Advice for new bike

[Larry1706]

Hi all,

Cyclescheme at work is opening soon. Having not owned a bike since age 12, I have been looking for advice on what might be good for what I need: mostly forest trails, partly paved, mostly on the flat around a lake near home. If I get more confident might be more adventurous and tackle some gentle hills and take it on holiday when the family is older. I am looking for something that is not top of the range but not too basic either as I see myself using it for at least a few years yet.

A friend who is a cycling enthusiast suggested the Cube Hyde Pro. His main point was that the hub gear is fairly low maintenance but will be enough for what I need. I've since talked to a few bike shops with mixed feelings about this but the online reviews on hub gears seem generally on the positive side. The drawbacks I have heard include tension might need adjusting, it would be difficult to repair a rear puncture and hills might be tricky as the gear range is not as wide (though this clearly depends on my fitness as well?). I am keen to hear if anyone here has any comments on this bike?

The alternative in similar price range is the Giant Roam 1.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mjr]

I don't know the specific bike but I've got a few with hub gears, I like them and I looked the Cube Hyde Pro up - https://www.evanscycles.com/en-fr/cube-hyde-pro-2017-hybrid-bike-EV287864 - looks a fair enough bike, although I'd like to see a lightweight luggage rack and guards on it. Lakeside and forest trails can get grubby and I wouldn't want that sprayed up my back and hair.

About those so-called drawbacks... I only think gear range is slightly justified:

Most hub gear bikes have some way to adjust the tension fairly easily - the main thing is to notice when the chain's slack and actually make the adjustment!

Rear punctures aren't difficult unless you need to remove the rear wheel to do it (damaged valve or cut tube requiring a new tube to be inserted) - I don't understand why cyclists are obsessed with removing the wheels to fix punctures - but if you do need to take the wheel out, it depends on the bike and it can need more time and a bit of space to remove the cables, nuts and washers in the right order and keep them in order so you can reassemble it correctly.

The 8-speed hub isn't that much worse on gear range in practice. Gear range on the Cube Hyde Pro is about 30" to 93" which means a typical cadence of 90 pedals a minute will move you at 13-40km/h. For comparison, I think my hybrid bike with a derailleur does 10-44km/h under the same conditions. The Giant Roam 1 does 9-52km/h which seems a surprisingly wide range - that, a 10-speed cassette and the front-squidge suspension makes me wonder what the bike's intended to do except look good in sales catalogues.

A fairly simple change of the chain and rear sprocket could lower the Cube's range to 12-37km/h, but I accept hub gear users do have to choose between easier low-speed hill climbing and flat-out top speed more than on a derailleur. I choose climbing - slightly - and still accept there's a few of the steepest slopes I walk up.

The benefits are easier maintenance (but probably best check you've got some bike shop near enough who will service it if/when needed, such as Bicycle Ambulance in Cambridge - racey shops often won't touch hubs in my experience) and gear hubs are often slightly more reliable and efficient than a typical real-world derailleur that spends most of its life dangling in road dirt kicked up by the wheels.

 

[Larry1706]

That's really good advice. Much appreciated. I think I've pretty much made up my mind about that now.

 

[Brand X]

Personally I'd buy an old secondhand hybrid for around the £100 mark and use it until you actually need something fancier. As long as the wheels are true (correctly tensioned spokes I think are the main thing that gives a bike that "brand new" feeling" and the chain is oiled and the gears adjusted, it'll be fine, and you won't be so bothered when the bike gets stolen.

I do like hub gears though.

 

[Globalti]

I don't! Heavy, complicated and expensive. There's nothing wrong with derailleur gears and they will continue to work in all conditions with only the smallest amount of maintenance, mostly to the cable. Removing the wheel is easy and they are light in weight.

 

[vickster]

Hi all,

Cyclescheme at work is opening soon. Having not owned a bike since age 12, I have been looking for advice on what might be good for what I need: mostly forest trails, partly paved, mostly on the flat around a lake near home. If I get more confident might be more adventurous and tackle some gentle hills and take it on holiday when the family is older. I am looking for something that is not top of the range but not too basic either as I see myself using it for at least a few years yet.

A friend who is a cycling enthusiast suggested the Cube Hyde Pro. His main point was that the hub gear is fairly low maintenance but will be enough for what I need. I've since talked to a few bike shops with mixed feelings about this but the online reviews on hub gears seem generally on the positive side. The drawbacks I have heard include tension might need adjusting, it would be difficult to repair a rear puncture and hills might be tricky as the gear range is not as wide (though this clearly depends on my fitness as well?). I am keen to hear if anyone here has any comments on this bike?

The alternative in similar price range is the Giant Roam 1.

Thanks in advance.

