The most important difference between IGH and derailleur is the shifting technique...derailleurs don't shift well in traffic (although they fit like a glove for "le tour"). Since I always ride in traffic I would
never consider a derailleur, even in San Diego or bone dry Phoenix.
Originally Posted by
motobecane69
perhaps it is, but to me the problem is that IGH hubs are expensive so if you want multiple wheelsets you would need multiple IGH. Those of us with deraileurs can just get different sets of regular wheels.
Only the upfront cost is more expensive. In the long run IGHs are way cheaper because they don't wear out like cassettes do (or all the new chains you have to buy to prevent damaging your cassette). Chains and chainrings are also cheaper because you can use whatever is on sale.
Derailleurs are
cheap crap which cost you more in the long run like all other cheap crap.
Originally Posted by
PaulRivers
7. I've found the supposed maintenance benefits when you have an IGH + chain (without a full chaincase, at least) to be very, very overated. The chain is still the source of most of the maintenance, and you're still stuck with it. So in my opinion if I got another IGH bike I'd go with a belt drive...though obviously they're even more expensive.
It's mostly that I find a lack of benefits with an IGH + chain. As I said, I find maintenance stuff highly, highly overated since most of the maintenance is with the chain. Maybe the chain last longer if you put on the right chain
A common misconception is that all chains require the same maintenance. This isn't so. The way a derailleur treats a chain is completely different from the way an IGH treats a chain. With an IGH you can "maintain" your chain just as you would a belt (ie not at all) and it will still be more efficient and longer wearing than a belt.
The only thing overrated about the maintenance advantage of IGHs are that some people don't know how to get out of the derailleur mindset and stop obsessing about maintenance.
Also the same things applies to efficiency. Hub gears are more efficient derailleurs, but since 99% of people don't know how to set them up correctly they lose out on this benefit and are left with the misconception that derailleurs are more efficient.
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Isn't shifting while pedaling an issue for some IGHes ? To me that would be even worse. To realize I'd left myself in too high a gear when I stopped and then to have to be gingerly about shifting after I start moving again. Yes I know I can shift while sitting there, but sometimes I don't realize I'm in too high a gear until I start moving.
That's the nice thing about an IGH: I
never find myself in too high a gear because I
always shift to bottom gear when stopping. So it's not possible for me to "realize I'm in too high a gear until I start moving". Besides, you quickly get used to shifting at the dead spot of your stroke (or when getting out of saddle...which is a very effective technique while accelerating: light turns green, spin through the intersection while watching for red light runners, then upshift while standing up to hammer).
This is typical of derailleur users...they criticize problems that simply don't exist with hub gears. What you think is a problem is only a problem because you have poor derailleur specific riding technique.
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
KMC "Rust Buster" chains again. You can't get them for 8 speed or higher, - at least not in the U.S. as far as I can tell
You can't?
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...oducts_id=2444
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
IGHes do have a loyal following though and part of the reason I'm getting one is curiosity. I'm going to weigh the bike before and after to figure out how much of a penalty there is after you get rid of the derailleurs and extra chainrings. I'm also going to do some tests with the computer and HRM to see if there's any real speed difference. It's not the bike I take when I want to go fast anyway, but like I said, I'm curious.
Once again a false comparison because unless you're using a lower spoke count your IGH wheel will be much stronger than your derailleur wheel. A fair comparison would be to weigh your bike with a 36 spoke derailleur wheel vs a 32 spoke IGH wheel or a 32 spoke derailleur wheel vs a 28 spoke IGH wheel.
Also before you go measuring your heart rate make sure you use the largest rear cog possible for maximum drivetrain efficiency. Most riders don't know about this because it's not possible to fix it with a derailleur, but using a small (vs large) external cog actually causes twice as much friction as the hub internals.