it works like a charm. Went from 29.9-87.1 gear inches to 22.1-116.1 and hills are now rideable!
ps. hello from #YQL
hi what brand is that?
@@rhett7716 it’s a Sturmey-Archer CS-RK3. SRAM made a similar hub called a DualDrive, but it’s been out of production for a very long long time.
Internal hubs DO need adjusting. Sturmy Archer 3 speeds can stick between gears and do not engage and you spin your cranks riding nowhere. The little spindle needs tinkering with, which is a black art I have yet to master. There are many types of spindle out there and its not easy to determine which you need if you need one. They are extremely durable and last a long time. I have got old Raleigh bike with hubs from the fifties that still work. That said they are heavy and in my experience run about a hundred bucks or more per gear.
I love the internal hub and derailleur combi on my 6-speed Brompton, really ideal for daily commuting, and my upgrade to 60T chainring makes my bike faster.
Sturmey-Archer also makes a 3-speed hub which has a splined cassette mount. The now discontinued Dahon Vector X27 had that setup with a SRAM hub: 3 speed internal hub with a 9 speed cassette for 27 usable gears.
I have 2 wheels with SRAM DualDrive hubs that is the same concept. I haven't used them yet as the wheels came without nuts and they are an odd thread. I also had a tough time finding the shift rod for the Clickbox but finally found a source in Germany.
Internal hubs are great......until something goes wrong. Better know how to work on it because most local bike shops don't want to touch them. The days of Sheldon Brown (Probably the best contributor of bike commuting in North America) are gone. Great video, thumbs up, ride safe!
True what you said. But the change that Internal Hub breaks down is very low. All the parts are inside, protected.
A friend of mine has cycled in 90 countries, mainly Afrika and Asia, and he had never had a failure of a hub. Should it happen, then the hub needs to be replaced and that takes times. Flying in a new hub from Germany, home of Rohloff and Pinion.
Love my Nexus 8 especially now in combination with my electric assisted Bafang Mid-drive 750 watt motor. I thought the motor would shred the hub but three years later still running great although i have had to replace a cog and a chain.
Maybe you should take a look at the Netherlands again. Most have internal geared hubs, the Sturmey Archer 3 speed has been the staple for ages. Though today Shimano is carrying the torch.
Thanks Tom. This was a good summary. I have IGH on a couple of bikes and it’s been bullet proof until it’s time to change a flat on the rear wheel. With IGH, disk brakes and fenders having to get removed to pull the wheel off on one of the bikes. Just something to watch for when selecting a frame.
Yes, a flat is a bigger headache with an internal hub. That’s a great point.
You shouldn't have to remove the wheel to fix a puncture. Pop the tube out while still on the bike. That said I haven't had a flat or leak in 6 years since I switched to puncture resistant tires.
@@odess4sd4d The Alfine is pretty easy to remove. Tho, yes, watch out for tyres too big for fenders. I have to deflate the ones on my eZee Sprint 3 lol.
I had a Nexus 8spd fitted to an old Trek 7100. It was a bit more difficult to get the back wheel off as you had to undo the cable and sometimes it was stubborn. The Nexus 3spd is easier, just detach the shifter mechanism on the side, one screw holds it in, wheel comes off. Don't know why you'd need to remove fenders. My current bike has mech discs and the tires can come off real easy.
Not to mention you need two wrenches to remove the wheel because internally geared hubs use nuts instead of quick releases.
I have been using derailers for a long time and just purchased an internal gear bike and an not going back they are just so much better.
I had a Schwinn 3 speed "light cruiser" as a kid. I got laughed at, because it was a "girl's bike", but it was great. We ended up selling it at a garage sale after I got a BMX bike.
Having a derailleur also means that you've got a little more change over gear ranges. You can easily buy a different cassette if you want a narrower or wider gear range, depending on the type of riding you do.
Also, I find the majority of shifting problems I've had are due to the front derailleur. It's super fiddly to get right, so that it runs in all gears, without dragging on the cage, and I find that if I adjust the rear derailleur perfectly on the big ring, it ends up a little off in the small ring, etc.
Seeing as most people really only change small to big at one point in the cassette it's only adding one more gear in real world use, even if you're theoretically doubling or tripling the number of gears.
