Author Topic: Why internal hubs?  (Read 35754 times)

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Offline whittierider

Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #30 on: July 30, 2011, 04:20:56 pm »
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If you're going to spend all that money, why stay with a chain?  I have heard a belt drive doesn't need to be lubricated, doesn't come off the sprocket, and in general is more reliable with less maintenance.

See what someone very knowledgeable wrote about that on the bicycling forum in his post.  He's the owner of a large bike shop, a cat-1 racer, a frame builder, somewhat of an industry guru, who puts on about 12,000 miles a year, and has led tours in Europe, and toured bike factories around the world.

Offline threedogs

Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #31 on: August 02, 2011, 06:15:03 pm »
I have a Rohloff. It's been flawless. Wouldn't give it up for anything, and no I would never consider a belt.

Offline Lowly Swale

Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #32 on: August 03, 2011, 07:46:13 pm »
I'm at Steamboat Springs, just over halfway through Gt Divide.
My Rohloff is doing just fine and today I remembered one of the great things about riding with it.
Today was a day off touring so I did some sight seeing by riding up Storm Peak.
The quicker change through a whole bunch of gears comes in handy on those roller coaster bits of climbs.
Example, really pushing hard up ridiculously steep single track in granny gear one, suddenly there's a respite, a technical downhill lasting about 20 seconds then back to the grind.
I just don't think I'd bother changing on dereilleur gears but with Rohloff I could shift up to 7 or 8 for a few revs then straight back to granny without any worries of losing the chain.

Offline whittierider

Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #33 on: August 03, 2011, 09:25:13 pm »
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but with Rohloff I could shift up to 7 or 8 for a few revs then straight back to granny without any worries of losing the chain.
A little more foolproof I suppose, although with proper adjustment, losing the chain is not an issue with derailleurs either.  Unfortunately there are even a lot of bike-shop mechanics who don't get the front-derailleur adjustment right, and then they just say "it's the nature of the beast," which is not true.  And with bar-end shifters, you can go from one end of the cassette to the other all in one motion, unlike STI.  I frequently shift both front and rear at the same time, and never lose the chain.

Offline threedogs

Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #34 on: August 03, 2011, 10:28:11 pm »
I used to shift front and rear at the same time too. Works well if everything is adjusted properly, but it took a lot of concentration, and was also pretty noisy. My speed hub is much more quiet in comparison. Now I shift without really thinking about it. Back six, or up three, it's pretty seamless and intuitive.  

There are simply tradeoffs between derailleurs and IGH. Personally I'd take my Sram XO before any other IGH except my speed hub. Rohloffs are somewhat heavy and expensive, but for me it's been great. I bought mine without even having ever seen one before. They are imo worth the money, and highly recommended but buy new. Don't buy a used speed hub unless you know a great deal about them.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2011, 10:30:34 pm by threedogs »

Joe B

  • Guest
Re: Why internal hubs?
« Reply #35 on: August 15, 2011, 10:39:18 pm »
I always thought the primary reason for them was not, durability or convenience. The first thing I saw was, Wow there's nothing to rip off/bend/mangle/snag  on a rock.