kochise

I'm looking to get a bike for commuting in NYC, will be used on pavement/roads, that is rigid and has that tough, mountain bike look. The problem I'm having is I can't decide on if I should get a 21/24 speed or a 3/7/8 speed with an internal hub. or maybe even a single speed. 3 or 7 gears is enough for me, and I love the idea of the IGH for easy maintenance, but the only bikes I've found witht he IGH are the trek waubesa and the kona dr. good, but the tires aren't wide enough for my liking. I've seen others but they have that hybrid grandpa style I don't like. so I'm thinking maybe go with soemthing like the raleigh misceo, even though I don't want/need all those gears.
just looking for some feedback on this. anyone know of a bike similar in styling to the misceo that has an IGH? or maybe even a single speed in that style? any disadvantages to the IGH, other than being a little heavy?

https://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/hybr...rid/misceo-11/

Steely Dan

i don't know if this is the style you're looking for, but i have a Scott SUB 10 men. alfine 8 IGH, hydraulic disc brakes, and a styling that, to me anyway, doesn't look to have that "hybrid grandpa style", the orange is a bit flashy though. it's on sale at REI for $970 bucks right now.

here's mine:




i was also considering a Kona Dr. Fine (a similar IGH/disc brake hybrid), but availability and cost led me to choose the Scott.

as for IGH disadvantages, the two biggies are weight and added difficulty to remove the rear wheel to fix flats, but honestly, if you just practice removing the cable a few times at home, it's really not a big deal at all unless you're totally mechanically inept.

mikeybikes

You need a minimum of two gears. One on the front and one on the rear. This will also require a chain.

Of course, if you are riding a penny farthing, no gears are needed.

Cyclaholic

You will only ever require one and only one gear ratio.... at a time.

Cyclaholic

LOL

...threads like these attaract the smartasses like moths to the flame

jonescanada

In short all options would be fine.
Single speeds are fine in the city. But if you go over large bridges you might want a few gears.
Your 3/7/8 speed would be plenty of gears for city riding and internal hubs can shift when you are stopped at lights.
However they do tend to cost more and are harder to find.
24 speed bikes are very easy to find and there are lots of options to find one that suits you. There are extra gears that you probably don't need but they aren't any more expensive than an 8 gear model.
I have a Rockey Mountain Metro 10, 24 speed with a light mountain bike look, and it is great for city and country riding.
My buddy has a Swobo Baxter with an 8 speed internal and it seems like a nice city bike.
If you ride with long pants chain guards are mice for keeping you clean, many hubs have the chain covers.
There are a lot of city bike options out there. It doesn't matter much how many gears you have.
If you think you will be riding up/down hill then you would probably want 5 gears.
Other than that just pick something that feels good to ride.

mikeybikes

I thought it was a bit warm when I entered the thread.

fietsbob

Advantages to an IGH : no derailleur to damage, and you can shift at a dead stop.
so come to a stop at a light in high, shift to low to start out in , while you wait for the green.

and you can fit a fully enclosed chainguard, to keep the chain and your clothes, clean.

modern derailleur schemes have redundant ratios, overlapping ranges,
so the 'speeds' count is not a good indication of much.

kochise

nice bike, but out of my price range.

enigmaT120

I think the range of gears you need is more important than exactly how many you have, like the post above talking about redundant ratios suggests. My bike goes from a granny of 17 gear inches to 87 gear inches for the high gear. It's a 27 speed, but a 14 gear Rholoff (I don't know how to spell it, much less pay for it!) igh has pretty much the same range and I beleve would work fine if somebody else would buy it for me.

kochise

just wondering why are the IGH bikes so hard to come by?
also, if I buy an single speed, can I add an IGH later on if I want to? and if I buy a 24 speed, can I convert that to a single speed?

Monster Pete

IGH equipped bikes are still somewhat of a minority market. Most people never consider that an alternative to derailleurs exists, or are put off by things such as 'they're less efficient' (1 or 2%) or 'they're heavier' (not significantly, and not really important unless you're racing). It's also good marketing hype to advertise 27 gears or so, regardless of whether they're all usable.

Single speed bikes should be convertable to IGH without too much hassle. They will already have horizontal dropouts for easy chain tensioning, needing usually only a clamp-on cable stop to accomodate the shifter cable. A modern derailleur bike will most likely have vertical dropouts, which makes chain tensioning more difficult and often requires a sprung tensioner. An older bike with horizontal or semi-vertical dropouts shouldn't be a problem. Steel frames can be slightly bent to fit the rear axle length if necessary. My 3-speed started life as an 18 speed. I simply replaced the rear wheel with a 3-speed one, and shortened the chain to fit the middle chainring. You'll need either a new 1/8" chain or a sprocket suitable for 3/32" derailleur chain. I eventually neatened it up by removing the inner and outer chainrings, leaving just the middle.