I've always preferred 1x setups. Now with narrow-wide chainrings being fairly widely available, you can put one up front, and skip the front derailleur, a 10 speed cassette and shifter, and get most of the same conveniences (with the exception of stationary shifting, and protection from bending and weather), in a much simpler, cheaper way.
As far as maintenance goes, if you learn to set it up properly, it probably doesn't need any more than an internal geared hub should have. I haven't adjusted the rear derailleur on my 1x10 setup since I built it 4 years ago, and it still shifts perfectly. I'm not going to suggest that's typical, but I think there's an assumption that they're hard to adjust, when in reality, I think it's a combination of front derailleur hassles, mixed with poor initial setup. I do lube my chain, but unless you're going with carbon belts, you should be doing that anyway (and not waiting until it starts to squeak)
Also, few people ever really learn what all the adjustment screws actually do, and how to properly adjust them. If you learn to adjust them properly (look it up on park tools website), then it should actually not need overly frequent adjustment. Usually people who are fiddling with the RD constantly are often trying to fix the wrong problem (badly adjusted FD, or jammed up/damaged cables)
As a bicycle mechanic, I second this. I'd like to add that if you get fed up with keeping the front derailleur indexed, switch out the shifter for one giving you a wider range of clicks (for a 3 gear in the front, about 3/4 clicks per gear). Sure, it can be a pain to get into the gear you want at first. However, once you get to know your bike, you will understand where the gear bite points are. The best part: these types of shifters require virtually no maintenance/adjustments so you only have to pay attention to the rear derailleur. Best of luck!
Thanks for the very insightful comment (:
Derailers get “chain slip” in the high gears no matter how well they’re adjusted. If you shift into your highest (or 2nd highest) gear and push real hard on the pedals you will get chain slip! Single speed or IGH don’t have this problem, and aren’t nearly as fragile & troublesome.
With a Rohloff hub you can change the sprocket and the front chain ring in order to change your gear ratio.
Thank you Sir Tom
Great video, Tom! Internal gear hub makes a ton of sense on shorter rides. When you ride 10+ miles each way, derailleurs make more sense. They have a wider range of gear ratios and the bikes with IGH are usually bulkier and more robust.
Very true!
Not nessecarily. If your used to singlespeed and bmx an internal hub would be fine, i havent used an external durailer for decades.
Hmm, I've done century rides, 200k, 300k and a double century on a Shimano Nexus 7 IGH. No one has ever told me I shouldn't ride it more than 10 miles and I've done just fine. I say "run what you brung".
Deraillers also better for steep hilly rides where wider difference in gear ratio is needed I think
@@PedroRodriguez-kg4bq A Rohloff 14 has a 526% gear range. What gear range would you consider necessary for steep, hilly rides?
thanks for the content :)
I really have a new found love for internally geared hubs
Last year I got a cargo bike with one, and now I'm building a new daily/tour bike with an 11 speed Alfine gear hub and Gates belt drive... It's sooo good
And only about a 300 gram weight penalty compared to a MTB drivetrain with the same range
I like the Rohloff internally geared hub, especially on a mountain bike or a commuter.
If your commute is relatively flat, try a single speed. It saves weight, complexity, expense and maintenance. You are rid of the cassette, multiple chain rings, derailleurs, shifters and the cables. It's liberating.
Things are fairly flat here (I live in the Netherlands), but I wouldn't really want to give up my 7 speed internal hub gear any day soon. Commuting outside the city + flat terrain can make a headwind for 70% of the trip heading to towards the city very inconvenient. Or when it's wind in your back a higher gear to have a comfortable pedal rotation rate at high speed is very welcome too. Not to mention in the actual city dropping it to two gears lower than normal to quickly accelerate the first few seconds after traffic lights is something I wouldn't want to give up either.
But I've never been overly concerned about weight, always had the option to park my bicycle in the shed at home or barn back at my parents. And a shared parking shed during student times, none of this madness where it has to go up stairs. And weight has only gone up with ebikes, might be heavier but it feels more liberating tbh as a practical commuting vehicle. I no longer have to plan trip times around the wind just go with regular fifth gear, lowest assistance on normal days and if there's a lot of wind on the trip to work increase the assistance. Only need to account for the weather with potential extra time to put on rain suitable clothing and if it's safe (not too stormy/slippery during winter conditions). On the way home again I tend to just take my time for it and sometimes pick a less optimal route if I feel like it.
