Originally Posted by DanO220
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Though I have done all I can to reduce my load (taking my clothes to work the day before and leaving all non-essential items out of my bag) the rear end still feels pretty heavy when I'm suffering up those hills. I do all I can to stay in 3rd gear or above - including standing - because once you I have to hit 2nd, let alone the dreaded 1st gear, it's all over and I'm stuck sucking wind as I limp to the top. Not pretty.
DanO
Why are you standing? If you're standing going up those hills, you need to lower the gearing by choosing a larger cog on the back or moving to a smaller chain-ring. You need to learn to spin up those hills. You must also learn to shift down as you move up the hill. I'm able to do this on the Nexus 7 without damaging the hub. Furthermore, using the 1st gear and spinning up the hills should not be dreaded. That's why you have multiple gears in the first place. Learn to use 1st gear.
I've said it before, the two biggest weekness of hub gears is that HEAVY rear wheel and frction loses. It doesn't matter if the hub comes from Sturmey Archer, Sram or Rohloff. All three hubs are heavy and you will always get much more efficiency from a cassette.
Having said that, I only commute on a 3 speed bike because a. I don't travel far to the train station b. I don't have to climb hills.