Ultimate touring gruppo
#26
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In general, Internal-gear hubs are much more durable than derailer systems. The Rohloff has a reputation for being bulletproof. My NuVinci has been trouble-free for 5000 miles, including a 3200 mile tour.
Personally, I'd never go back to a derailer system unless I was racing and had a support crew.
Personally, I'd never go back to a derailer system unless I was racing and had a support crew.
The peace of mind in a system you can visually check every day wins for me.
I'm interested in how others perceive each system, especially those who have ordered both.
#27
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In general, Internal-gear hubs are much more durable than derailer systems. The Rohloff has a reputation for being bulletproof. My NuVinci has been trouble-free for 5000 miles, including a 3200 mile tour.
Personally, I'd never go back to a derailer system unless I was racing and had a support crew.
Personally, I'd never go back to a derailer system unless I was racing and had a support crew.
mdithey does make a cogent point, however, about IGH. I doubt that you could walk into Ride On Bikes in Lewiston, Idaho and get the parts needed to fix an IGH of any flavor if something when wrong. If I screwed up a derailer, I could walk into any shop from Ride On Bikes to Ride 'n' Slide Sports in Beckley, WV and walk out with something that will get me down the road.
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#28
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And I prefer long term reliability over ease of repair. Everybody prioritizes differently.
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By any objective standard, an IGH is going to be more durable than a derailer system. It's the nature of having everything contained within the hub. It isn't exposed to dirt or abuse like a derailer system.
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I agree. but I like to be able to fix my bike on the road. I've had a few times when I had a snapped cable, or a bent hanger and there was always a work around that would get me riding home. If an IGH dies on the road then I think you'd be stuck walking to the next town where you are likely to have to wait a few days for your parts.
#31
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I agree with you, but nothing is indestructible. Nothing is frictionless. Your beloved bike has 15,000 maintenance-free miles on it; do you trust that aged rolhoff with another 3,000, knowing that something in it's internals has rubbed the same way millions of times?
The peace of mind in a system you can visually check every day wins for me.
I'm interested in how others perceive each system, especially those who have ordered both.
The peace of mind in a system you can visually check every day wins for me.
I'm interested in how others perceive each system, especially those who have ordered both.
#32
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I agree. but I like to be able to fix my bike on the road. I've had a few times when I had a snapped cable, or a bent hanger and there was always a work around that would get me riding home. If an IGH dies on the road then I think you'd be stuck walking to the next town where you are likely to have to wait a few days for your parts.
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Here we'll have to agree to disagree. Compared to IGHs, I find derailer systems to be fragile and difficult to keep properly adjusted. Equally important is the derailer system's inability to change gears while stopped. I do too much urban riding, and my bike sees too much abuse to consider a derailer system to be good enough.
#34
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Here we'll have to agree to disagree. Compared to IGHs, I find derailer systems to be fragile and difficult to keep properly adjusted. Equally important is the derailer system's inability to change gears while stopped. I do too much urban riding, and my bike sees too much abuse to consider a derailer system to be good enough.
Last edited by nun; 10-21-14 at 08:25 PM.
#35
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Here we'll have to agree to disagree. Compared to IGHs, I find derailer systems to be fragile and difficult to keep properly adjusted. Equally important is the derailer system's inability to change gears while stopped. I do too much urban riding, and my bike sees too much abuse to consider a derailer system to be good enough.
Derailleurs aren't a finicky, failed technology riddled with problems that the Rolhoff swooped in and saved. They're a reliable technology with a century of design, and can serve for a decade or more of good service with minutes of maintenance per week.
Honestly, you spend $X on your Rolhoff gadget and that's fine, and they'll last for several thousand miles and that's fine too. However, claiming your gadget is night-and-day better than derailleurs is a bit of a push, and completely ignoring the fact that these things DO FAIL for some people in remote areas, leaving them stranded or even ending a tour early, happens. It does.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a worse situation than if your derailleur breaks, because a remote bike shop in South America has fifty derailleurs in stock.
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I haven't used any other IGH, but my NuVinci doesn't complicate wheel removal. The shifter cable utilizes a quick release, and wheel removal and installatin is quite simple. I have to wonder if any IGHs actually make wheel removal more difficult, or if they just appear to.
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Yep. In the very unlikely scenario it fails, you'll have to wait a couple days for the Fed-Ex delivery to arrive. That's a very low probability event and a pretty small cost when it happens. I'll take that risk over suffering through derailer issues.