I have in the past used single speeds with a coaster brake, can't say I'm a fan. Nor do I like the hassle of an exposed chain with a derailleur system, internal hub gears with a chain guard really cut down on maintenance time. As long as you don't totally neglect it, a bit of chain cleaning, lubrication and adjusting tension will still be needed. Some people are so terrible to ignore it until it falls off one of the sprockets which is not a fun experience for them, especially if they don't even know how to get the chain guard off!
Another Dutchie here. Single speed coaster brake city bikes are very popular over here. I used a single speed bike to tour my village Weesp, doing grocery shopping. Until I became older and I needed gears.
I have run into some vintage bikes with internal hubs and they look quite difficult to service compared to rear derailleurs. Also, the parts for them are quite hard to find. That said, all these mechanical parts are getting antiquy. I am reminded of this daily when some grandma drops me on an e-bike with flowers and groceries while wearing sandals and I find myself breathing hard to keep up.
SJS cycles in SW UK has any part for any SA hub. But yah, over in NA the LBS knows F all.
Stay away from Sh!tmano hubs.
You only need to service them every 5-10 years, even with heavy usage in bad weather. I took my Sturmey Archer hub apart five years after buying the bike and everything inside was pristine, it looked brand new and all of the lubricant was still fresh.
I'm more used to derailleur and it's cheaper, though SRAM X5 is my favorite shifter just for the precise shifts. The 1:1 cable movement means less jumping gears due to less cable tension and more cable motion between changes.
Cost is a factor. But seldom used correctly. Usually only the purchase cost is considered. Without the additional maintenance cost.
An internal gear hub has (in practice) no maintenance cost. And, on top of that, chains and sprockets last longer, much longer, with internal gear hubs versus deraillers.
I have not calculated it but I expect given the life time costs, as opposed to purchase cost of the internal gear hub only, there probably is not much of a cost difference (for a mid price range internal gear hub versus a mid price derailler system).
Awesome & Thanks :)
Im a big fan and user of IG hubs, but a couple things not mentioned in the video: If you regularly ride on *very* steep hills they may not be the best choice, usually have a narrower gear range than a typical derailleur setup. And you should consider whether there are mechanics where you live who are comfortable working on the internals of an IG hub--there are few where I live, it seems. And they are best used with puncture-resistant tires, as they make it a bit more laborious to fix a flat tire in a hurry. Still those trade-offs have been worth it for me.
The Rohloff and Pinion have great ranges of gears; 526 % and over 600 %. But they are expensive.
I have been using a Shimano Nexus 8 speed for about five years now. I have come to the conclusion that there is more pedaling resistance as well as a drag on the rear axle when not pedaling with the Nexus. Have you found this to be true?
True. And it will get more noticeable if you don’t annually re-grease the hub.
3 speed gear hubs are supposed to be robust enough to take a motor, could they take the torque of a small engine? I understand the beating of the powerstroke is pretty hard on small gears, but wouldn't a belt and centrifugal clutch smooth it out enough?
First time I’ve heard anyone extoll the virtues of hub gears. I rode a bike with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub and it was fantastic for commuting. Being able to change gear instantly anytime, without pedalling, freewheel backwards to set the pedals either for takeoff or just to balance when jumping a median strip or gutter. So versatile. I detest riding with a derailleur for all those reasons.
Most people I’ve talked to don’t get it but now I know it’s not just me!
I have a bike with a derailleur and effing hate it. My next bike, which is on order, is a Priority Classic Plus with 3 speed internal hub and Gates Carbon belt drive.
@@cmmarttiWell ok, true. But you can't change gears. (I'd forgotten you can actually back pedal cos whenever I try and ride a bike w/ derailleurs I get off after two minutes and say "Now I remember why I like hub gears". lol.
(ps. Even backpedalling the chain usually slips off after a full turn - I've found)
@@joellebrodeur1015 Didn't see your comment, 5 months ago!
In Japan internal gears are very common. Bicycles are used as an everyday utility rather than just for exercise or a hobby and low maintenance is a desirable feature.
