What is the best IGH hub overall?
 

The choices are going to be between affordable and widely available hubs -- so for instance the Rohloff 14 which costs $1400 for the hub alone will not be considered.

Kilo TT

Great poll. I'm interested in the results as well, although I have no real first hand experience with IGHs. Even though you didn't included the Rohloff or Alfine 11, it would still be nice if a few owners briefly commented on their experience with them. The Alfine 11 in particular seems to be at least 'somewhat' affordable, although I agree that the range is probably overkill for most commuters (but still nice!).

I only have experience with the Alfine 8. It works well and is easy to adjust. I'm not crazy about the gear spacing, and would like to try an Alfine 11 to see if it's better in that regard.
As to whether a gear range is overkill, I suppose it depends on where you live and what your physical limitations are. When I lived in Calgary I could have used at least one more gear at the bottom end as the hills were short but very steep. Here I seem to be in the 4-8 range most of the time, but there is one snorter of a climb where I do need the bottom gear to spare my damaged right knee from excess trauma.
I'm not clear on what defining characteristics a hub has to have to be the "best". Can you be more specific Adlai? Also, you could have included the Rohloff. It's in somebody's price range somewhere, or they wouldn't be able to keep making and selling them.

Of your choices, Alfine 8. Otherwise, Rohloff FTW!

Where is the Sturmey Archer AW/S-RF3? If your going to talk "best" then you have to include it. It's been made for decades and is practically indestructible...

If all you need is a 3 speed the SA AW hub is the only place you need to look... they are bulletproof.

This fact alone makes me lean toward using the AW for a lot of commuters and with the right set up the gear range can handle a lot and you never have to worry about anything going wrong... and a new one is all of $70.00 so it delivers when it comes to price.

Didn't vote as I don't know that much about IGH except I sure would like to try out one of those S3X. Read a thread where the purchaser modified his and put the gear shift on the rack braze-on behind his saddle. He said he felt it would shift more accurately from there rather than down on the drops. Much shorter cable travel, so methinks it makes sense. Wonder how he's doin'?

Would've included the Rohloff and new Shimano Alfine 11 as well. And how about the Nuvinci? :innocent:

Best for what use? , I like the combo of AW3 + a 2 speed crank
to double the range. 6 speeds.

it is in the Folding Brommy.. limited rear dropout space..

Bike Friday, Rohloff hub, disc brakes.. is the new favorite , here.. .

hard to do better than all needle and ball bearing german machinery..


FWIW .. a used bike purchase I made, a Koga WTR, was just $2k,
not $1400 just for the hub, but Included.. you don't have to buy new..

My cars, etc. never were ..

Who's the best general of all time? What's the best cocktail? What's the best food to eat? Who's the best best guy that's bestest?


or..

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/in...ar-hub-review/

I have a SA 8 on a mbt frame (set up for city use) and an alfine 11 on a road frame w/disc brakes. I'm not familiar with any other IGH so I can only compare these two. Both work flawlessly although the SA is less forgiving when I shift while peddaling. The top and bottom gears of either seem about the same with the alfine having much closer spacing of gears because it has more gears in between, duh. They are both great IGH systems.

I don't know what the best IGH is, but I can tell you which one is probably the worst on your list and that is the S2C. The first one broke in less than a week, the second one was destroyed in less than 3 months. I am told the non-coaster brake version of this hub works well.

Now, Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs are a different story; I am not sure if you can break one of those. Your poll is not complete without the S/A AW hub.

I like the Nuvinci better than anything I've used, but am replacing a Nexus 8 with an SW 3spd because the Nexus broke and proved to be irrepairable.

Marc

...but seriously, depends on use:

Nexus 7: Great commuter for flat city with a few hills (Boston), 16mi r/t commute. Appropriate gear range, easy adjustment; special tools (10mm crescent or box wrench) and extra time needed to change a flat on the roller-brake (or coaster brake, I imagine) equipped version.

Sturmey Archer S3X: Well, if you have to ride fixed and you want gears, only show in town... Can be converted to freewheel with addition of single speed freewheel in place of fixed cog, ...but why would you? A+ for novelty; C for utility.

Sturmey Archer S2C: Fun townie hub. Builds up to a bike with simple lines -- no cables routing out back from the front of the bike. Coaster brake means extra step/time to change a tube, unbolting the torque arm. Severely limited range. Duh. Great for not too hilly, not too performance oriented ride.

