Please help me choose my next bike..

[Goggs]

Hi folks, this is my first post here although I've been browsing off & on for a couple of years now.

My wife & I have recently moved to the south of France to live & work. We actually left Scotland last December but decided to take 6 months out in Spain until the new jobs & house was settled in Provence. I spent all that time without my bike as it was still in storage in Scotland awaiting the big move. I couldn't wait to get to France to be re-united with my bike (Specialized Rockhopper SL Comp).

So we're in France and guess what? The furniture removal company "lost" my bike. My pride & joy that I'd slowly upgraded over the years I owned it. Anyway, the insurance company is finally paying out and I'm now looking at replacing my bike. I'm not looking at mountain bikes any more because I'm in a hot, urban environment & I'm not getting any younger (51) so off-roading doesn't appeal much any more.

I've been looking at the new city-bike style. I'm specifically looking for simplicity so hub gears have caught my eye. Once thing I did really like about my mountain bike was the hydraulic disc brakes so I'd like to have those too. Strangely, there aren't too many bikes that are specced like that as most with hub gears also tend to have rim brakes.

One bike that has really caught my eye though is the Cube Hyde Pro. It ticks all the boxes & the price is just right. However, on researching it I've found the similar Cube Hyde Race which has the addition of belt drive. Now I know nothing about belt drive but it certainly seems to make sense, particularly on a bike that will only rarely see dirt & gravel. It's more expensive though and just a tad over budget.

One more thing which may surprise people is that there really isn't a lot of big bike shops in this part of France so it looks like I'm going to have to source the bike online. I'd rather use a bricks & mortar shop but there really arent' any around.

So my questions..

Has anyone got experience of either of the bikes I've mentioned & does anyone have experience of belt-driven bikes in general? Also, does anyone know anything about Cube's sizing? I'm 6'2" but I'm struggling to guess which frame size would suit me best. Any & all help is gratefully received.

 

[mjr]

There are at least two people in my bike group with belt drives and they seem happy enough with them. The pros and cons seem to be the obvious, long life against harder to replace and special frames.

Cube seem well liked but I've not seen many in the wild. You really ought to test ride one before buying if at all possible.

 

[mjr]

I've a hub gear bike with hub brakes. I don't understand why you'd not do that, rather than mess with rim or disc brakes.

 

[Goggs]

There are at least two people in my bike group with belt drives and they seem happy enough with them. The pros and cons seem to be the obvious, long life against harder to replace and special frames.

Cube seem well liked but I've not seen many in the wild. You really ought to test ride one before buying if at all possible.

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah, I agree about getting a test ride first but it really is quite difficult around these parts. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of bike shops but they tend towards the high-end Road models.

 

[Goggs]

I've a hub gear bike with hub brakes. I don't understand why you'd not do that, rather than mess with rim or disc brakes.

I hadn't thought about hub brakes actually. Can you suggest any makes or models.

 

[Pale Rider]

Gates, the maker of the belt, quote life as 'more than twice that of a chain'.

That's not a lot when you consider the cost of replacement belt, about £100, and the expertise needed to fit it.

Practically, I reckon a lot of users get a longer life than that, but it's something to consider.

The belt is sensitive to tension, far more so than a chain, and runs at a fairly high tension.

Shouldn't be a problem on a factory fitted installation, but the chain stays do need to be beefier to handle the extra tension and the grip of the rear hub axle on the drop outs needs to be tight.

A rear wheel puncture may not be straightforward to fix.

Shimano gear hubs use domed nuts, but to change a tube you will need to carry a full size ring spanner to get the nuts tight enough.

Trying to tension the belt at the side of the road sounds like it could be difficult, but I've never tried it.

Gates offer a smartphone app - something to do with frequency - to get the right tension.

I wonder if the rider on his own could operate the app, yank the wheel back hard enough to get the right tension and do up the nuts - sounds like a job for three or four hands.

http://www.gatescarbondrive.com/Products/FAQs#faqId={2008C74C-9262-4818-B6E7-CAFB2855A0FF}

 

[Goggs]

You know, the more I read about belt drive systems the more I want a chain. The belt does seem to demand a lot more from the rear triangle which shouldn't be a problem on a bike specifically designed for a belt but who knows? The cost is also worrying, as is my ability to effect roadside repairs. I've never had a regular bike break to the extent that I couldn't fix it myself but it seems that might be possible with a belt system. On the other hand I do like the idea of not needing to oil it and they're supposed to be nearly silent in operation. Hmm..

