Internal gears

[Imlach]

Hey,

I've been riding singlespeed for the last 3 years and it's been a mostly enjoyable experience. But recently on longer trips I have found it a bit limiting, particular on routes where the terrain changes a lot. I have therefor been thinking of a way to maintain the simplicity and clean looks of singlespeed while having more of a range, and the conclusion was internal hub gears. Ideally a 3 speed, which would just allow me to not spin out in hilly areas which is a huge problem.

I am therefor looking for opinions on internal hub gears and how much maintenance is required. I used to use derailleurs for a long time but found that they were a hassle to maintain - is this much of an issue on internal hub gears?

Also, how do they hold up off-road? I do not ride rough but I do a lot of gravel riding and light xc.

Any recommendations?

 

[DrGooGoo]

I have a gravel bike I built up with a Sturmey Archer Kickshift hub. It works well. I have the freewheel option. Just pedal back a quarter of a turn and it switches gears. It gives you 2 gears--a low gear (direct drive) and a high gear (1.4 x direct drive). I run a 42 tooth chainring in the front and a 20 tooth cog. It's like a 42x20 (low) and 46x16 (high).

 

[Imlach]

I have a gravel bike I built up with a Sturmey Archer Kickshift hub. It works well. I have the freewheel option. Just pedal back a quarter of a turn and it switches gears. It gives you 2 gears--a low gear (direct drive) and a high gear (1.4 x direct drive). I run a 42 tooth chainring in the front and a 20 tooth cog. It's like a 42x20 (low) and 46x16 (high).

Thank you for your input mate. I had heard Sturmey Archer generally produce robust hubs, so I figured that was the way to go. Anything to provide a bit of stability to my pedaling while going downhill.

Onwards to find out if anyone has a 26 wheel kicking about with a 3 gears Sturmey Archer.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

I picked up a set of SA hubs with gears and brakes inside, not actually done anything with them yet! 8 speed I think. spent a bit of time working out if they were lighter than the alternative external gubbins (probably not).
Brand new but came built into some iffy looking 700c rims. The bike is just hanging in the shed waiting for me to get bored enough to actually connect everything up. It's been 3 years so far....

 

[hamster]

The Shimano Alfine hubs seem to last, while the old 3-speed Sturmeys are bulletproof, many having lasted over 50 years.

 

[kingoffootball]

The Shimano Alfine hubs seem to last, while the old 3-speed Sturmeys are bulletproof, many having lasted over 50 years.

I have an Alfine 8 speed hub on my Karakoram Elite, it's done five figure mileage, the only "maintenance" has been adjust the cable every couple of years and it still shifts like it did when new, so I can recommend them from that point of view.

 

[jimo746]

Have you considered going dingle-speed? Either up front or at the rear.
I’ve ridden a Nexus hubbed bike, which was “ok”, I imagine the Alfine 8 or 11 speed would be much better though.
As above, I believe the SA 3-speed hubs are pretty bombproof, but if you only want a couple of extra gears it’s worth looking at the double cog/chainring option, still a clean looking system but requires manual changes.

 

[Imlach]

Have you considered going dingle-speed? Either up front or at the rear.
I’ve ridden a Nexus hubbed bike, which was “ok”, I imagine the Alfine 8 or 11 speed would be much better though.
As above, I believe the SA 3-speed hubs are pretty bombproof, but if you only want a couple of extra gears it’s worth looking at the double cog/chainring option, still a clean looking system but requires manual changes.

I have looked at the dinglespeed option but I'm not sure how keen I am on manual change. I think I'd prefer internal gearing and Alfine is certainly higher on the list now that I've heard many recommend it. Think I'll see if I can find someone who has a 26 wheel with an 8 speed alfine for sale. Appreciate all the help guys.

 

[jimo746]

I almost bought a 2nd hand Carrera "Subway 8"Recently which was going cheap, the 8-speed Alfine version, I only wanted the Alfine bits to give it a try, would have worked out cheaper than picking up an Alfine kit.

 

[Imlach]

I almost bought a 2nd hand Carrera "Subway 8"Recently which was going cheap, the 8-speed Alfine version, I only wanted the Alfine bits to give it a try, would have worked out cheaper than picking up an Alfine kit.

Will see if I manage to find anything, else I'm just sticking to my singlespeed setup which I'm pretty content with. But sometimes when I'm way into a longer ride, I fantasise about being able to just pop it into a different gear.