Bicycle Mechanics - sealed something or other?

I'm looking for a replacement light weight commuter bike that is fast but can handle our messy Seattle rains. But I don't know the buzz word to ask.

What sort of term addresses this problem?
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Water in the rear hub ----> sealed hub? Which bikes have that...does a special hub have to match the wheel set?

Gook on the gears ----> some way to keep the sand and mud out of the cassette and chain ring?

Maybe you want to look at building up a bike using a singlespeed frame combined with an internally geared hub (ala Shimano Nexus) if you want the multi-gear option. It won't be extremely light but it should address your other issues.

Riding in the rain naturally puts wear and tear on bicycle components. As suggested earlier, an internally geared hub would be a good idea if you didn't want to go the singlespeed route. Learning how to work on the hubs yourself would be the best option as new grease in your hubs twice per season should be sufficient to prevent major wear. Hubs with sealed cartridge bearings may also work, though those aren't intended to be serviced by the user. Also replacing the hubs would most likely also result in requiring a different spoke length meaning new spokes and new hubs on top of the cost of rebuilding the wheel. I would recommend using a high quality grease and learning how to do the dirty work on your own. Much cheaper and more gratifying IMO. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be glad to help. A toothbrush or similar type of brush with a little degreaser can be used to get the gunk of your gears and chain. Just remember to lube after cleaning, and lube often when riding in wet weather. Burley makes some interesting commuter type bikes that seem pretty nice, and they are all developed with rainy Oregon weather in mind.

Hope this helped

Maybe you want to look at building up a bike using a singlespeed frame combined with an internally geared hub (ala Shimano Nexus) if you want the multi-gear option. It won't be extremely light but it should address your other issues.

With the kind of hills on my commute, I'd have to be king-kong to ride a fixey. So the internal hub will only go on a fixed gear then huh? hmmm.... :(

not fixed, single speed. the internally-geared hub would have just one cog, but have probably 7 "gears" on the inside. this is akin to the old 3-speed style bikes, in that they work in much the same way.

basically, you can get a single-speed frame, like the surly steamroller, or the karate monkey, or the one by one, or any other SS frame out there, and mount it up and it'll coast, and you'll have gears, but you won't have to worry about the derailleurs getting all torn up by the weather.

not fixed, single speed. the internally-geared hub would have just one cog, but have probably 7 "gears" on the inside. this is akin to the old 3-speed style bikes, in that they work in much the same way.

basically, you can get a single-speed frame, like the surly steamroller, or the karate monkey, or the one by one, or any other SS frame out there, and mount it up and it'll coast, and you'll have gears, but you won't have to worry about the derailleurs getting all torn up by the weather.

I give credit to Trek and Burley for trying to arrive at a commuter bike. Weird retro stuff I'll check that steam roller out...

Look at Van Dessel bikes... they make some very light commuters/racers built around a 7spd or 14spd internally geared hub and some cool "mustache" bars. Or you can even get one with a coaster brake.

Water in the rear hub ----> sealed hub? Which bikes have that...does a special hub have to match the wheel set?

Gook on the gears ----> some way to keep the sand and mud out of the cassette and chain ring?

Information seems very scattered on this stuff.
If I buy a pre-made bike can I get a tire with sealed wheel hub bearings? Or do they have to add that after the fact.? How do I know which wheels are sealed which not? Who'd *not* want something sealed??

Hi,
as always, budget is the question. Here's one to look at
http://www.breezerbikes.com/
You have some choices. The guy who runs my bike shop took an old Schwinn, spread the rear end to accomadate an internal hub, and uses it when the mood strikes him. It's a road bike, but now with an internal hub. You could have something similar made custom from titanium. No rust there! Then there are a bunch of other commuters that have internal hubs. Personally, I'm not a fan of internal hubs, although they have improved.
Here's another bike you should take a look at. It will commute you to work; or across the country :)
http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/520.jsp

Most hubs from mid-range upwards are sealed sufficiently against rain. Cup and cone hubs from Shimano etc have a plastic washer seal.
The "sealed cartridge bearing" hubs use a standard industrial cartridge unit that is sealed against the LOSS of grease during high speed use; not a problem for cyclists. They generally also have the same style of plastic washer as cup and cones.
Internal hub gears make a lot of sense for a wet-weather commuter bike. You need a frame with horizontal dropouts, so you can tension the chain by moving the wheel back and forward.
Many production hub-gear bikes are made a bit too heavy and sluggish, more of a cruiser style. In the UK its quite common to take an old racing frame and turn it into a racy winter commuter.
See Sheldon Brown's site for a good example, based on a Peugot frame.