Igh touring bike
 

Does anyone use a internal gear hub for touring? Especially a Shimano Nexus 8 speed. I found one I would consider, but normally I prefer a mountain bike. Give me your best reasons for or against them, and thanks in advance.

Lots of people use an IGH for touring. They're reliable, low maintenance and less vulnerable to damage than a derailleur.

I haven't used the Nexus. My reservation would be whether its range is big enough to give you the low gears you may need. The Rohloff, which is the gold standard among IGHs, has a range of 526%. I believe the Nexus range is only 307%.

I wouldn't go anything less than a 14 speed... JMO

Derailleur drive is superior to IGH in many ways:

1. derailleur systems are more efficient than IGH, as they convert more of your pedaling energy to forward motion

2. they're usually quieter

3. they shift quicker, multiple gears in a single action

4. they're user-repairable to a greater extent than IGH

5. there are more shifter options with derailleur system

6. they're generally less expensive than IGH

7. replacement parts/repairs are available/possible in many areas in a short time - not so with IGH

8. 3x9/10 derailleur system has wider gear range than IGH: 11-36t/22-32-44t = 655% range

only issue is few shifters exist now for drop bars .. Trekking bars, no problems

advantage: 1 wide cog to replace is less than cassettes. & single speed wide chains wear longer than narrow derailleur types..

next year Rohloff is introducing release of a easily replaceable cog as simple to do as an AW3...

too bad they didn't make it to just use the S-A cogs .. [ but few are 3/32"] and they prefer the slightly thinner, Vs 1/8" .. 4/32"

there are advantages and disadvantages. one has to weigh the pros/cons for him/herself..

pros of igh:
super easy to clean drive train
ability to use thicker 1/8" chain
enclosed gearbox
can shift without pedaling (can also be a con, because you're supposed to ease off the pedal when pedaling)
price isn't so bad (buy a complete setup for $250; the cr18 wheelset on ebay right now.. that's me :D)

cons of igh:
slightly heavier
slightly more draggy (although replacing factory grease with ATF alleviates a lot of that)
huge gaps between shifts (each shift counts for maybe 2 shifts on the rear derailleur)

I'm selling mine because I'm going super light, and it doesn't make sense to me to sacrifice efficiency.. I didn't find the range to be limiting though. I mean how often are people pedaling in their 53/11 on a tour? never. imo, with the igh, just pick the lowest gear you need for the big climbs you're going to be doing, and tuck in on the descents. with a 40/20 gear ratio, you get the equivalent of close to 1:1 pedal to wheel rpm ratio, which should be enough for most people. On the high end, that ratio allows me to spin comfortable at 26 mph at 90 rpm, and 30+ mph at 120.. but as they say, ymmv

Rohloff IGH is superior/ deraillers inferior in many ways.

1. Doesn't have adjustment screws.
2. Install it and forget it for 3 or 4 thousand miles until oil drain = transamerica.
3. Shifting is a no brainer, up or down. 5 gears at at time often. No kerchunks. No hesitation. Cog flutter not possible.
4. Absolutely NO need to think ahead about downshifting in the middle of a steep hill, just not possible at 3 mph with deR's.
5. Chain drops and shifter destroying your spokes is NOT possible with IGH.
6. Mud/ ice has zero effect on anything but an open chain.
7. Doesn't need as low of a gear, straight line chain is very efficient. and therefore no constant chain fluttering.
8. High speed bumps cannot throw the chain astray.
9. IGH makes it better to hold speed and power going up the back side of dips.
10. My shifter is on the TT, can be used with either hand. Rohloff shifters are rather slippery.
11. My Rohloff 14 is geared 23 to 120 GI. All evenly and perfectly spaced. All used every hilly ride.
12. Deraillers have maybe 50% efficiency when dirty, only takes 20 wet sandy miles to do that. IGH is the same ALL the time.
13. Crashes, tall grass have no effect on a Rohloff.
14. Derailler parts are made to fail in 6,000 miles. Rohloff/ Sturmey Archer 3 spd go 60,000 miles easy. Spare cog would fit in my pocket.
15. Slamming on the brakes and then downshifting is not a struggle.
16. Spoke breakage is seldom possible.
17. More reliable than any derailler.
18. LBS schmucks in many countries have no clue about YOUR derailler parts either.

one reason I will never get rohloff is constant worry.. the hub costs about as much as I would spend to build a touring bike... I'd be getting di2 on my racing bike before I ever use rohloff..

I bough Used..

Very few know what the hell it is, never mine want to steal it.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=4816271; Well, I don't see too much difference in efficiency...
2; Really?
3; Really?
4; I haven't really heard of too many people needing repairs.
5; Really?
6; True.
7; Not needed anywhere near as much anyways.
8; Slightly better, not really... I'm talking 14 speed.

+1

a very pissed off tourist who biked from argentina to san francisco begs to differ. took just the wheel

the last bike i sold with XT deraillers had 50K miles. okay, i did replace the pulleys twice.

current bike replaced the XT's at 25K. springs were feeling sloppy...could have just been the
crappy stuff shimano sells in china (assuming it wasn't counterfeit!). they also needed 2x
pulley replacement, reasonable considering the monsoon mud bathing we've been doing.

How many cassettes?

I considered it once. Reasons for...stylish, reasons against gear range, efficiency, cost, wheel removal.
Works great for around town utility bike.