Mamacharis and school bicycles especially use them.
Nuvinci CVTs are pretty cool but they're really heavy, it's a lot easier to cycle to work or school when your bike is light , that's why most of us who commute on bikes end up getting carbon fibre and titanium bikes. Plus derailleurs tend to be cheaper, here , an 11 speed Nexus Alfine without the front chainring and crank costs as much as the entire XT set with brakes . . I don't really do any maintenance on my derailleur. Like I lube the chain that's about it. It did go slightly out of alignment from cable stretch once but I just needed to turn the barrel adjuster , didn't even need to stop cycling.
I commute 18km one way on a steel frame, XT 3x10, rack integrated XT hub dynamo and I rarely shift, but that is not always good because if you don't shift once in awhile the gears can get sticky. I crashed on ice this year, and bent the derailer hanger a bit. It wasn't shifting into the smaller cogs, last three.
I am used to barrel adjustments while riding and cable tensioning.
Basically, I bought tools and learned how to use them. A repair stand is also a great investment and a cheap one us better than none at all.
I am not really the best bike mechanic but I am learning to do little tasks.
I don't want to convert to single speed even though I can ride my long, slightly hilly, commute without shifting, using momentum and I am not riding competitively.
Even with a bent derailleur I was able to ride in comfortable gears. But it was good to fix the problem and bent derailleurs are a common problem.
When my derailleur is in tune, I am in tune and nothing could be better except for maybe a single speed, my dream. But I only own one bike.
I think the main reason for derailleur & external gear types is cost. To get the same gear spread as a 3 x 8 speed set up you are looking at around $500. extra for the hub, wheel build & install.
Cost is a factor. But seldom used correctly. Usually only the purchase cost is considered. Without the additional maintenance cost.
An internal gear hub has (in practice) no maintenance cost. And, on top of that, chains and sprockets last longer, much longer, with internal gear hubs versus deraillers.
I have not calculated it but I expect given the life time costs, as opposed to purchase cost of the internal gear hub only, there probably is not much of a cost difference (for a mid price range internal gear hub versus a mid price derailler system).
@@wimahlers Yes, a derailer must be replaced every 5000 km and the chain will wear out too. So combined over 40,000 km, a Rohloff is cheaper then a derailer.
Derailleur is newfangled! I grew up with the venerable Sturmey-Archer three speed internal.
I think the sports culture has a lot to do with it as you say. However that doesn't explain why you don't see them on kid's bikes and bikes specifically sold as city and commuting bikes all the time.
My theory for that is that the manufacturers know most people have no idea what a geared hub is so it's not something most customer expect (even though they should) and derailluers are cheaper, particularly at the lower end of the market so it allows them to keep the sticker price down a bit even though their customers would be better served by hub gears.
I'm now seeing bikes with hub gears more often although it might be cause I'm looking more.
I've had derailleur bikes for many years..road bikes and mountain bikes. When they work properly they are great however they can be finicky to tune when they get out of adjustment. Internal hub bikes are perfectly sufficient for most 'leisurely' fun riding and are easy to maintain. I remember when years ago internal hub bikes were the rage before derailleur bikes took over the market. (they used to be called 'English racers'). I recently found an old internal hub 3-speed 26" middleweight cruiser out by the road for garbage..it was in decent shape all I had to do was put new tires/tubes on it, new brake pads, CLA it and she's good to go. It will be perfect for leisurely rides on prepped asphalt and hard pack gravel bike paths. A lot cheaper than the $500.00 plus they want now for 'gravel bikes'.
This video might convince me to keep those sturmy archer 3 speeds on $10 Raleigh/Triumph bikes
are you happy with sturmey? Thinking of getting one on my single speed
On my classic derailleur bike I never use more than 3 or 4 of the available 24 gears. In fact I never move the front derailleur at all; it stays on the largest gear 100% of the time. The rear goes between 5 and 8. Up hills, down hills, whatever, these are all the gears I need. My bike has a plastic crate attached onto the rear carrier rack in case I need to haul something, so weight isn't really that important to me.
I'd love to have a simple hub shift system, so long as the ratios were set pretty high. Maybe on my next bike.
Is there a 3 speed internet hub bike you’d recommend? Also what are you riding??