# Alfine vs Derailleur



## Moodyman (24 Mar 2010)

Currently running a 24 speed derailleur bike - 11-30 at the rear and 48/38/28 at the front.

This gives me plenty of range for the climbs & the descents. BUT, getting tired of the weekly maintenance - especially given the winter we've just had.

Am considering an Alfine bike with 45 tooth ring at the front and 19 at the back.

Anyone else gone from derailleur to an Alfine and what are you experiences in the gear range?

Out of my 24 speed, there's only 10 that I regularly use. So I figure that the Alfine's 8 is sufficient enough.


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## Howard (24 Mar 2010)

Moodyman said:


> Am considering an Alfine bike with 45 tooth ring at the front and 19 at the back.
> 
> Anyone else gone from derailleur to an Alfine and what are you experiences in the gear range?



I ride a Charge Mixer with an Alfine on 39/18t 700c. It's my winter/wet weather bike. My previous winter bike was a Specialised Rockhopper and I also ride a Cannondale CAAD9. 

Shifting with the Alfine is effortless and being able to shift whilst stationary or through multiple gears very quickly is very, very nice. The 105 on the Cannondale feels a bit clunky in comparison.

The Alfine is also maintenance free with two caveats:

1) like a single speed, you still need to clean and re-grease chainring, chain and sprocket 
2) you will need to have the LBC service the hub after 2000 miles. You can do it yourself, but it's not for the fainthearted but considering you are thinking about fitting one to a bike that was running a derailuer you probably know what you are doing. 

In terms of gears: I don't know what size wheels you intend to run but the 39/18 * 700c combo works just great. For commuting in London I generally use five, six and seven with (five being direct drive). The lower end only comes into play when attacking hills and the ratios feel about right - there's nothing I haven't been able to get up. 

At first I thought it might be undergeared but even doing speed training I very rarely use the top end. Computer says max speed is 32Mph and I don't remember my cadance reaching crazy speeds. 

Only critism is getting the back wheel off is not as easy as it should be - so I made a video how to - it's pretty straight forward the second time. 

HTH


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## BentMikey (24 Mar 2010)

*waves hello*


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## HJ (24 Mar 2010)

I do remember seeing somewhere that you can use it with a double ring at the front to increase the gear range, is this true?


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## Steve Austin (24 Mar 2010)

I use an 8speed alfine. The only concern you should have is is the gear range wide enough for you.

I use mine off road, and i always fine myself needing one extra gear at either end of the gear range. So ime its a compromise on gearing.
The new 11 speed Alfine may resolve this. 

As for ease and other issues. I can't fault it


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## Howard (24 Mar 2010)

HJ said:


> I do remember seeing somewhere that you can use it with a double ring at the front to increase the gear range, is this true?



Yes. Two issues though: 

i) You'll need a chain tentioner (there's an Alfine specific one available if you look at the Shimano tech docs).
ii) IIRC there are limits to the amount of torque the Alfine can handle. Using certain chainring and sprocket combinations may overload the hub and cause shifting problems and / or damage the internals.


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## MacB (24 Mar 2010)

Looking at your existing 24 gears you should have an overall range of 25 to 118 gear inches, this was based on a 700x32 wheel size. Obviously there's duplication in there and also about 4 gears that should be avoided due to extreme chain angles. You only have the one big gear over 100 inches, all the rest are 99 or lower. I'd actually work out which gears you use the most and then see what the actual gear inches are for these. 

Current hub gear pecking order seems to be Rohloff(by a mile but also a mile pricewise as well) with 14 gears, SRAM I-9 with 9 gears(not rated as well as the Alfine for offroad though and the Alfine with 8 gears. The prices reflect these general ratings as do reliability reports. There's a lot of interest in the upcoming Alfine 11.

That said I'm selling my I-Motion 9 hub gear wheel - I originally bought it as a compromise as I couldn't justify a Rohloff - I also thought I was compromising myself by only having 9 gears(I didn't understand gearing very well then). I also have another bike with a 3 speed hub and, after commuting for a few months, discovered that 9 gears was overkill, it's fairly flat around my way. My I-9 then let me down during the snow and was repaired/internals replaced under warranty(allegedly the first in the UK to require this, how lucky was I?). But the absence of the wheel meant the 3 speed was drafted in to action and is more than sufficient for my needs. Though I'm also looking towards SS/fixed options as well, so that gives an idea of the direction I'm heading. 