#38
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Yep. They've been around almost as long as internal-geared hubs. But more popular in the US (where any bike rider is an outlier of the general population) doesn't imply more reliable. There are some old IGHs that are still in use. And finicky is a perfect descriptor for derailers.
Yep. In the very unlikely scenario it fails, you'll have to wait a couple days for the Fed-Ex delivery to arrive. That's a very low probability event and a pretty small cost when it happens. I'll take that risk over suffering through derailer issues.
In the UK or USA, maybe that's just an expensive fix and a 2-day wait for fed-ex. In a foreign country, that could mean hitch-hiking a week back to civilization and buying a plane ticket home.
That's why, for me, the ultimate touring gruppo isn't the cream of the crop of IGH super-drivetrains. It's something quickly fixed or replaced. My tour experience has shown me time and time again that NOTHING works exactly as planned. There are no guarantees.
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If you say so... I am in the same environment and have had no damage. I think you're the minority if people keep kicking in your derailleurs.
There's a big difference between a 3-speed cruiser IGH and a Rolhoff touring IGH. namely, the latter is extremely complex, and much more difficult to repair. In fact, I'd put your chances of a field IGH repair at near-zero unless you work for Rolhoff (or NuVinci, etc.) Someone with a dissenting story can chime in, but I've never heard it in my time. Ask yourself; can you field repair your IGH right now?
This is what it boils down to, which is good, because it likely means the argument is over. Derailleur "issues," which for me adds up to about an hour a year, if that, is the trade-off for something that is field-repairable and easily replaceable. Your IGH, despite working beautifully the majority of the time, despite having a low probability of failing, has an inherent flaw; in the event of that 1-in-a-million break, you're utterly shipwrecked.
In the UK or USA, maybe that's just an expensive fix and a 2-day wait for fed-ex. In a foreign country, that could mean hitch-hiking a week back to civilization and buying a plane ticket home.
That's why, for me, the ultimate touring gruppo isn't the cream of the crop of IGH super-drivetrains. It's something quickly fixed or replaced. My tour experience has shown me time and time again that NOTHING works exactly as planned. There are no guarantees.
There's a big difference between a 3-speed cruiser IGH and a Rolhoff touring IGH. namely, the latter is extremely complex, and much more difficult to repair. In fact, I'd put your chances of a field IGH repair at near-zero unless you work for Rolhoff (or NuVinci, etc.) Someone with a dissenting story can chime in, but I've never heard it in my time. Ask yourself; can you field repair your IGH right now?
This is what it boils down to, which is good, because it likely means the argument is over. Derailleur "issues," which for me adds up to about an hour a year, if that, is the trade-off for something that is field-repairable and easily replaceable. Your IGH, despite working beautifully the majority of the time, despite having a low probability of failing, has an inherent flaw; in the event of that 1-in-a-million break, you're utterly shipwrecked.
In the UK or USA, maybe that's just an expensive fix and a 2-day wait for fed-ex. In a foreign country, that could mean hitch-hiking a week back to civilization and buying a plane ticket home.
That's why, for me, the ultimate touring gruppo isn't the cream of the crop of IGH super-drivetrains. It's something quickly fixed or replaced. My tour experience has shown me time and time again that NOTHING works exactly as planned. There are no guarantees.
I think simpler is better so I try and keep a few generations behind in technology. Chances are high I can find a 9 speed chain (even a 7 speed chain will work at a pinch) but, you need a fairly high end store to get an 11 speed chain. Equally a mechanical drive train is going to be easier to repair than Di2. I'd bet you average mom and pop store in out of the way places has no idea where to start on that system.
#40
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I agree there. I don't do world tours, but even all night rides and 2-3 day tours always throw a curveball somewhere. Once we got a brokenb cable on a trike. Another time I lost hydrolic pressure on one brake. Fortunately my bottle of chain oil fixed the problem (had to flush the system later but hey - it worked!). Another time I crashed into a large pile of steel avoiding a particularly large dog. Bent the hanger and damaged the RD to the point it was only good as a chain tensioner.
I think simpler is better so I try and keep a few generations behind in technology. Chances are high I can find a 9 speed chain (even a 7 speed chain will work at a pinch) but, you need a fairly high end store to get an 11 speed chain. Equally a mechanical drive train is going to be easier to repair than Di2. I'd bet you average mom and pop store in out of the way places has no idea where to start on that system.
I think simpler is better so I try and keep a few generations behind in technology. Chances are high I can find a 9 speed chain (even a 7 speed chain will work at a pinch) but, you need a fairly high end store to get an 11 speed chain. Equally a mechanical drive train is going to be easier to repair than Di2. I'd bet you average mom and pop store in out of the way places has no idea where to start on that system.
