Advice for biking in the rain

[chris_s]

@AFHokie 100188 wrote:

Who do I tell to shut up and take my money?

Papillon Cycles

[mattotoole]

@Sunyata 100192 wrote:

I have Raleigh Misceo 4.0 with the 11 speed IGH. I ended up getting a super deal on it from my (used to be) local shop in Lynchburg, VA, which made it about $400 cheaper than the Breezer. And I can not praise that bike enough. It is AWESOME.

I almost bought one for a MTB, figuring I could get a better fork if necessary and still have a good belt drive IGH MTB for well under $2000.

Alfine-11 bikes couldn’t be marketed as MTBs so they called it a trail & path bike or something. Then they changed that model. It was a great buy while it lasted, so congrats!

For commuter bikes, the Breezer looks great, also the Trek Soho.

[jabberwocky]

I know a few people who have tried belt-driven SS mountainbikes. I don’t think any of them ended up keeping the belt drive. They all had issues (mostly snapping belts) and converted back to chains.

[Sunyata]

@jabberwocky 100206 wrote:

I know a few people who have tried belt-driven SS mountainbikes. I don’t think any of them ended up keeping the belt drive. They all had issues (mostly snapping belts) and converted back to chains.

I know several people who have carbon belt drives on SS mountain bikes and love them for every day rides, but would not use them for an endurance race. The biggest thing was to use one of the newer carbon belt drives with the center channel. It keeps the belts on the gears and prevents additional wear on them. The reason for not using them for endurance races is that if the belt does snap, carrying a spare is nearly impossible.

I have not heard of anyone utilizing an IGH for a true mountain bike though. I am curious to know how it would hold up to the additional beating and torque. Plus, changing a rear flat would be a pain…

[hozn]

@Sunyata 100218 wrote:

I have not heard of anyone utilizing an IGH for a true mountain bike though. I am curious to know how it would hold up to the additional beating and torque. Plus, changing a rear flat would be a pain…

Oh, this is definitely a thing: http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/

My buddy ran a Rohloff for a few years. He is really hard on gear (broke several frames during the life of that hub), but it survived. It wasn’t maintenance-free, though, and service isn’t cheap. And it contributed to one of the frames breaking

And these IGHs are heavy and I would rather not have that unsprung weight.

[Harry Meatmotor]

Shimano explicitly warns against using their IGHs for anything more than lightly spirited riding, even the nicer alfine hubs aren’t meant for MTB use. The rohloff hubs do tend to hold up under heavy abuse, but you’re definitely going to pay for it up front and through maintenance in the long term. I will say that holding a $1400 hub as nice as the rohloff in your hand is pretty cool – they’re built like a luxury wristwatch. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to overhaul one, though.

[mstone]

@Harry Meatmotor 100249 wrote:

I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to overhaul one, though.

I think it’s actually pretty easy: you put it in a box, and send it back to the factory.

[dplasters]

Well I kinda got us here..

I do own the Gates CDX belt drive which is the one with the center channel. I’ve had no issues at all with it. I’m just shy of 2,000 miles on it. I don’t think its really “new” anymore. As it is I bought a previous model year bike and it had the CDX drive. I think they came out with it in 2011 or 2012? So most bikes will have the CDX I’d assume.

My internal hub is rather more simple and costs only $85. But is also only two gears, but thats what muscles are for, right? The S2C got panned pretty hard, that is the one with the coaster break. Lots of issues with them. The S2 with the freewheel has been really very positive from what I’ve experienced and read. SRAM has an automatic shifting 2 speeder but apparently it shifts at just really dumb intervals. But you can fix that with some tinkering apparently.

Real crisis – How am I suppose to run hipster aerospoke wheels with my internal hub???

[Harry Meatmotor]

@mstone 100250 wrote:

I think it’s actually pretty easy: you put it in a box, and send it back to the factory.

The last time i heard about servicing a Rohloff hub, it had ~15k miles on it and had stopped shifting; sent back to Rohloff to the tune of $250 or so.

[jabberwocky]

Regarding the gates belt drive, I have one friend who was an early adopter. He had numerous tracking and belt-breakage issues, and eventually Gates upgraded him to to the newer center tracking one, which solved the tracking problems but he still broke several belts. There is a picture somewhere on FB of him using a broken belt as a tow strap so a friend could get him back to the lot. He really wanted to like it, but finally switched back to chains.

I also did a ride with someone recently who was taking their brand new belt drive SS out for a ride. The belt snapped less than a mile from the lot.

I just don’t know that they are really up to MTB abuse, especially on a singlespeed. They seem to do fine for commuting though.

[Steve O]

@Harry Meatmotor 100255 wrote:

The last time i heard about servicing a Rohloff hub, it had ~15k miles on it and had stopped shifting; sent back to Rohloff to the tune of $250 or so.

Less than 2 cents per mile. Not bad.

[sam_aye_am]

Couple of years ago, a guy set a new record for Tour Divide riding a belt drive rohloff. Only changed the belt once.
http://twentynineinches.com/2012/08/03/interview-with-tour-divide-winner-ollie-whalley/

[hozn]

@sam_aye_am 101760 wrote:

Couple of years ago, a guy set a new record for Tour Divide riding a belt drive rohloff. Only changed the belt once.
http://twentynineinches.com/2012/08/03/interview-with-tour-divide-winner-ollie-whalley/

Isn’t that only lime 2500 miles? The belt didn’t even last as long as a chain?

[vvill]

@hozn 101772 wrote:

Isn’t that only lime 2500 miles? The belt didn’t even last as long as a chain?

The article says other riders had to do multiple chain replacement, guess that ride is really tough on drivetrains.

That and this article kinda make me want to try belt drives.
http://cyclingabout.com/carbon-belt-drive-everything-you-ever-need-to-know/

[mattotoole]

@Harry Meatmotor 100249 wrote:

Shimano explicitly warns against using their IGHs for anything more than lightly spirited riding, even the nicer alfine hubs aren’t meant for MTB use. The rohloff hubs do tend to hold up under heavy abuse, but you’re definitely going to pay for it up front and through maintenance in the long term. I will say that holding a $1400 hub as nice as the rohloff in your hand is pretty cool – they’re built like a luxury wristwatch. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to overhaul one, though.

Because of dust and maintenance, SoCal mountain bikers have been experimenting with IGHs and belt drive — and mostly doing pretty well. Shimano has to consider the largest riders, especially if they’re tinkering with lower gearing. If that’s not you, you’re unlikely to have problems with a Shimano IGH, even outside its designed use.

Plenty of 50 year old 3-speeds have been working fine with no maintenance at all. This is typical of IGHs, even Rohloffs. All most of them need is oil changes — once every few years.

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