Winter Cycling - Shaft-drive, internal gears for a winter commuter?

I sold my beater bike last month and I'm looking to replace it with another bike that I can use specifically for those nastier days in the winter when I usually drive, rather than ride, to work. Has anyone had any experience with internal gear hubs and chainless shaft drives? It seems to me like these might be a good choice for riding in the snow and muck, but I have zero experience with these types of set ups (can an old dawg learn new tricks?). Any advice, experiences, makes, models, ect. you feel like sharing would be greatly appreciated.

Search the forums for "shaft drive" I think that will pull up the recent tread about that.
It was well covered.
They are not weather sealed well for the winter. Shaft drive really does give you "The shaft". :)

Search the forums for "shaft drive" I think that will pull up the recent tread about that.
It was well covered.
They are not weather sealed well for the winter. Shaft drive really does give you "The shaft". :)

Thanks, I've been reading those threads and the chainless drive doesn't seem like a good idea, but the internal gear hub sounds interesting. I have been debating between a Breezer Uptown and a Novara Fusion.

Thanks, I've been reading those threads and the chainless drive doesn't seem like a good idea, but the internal gear hub sounds interesting. I have been debating between a Breezer Uptown and a Novara Fusion.

I agree, pass on the shaft, but the internally geared hubs are fine. One thing to think about before you make a decision is this..If you have had your derailleur stick in one gear in the winter, it most likely was a stuck cable and not the derailleur itself. The internal geared hubs have cables too, so they may be about the same as far as that goes.

Slow down and get just one gear. It is just as good for the most part.

I've gotabout 10,000 miles on my Nexus-7 internal hub, of which about one quarter are winter. I agree that any problems that you have are likely to be in the shifter cable, and recommend that you change the cable and housing every year or two to keep moisture out. I've had bad luck with derailleurs in the snow -- they become very maintenance intensive, and I would not consider using them. Getting stuck in one gear was not one of the typical problems, however.

Paul

Paul

I've gotabout 10,000 miles on my Nexus-7 internal hub, of which about one quarter are winter. I agree that any problems that you have are likely to be in the shifter cable, and recommend that you change the cable and housing every year or two to keep moisture out. I've had bad luck with derailleurs in the snow -- they become very maintenance intensive, and I would not consider using them. Getting stuck in one gear was not one of the typical problems, however.

Paul

Paul

What kind or problems did you have with the derailleurs?

Slow down and get just one gear. It is just as good for the most part.

That's a good idea to look at too. I was a Fixie freak in my younger days, even did a full century on an old Schwinn fixie, until one day when I out-machoed myself on a big-assed hill and blew out my knee. Another fixie wouldn't suit my commute, but a nice single-speed just might.

The way I see it the less to go wrong the better in poor conditions.
Fixies are simplest and you always have a brake if your hand brakes freeze.
Single speed are still simple but braking can be a problem. Hub or coaster brakes maybe more reliable than rim brakes.
Internally geared hide the mechanicals from the ice and salt which helps and give you some gears.
Derailers can work in most conditions but require more maintence and can become inoperable due to ice buildup.
My choice is as simple as I can go. Fixie.
Craig

The only shaft drive that I know of currently being manufactured is by Sussex of Taiwan. The biggest drawback I see is that it requires a special chainstay and rear dropout design, so you're limited to their bikes. You can see them at http://www.webbicycle.com/ . Obviously not for enthusiasts, but apparently serviceable.

They use Shimano hubs, which have a overall range of 244% in the 7-speed model and 305% in the 8-speed model. I would be afraid that for winter cycling that would be marginal -- you really need those low gears, but you do occassionally go fast too. Think of only using the middle ring on a mountain bike, which would be 266% on a 12x32 cassette.

The attraction is obvious -- bike chains are basically designed for warm, dry conditions. In the cold and wet they ice up, you can't keep lubricant on them, and the ice and grit quickly wear them out. What's unanswered is how sealed against the weather these drive shafts are.

I've been thinking that the ideal winter bike would have no exposed moving parts -- Nexus hub with internal brake on the rear, disc brake on the front. The question is whether shaft drive would offer any benefit over chain in such a setup.

If you search around, both in google and this forum, you'll find that shaft drive is almost universally dismissed as impractical. Interestly, however, if you restrict your searching to people who actually own one -- which is a very small fraction of those with opinions -- you'll find that many of them actually have high opinions of the thing.

Well, there's no reason not to use two or three chainrings with with that 7 or 8 speed hub, if you need the gear range. Sure, you'd need to build it up on a frame with horizontal drops rather than buying a purpose-built commuter, and it would be unconventional, but it would work. You would need a rear derailer to take up chain slack. You could leave it in the small chainring most of the time (just in case the front derailer ices up and freezes), with the option to go to the big one. With a 36T small and 48T large chainring, and an 18T cog in back, with 700C wheels, you would have a range of about 30 to 90 inches in the small ring, with the large boosting you up to a top gear of 116. This is assuming that you go with the Nexus-8, which is clearly superior to the Nexus-7, what with the greater range and extra gear and all that. Seems workable to me.

Of course, I'm biased, since my winter project is a six-speed Frankenbike using a Sturmey-Archer AW on an old ten-speed frame (I don't really have the do-re-mi for a nice, new internal-geared hub :(). My lowest gear will be around 40 inches, a bit high, but enough as long as I don't load the bike down too much. Should be fun! :D