The I-9 requires a minimum ratio, with my 20t cog that would be a 34t chainring, but you can go as big as you like. 20/34 would give you a range of 25 to 85 inches, a more usual ratio of 20/38 would give a 28 to 96 inch range. 

If this is of interest a search in the for sale section here will show my ad and links to pics and full details. If you're anywhere near me then viewing and testing is welcome. It's back in the bike but has only done about 40 miles since the internals were replaced.


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## Moodyman (24 Mar 2010)

Thanks All - especially Howard. Great video and nice bike.

MacB - I saw your earlier thread on the SRAM and how with hindsight you wish you'd got the Alfine.

Incidentally, I'm not altering my derailleur bike to an Alfine. I'm actually thinking of buying an Alfine equipped bike - Kona's Dr Fine. It's the first Alfine equipped commuter that they've done (I think).

So I won't be needing your I-9, though thank you for the offer.


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## John the Monkey (25 Mar 2010)

Cotic's Road Rat is another option - LBS near me builds them up into a really nice "Super Commuter" 

http://blog.sidewayscycles.co.uk/2009/11/25/cotic-road-rat-super-commuter/


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## Matty (25 Mar 2010)

John the Monkey said:


> Cotic's Road Rat is another option - LBS near me builds them up into a really nice "Super Commuter"
> 
> http://blog.sidewayscycles.co.uk/2009/11/25/cotic-road-rat-super-commuter/



Think it is available from Cotic as an Alfine option too.


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## Jezston (25 Mar 2010)

John the Monkey said:


> Cotic's Road Rat is another option - LBS near me builds them up into a really nice "Super Commuter"
> 
> http://blog.sidewayscycles.co.uk/2009/11/25/cotic-road-rat-super-commuter/



HOLY CRAP the bike I thought I was going to have to get custom built with parts ordered from the states exists in the UK! Hub gears with drop shifters ... oh maan can't wait until October comes around and new cycle scheme! SOLD!

Thank you John!


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## Matty (25 Mar 2010)

Jezston said:


> HOLY CRAP the bike I thought I was going to have to get custom built with parts ordered from the states exists in the UK! Hub gears with drop shifters ... oh maan can't wait until October comes around and new cycle scheme! SOLD!
> 
> Thank you John!



From my experience last year, if you order it now you will get it in October! Worth the wait though.


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## Moodyman (25 Mar 2010)

Beautiful. Salivating.

I wanted a steel frame with drops but couldn't find any.

Only problem is I'm buying via Cycle to Work and not sure Halfords can get it in for me. If they can, it'll be just what I need.

Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Ranger (25 Mar 2010)

Jezston said:


> HOLY CRAP the bike I thought I was going to have to get custom built with parts ordered from the states exists in the UK! Hub gears with drop shifters ... oh maan can't wait until October comes around and new cycle scheme! SOLD!
> 
> Thank you John!



It's exactly what I am after as well, does it take a rack and guards?


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## biking_fox (25 Mar 2010)

Can't comment much on the Alfine as I was able to go for Rohlof (thank you car driver who broke my collarbone). But I can certainly recommend hubgears for less fuss commuting. Although as said the chain does still need some attention, and the brakes etc.


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## Moodyman (25 Mar 2010)

*'does it take a rack and guards?' *

Yes it does, but Halfords can't get them in.


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## Howard (25 Mar 2010)

John the Monkey said:


> Cotic's Road Rat is another option - LBS near me builds them up into a really nice "Super Commuter"
> 
> http://blog.sidewayscycles.co.uk/2009/11/25/cotic-road-rat-super-commuter/



Awesome looking ride. Anyone in London have one with Alfine + drops? Would love to try it out...


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## jimboalee (25 Mar 2010)

Other consideration about hub gears.

How easy is it to get the wheel out, fix a puncture and get the wheel back in, IN THE RAIN?

Fixing punctures in the rain is no joy on any bike, but how many cable connections do you need to worry about, and is it a 'fool proof' chain tension installation?


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## Moodyman (25 Mar 2010)

Jimbo - Howard's got a nice video which shows you how to remove an Alfine wheel.

It's no quick release, but it looks easy once you've done it a couple of times.


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## John the Monkey (25 Mar 2010)

Ranger said:


> It's exactly what I am after as well, does it take a rack and guards?



We had a discussion about it with someone close to Cotic a bit ago on Twitter, the outcome was that yes, it does - there are pics floating about on the interweb showing the necessary braze ons &c

I'll ask around & see if I can find the info again.