 

[mjr]

I wonder if the rider on his own could operate the app, yank the wheel back hard enough to get the right tension and do up the nuts - sounds like a job for three or four hands.

Yank the wheel back? I assumed that belt drive hubs used tensioner bolts but I will look more closely the next time a rider brings one to the group.

 

[T4tomo]

If your prepared to wipe a chain down and relube after every few rides, then I can't see any advantage in a belt drive, and a number of significant disadvantages.

For a city bike, hub gears are a great idea, love the simplicity of my Brompton hub gears. The Alfine 8 SPD hub is quite a good balance of value, weight and gear range.

Hydro disk brakes are arguabley over kill on a city bike, which is probably why you won't find many hub geared disc brake specs, except on something quite expensive.

As your in France, decathlon / btwin used to do a network 700 city bike with an Alfine 8 and cable discs.

Foffa do a steel Alfine 8 model with Avid BB7 discs, which are really good, prob best disc you get without going hydro.

 

[Goggs]

Is the Alfine hub appreciably better than the Nexus hub? I notice of the two bikes I mention in the original post the expensive one uses Alfine but then it also uses a belt too.

You know, trawling through the Web it's amazing how much more mountain bike can be bought for the same money as a good city bike. I guess that's supply & demand in action. I might be just as well to buy another hardtail and kit it out with slicks & mudguards.

 

[mjr]

Is the Alfine hub appreciably better than the Nexus hub? I notice of the two bikes I mention in the original post the expensive one uses Alfine but then it also uses a belt too.

The Alfine is a later, improved and sturdier model than the Nexus, I think. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8.shtml says "Nexus is a family of parts, of which the Nexus Inter 8 eight speed hub is one. The Alfine 8-speed hub is a very similar, higher-end model which has a disc-brake fitting"

I've never had one. I've a Nexus 3 on one bike (and a SA AW on another)

You know, trawling through the Web it's amazing how much more mountain bike can be bought for the same money as a good city bike. I guess that's supply & demand in action. ...

You know, trawling through the Web, it's amazing how much more small hatchback can be bought for the same money as a luxury saloon...

 

[T4tomo]

Is the Alfine hub appreciably better than the Nexus hub? I notice of the two bikes I mention in the original post the expensive one uses Alfine but then it also uses a belt too.

You know, trawling through the Web it's amazing how much more mountain bike can be bought for the same money as a good city bike. I guess that's supply & demand in action. I might be just as well to buy another hardtail and kit it out with slicks & mudguards.

Alfine supposed to be vastly better and more reliable than the nexus hub. A hard tail is still weighed down by a hefty front fork though, which you don't need for city and the occasional tow path / light trail use.

 

[Goggs]

The Alfine is a later, improved and sturdier model than the Nexus, I think. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8.shtml says "Nexus is a family of parts, of which the Nexus Inter 8 eight speed hub is one. The Alfine 8-speed hub is a very similar, higher-end model which has a disc-brake fitting"

I've never had one. I've a Nexus 3 on one bike (and a SA AW on another)


You know, trawling through the Web, it's amazing how much more small hatchback can be bought for the same money as a luxury saloon...

I thought the same about the Alfine being for disc brakes but the bike in the link below uses Nexus yet still has hydraulic discs too..

http://www.cube.eu/en/products/trekking/hyde/cube-hyde-pro-black-white-2016/#changebackground

Excellent, informative link btw.

Alfine supposed to be vastly better and more reliable than the nexus hub. A hard tail is still weighed down by a hefty front fork though, which you don't need for city and the occasional tow path / light trail use.

I agree about the weight of the front fork being excessive for road use & I'm not likely to go on trails rough enough to justify one anyway.

 

[Pale Rider]

Yank the wheel back? I assumed that belt drive hubs used tensioner bolts but I will look more closely the next time a rider brings one to the group.

The Dutch bike/motorcycle-type chain tensioners work a treat and can be retrofitted to some drop outs.

Most belt drive bikes I've seen don't have them, but no doubt some do.

http://www.dutchbikebits.com/batavus-chain-tensioner

 

[simon.r]

I hadn't thought about hub brakes actually. Can you suggest any makes or models.

In my fairly limited experience hydraulic disc brakes are significantly better than hub brakes. My Pashley has Shimano hub brakes and while they work adequately the Shimano hydraulic disc brakes on another bike outperform them massively in every aspect.