PoPo187

sorry if this is a old issue but looking to buy a full suspension chainless bike should I be aware of anything or is it a decent bike componets look standard but i'm into the shaftdrive for the better ride?
HELP PLEASE

sodra

I personally prefer chains, theyve worked well for soo long, why get this state of the art soon-to-break stuff?

LoL, Sorry I couldnt answer your question.

harov3

Nobody really likes chainless, I think its just too hard to fit aftermarket parts and alter gear ratios, takes away some your ability to customise or fine tune your ride. A lot of people still trot out the "chain drive is 98% efficient" myth as a reason not to like it but I think its mainly inate conservatism. If you could produce a 24 speed chainless bike I'd have one like a shot. No pun intended but external gears and chains really are the weak link.

harov3

How about a link to this bike your looking at?

poseidon

I too have considered a chainless bike for recreational use. Is there anyone in this forum who has actually owned one, used it for more than a test drive, and racked up a few hundred miles on one? There seem to be many theories and opinions about chainless shaft driven bikes, many I'm sure valid, but I'd like to hear an owner's positive and negative practical experience.

BlkHawkDown

i have to agree with sodra on that one

willtsmith_nwi

Shaft drive for bicycles is old hat. It keeps coming back up and it never works.

If you're going to have just one speed, they're fine. Otherwise, you will need an expensive hub to gearing ratios. You will loose some efficiency in friction in the hub. And you will definitely loose efficiency in translating the force into and out of the shaft.

Chains are efficient and cheap. They have more than enough strength to handle the power a human being is capable of producing.

harov3

Chain is not greatly more efficient than gears and shafts, they are however cheap which is probably just as well given often we replace them. As for the price differential its more a matter of relative production volumes than any inherent cost advantage of a chain and derailieur Vs a gear and shaft combined with an internal planetary gearset. To date it has not been overly successful, it cant offer the number of or ease of altering gear ratios. What it can do is lower maintainence time and replacement and repair frequency and hence costs. I stand by what I said before, If I could buy a 24 speed shaftie I would.

Psyko

Sorry, but i had to laugh when i came across this,,Look at the pros and cons they give, its amazing how they talk so bad about chanis...chainless

harov3

What? you mean like better ground clearance, no more snapped derailieur hangers, or searching for the powerlink in the bottom of your bag when you grind yet another chain to death? Yeah, I see your point.
Its a shame the bikes look so lame, the potential is there.

madbiker555

Im pretty sure that chainless has more work involved, and that website is just trying to diss chains.

Psyko

Thats kinda what i meant, I mean i know there is up keep, But i dont know how much i would trust a shaft and all the internals, Not to mention, if it was so good, then the big 3 would be exploiting it..

madbiker555

Exactly, and which big three are we talking about?

Psyko

I would assume them to be, IMO, Specialized,Trek and Fisher
At least that is what i see most around me

bobpelino

I operate Niagara Bicycles and Outfitters in Niagara Falls Canada. For the past year, we have used several Dynamic Chainless 7 speed Hybrids and Mountain bikes for our rental inventory. Most of our rental customers are experienced cyclists that intend to ride 30km to 75km per day during their visit to Niagara Falls. Virtually all of them praise the bicycles performance and handeling. Let me qualify this by saying 99% of our renters use the bikes for touring Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake (Wine Country), on paved cycling paths and country roads.
The bikes have proven to be very low maintenance, which is important to me.
The frame and components are good quality.
The bikes are comfortable to ride.
The shifting is easy (Shimano Nexus Hub).
Appearance is appealing (unique, and that's what Niagara Falls is all about).
For a rental company, the most important things about bikes are price, durability, ease of use, safety and appearance. These bikes get high marks on all counts.
As far as replacement parts and repairs are concerned, the bikes components are all common to the industry i.e. Shimano Nexus Hub, 7005 Aluminum Frame made in Taiwan (probably by Giant), Sussex Shaft Drive (been in business since 1995), Kenda Wheels, etc.
I would compare these bikes favourably to any mid priced bike ($500 to $600 US) like Trek or Norco.
They can't compare to a $3,000 Cannondale for performace or weight but then not everyone can properly use or afford a $3,000 bike!
Bottom line ... if you intend to use a bike for daily commuting, Sunday rides on a bike path or occassional off-road use, they are a good investment.
By the way, I don't sell these bikes so I don't have a particular bias toward them.

vaccinefiend

I owned a Dynamic Bicycles shaft drive bicycle. The Sussex shaft drive was not built to specifications that could handle the torque generated when pedaling uphill, or pedaling hard on level ground. The result was that the shaft drive was not maintenance free--in fact, it broke. I replaced it with a new shaft drive sent by Dynamic Bicycles. The new one began to break and I was told by their Production Manager that I was exceeding the specifications of the shaft drive. I received a verbal agreement from him to refund the purchase price of the bicycle. Dynamic Bicycles even took care of the return shipping for the bicycle.

Once they received it, however, the president of Dynamic Bicycles told me that I had owned the bicycle longer than 30 days, so the satisfaction guarantee no longer applied. I was given the option of having my bicycle returned to me with a tightened bolt and new grease, which would supposedly fix the problem, or receiving a refund minus the cost of shipping and a 15% restocking fee. Despite phone conversations, emails and then a complaint process with the Better Business Bureau In Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont (https://boston.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePa...e-ef5cf233e6a5), the president of the company would not uphold a verbal agreement stated twice and acknowledged by email. Because I do not live in Massachusetts, the state where Dynamic Bicycles is located, it made no sense for me to pursue a mediation or claim in small claims court, which would have required my presence. I will never do business with Dynamic Bicycles again, nor would I recommend doing business with Dynamic Bicycles. I am also weary of bicycles sold with shaft drives built by Sussex.

sirtigersalot

try taking a bike (chain or no-chain) with an internally geared bike to your lbs if (and when if you are mountain biking) you shifting in the hubs breaks, yeah they lower maintenance intervals and all that and chain vs non-chain doesn't change effeciancy, but internal gears does, there is way more friction in those hubs, and if they ever break thats gonna get expensive to fix,

Also have you ever changed a tire on an internally geared bike, makes you wanna kill yourself, (and makes me glad i don't own one) for the weekend beach cruiser crowd this isn't a big deal, they don't do their own tire changes, but if you mtn bike you prolly fix your own flats on the trail

mtnbiker66

My gosh..........raise the dead**********

ed 

rockabilly808

i actually like the look of these bikes, gotta say i like the idea of not having my pants getting grease on em and not getting my pants leg chewed up by the chainring

cryptid01

Good thinking. Why get a bashring when you could get a totally new driveline that's heavier, more expensive, and less efficient?

ProFail

No. Trek and Fisher are one and the same. The big three are Specialized, Trek and Giant.

ca7erham

Oh, I was thinking Shimano, sram, and campy.

rockabilly808

because I can. any other questions?

cryptid01

Why do you put grease on your chain?