2007 year of the hub gear?

[markis42]

I have recently become a convert to the Sram 7 speed hub and what a revalation its been.
No more dirty chains or gear parts ,very easy to ride and use,what more could you want?
I think 2007 will see the arrival of more hub gear bikes with even more ratios/improvements and i will be watching with great interest.
I have three other multigeared bikes but i simply cant keep or the 7 speed its fantastic.
Give one a try you WILL be impressed.

[reohn2]

I have a 7sp Shimano hub geared city bike which is good for what its good for, ie short about town trundling,I wouldn't want to use the hub for any longer rides as it seems inefficient the futher you get away from direct drive(4th) especially in the lower gears.But if the ineffeciencies could be ironed out(Rohloff perhaps)then yes,as for 2007 year of the hubgear I can't quite catch that vision.
I don't know if the Sram is a better hub,perhaps someone will know.

[Terry T]

Yeah right! Like 1999 was the year that Country Music was going to take over the world!

[ThomasDylan]

SRAM will be releasing the i-Motion 9-speed hub this year, so it'll be interesting to see what range of gears that has. It will probably be wider than a 3 x 6-speed derailleur set-up, but way off a 3 x 8- or 9-speed set up.

Maybe Rohloff will start selling their hub cheaper? PLEASE!

Hub gears are not really suitable for off-road riding, where the rider has to put sudden strain on the system on steep uphills.

[thirdcrank]

r2

I have the Shimano Nexus Seven spd with coaster brake on my shopping bike. Big issue as mentioned on here before is difficulty of removing/ replacing wheel. I had problems from the start with 5th gear. (Also reported by CK in reveiews 8/8 years ago) I now instinctively avoid 5th so I don't know if it was cured when it went back.

I have the Sachs Spectro 7 spd, older model slightly closer gearing with drum brake on my winter bike. Much easier to remove from frame but still all the faff of unscrewing the reaction arm etc. Also several fiddly widgets which could be lost at roadside. IMHO gears are still too wide ratio. I know closeness of ratios vs. width of overall range has to be a compromise, but I always seem to find myself riding into a headwind unable to find the 'right' gear. (I knw there is a self-imposed gap on the Shimano but I rarely go more than 6-7 miles on the shopper.

[Simon L6]

the simple answer to the question is ....no!

Derailleurs are wonderful. In (insert outrageous number) of years I've never had one fail.

[reohn2]

the simple answer to the question is ....no!

Derailleurs are wonderful. In (insert outrageous number) of years I've never had one fail.

Deraileurs are wonderful for distance/hills and like Simon I've never had one fail.Now slightly off thread, how is it that Germans get to be able to buy single cassette sprockets and we can't.

[hubgearfreak]

I have recently become a convert to the Sram 7 speed hub and what a revalation its been.

what more could you want?

yep, agreed - - it's brilliant. what more could you want? try electric changer when i stop at a red light, i dont even have to change back down to my preffered setting off gear, it does it for me.
see mine here http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3832&start=15

i often see people riding a 21 speed de-railler on the smallest cog front, to smallest cog back. so for some people hubgears would be a real advantage.

i don't think that the revolution will start in this forum, it being populated by techically proficient people, who do huge milages and with huge loads, and aren't scared of cable adjustment, chain cleaning, etc.

it will start / has started with commuters & lighter recreational riders, but of course many of these believe in the marketing that persuades the gullible canal path user that 24 or 27 gears (and suspension) is a good thing
also, the inherent faults of de-railler must be good for the manufacturers, giving people the incentive to keep buying new stuff

the sram 7, and others have something like a 300% range, which for most cyclist really is plenty....i know it is for me

having said all that, i think that most of us will be using them in 30 years time...relatively recently shimano, sram & SA have all produced new stuff, and the range, weights & ratios can only keep on improving

[Mrs Tortoise]

If I'm still riding a bike in 30 years, I shall be so pleased that I won't care what sort of gears it has!

[andrew_s]

The Nuvinci CVP...
A continuously variable manually selected hub gear, for release "spring 2007" on utility bikes, based on a variable planetary gear.
i.e. instead of having gears 1,2,3 etc, you have 1,1.5 2.71818, or whatever intermediate gear you fancy.

Numbers
Gear range: 350% (-50% to 175%), min chainring/sprocket ratio 2:1
That gives a lowest range of 27" to 94.5"
Efficiency: 97%?
Weight: 4.2Kg (too much!)
Cost: "160 euro premium over a SRAM or Nexus 8", and a rumour of $400 are the only clues I've seen

Links:
http://www.yonge-cvt.com/downloads/moun ... uvinci.pdf
http://phil.veloblog.ch/post/7/333
http://www.fallbrooktech.com/03_NuVinciExperience.asp
http://www.fallbrooktech.com/ATC_Bike_D ... 090706.pdf
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=234088

I especially like the gear indicator on the shifter, that bends an orange plastic strip into a picture of a hill as you shift down.

Then there's this retake on the expanding chainwheel/sprocket method of CVT from the same site as the Mountain Bike Action article (first link)

[daveawood]

I'm just about to replace the first chain (.75% stretch)on my rohloff after 2 years and 9000 miles, the reversable chainring and sprocket look good for maybe 30,000! Maintenance so far is two oil changes at 10 mins each and no cable adjustmets yet. I know they're expensive initially but how much would you have spent keeping a derailleur working in that time on year round commuting?

You're right Simon derailleurs don't fail often but they do wear out and need regular maintenance.

I should say i'm not anti derailleur and own two such bikes but for hassle free year round riding every year is the year of the hub gear for me!

dave

[squeaker]

Not with the current gear range (a little over 3:1) or cost (for a wider range = Rolhoff). At 4:1 and reasonable cost, definite 'maybe' - 22" to 88" would be pretty handy.

[jb]

The Nuvinci CVP...
A continuously variable manually selected hub gear, for release "spring 2007" on utility bikes, based on a variable planetary gear.
i.e. instead of having gears 1,2,3 etc, you have 1,1.5 2.71818, or whatever intermediate gear you fancy.

(first link)

‘Allspeeds’ use to make these type of box in Accrington. All right for motor driven applications but I'd be interested to know how they've managed to get rid of all the inherent friction in them.

[andrew_s]

The Nuvinci CVP...
A continuously variable manually selected hub gear, for release "spring 2007" on utility bikes, based on a variable planetary gear.
i.e. instead of having gears 1,2,3 etc, you have 1,1.5 2.71818, or whatever intermediate gear you fancy.

(first link)

‘Allspeeds’ use to make these type of box in Accrington. All right for motor driven applications but I'd be interested to know how they've managed to get rid of all the inherent friction in them.

They depend on friction to work, as the planets are balls rather than gears. It depends on snazzy modern lubricants that turn solid under pressure, preventing the balls slipping on the sun or the ring non-gears (speaking in conventional planetary gear terms).

The Allspeeds boxes used to have a very high clamping force instead, one side-effect of which was that the ratio couldn't be varied under load. (apparently)

[jb]

The Allspeeds boxes used to have a very high clamping force instead, one side-effect of which was that the ratio couldn't be varied under load. (apparently)

Yers I had an interesting experience dismantling one once. Springs and gubbins everywhere, took me two days to reassemble it under the withering eye of my Forman.

The 'balls' in order too maximise their surface area use to have plain bushes for the spindle bearings. This is what contributes a fair amount of friction in cheap hub planet gears. The latest versions have needle rollers, but there wouldn't be the room in the veriable drive. Especially as the same pressure solidifying the lubricant must also happen in the bushes if the pressure was sufficient. Not that I’m sceptical just curious.