Nexus/Alfine 8: Great commuter for hilly, semi-rural 38 mi r/t commute. Steps between gears not nearly the issue some make it out to be, but occasionally annoying. Tire changing on f/w version with rim brakes is pretty close to as easy as changing tube on derailleur equipped bike. Found that I like the range and steps of a compact double/wide range cassette derailleur setup better, however.

My experiences are with SA 3 speeds and the Nuvinci. The 3 speed does not give me the range I want, but it really seems to have enough range to keep me going. I've even thought about a 2 speed, kickback hub for the ultimate in simplified drivetrains (except single speed), but I just love having a lot of gear options. The Nuvinci has a larger range than anything but the Rohloff, I think (don't know how it compares to the Alfine 11). The newer ones have a slightly bigger range. It's probably heavier than the other options, although the newer version is lighter. The price is between the Alfine 8 and 11, I think. I just love the shifting. Everytime I think about those other hubs and am tempted, I then think about how I never have to even think about what gear I'm in now. I just twist the shifter until the pedals spin as easily as I want. Then I stop wondering. At some point, I'd like to upgrade to the current model, but other than that, it's hard to imagine switching to any of those other options, even the Rohloff. I have some old bikes with narrow drop outs that won't take anything but a skinny SA hub, and those work fine, but if I had the money and a way to get a Nuvinci in there, I'd do it.

Well not quite. Here is a chart comparing the gear inches of current IGHs, and a road double and mountain triple:
http://www.fallbrooktech.com/Docs/GearInch_32011.pdf

The Rohloff has a huge range, starting at 20 gear inches and ending up at about 105. That's a pretty awesome range. The Alfine 11 is next as far as range with 409%, although in this example they decided to gear it for the high end (27-112). Then the Nuvinci n360 comes in 3rd at 360%.

So the Nuvinci gets you from about 27 gear inches to about 99 gear inches, although for commuting a lot of people might want to sacrifice a bit of the top end to make loaded hill climbs a little bit easier. It's available for under $400, which is less then the Alfine 11, and of course much less then the pricey Rohloff.

As far as conventional derailer gearing goes, a mountain triple gets you from about 18 to 104 gear inches, which beats even the Rohloff. A touring bike with something like a 24-36-48 triple and an 11-34 or 12-36 cassette would have an even greater range.

I would not get one with a coaster brake. I had one and it tried to kill me. They are junk!!!

To address the weight issue, the Nuvinci N360, although 3 lbs lighter than the previous model, is about 1 lb heavier than the Rohloff or Nexus11.

Marc

Was this a new, Sturmey hub? What did it do? For the bike I had in mind, the coaster brake is a must.

Yeah, there's no getting around the fact that the Nuvinci is about the heaviest drivetrain out there. But then I got this bike to carry some weight. And I love the shifting. It'd be nice if they could shave even more weight off of it, but either way, I don't see myself switching to discrete gears.

1 vote other;

Rohloff all the way!

Is this just for new hubs or readily available and easily affordable old/used hubs? I have a few old (70s era) Shimano 3 speed hubs much like the SA AW3 that have been very reliable... and all were free (removed from junked bikes).

Did you read the original post? It mentioned "affordable"... and specifically excluded Rohloff.

My biggest turn off is the added complexity in removing the rear wheel. I only get a flat like once or twice year, but it always seems to be on a miserable, cold, wet day. I hated my Shimano Nexus hub for that reason, it had this tiny bolt that was impossible to take out with cold, wet fingers. Then it died.

Which hub is the least pain the butt?

I only have a Sturmey 8, but it is extremely easy to remove. You just have to use small chainrings (or small wheels) for practical gear range. I like mine, it works well, I'd build another if I had the chance. For the gear range and brake options and price, it is a good deal in my eyes.

The best IGH is the one you can afford, and does what you need it to do. Shimanos are the industry standard, but the SRAM and SA hubs are perfectly usable if they're properly taken care of.

You have to use an axle wrench or wing nuts with any of them, but the Nuvinci shifter is the least trouble I have seen, very simple doesn't need adjustment.

Marc

The axle nuts weren't a problem. Detaching and reattaching the cable was a pain. Can Nuvinci handle significant torque? I hear that this is the biggest limitation of many IGHs. That's why some die prematurely. Is there truth in that?