I’m running the BBS02 750W on my Townie and love it! However, If I'm not paying attention I can have issues shifting due to the “bang.” For example, the other day I was going up a very steep hill, and decided to shift into lower gear under load, stupid I know. Anyway, the chain came off (7 speed with a derailleur) and I got all greasy putting it back on, not fun.

I’m wondering if an internal hub would have prevented this? I have no experience with internal hubs. The little bit of research I’ve done is they are EXPENSIVE. I can find one for $250 with wheel Shimano Nexus 7 Speed Wheel Set with Shifter

My other avenue has been looking at donor bikes on CL, but people that have internal hubs know what the value is so used is pretty expensive as well, and I don’t know what the condition of the hub would be.

My question is would going from a derailleur to internal hub be worth it?

If so why do so many new ebikes come out with derailleur's, cost?

I suspect cost... I personally would go with an IGH if I got a mid-drive E-Bike.

I have a Rolloff Speed hub internal and I love it. For it about 4 months ago with a carbon belt drive. I also have a falcoemotor on order that I will be putting on my front hub for that extra boost. IF you can afford a Rolloff Speed hub I say go for it. They are so well built they almost never have any issues. With a carbon drive and internal geared hub I never have to oil anything. I need to replace the oil in the internal geared hub everything 3000 miles, that's it.

Holy smokes Rolloff is $1000+, it better be good!

A factory townie 8i hub can be purchased for just under $600 (bolt on), and the Sram the shop quoted to build was about $500 so I thought $250 was a good deal. I guess I will just live with it so I can afford to put the BBSHD on my Old Cannondale Rise 3 Lefty.

A NuVinci N360 hub will work perfectly.

I actually picked up a Townie 8i 700c today from CL that I'm going to move the BBS02 over to. I'll just keep the 7D as a guest bike.

Internal hubs are brilliant, so smooth! cant wait to get it done!

Update: I would suggest anyone getting a mid drive to get an internal hub, shifting is so smooth. I still need to be careful to not blow it up with too much power but shifting is much easier with an internal hub.

First thing I'd do is just add a shift sensor to your cable made for the BBS## motors. Second thing I'd do is clean all the gease off your chain and gears, then relube with a wax based lube like White Lightening. No mess, no fuss...

I have a BBS## and don't seem to have any issues shifting without shift senors? Maybe it's the quality of the components. With that said, I'd love to own a Rohloff!

I recently collected bunch of info about using an IGH on a mid drive kit. If anyone here finds a mistake, I will certainly review it.

https://www.electricbike.com/mid-drive-kit-igh

Thanks for that SM, but you need to edit your link; it's missing the "c" in .com.

With the move to 148 Boost 12mm through axle hubs on MTB's, are there any IGH's that fit this new frame standard?

Do any IGH's allow for a through axle? Or do all IGH's require an open mount (dropout or track style) to allow the axle of the hub to slide in and out of the frame?

That is what I am using on my commuter. However, due to a number of other considerations, primarily the eccentric Bottom Bracket and belt drive, I decided to go with a front, geared, hub motor.

"...With the move to 148 Boost 12mm through axle hubs on MTB's, are there any IGH's that fit this new frame standard?

Do any IGH's allow for a through axle? Or do all IGH's require an open mount (dropout or track style) to allow the axle of the hub to slide in and out of the frame?..."

Those are good questions. I am learning about this on a steep learning curve, so I won't claim to be an expert. This is the first I've heard of these considerations, so...I would guess "probably not".

In my discussions with certain vendors, a typical provisional product can be produced if it does not require extra custom tooling, and somebody (group buy?) has to pay cash up front for any custom request. One request I have seen in person, is a group buy to have "X" hub produced with a longer axle so it would fit into 170mm rear dropout "fat" frames (215mm?). 100 units is often quoted as the Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) during initial discussions. However, if you can find a dealer for that product, they can often add only 20 custom units to a larger order (with the custom parts being delivered in a very vague and long-term schedule)

A "side by side" dual bearing flanged-freewheel (labelled "heavy duty") is now being produced and stocked by "sick bike parts". These have been requested for over two years that I know of. It is being used in freewheeling bottom bracket cartridges, which is a core component for the most common style of "mid drive" ebike kit.

If I was approaching a vendor about a batch of custom IGH's, my first stop would be Sturmey Archer. They definitely already have the greatest variety of IGH features, even if they are not competitive in "certain" models.

The eMTB derailleur future just got a lot brighter!

SRAM launches e-mountain bike-specific EX1 drivetrain and Guide RE brake - BikeRadar USA