A $4500 boutique bike has its place. Everyone wants a ferrari in their garage. When it comes to actual touring, make sure every part you put on the bike has a back-up plan. It'll save your tour someday.
Last edited by mdilthey; 10-21-14 at 09:40 PM.
#41
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If you want to use derailers, fine. It's your choice to make. But you're kidding yourself if you believe their popularity somehow makes them a superior choice. Choosing an IGH for its increased reliability is reasoning at least as valid.
Last edited by Jaywalk3r; 10-21-14 at 09:45 PM.
#42
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Wrong. I have a singlespeed until the Fed-Ex shipment arrives. It's not exactly a catastrophe. There are far worse scenarios not involving my hub that are far more likely to occur than my hub failing, but I don't let those things keep me off the bike either.
If you want to use derailers, fine. It's your choice to make. But you're kidding yourself if you believe their popularity somehow makes them a superior choice.
If you want to use derailers, fine. It's your choice to make. But you're kidding yourself if you believe their popularity somehow makes them a superior choice.
I think your frame example is weak. A bike frame is a single continuous piece, and barring the event of a serious crash, is very predictable in it's nature. No sign of corrosion? Your frame is fine- keep riding.
An IGH, on the other hand...
I really don't think a stronger argument can be made. A duplicity of moving parts, all interfacing, touching, and on a long enough timeline, wearing.
Do they fail often? No, I agree with you, probability is on your side. You will never make an argument to convince me it's the better choice for a serious expedition, though, because an expedition that is 100% halted by your hub isn't really acceptable to me.
All those "maybe" failures on your bike and my bike could happen and we ride anyways, but all my parts are at the LBS wherever I go and yours aren't. Address that, and you'll sway my opinion.
#43
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I have no interest in your opinion or what gear you choose. I've put much thought and consideration into my own needs, and have arrived at the well reasoned conclusion that derailers have too many shortcomings for them to be a good choice for me.
Last edited by Jaywalk3r; 10-21-14 at 10:13 PM.
#44
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Durability... that's relative. Cassette cogs aren't the most durable things in the world, but they are a heck of a lot easier to replace at any bike shop along the way. When the IGH gears wear out, they are done. I like the ability to limp back home come the worst case scenario. But, I'm biased, I had a manual transmission on a car fail on me before due to poor shimming at the factory.
Rebuildability... derailleur systems, hands down. I suppose if you have money to burn and are willing to wait a week in a hotel for a replacement hub, more power to you. Even a replacement frame would be easier to find in the field than a replacement IGH.
Personally, I love the simplicity of IGH but I would only use it on my commuter, not on a cross country touring bike. If you ride back and forth across the country enough times with both systems, both will fail. One can be fixed at any bike shop along the way. The other is tour ending in most cases. But whatever, it's all hypothetical without real world experience.
#45
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Personally, I wouldn't trust a derailer equipped bike for touring (or commuting). Fortunately, we are each free to do our own cost-benefit analysis and to make our own choices.
#47
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For me the cost and weight of an IGH just are not worth it.
Oh, and on the original topic... I think there is way too much desire for the ultimate this and that in bike touring. There are lots of really nice mid range and even lower end components that are completely serviceable. The same for complete bikes. I really do not think all that much about the bike itself when I think back on a tour. It needs to meet some minimum requirements, but once it does other refinements are just not a huge deal in the enjoyment of touring.
If I had to say what bike and components I most enjoyed touring on, it wouldn't even be a touring bike, but rather the old (1990) Cannondale Crit bike with 105 road race components that I rode on the ST. I was ultralight camping though and wouldn't use it if packing a lot heavier. My point being that it isn't anything special and that you can pick up similar bikes for $300-500 pretty easily. For those who pack much heavier there are similarly priced used bikes that would be just as serviceable for their needs. I think the whole ultimate , bike, build, or gruppo thing are kind of a weird and pointless obsession.
Just one man's opinion though.
#48
Another negative for IGHs is that if you crack your rim while on tour you'll need to rebuild your wheel.
#49
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I have no interest in your opinion or what gear you choose.
#50
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mdithey does make a cogent point, however, about IGH. I doubt that you could walk into Ride On Bikes in Lewiston, Idaho and get the parts needed to fix an IGH of any flavor if something when wrong. If I screwed up a derailer, I could walk into any shop from Ride On Bikes to Ride 'n' Slide Sports in Beckley, WV and walk out with something that will get me down the road.