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## John the Monkey (25 Mar 2010)

Jezston said:


> ... oh maan can't wait until October comes around and new cycle scheme! SOLD!


That's what I'm thinking.

And tbh, I'm thinking it a little too much. I don't need it, but by golly I want it...


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## Howard (25 Mar 2010)

jimboalee said:


> Other consideration about hub gears.
> 
> How easy is it to get the wheel out, fix a puncture and get the wheel back in, IN THE RAIN?
> 
> Fixing punctures in the rain is no joy on any bike, but how many cable connections do you need to worry about, and is it a 'fool proof' chain tension installation?



Did this the other day - it's as straight forward as in the dry. If you want to know what you have to do, check out my video. You only have to worry about one cable connection and as far as I know don't have to consider chain tension - but then again I have an eccentric BB and discs. 

Always found when fixing punctures the most time consuming bit is finding the damn hole and removing whatever caused it; Alfine will add about a minute to the whole process compared to a standard or single speed set up so it's no deal breaker in my opinion. Or you could just buy Marathon Plus and forget about it


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## Moodyman (25 Mar 2010)

Been on the Sheldon website and done the gear conversion. The Alfine with 45T at the front and 19 at the back offers a high gear of 104 inches and a low gear of 33 inches.

This is marginally worse than my derailleur high off 113 and my low of 24 (have 26 inch wheels). But as I never use my lowest and very rarely use the high, I think the Alfine will be fine.

Still salivating over the Cotic Roadrat but none of their northern dealers accept the Halfords C2W vouchers. Did consider buying the frame outright and getting the LBS (which does accept the vouchers) to build it up with Alfine, but that would negate the savings of the C2W.

Kona's Dr Fine it is. Not a complete steel bike but has Kona's highly regarded P2 fork.


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## Moodyman (25 Mar 2010)

*'I'll ask around & see if I can find the info again'*

No need. I rang Cy of Cotic (he's one of the owners I think- number on their website). He said they have braze ons for rack & full mudguards.


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## simon a r (27 Mar 2010)

My experiance with bikes and gear systems is rather basic and very limited, but I picked up a new bike on Thursday that has a Shimano Alfine, 8 speed, to replace my current commuting bike which had 21 speed gear on 28/34/48T chainset. So far I've only manged two runs to and from work at the end of this week, and a it of a longer run out this morning to throw the new bike at some of the local hills. So far all is well, the Alfine is preforming very well, if not better than the prevoius sytem I had on the old bike, I'm rather taken by it.


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## mcb2080 (28 Mar 2010)

I have a ridgeback nemesis, have had it for close to two years, in all that time I have never had a problem with the alfine gear hub, I have probably covered close to 2000 miles.

I would defo recommend the schwalbe marathon plus as I have never had a problem with them whilst commuting, in saying that I also have schwalbe marathon supremes, which have covered about 300 miles and also never had any issues with these either.

I got the supremes as I thought the plus where a little bit heavy but all in all, I reckon there is only about 1mph difference in favour of the supremes tyres.

As for going back to derailers, nope not for me. I was thinking of going for the ridgeback flight 04 as it also has alfine but now that the 11 gear alfine is coming soon, I will hold off to see what my next commuter bike will be.


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## viniga (28 Mar 2010)

I use an Alfine Hub on my commuter bike, a derailleur on my racing bike (a compact).

I have a greater gear range on the racing bile (11-28 cassette) on both the low and the high end - seems suitable for purpose as most of my routes are hilly.

The Alfine hub will spin out on some descents and might get me out of my saddle on a high grade hill. On the same routes I do on the racing bike I notice it but it's no big deal.

The biggest single benefit from the Alfine is maintenance. Rainy west coast of Scotland. The less cleaning I have to do the better. I reckon for commuting the Alfine is great.

Some bad experiences - 9 out of 10 gear changes are smooth but I get noisy ones. I had my first hub swapped out on warrenty due to a broken cog after about 2500 miles. And it is a bit heavier than a cassette.


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## Jezston (3 Apr 2010)

Giving this a bump as I've been thinking about this more. Wonder if anyone might be able to answer the following?

1. Are there any other bikes out there with hub gears and drop handlebars? Seems only one company makes the drop shifters for alfine (on the aforementioned Road Rat), but is there anything else? Even with different hubs with less gears, or different shifters?

2. Don't seem to see much other than the 7-11 speed Alfine and Rohloff hubs out there these days, but is there anyone else making hubs? Even just 3-5 speed hubs? Been thinking that a 5-speed might be enough for me.

