I'm a college student living in Boston, and I started using a bike instead of the T for basically all my travels about six months ago. I got a 2004 Trek 1000 for free from a graduating senior, and it's been a great bike after quite a bit of repair work, but I have a few problems with it:

- I'm currently running 23mm tires in order to accommodate fenders. It can take 28s, but I'd rather have fenders. Anyway, this leads to a pretty bumpy ride; a lot of the pavement on my daily (<2mi) commute is very, very rough. I have to choose between flat risk and bumpy rides, which is annoying.
- I'm not confident in my ability to maintain the rear derailleur very well once the roads get really salty. It's already a little funky, but I figure I'll probably wait until spring to replace it. I only use 4 (very occasionally 5) out of the 24 available speeds, and I never use the front derailleur.
- I'd like to have a chainguard so I don't have to roll up my pants to ride. I can't do that with a front derailleur, although strictly speaking this is fixable without a new bike.
- It has not been treated well by its previous owner, and a lot of the parts are past due for replacement. None of them were very high quality originally, anyway.

Given these issues, I'd like to get a new bike that mostly fixes them. My roommate got a Motobecane Fantom UNO from BikesDirect that he turned into a fixie with bullhorn bars, and he really likes it, but I don't think I'm ready to go that route (yet).

I'd like to get a bike that looks a lot like his, but with drop bars and a rear freewheel and IGH (let's say 8 speed). That bike in particular doesn't have wide enough rear spacing to accept an IGH, although Sheldon does have some information on widening that, since it's a steel frame. I've gotten really used to the geometry of my Trek 1000, and I really like it. I mostly ride on <4-5mi trips, with occasional "it's too nice to stay inside" longer rides. A couple questions:

- Is an IGH a good idea? What are pitfalls/things to watch out for?
- Where should I find a bike with wide enough rear spacing to accommodate the IGH? My total budget is probably around $5-600, and I don't really want to pay for derailleurs that I'll just remove.
- Am I totally insane?

I'll sell you my Trek Soho, which has fenders, mudguard, and 8-speed IGH with weatherproof drum brakes. doesn't have drop bars but other than that should meet your needs very well.

PM me if interested (I'm local). it would be within your budget.

Matt

See, the issue is that I really like road bike geometry. It makes me feel faster (whether or not it makes me faster is certainly up to debate).

In a related issue, a friend of mine is claiming that upright handlebars make it much easier to be aware of traffic. Do people find this to be true?

Yes, I do.

Ditto.

Absolutely. I find I can see much better while seated upright.

About the IGH: I've found them convenient, but a major pain in the a** if you get a flat tire. If you get an IGH, see if you can talk to a professional bike mechanic into showing you how to take it off the bike and put it back on.

Drop bars mounted high enough will give you the same amount of peripheral vision and traffic awareness with additional hand positions. If you like flat bars or risers go with those but if you like drops and only want flat bars for peripheral vision I'd just go with a taller stem.

Three things I found problematic about IGH.
1) the weight. Bikes with IGH tend to be much heavier. If you need to lug your bike around, this could be annoying
2) the spacing between the gears is too wide for me. On the flip side, 8 gears will cover more of a conversion range than with derailleur gearing.
3) changing a flat needs an allen wrench and is a little more time consuming

Getting an IGH with drop bars and road geometry in your price range will be difficult. I'd probably find a steel road bike from the 70's or early 80's that you like, and convert that. Searching Craigslist for a bike that already has an IGH is a good idea. If you can't get a Shimano 8-speed and stay in your budget, a Sturmey Archer 3-speed is cheap and reliable, and provides enough of a range you shouldn't have too much issue getting around. Maybe hold onto the Trek for when you want more gears.

Whether or not an IGH is good depends on the temperatures you will be riding in. I rode with a 8-speed IGH last winter, and the cold created enough drag to really mess with the shifting. New cable and housing without grease brought it back to normal, then quickly deteriorated as it rusted. Maybe with really fancy cables and housing it will be fine, but I ended up selling the wheel so I can't find out. I'm going to try and see how a bike with derailleurs does this winter, and if that fails, I'm just going with a single speed. Mounting the shifter with drop bars will be awkward, but looking at the Nuvinci N360 hub, it should work without issue in the winter.

I'm not sure you are going to get all you want in a new bike in that price range but, I don't keep up with the off the shelf bike options out there. Others in this forum do and can probably make some great suggestions. I think you could probably do a build in that range with a used frame and scouring the interweb for parts though as I think your ideas are good for a commuter.