I like the IGH concept but would only buy a Rohloff/Pinion etc in combination with belt drive. Rohloff reduces some maintenance but belt drive reduces 4X more maintenance plus is much cleaner. For now IGH/belt bike availability is limited & expensive but it will be std in the future. Derailleur wheels can get sticky with grit etc but with those conditions chain needs cleaning/lube too.

In the old days, people used their three speed IGH English sports bicycles for touring and cyclo-camping on both sides of the Atlantic.

The drivetrain was simple, rugged and reliable and the chain never fell off.

IGH has made a renaissance since then and is now available in up to 14 speeds.

I would have no hesitation taking a Rohloff-equipped IGH touring bike on a tour.

These folks are big proponents of Rohloff+Belt Drive touring bikes.
English - De Vakantiefietser

2 guys from Sweden passed thru town in mid november a few years ago, they had started in Anchorage AK ,
Did the Pacific coast, turned east in SoCal , took southern tier, they flew home from Florida .

They brought 2 step thru commuter bikes with them with shimano 8 speed hubs..

Interesting site, thanks. Northern Europe tends to be rainy so there's a clear advantage for belt that doesn't get slow after riding in the wet. Vakantiefietser says belt only goes w/Rohloff but Shimano & Pinion can be used with belt too. Belt's light weight helps make up for increased weight of IGH. Manufacturers won't have to do massive retooling for belt/IGH, basically different rear dropouts & a couple of braze-ons eh?

Casual US riders normally avoid wet conditions but surely they will move to IGH/belt for the cleanliness/convenience as with massive popularity of disc brakes. After that the neglected production touring market will see same features offered. IGH/belt might be more economical for Shimano etc, reducing the vast array of drive train products.

If I was spending $$ I'd go for the Pinion P1.18: quite heavy but gives ultra-wide gear range w/o big jumps, no constant front derailleur shifting etc.

I fit thick SA cogs on my Alfine 8. It takes about 15 minutes to sand down the excess thickness for them to fit. They don't need to be the precise thickness of Shimano ones.
Put 1m very coarse band-sander roll on a flat surface (I use an old shelf), rub the cog up and down until the indented text is barely visible. I made a plywood cog support this time and it speeds up the process.

I admit I'm new to the Rohloff. Just bought a used tandem with one about three weeks ago. So far I'm not convinced of Rohloff's superiority. Perhaps it'll grow on me, but right now I'm wishing the tandem had a simple derailleur setup.

1. My Rohloff has two cable tension adjustment screws at the hub.
2. Chains get squeaky on either system. Maintenance is required regardless of system.
3. I've definitely noticed that my stoker and I need to back off the pedals more dramatically than a derailleur system or else the hub hesitates to shift.
4. Again, I find it easier so far to downshift on a hill with a derailleur system.
5. Chain dropping into the spokes is also not possible with a properly set up derailleur system.
6. I don't live around mud and ice, but it makes sense that an IGH system would be beneficial. Do a lot of tourists regularly ride through debilitating mud and ice?
7. I highly doubt this claim. A straight chainline is slightly more efficient but not enough to really matter to a bicycle tourist.
8. I've logged a couple of thousand miles touring on dirt and rough roads and never had a chain drop due to bumpy roads.
9. Not sure I understand this one.
10. I also don't care for the Rohloff's twist shifter. Perhaps when there are more drop bar shifting options it will become more popular.
11. I don't get the advantage of evenly spaced gears. Sometimes with the Rohloff I need to change one, two or three gears to adjust to the terrain. Same as with my derailleur bikes. In theory it sounds nice. In practice I don't think it matters.
12. If I was really worried about efficiency I'd ride a race bike and only travel with my credit card. For loaded touring, efficiency is further down the list. Dependability and comfort are higher priorities.
13. Bent derailleur hangers are very common. This is a good advantage for the Rohloff.
14. Derailleur parts don't usually fail. They just wear out. These are predictable events that can be taken care of easily.
15. This is my favorite feature so far. The ability to switch gears while standing still is really nice.
16. Broken spokes are a potential problem. The Rohloff has a nice advantage here since both sides of the wheel use the same spoke length.
17. While the Rohloff may be the most reliable, derailleur systems are very dependable. Plenty good enough for all sorts of long distance trips.
18. If you maintain your own bikes, which is easy to do, bike shops only serve as resupply points and a chance to chat with fellow cyclists. Calling these people schmucks is disrespectful.

Belt drive systems have been out for several years and yet they haven't caught on. For instance, I don't believe Specialized has a single 2015/16 model with a belt drive. They had some bikes in 2013, but those models have been discontinued. If there were money in it, you know one of the big boys like Specialized would be all over it.

Disc brakes are popular because mountain biking is popular. Mountain biking is associated with bros and beer and weed and having fun. IGH belt drive bikes are associated with engineers commuting to their desk jobs.

It seems like the production touring market is all about making a bike the best value. That's why the LHT is so popular. It uses standard, inexpensive, dependable parts that get the job done. Adding things like an IGH and a belt drive aren't perceived as a good value. You pay more upfront for little if any advantage.

Some of us still tour on IGH 3 speeds...

My ultimate tour bike would use a Rolhoff and a Schlumph mountain drive.

Aaron :)