3. For those who have gone from Cassette-Derailleur gears to hubs, have you found the hubs weigh significantly more?


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## Arch (3 Apr 2010)

1. There is a company in the US making a bar end shifter for hub gear. I thought you could get it from SJS, can't find it quickly....

2. SRAM, Shimano, Sturmey-Archer.... There's all sorts. My boss just set his new bike up with a SRAM 3-speed and a Schlumpf Speed drive BB gear, to give himself 6 speeds.

3. I have hub on my winter hack, derailleur on the summer one. It's hard to compare because the winter bike is just heavier all round - chunkier wheels and tyres, hub brakes, more clothes/fat on me, etc. I don't imagine I would notice much though. The biggest difference is remembering to alter shifting tactics for the derailleur - making sure I'm in a low gear to pull away before I stop at lights and so on, instead of stop, click, click, ready to go.


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## Chrisc (5 Apr 2010)

Not an Alfine but my dutch bike has a 7 speed nexus ranging from 32 to 80" bit low at the top end but for pootling around and hill climbing in my bit of the Pennines it's fine. I love the ease of gear changes and set up.


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## snailracer (5 Apr 2010)

Moodyman said:


> Currently running a 24 speed derailleur bike - 11-30 at the rear and 48/38/28 at the front.
> 
> This gives me plenty of range for the climbs & the descents. BUT, getting tired of the *weekly maintenance* - especially given the winter we've just had.
> 
> Am considering an Alfine bike...



I re-oil only about once a month despite riding along a bridleway and forest track. Are you running full length mudguards, and is your front mudflap long enough?


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## Moodyman (6 Apr 2010)

I'm riding a hybrid with mtb origins. Full mudguards won't fit due to disc brakes.

I'm currently running a long crudguard on the downtube and a crud catcher under my rack.

This protects me, but not the drivetrain from the debris that's spat by the front wheel.

I recognise that a full weekly clean might be superfluous, but I like everything to run smooth. I hate the grinding chain feel towards the end of the week.


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## Jezston (6 Apr 2010)

Moodyman - I also have a hybrid with disc brakes (Kona Dew Plus) which I believed (as did the staff at Evans) couldn't fit full mudguards, however a chap at the LBS claims he'll be able to fit some with some extra bits of kit he uses - meant to get this done at the weekend but was ill. Worth looking into perhaps.


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## Moodyman (6 Apr 2010)

Cheers Jez.

It was Evans who told me the same thing. 

I've seen a few bikes in our work bike area that have full mudguards with disks, albeit the mudguard stay is often bent around the disk brake caliper or is fitted in a way that it bypasses it.

Evans must have wanted to avoid any warranty issues by working around the calipers.


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## g00se (6 Apr 2010)

Jezston said:


> Moodyman - I also have a hybrid with disc brakes (Kona Dew Plus) which I believed (as did the staff at Evans) couldn't fit full mudguards, however a chap at the LBS claims he'll be able to fit some with some extra bits of kit he uses - meant to get this done at the weekend but was ill. Worth looking into perhaps.



The man at Evans, he talk rubeesh 







Just needed to bend one of the front supports down a bit to avoid the calliper.


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## shouldbeinbed (6 Apr 2010)

Howard said:


> Yes. Two issues though:
> 
> i) You'll need a chain tentioner (there's an Alfine specific one available if you look at the Shimano tech docs).
> ii) IIRC there are limits to the amount of torque the Alfine can handle. Using certain chainring and sprocket combinations may overload the hub and cause shifting problems and / or damage the internals.



+1 I use a Alfine 8 speed on a quite heavy load ugger of a bike on my hilly commute and its 90% fine.

on the steeper downhill (30mph+) bits I can outrun 8th gear but I've never had a problem struggling up the same hill in 1st, its pretty much a granny ring.

my observation is that the mid range (4/5 particularly) are quite spaced and you can often find yourself deciding which side of just right you want to be at. Its not hugely far off, you're never really struggling to pedal or spinning wildly but it needs another gear in there.

I'd also say that I've had problems shifting when I'm fully loading the pedals, you do need to back off for half a pedal rev when you shift, up in particular, to be sure it is smooth and effortless.

its been great this winter, is absolutely silent and so far hasn't needed any adjustment at all in the best part of a year.