My experience with an Alfine IGH on my year round commuter has been great. I switch bars from drops in summer to upright in winter with different brake levers and shifters. IGH Cons: They're heavy. The gear range is wide so the ratio's are a bit of compromise if you are used to a 2x9 set up. They don't shift under load which takes some getting used to. Otherwise they are really easy to maintain, shifting while stopped comes in handy. I'm not an IGH snob, I have many bikes and I only run one on my commuter. I think for a year round commuter set up they are a great way to go.

The complaints about changing tires with an IGH are overblown. You do NOT need any special tools and once you've practiced it a few times it's super easy.

You're in college. If you should ever have IGH problems, it will be quite expensive to repair. If I were you, I'd just keep the Trek 1000 and make occasional upgrades when necessary. Try to find a bicycle co-op in your area. Just join the co-op. Invest in a few tools. Then do your own repairs and installments.

You'll be more thankful in the long run. Trust me!

PS.

Don't over invest in a bike that could very well get stolen on one of our college campuses...

Try running the UNO as a single speed commuter. Ultimate drivetrain simplicity and reliability with freewheel.


Personally, I commute fixed gear but it isn't for everyone.

as far as a chain guard goes, thebest aftermarket one is the SKS chainboard.

however, it's tricky to install and only works up to a 48T chainring

it may be easier just to get a rock ring to avoid the grease.

https://www.sks-germany.com/?l=de&a=p...54aee9f532888a

In another commuting forum, there's a thread discussing the pitfalls, I'm Done With Internal Gear Hubs.

There are also several posts rebutting his complaints. In the end, I think it's a balanced thread.

Thanks for the help, everyone - this is really good advice. First, I do all my repairs myself - I really like the feeling of riding a bike that I've put a huge amount of myself into. On my current bike, I've replaced the cassette, redone all the cabling, trued the wheels somewhat, and replaced the front derailleur.

About handlebars, I had a close shave with an SUV the other day that has made me significantly more concerned about safety (duh). I was coming down onto the Boston side of the Harvard Bridge with significant speed, and was a little too focused on the pavement because it's really bad there. My light was green and it was broad daylight, but the car still turned left onto Beacon St across my path. I didn't hit the car (or get hit), but my bike did flip. I'm luckily totally fine, but I've been thinking maybe this means I should have bigger tires - specifically for that intersection, which I go through 4 or 6 times a day usually. There are other dangerous things there too - taxis do some really stupid things, for example.

Maybe I should get something with upright handlebars and then add drop bar ends. Are those useful at all? That way I can go into the drops when facing a headwind (which are usually pretty strong going across the aforementioned bridge).

Checkout the Marin Muirwoods 29er. It's a veritable tank when it comes to rough pavement. The Salsa Vaya and Fargo models, already come with drop handlebars, if that's what you really feel you require. Otherwise, the Surly Ogre might be of some interest too. I personally, would prefer the Long Haul Trucker...

I think that IGHs are far better conceptually than they are in application. They seem neat when you think about them, but, most here have brought up the numerous issues that derailer drivetrains just don't have. In fact, pretty much the only "drawback" to a derailer drivetrain is the fact that it can be a bit messy. But it's really mechanically elegant, and exceptionally easy to maintain.

Drop bars can be mounted at any height you like. So I'm not sure how this can be true.

I don't see an advantage to IGHs, but I do like big tires. Note that if you were to buy a cross frame, like a Surly Crosscheck for example, virtually all of your parts would go straight onto it. And you could put on some truly enormous tires if you like. I'm a fan of big tires myself.

My primary desire for an IGH comes from the fact that I have little time for day-to-day maintenance. I generally have time every couple weeks for bigger repairs, but I sometimes have a couple bad weeks where I just have no free time. Maybe I should just be more careful about riding on salty roads - should I ask in the winter commuting forums about that?

I find it easier to look behind me with a 20° back angle on the hoods or in the drops, pretty much just dip my head a bit and look under my armpit.

Forward and L/R vision perhaps a little better on a bike with 45° back angle and flat bars I reckon.

I'd rather ride the roadie in traffic 9 times outta 10.

...and the converse of that:


2012-11-17_18-59-59_889 by Lester.L., on Flickr

David Gordon Wilson commuted to MIT on a Long Wheel Base Under the seat steered Recumbent.

Careful....riding that thing you could get arrested for mooning drivers behind you.

What size do you need? The Kilo WT5 from BD fits most of your criteria within your budget, but there is only 49cm left. I really would like for them to restock this particular model...

sounds like you should think about my Soho. it is true that changing a flat in the back is a pain, which is why I had a Bontrager Hardcase tire mounted with a heavy-duty tube. pretty much indestructible. let me know if you are interested.