Belt or chain, derailleur or hub?

Ocsid

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2017
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I would hang in a bit longer to see how things unfold facilitating a test ride, of importantly several, they do feel different.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
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wooshbikes.co.uk
don't hang about too long.
bikes are selling fast at the moment because lots of people stop using public transports.
My guess is with the current lockdown in most of Europe, production is reduced while demand is higher than usual, we'll run out of commuter bikes by June.
We never had to keep customers waiting, but have used up all our prebuilt stock, we start queueing deliveries from Tuesday for a few days.
 
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Ippy

Finding my (electric) wheels
Apr 9, 2020
6
2
..I looked at Volt as we have a main dealer a couple of miles away. But don't think they use Bosch motors?....some research suggests the Active Line is probably the best option in this price bracket at the mo?
They are a little more expensive, but the use the latest Shimano steps motor and system. Bosch seem to have flooded the market at the moment, but its good to have competition and choice, and the Shimano has the option of auto shifting if required.
Its not all about power, but the rider experience and what part you play in your journeys.
 
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Poolepete

Pedelecer
Aug 14, 2018
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Poole
....must admit it what puts me off. My "manual" 21 speed derailleur suggests using front gear 1st with rear 123, middle ring front with 3,4,5 and 3rd front with 5,6,7 to limit "offset chain". However all crank motors only have one "front" gear and are expected to operate over the entire rear 7+ range!?.... or am I overthinking it?
I would say you are over thinking things. Never had a problem with chain breaks or any of the other things you fear. The biggest problem is the rate of chain wear (no difference I believe, whether you have hub or derailleur gears). I go through chains at the rate of about every 1500 miles. This is of course an issue particular to crank drive bikes. It's nothing that has stopped me from ordering a Bosch ALP powered bike for my wife (hopefully arriving this week!).
 

Ocsid

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2017
441
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I would say you are over thinking things. Never had a problem with chain breaks or any of the other things you fear. The biggest problem is the rate of chain wear (no difference I believe, whether you have hub or derailleur gears). I go through chains at the rate of about every 1500 miles. This is of course an issue particular to crank drive bikes. It's nothing that has stopped me from ordering a Bosch ALP powered bike for my wife (hopefully arriving this week!).
I would suggest the chain wear could be very different indeed between a single speed drive to a hub gear and a multi speed deraileur, as several factors are markedly different.
  • A single speed drive will use an eight of an inch roller chain, if not heavier duty, even just a 7 speed deraileur, a three thirty seconds of an inch chain, more than 7 gears the narrower it needs to be.
  • The single speed chain correctly used will not need bending sideways.
  • The single speed chain never needs to be forced off the sprocket or chain wheel, let alone at every gear change.
  • The single speed chain can be kept clean, free from dirt in a full casing.
  • The single speed chain drive can feature an oil bath casing.
 
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Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
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Southend on Sea
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you could also argue that for esthetic reason, most the the e-bikes with hub gears don't have a fully enclosed chainguard nor oil bath.
On top of the wear of the chain, the single sprocket wears even faster than an ordinary 8-speed cassette.
The main reason for a hub gear is you will never have to worry about your chain coming off.
 
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Ocsid

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2017
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you could also argue that for esthetic reason, most the the e-bikes with hub gears don't have a fully enclosed chainguard nor oil bath.
On top of the wear of the chain, the single sprocket wears even faster than an ordinary 8-speed cassette.
The main reason for a hub gear is you will never have to worry about your chain coming off.
Not necessarily, in that the sprocket is wider so has lower surface pressure, throughout its life runs with a healthy roller chain rather than with an abused one, and does not have its tooth flanks rubbed by the chain being forced on and off its sides.
Whatever undoubted attributes a deraileur gearing system brings, engineering refinement is not one of them, it is nearly always running compromised to a greater or lesser extent.
 
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Emily Joy

Pedelecer
Apr 27, 2018
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