I'm sold on hubs now (was fed up of p'ssing round with deraillures too) and would happily get another one but, depending on what riding you do, it might be worth it if you can wait/afford to go for the 11 speed. TBH that'll probably be a gear too many but for the extra weight, I'd rather have 1 too many than 1 too few.


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## Moodyman (6 Apr 2010)

Thanks Shouldbeinbed.

The 11-speed Alfine looks much better and has received a lot of praise but is not due to be released until September. Which means it'll be available on 2011 bikes at the earliest. Then, it's likely to push any bike over the £1000 C2W limit as the 8-speed Alfine comes just under.

My C2W voucher expires in May, so have to settle for the 8-speed. I did a gear inches calculation and I think I have enough gears for 90% of my riding. It's rather hilly round here so the low gears are welcomed. If I find I'm out-spinning gear 8, I might swap for a larger ring at the front.


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## currystomper (28 Apr 2010)

The AtoB mag issue 66 says "The Alfine appears to be technically identical to the lowly Nexus 8 - speed" but it is a lot more expensive - may want to check this out before getting a Nexus...

CS


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## MartinC (29 Apr 2010)

The Alfine and the Premium Nexus 8 are very similar. IIRC the only difference is the the Alfine has some fancy clutch arrangement rather than a freewheel with pawls so that it (the freewheel) engages more quickly and is quieter.


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## Moodyman (2 May 2010)

I collected my Alfine bike last weekend and done a week's commute.

Verdict - GREAT!

Quiet, super smooth gear changes. Far better in stop start traffic and ability to change at lights is brilliant. And, I have enough gear range for my hilly commute.

Because there is a big gap between gears, you don't change unless you get a significant gradient change. This means you're not constantly flicking between gears - less component wear.

For year-round commuting, I cannot think of any meaningul advantage of derailleurs over hub gears.

Hope this helps others in a similar quandary.


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## mcb2080 (2 May 2010)

I have recently changed the cog on my alfine from a 21 tooth to an 18 tooth as I was spinning out going down hill at about 28-30 mph, I now get about 32-36 mph going down the same hills but I have lost my lowest gear under the old cog, this just makes it a little harder for any hill that I was climbing in the old first gear before.

I had thought of trying a 16 tooth but coming home from work I have to climb some pretty big hills that I think would finish my knees off with a 16 tooth cog as the gearing just wouldn't be low enough.

Is it possible to use anything higher than a 48t front chain ring for an alfine? If so would this mean I would get the same low gear off an 18t rear cog but give more speed at the top end or would this require more effort due to a higher tooth count of the front ring?(hope this makes sense LOL)

Roll on September for the 11 gear alfine


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## Moodyman (2 May 2010)

MCB,

I have 39 tooth at the front and 18 on the rear. This is fine for most descents and gets me up the biggest climbs.

If I had to decide, I'd rather spin out on the big descents and freewheel than have to grind on the big ups. Grinding is bad for the knees, whereas freewheeling has no adverse health effects.


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## Moodyman (2 May 2010)

Just spotted your question about swapping the rings. I did a gear inches conversion (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html) before I bought the bike.

Have you got / ever used derailleurs and if so, do you remember your chainring / casette combination? If so, it's quite easy to work out your bottom / top range.

Example, my derailleur bike has 11-30 on the back and 48/38/28 at the front. I run 26 inch wheels. My top speed is 113 inches (48 divided by 11 x 26), my bottom is 24 inches (28 divided by 30 x 26).

My 39 & 18 Alfine combination gives me 94 inches (top) and 30 inches (bottom).

I know that I'm losing a bit at the top and a bit of the bottom, but I rarely used both of those anyway so no real loss.


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## mcb2080 (2 May 2010)

Moodyman said:


> Just spotted your question about swapping the rings. I did a gear inches conversion (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html) before I bought the bike.
> 
> Have you got / ever used derailleurs and if so, do you remember your chainring / casette combination? If so, it's quite easy to work out your bottom / top range.
> 
> ...



Cheers for the link, I didn't know about this.

I have noticed that my knees are a wee bit sorer after doping to the 18t cog.

It seems that I could move to a 52t front and keep the 21t rear and this would have been a better ratio all round for me.

Thanks again as this gives me something to think about, although if the 11 speed alfine is compatiable with my bike then I may just do a straight swap.


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## Upstream (13 Jul 2013)

Hi guys,
I just happened upon this thread by accident and found it interesting as I've always been interested in hub geared road bikes. A couple of years ago at the Cycle Show in Birmingham I saw some road bikes with a 14 speed hub gear. At the time they were hugely expensive so I couldn't even consider one.

