Recumbent - Looking for information. Sachs Sram dual drive or Super7?

Hi everyone,

I'm a total novice here so I thought I'd ask for some of your expert help.

I am looking to buy a trike and I can choose to have a Sachs Sram dual drive or a Sachs Super7 installed.

Do any of you know which would be better and which requires less maintanence??

Thank you,
Martha

Hi everyone,

I'm a total novice here so I thought I'd ask for some of your expert help.

I am looking to buy a trike and I can choose to have a Sachs Sram dual drive or a Sachs Super7 installed.

Do any of you know which would be better and which requires less maintanence??

Thank you,
Martha

Unless I'm mistaken, Sachs == SRAM and the Super-7 is the same as the SRAM Spectro S7, so you're really looking at 2 different types of drivetrains from the same manufacturer:

Dualdrive: 3-speed hub with a 7, 8 or 9 speed cassette.
Pros: up to 27 gears. Important on a trike. No front derailleur, ability to shift the hub at a standstill, if you get stuck in high gear unexpectedly. Middle hub gear is direct drive without power loss. You can change the cassette to ratios you like. The clickbox is a nice idea, easy to disconnect and adjust. Pretty durable (I tested it :-).
Cons:you still have a rear derailleur and a cassette to clean and change now and then.

Spectro 7: 7-speed hub
Pros: nothing to clean, little maintenance, ability to shift across the whole range at a standstill.
Cons: fixed ratios, not as wide a gear range as what you can get with a cassette, special unique sprocket that takes all the beating alone (instead of wear spread out on the whole cassette), small power loss in the gears inside the hub in all but the direct drive gear.

So in the end, it depends on what you're after: if you hate derailleurs and you really don't want to know what's going on in the drivetrain, go for the Spectro (Super-7). If you don't mind a rear derailleur and a little extra maintenance, go for the DualDrive. For hill climbing abilities, I'd go for a DualDrive personally. If you plan on climbing really tough hills, especially with a loaded trike, I'd say stay away from both of them, because you can't add a front derailleur with a very small granny gear without going over the hub's acceptable torque ratings.

I'm usually pretty wary of geared hubs personally, because there's nothing that can be repaired on the road if anything goes wrong with them. I prefer putting up with standard derailleurs and know I can find spare parts almost anywhere. But, as geared hubs go, I do like the DualDrive. It's been pretty trouble-free for me. I like the ability to crash-stop in any gear, kick down the hub gear and be able to restart the bike without looking like an arse. If I had to go gear hub all the way, I'd choose a Rohloff speedhub, for the sheer beauty of the system and the rave reviews for it, but at over $1000 it's too much for a cheap guy like me. Not to mention that I don't need it :-)

Unless I'm mistaken, Sachs == SRAM and the Super-7 is the same as the SRAM Spectro S7, so you're really looking at 2 different types of drivetrains from the same manufacturer:

Hi and yes, they are.


Dualdrive: 3-speed hub with a 7, 8 or 9 speed cassette.
Pros: up to 27 gears. Important on a trike. No front derailleur, ability to shift the hub at a standstill, if you get stuck in high gear unexpectedly. Middle hub gear is direct drive without power loss. You can change the cassette to ratios you like. The clickbox is a nice idea, easy to disconnect and adjust. Pretty durable (I tested it :-).
Cons:you still have a rear derailleur and a cassette to clean and change now and then.

Spectro 7: 7-speed hub
Pros: nothing to clean, little maintenance, ability to shift across the whole range at a standstill.
Cons: fixed ratios, not as wide a gear range as what you can get with a cassette, special unique sprocket that takes all the beating alone (instead of wear spread out on the whole cassette), small power loss in the gears inside the hub in all but the direct drive gear.

So in the end, it depends on what you're after: if you hate derailleurs and you really don't want to know what's going on in the drivetrain, go for the Spectro (Super-7). If you don't mind a rear derailleur and a little extra maintenance, go for the DualDrive. For hill climbing abilities, I'd go for a DualDrive personally. If you plan on climbing really tough hills, especially with a loaded trike, I'd say stay away from both of them, because you can't add a front derailleur with a very small granny gear without going over the hub's acceptable torque ratings.

My bikeE has a dual drive with a 46 tooth front crank and I love it. I've never had any problems with it!!!


I'm usually pretty wary of geared hubs personally, because there's nothing that can be repaired on the road if anything goes wrong with them. I prefer putting up with standard derailleurs and know I can find spare parts almost anywhere. But, as geared hubs go, I do like the DualDrive. It's been pretty trouble-free for me. I like the ability to crash-stop in any gear, kick down the hub gear and be able to restart the bike without looking like an arse. If I had to go gear hub all the way, I'd choose a Rohloff speedhub, for the sheer beauty of the system and the rave reviews for it, but at over $1000 it's too much for a cheap guy like me. Not to mention that I don't need it :-)

Oh nooooo, now that you mention it, that sounds much better!!! Can you tell me abou that? Would it require any maintenance? Would it be worth it? :D Since I will be buying the trike from Germany I may be able to get it for a bit less than $1,000.00..maybe....

Thanks SO much!
Martha :)

My bikeE has a dual drive with a 46 tooth front crank and I love it. I've never had any problems with it!!!

Right. I have a DualDrive on my BikeE too, it never failed me. But I still prefer a good old derailleur. I guess it's a psychological issue or something... With a derailleur, I have all the bits and pieces exposed and easy to fix up, with duct tape or bits of string if it has to come to that. Not so with a gear hub, you have to trust it. I've broken so many unbreakable things on my various bikes that I don't want to.



Oh nooooo, now that you mention it, that sounds much better!!! Can you tell me abou that? Would it require any maintenance? Would it be worth it? :D Since I will be buying the trike from Germany I may be able to get it for a bit less than $1,000.00..maybe....

I'd like to get my hands on one. It's reported to be a sweet, very reliable piece of engineering. I've heard reports of 70,000+ km on a hub without anything more than dropping oil in it twice a year. I'd get me one for $500 in a flash, but I'm choking on something that small being over a grand. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a sound investment, given the life expectancy of the thing, but I just can't get used to the idea of having so much money hanging by 36 spokes to a $50 rim and a $5 tire, attached to a bike that doesn't cost much more than the hub itself :-)

I'd like to get my hands on one. It's reported to be a sweet, very reliable piece of engineering. I've heard reports of 70,000+ km on a hub without anything more than dropping oil in it twice a year. I'd get me one for $500 in a flash, but I'm choking on something that small being over a grand. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a sound investment, given the life expectancy of the thing, but I just can't get used to the idea of having so much money hanging by 36 spokes to a $50 rim and a $5 tire, attached to a bike that doesn't cost much more than the hub itself :-)

It is a lot of money, isn't it? I'm thinking I would be better off just getting the dual drive, same size as by bikeE which has served me so well.

Thanks for your input. I'd have to pay about $850.00 for it.

Anyone else?

Martha :)