Originally Posted by
corrado33
For the past 3 years I've commuted on a road bike with a relatively aggressive geometry. There's nothing inherently wrong with this bike, it rides great, but my own naivety led me to believe that I wanted to commute on a drop bar road bike that originally came with 23mm tires.
Lately I've been thinking about an ultimate commuter for me. Honestly I don't even know where to start in looking for a bike with these characteristics.
Things I want.
- IGH: 8-12? speed
- Preferably drum brakes (disks acceptable.)
- Drop bars preferred
- Not "cruiser geometry", I go fast when I commute, I want the bikes geometry to reflect that. I have no problem with an aggressive bike (I'm young and flexible) but I'm open to less aggressive options as well.
- Ability to mount 28mm tires? (I've never had anything other that MTB and 25mm road bike tires. I think I'd want ~28mm?) However, 25s with full length, well fitting fenders would be fine if need-be. I currently have 25s on this bike with raceblade long fenders. They're... acceptable, but barely fit. It's mostly the bike frame's fault, as it was never built for fenders. I've also broken various bits 3 or 4 times over the past 3 years with these fenders so I'm about 50% on whether or not I like them.
- Obviously fenders, but I can put those on if need-be.
- Obviously rack mounts. I have panniers now, so I'd like to be able to mount my rack to the bike.
- Edit: A dynamo would be a cherry on top of the cake. Forgot about that.
Sure, I could build this myself, but it's always cheaper to buy a bike with the things you want than it is to upgrade a different bike. I've really never looked for IGHs or drum brakes before. I don't know the brands, what's good, what's bad, longevity, maintenance. I've looked at Sheldon's site on the issue, but that's it.
I'm in the US. I don't have any problem with buying bikes online (my commuter is a BD bike) but I'd like to be able to try it first for fit.
In the $1000 range:
Raleigh Cadent i11
Raleigh Cadent i11 - Join the Revolution! | Specializing in bicycle sales and service for DC, VA, & MD
Raleigh Misceo 4.0
2015 Raleigh Misceo 4.0 i8 - Joe Bike (and you can still find the 2014 model for about $1000, and this had the Alfine 11 hub)
MEC Hold Steady
MEC Hold Steady Bicycle (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available (there is a higher end model called the Chance with an Alfine 11 hub too)
Soma Wolverine
Soma Wolverine frameset or custom build - Joe Bike
And any Surly Troll or Ogre frameset can run an internal hub including Rohloff, but a Rohloff hub alone is higher than your price range.
The commenter above about the Rohloff being the only IGH worth trying is not really accurate, but it is the only one that has range comparable to a derailleur bike (aside from the Pinion drive, also above your price range).
The Shimano Nexus 7 is proven and reliable but is on worldwide back order currently.
The Shimano Nexus and Alfine 8 are well regarded for commuting, very reliable and basically add one lower gear to the Nexus 7 range.
The Shimano Alfine 11 has been hit and miss but if you get one that doesn't leak oil, you've got an awesome hub (I have two on bikes now and have never had issues with either), and you can gear the cranks and cogs to get more high end or low end range for any IGH. The three extra gears over the 8 are all on the taller side, first gear on the Alfine 11 is the same as first gear on the Alfine 8.
The NuVinci hub mentioned above I also have, and I have to tell you it is a boat anchor. Best use for those is in e bikes with torque to spare IMO. That Novara Gotham is one heavy commuter bike as a result.
There are also IGH hubs from Sturmey Archer and SRAM/Sachs (thought the new G8 and G9 hubs have been discontinued due to not being able to compete with the Alfine and Rohloff hubs).
I love IGH's and the main reason I have so many bikes is to have experience with as many of them as possible... even the NuVinci.
Next I'll probably get sucked in and get a Pinion bike, but thankfully they are so expensive that that won't be soon ;-)