When I've looked online what I tend to find is that many of the bikes with discs, hub gears and drop bars are cyclocross types with heavyish frames. Ideally I'd be looking for a road bike with lightish frame, drop bars and disc brakes.

For those of you who have switched from a bike with derailleurs to hub gears, what was the range of gears like with the switch? At the moment I have a bike with 700 x 23 wheels and a gear set up of 52 / 39 with an 11 - 27 cassette. I find that going up some hills I could do with a slightly lower gear than 39 / 27 and I never outrun the top end.

Any thoughts..?

Thanks.


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## vernon (13 Jul 2013)

Upstream said:


> Hi guys,
> I just happened upon this thread by accident and found it interesting as I've always been interested in hub geared road bikes. A couple of years ago at the Cycle Show in Birmingham I saw some road bikes with a 14 speed hub gear. At the time they were hugely expensive so I couldn't even consider one.
> 
> When I've looked online what I tend to find is that many of the bikes with discs, hub gears and drop bars are cyclocross types with heavyish frames. Ideally I'd be looking for a road bike with lightish frame, drop bars and disc brakes.
> ...


 

If you want a lower gear for your derailleur geared bike, fit a mountain bike cassette with 34 teeth and buy a rear MTB derailleur. It's a lot cheaper than buying a new bike.


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## Upstream (13 Jul 2013)

Hi Vernon - I understand what you're saying there and I agree - either an MTB cassette which would be cheapest or change to a compact up front. My main motivation though is the simplicity of hub gear systems and that disc brakes look really cool ;-)


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## Pale Rider (13 Jul 2013)

I have an Alfine 11-speed on my Rose trekking ebike - single cog at the front.

The bottom gear is barely low enough, and I rarely go higher then sixth.

Lots of stuff online from users who found the same with the hub fitted to touring bikes.

My bike is fitted with the largest Alfine 11 rear sprocket, but I'm told larger sprockets are available for the Alfine 8-speed and they will fit, although you lose the little plastic chainguard.

The hub works quite well, but it won't change cleanly under load, so you need to stop pedalling for a moment.


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## Moodyman (14 Jul 2013)

Well,I can tell you my findings after 3 years of riding my hub geared bike. Yes,it's lower maintenance than dérailleur bike, but it's not maintenance free. The chain and cogs still need cleaning and oiling every 100 miles or the dirty chain becomes noisy. The chain needs tensioning every 300-400 miles, I could go longer in between tensioning but I'm a perfectionist.

The hub needs servicing every 1500-2000 miles.again I could go longer but I'm fastidious. 

The gears - whilst my Alfine gives a good range, there's big gaps in between gears and I spend a lot of my time in not quite the right gear. So am often not in my optimal cadence. Otherwise no regrets.


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## Upstream (14 Jul 2013)

Moodyman said:


> Well,I can tell you my findings after 3 years of riding my hub geared bike. Yes,it's lower maintenance than dérailleur bike, but it's not maintenance free. The chain and cogs still need cleaning and oiling every 100 miles or the dirty chain becomes noisy. The chain needs tensioning every 300-400 miles, I could go longer in between tensioning but I'm a perfectionist.
> 
> The hub needs servicing every 1500-2000 miles.again I could go longer but I'm fastidious.
> 
> The gears - whilst my Alfine gives a good range, there's big gaps in between gears and I spend a lot of my time in not quite the right gear. So am often not in my optimal cadence. Otherwise no regrets.


Hi,
I hope you don't mind me asking but do you have the 8 or the 11? Also - is hub maintenance expensive? Do you consider yourself a convert or are there circumstances under which you would go back to derailleurs?

Thanks.


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## Moodyman (14 Jul 2013)

I have the Alfine 8.

I'm no convert, because my three other bikes have dérailleurs. But for urban commuting/utility riding hub gears make a lot of sense. Dérailleur bikes have their own advantages - lighter, easier to maintain for the novice mechanic, cheaper as more individual parts which can be mixed and, they give a broader gearing range. It really depends on your requirements.

If I could only have one bike, it'd be a dérailleured bike with a triple chainset. It ticks the most boxes.


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## Upstream (3 Aug 2013)

I may check out my local cycle shops to see if any stock something like the Genesis 8 or 11 (the drop bar model) to see if I can take one for a quick test spin. Might be a little difficult though as most tend to be available via online stores.


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