Rob_E

Yes.
But some bikes will convert easier than others. Both single speed and IGH bikes are simplest when combined with a frame with horizontal dropouts. Many 24 speeds will have vertical dropouts. You can still use an IGH or a single speed set up with vertical dropouts (I run an IGH on my vertical dropout bike). It just takes an extra piece of equipment, a chain tensioner, but if you feel like you will eventually switch to single speed or an IGH, look for a bike with horizontal dropouts and save yourself some hassle down the line.

That said, a chain tensioner isn't that much hassle, so if your preferred bike has vertical dropouts, it's not necessary to abandon it based on that alone. If I had to rebuild my bike from scratch tomorrow, I might see if I could find a comparable frame with horizontal dropouts, but I would have no qualms about rebuying my current frame if it turned out to be the best one for the job.

Steely Dan

true, the only caveat here is that it would likely not be possible to upgrade to a disc brake on the rear wheel. vertical drop-outs become necessary if you want to do the IGH/disc-brake combo, which means sliding drop-outs, an eccentric bottom bracket, or vertical drop-outs with chain tensioner. not an issue though if a rear disc brake isn't on your horizon.

as for why IGH bikes are less common, on top of what's already been mentioned, i think cost also comes into play. there are a lot of really inexpensive big box store derailleur bikes out there that can "do the job", but the entry level price points for IGHs beyond the 3-speed variety is too high for that market. case in point, my alfine 8 Scott SUB 10 for 970 bucks. that's actually a pretty good price for an IGH/disc brake bike built around a decent aluminum frame and wheel set, and that's already above the price range of the OP. when i bought my bike at REI, i remember asking the salesman why they didn't have more of them in stock, as i thought an IGH/disc brake bike like the SUB 10 would sell like hot cakes to urban commuters in chicago, and his response was "this bike is just too expensive for our core market, we wouldn't be able to move enough of them to justify keeping more in stock."

blue9

Find a cheap bike with a frame that you like on craigslist, then upgrade the rear wheel to an IGH hub. In the city you won't need more than an 8-speed IGH, and should be fine with a 3. You can sometimes find pre-built IGH wheels on eBay...or CL! Or you could always have a shop build a wheel set for you.

SouthFLpix

For a beginning commuter, I think most bikes with 24 speed derailer systems offer more than enough gear selection and range. An 8 speed IGH offers a bit less range, but is more reliable in harsh conditions heavy ice or (lots of) mud.

blue9

I just don't see anyone needing 24 speeds unless they're doing some serious mountain biking. And in NYC where it's flat I think 8 is more than enough. On my commute with light hills I probably use 6 of my 16 gear ratios.

bt93

That's true, but if you only want just one bike for commuting and maybe a long distance ride, youll use all those gears eventually. Especially when it's hot and I'm bonking, there's no such thing as too low of a gear.

neotheone

Says you. In my lowest gear I'd be better off walking.

Scheherezade 

https://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott_wt5.htm

Just got me one of these yesterday. The pedals and saddle are throwaway, but everything else on the bike is quite nice. I fit a 700x38 tire on the front with full coverage fenders with room to spare. I haven't tried the back yet, but it looks like there is an equal amount of clearance.

kochise

well after looking into that sub 10 bike a little more, I'm trying to come up with some more money. just wondering how you like the bike? how is the IGH, did you have to change out any components, etc.
thx

ghostgirl

A three speed should do you fine. There are lots of those for sale at used bike shops or new.

z90

How long is your commute?
Do you have a safe place to leave your bike?
If I lived in NY city, I'd go for something that wasn't thief bait.
Maybe a late 80's mountain bike with a rigid fork.

kochise

the only 3 speeds I've seen have that hybrid grandpa styling. if you know any 3 speeds with muntain bike styling, please let me know.

kochise

I will be commuting about 10-12 miles RT daily. I do have a safe place to keep the bike, but I would be happier with a beat up looking bike, so long as it has reliability of a new bike.
I actually thought about going to a bike shop and doing kind of what you suggested. using an old rigid mtn bike frame, maybe building something from used but good quality parts. either a single speed or using an IGH. what would the cost of labor be for something like that? I figured buying new would be cheaper, but maybe not.