Dutch-/Roadster hub-geared bike.

[donkeebrain]

Does anyone know of a sub-£500 bike with minimum 7-speed hub gears? Has to be sit-up-and-beg style.

As a bonus, hub brakes and hub dynamo would be welcome.

I was also contemplating a Schlumpf Mountain Drive to extend the gear range? Is it worth it? I don't want/need a knee-cracking high gear.

I have ruled out the SRAM Dual Drive - I only want hub gears, for low maintenance - and I can't afford a Rohlhoff. Is there any other combination I could use?

I'm looking for an 18 to 80"+ gear range with the smallest possible jumps between gears and the minimum overlap.

Don't want much, do I?!

Cheers,

Andy

[TJ]

Pashley?

[robin]

No you really want a Raliegh Aveo.......

[donkeebrain]

Pashley don't have a 7-speed roadster, unfortunately.

Having seen the Aveo, I'm minded towards a Raleigh chopper or Grifter maybe

[Jon]

About a year ago I replaced a 24 speed derailleur geared bike with a hub geared commuter, mainly because I was fed up with the maintenance required by the derailleur, and because the brakes had worn through the rims.

I bought a Giant Motion, which sounds quite like what you want – 7 speed Shimano Nexus hub gears, hub dynamo and lights, hub (roller) brakes front and rear, fully enclosed chain. It also just came in under your budget - £499.99 from my LBS. The only slight problem with it was that the rack tubes as a bit chunky for normal pannier clips.

I don’t know exactly what the gear sizes are, but the bottom gear was definitely rather higher than the bottom gear of the 24 speed bike. But perseverance brings its rewards, and I’m now able to get up all of the hills I used to except one, and that is ridiculously steep and was only just possible on a really good day with the old bike. It’s possible to fit a larger rear sprocket to get a bit lower gearing if you don’t mind sacrificing some top speed. But I think your target bottom gear of 18” is unnecessarily low – by that point your cadence will be so high in relation to your road speed that you might as well get off and walk.

All in all, for everyday commuting, I wouldn’t go back to the derailleur. The simplicity of the hub (one twist grip instead of 4 leavers) and the ability to change gears when stationary is really useful in traffic. The low maintenance – other than some adjustments after a running in period I’ve only oiled the chain twice – is really great; and the fact that the brakes work the same in the wet as the dry is handy too.

[TJ]

I quite fancy one of those myself.
activesport.co.uk have them on offer at the moment.

[Pete]

The Orbit Orion 7 is more than £500 but it does have a 7 speed hub and dynohub lighting as part of the price.

Schlumpfs are very good, but at ~£300 each that's 60% of your whole budget, which would not IMHO be a good way to prioritise your spending.

Have you considered going to the NL and shopping there? It may cost you less than you might think and you'll have a much better choice.

Pete.

[donkeebrain]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. The Giant seems the best bet, though Gazelle in the NL do make some good bikes too. As do Kettler, Kalkhoff and Fahrrad in Germany.

Regarding the Schlumpf, I realise it's a big investment, but I envisage it fitting more than one bike over the next few years. I´ve heard it's a high quality piece of tackle.

The Orbit looks a good bike, but the geometry isn't what I'm after.

Now, how do I order that Aveo

Cheers,

Andy

[Jon]

If you were thinking of fitting the Schlumpf drive to something like the Giant, watch out for the chain case. The Schlumpf has its own crank and front sproket, which proabably wont fit with the chain case on the Giant. This is probably true of any bike with its own chain case.

[cityjon]

jon - any comments/opinions on the Giant Motion 7? I'm thinking about buying one - sold on the hub gears/roller brakes/hub dynamo and all round sensibleness, but worried that maybe it's a little chunky and solid for anything other than town riding.
Would you take yours out for a day's riding (say, 40-50 leisurely miles with a pub on the way)??

[Stuart]

Sturmey Archer have produced a combined front brake/dynamo hub.
l eagerly await a technical report on this hub and a report on the sturmey archer 8 speed hub.

[Jon]

Cityjon,

Would I take my Giant on a 40-50 mile leisurely ride? Yes, if it wasn’t too hilly. I have done one ride on mine of this length – a circular ride around Surrey organised by the local cycle forum. I had no problems with the bike, although there were some with the organisation of the ride. The bike even managed some off-road stuff when we got lost in the woods!
I wouldn’t recommend it for ‘proper’ touring as that’s not what it’s meant for. But for everyday commuting, and the occasional weekend longer ride, it’s fine. It’s not as chunky as it may sound. The frame is aluminium, and overall it doesn’t seem heavier than the steel framed bike it replaced.

[cityjon]

Thanks Jon - proper touring is off my agenda now we've got a baby anyway. This sounds spot on, and with the bike shop dropping £100 off the price I reckon I'll go for it.
Cheers.