Is this for your commute presumably (C2W) over similar terrain as well as leisure? I'd think the points about fixing punctures easily is key for a commuter, derailleur gears aren't hard and you get so much more choice. You'll also want a bike that takes good mudguards for commuting, a rack is useful too if carrying more than your sarnies (how long is the commute, sweaty back caused by a backpack worn for any length of time is IMO unpleasant)

 

[mjr]

I don't! Heavy, complicated and expensive. There's nothing wrong with derailleur gears and they will continue to work in all conditions with only the smallest amount of maintenance, mostly to the cable. Removing the wheel is easy and they are light in weight.

Thus speaks a wheel-remover who clearly has never had his roadsalt-corroded derailleur snap off in the cold!

A gear-hub may be heavier than a non-gear hub, but you also don't need a cassette/freewheel, two derailleurs, one or two extra chainrings, the left shifter and a chunk of chain, so it's not much of a weight penalty: about 300g more for an Alfine 8 compared to a typical hybrid 3x10, according to some forums.

Complicated? Who cares - it just works. Expensive? Only at purchase time - with minimal maintenance, you won't need to keep replacing the chain so often (because it's not dangling in the dirt so much) and expensive cassettes once or twice a year, plus all the other bits.

 

[Globalti]

Thus speaks a wheel-remover who clearly has never had his roadsalt-corroded derailleur snap off in the cold!

Thus speaks a cyclist who takes pride in maintaining his machine and knows that there's nothing nicer or more reliable than a well-adjusted derailleur, even if you are forcing the chain to perform an unnatural act.

 

[mjr]

Thus speaks a cyclist who takes pride in maintaining his machine and knows that there's nothing nicer or more reliable than a well-adjusted derailleur, even if you are forcing the chain to perform an unnatural act.

Mine's maintained but it takes less time because it's simpler with fewer exposed parts. You keep licking the derailleur clean and using spaghetti-thin chains - I'll spend more time riding.

 

[mjr]

I wouldnt want to be messing about changing a puncture with a hub geared bike.

So don't mess about: find and remove the sharp object, pop the tyre off one side near it, pull the tube out, patch it, shove it back in, pop the tyre back on and pump it back up. Like this, although I speed things up on the roadside by using sticker-patches:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz33ozlTvdo

 

[mjr]

They are not always that obvious though are they? Sometimes they can be hard to find on the inner tube and the rider would have to take the wheel off. I wouldnt fancy doing all that in the pouring rain with a hub geared bike.

They're nearly always that obvious. The few other times, dribbling a little water over a recently pumped up tyre makes it obvious... or if it's raining, that's usually enough water! If it's pouring rain, I tend to find shelter, such as bus shelters, trees, litch gates or whatever, unless I'm right out between villages on the fens.

The most likely reasons to take the wheel off for a puncture are a damaged valve or burst tube, which are fairly rare. I don't understand denying oneself the convenience of hub gears because there's a few more washers to undo to take the wheel off. I often patch punctures on derailleur bikes without removing wheels, too. Why wouldn't you? Love of pushing oily jockey wheels around?

 

[Alan O]

On the subject of fixing punctures without taking the wheel off, I have to agree it's not hard - I've done it a few times myself when I've been out without a spanner (and bolt-on wheels).

If it's hard to see where the puncture is on the tyre, you can pull the tube out all the way round for inspection, pump it up a bit and feel for escaping air, use water and look for bubbles - just the same as you can with it completely off.

 

[mjr]

Video of taking the whole tube out from SheldonBrown.com but it's rare to need to do this, in my experience:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyq38Mma3AQ

 

[fossyant]

It's a good job that bike above is a piece of junk. It will be sporting an additional set of scuffs - watch it scrape the floor. My bikes are too nice for that abuse.

Sorry, but dropping the back wheel off, placing the bike aside and working on the back wheel with minimum use of levers if far better. Also allows you to check the inside of the tyre faster as there is no frame to get into the way. New tube in, co2 and you are off. Fix the hole in the comfort of your home and over a cuppa whilst you let the glue harden, then stick on the patch.

Road salt corroded dérailleur - never happens. I have 25-30 year old mechs on 3 of my bikes.

I don't even leave the wheel in with my fixed gear, it's easier to pop the wheel off and have full access to the tyre.

 

[damj]

I wouldn't worry at all about punctures, or eight speed( I ride in weardale and Teesdale with an eight speed) I'd get what you can comfortably afford on C2W. I got a specialized crosstrail 3 years ago, £500, worked out about £14 per month, doing about 1000 miles a year, one puncture (rode over glass) I wouldn't necessarily recommend the crosstrail, have a good look see what you fancy. I guarantee you'll be hooked once your up and riding again. Good Luck