What is better,Shimano derailleur external gears or Shimano Nexus hub gears.

[Kudoscycles]

We continue to offer the Kudos bikes with derailleur type gears or internal hub gears. The hub gears to me have so many advantages-almost maintenance free,ability to change gear stationery,straight chain-easily guarded,smooth changes from highest to lowest gear yet many customers still prefer the derailleur setup. Is this nostalgia? Genuinely interested why a continued preference by some for derailleur gears?
Dave Elderfield
Kudos Cycles

 

[eddieo]

I prefer the XT dérailleur over the nexus which I think is a bit of an old clunker in comparison. But I am a leisure only user and can see the appeal of the hubs for commuters/heavy users etc.....

 

[indalo]

I have three bikes with derailleur gears and one, my electric bike, with a Nexus 8-speed hub. Unlike Eddy, I don't consider the Nexus an "old clunker." On the contrary, mine changes gear ever so smoothly, almost imperceptibly both up and down the ratios.

Derailleurs are ok although they seem to require a little fine tuning quite frequently but the hub-geared bikes are delightful for most leisure use and they have all the benefits described by the original poster.

Regards,
Indalo

 

[z0mb13e]

My next bike will have hub gears as I too think the benefits would be worth the extra expense. I usually have to do fine tuning on the derailleurs every fortnight or so.

My reservation would be that I just don't see how the tiny little internal gears can bear the forces placed upon them. I would expect the hear a snap, crackle or pop when standing on the pedals up a hill (not that I do that much anymore what with the electric assist). That said, you don't hear of many problems with them so I am going to give them a try.

 

[indalo]

My reservation would be that I just don't see how the tiny little internal gears can bear the forces placed upon them. I would expect the hear a snap, crackle or pop when standing on the pedals up a hill (not that I do that much anymore what with the electric assist). That said, you don't hear of many problems with them so I am going to give them a try.

That was my worry too z0mb13e when I first began riding my ebike. Clearly, as I've since learned, the units have proved to be pretty robust in practice and I would think most riders will be rewarded with trouble-free ownership.

Regards,
Indalo

 

[Mussels]

I'm not a fan of hub gears, I loathe the three speed hub gears on the Boris bikes. However I love the Alfine hub gears, they are much better than the derailer gears I had before. The gears are a bit too far apart but have a better range than a derailer bike with just one chainring, the maintenance benefits are well worth it on the Alfine.

 

[dmcgoldrick]

alfine hub 8........brilliant on ebike for commute and leisure rides.....
derailleur on non ebikes gives much wider gear range, but dont need 27 gears on ebike......

have not tried the new alfine 11 gear hub yet but should be great on ebike......

regards

 

[eddieo]

But surely the elephant standing in the corner of the room with hub gears, is that you have to stop peddling to change gears? hardly a recipe for smooth and rapid progress is it......

 

[flecc]

Derailleurs virtually took over completely when mountain bikes arrived in the 1980s so a very high proportion of cyclists only know those. Anyone who has predominantly used derailleurs often finds the occasional need to pause or ease pressure when changing a hub gear not to their liking. It has to be borne in mind that not all hub gears change like the Nexus 8, some are very slow changing and demand pedalling stops during a change, so anyone who has experienced one of those can be biased against hub gears.

Image comes into it as well. Hub gears are used on utility bikes and never on sport models, so for some that makes hub gears unacceptable.

Finally, there's the fact that hub gear efficiency is much lower than that of derailleurs which is why a hub gear will never be seen on a serious sport bike or in competition. Don't be fooled by hub gear manufacturer claims on this issue, they are invariably ridiculous and not even vaguely supported by independent tests.

However, I'm a hub gear fan for their sheer convenience.

 

[lemmy]

I don't stop pedaling with my hub gears, just ease off the pressure a tiny bit. They'll happily change if I just carry on pedaling, though.

I do remember with the old Sturmey Archer 3 speeds in the 1950s that you had to actually stop pedaling for a moment for a smooth change.

In principle I prefer the wider range of derailleurs but with the electric bike and powered through the crank, even 8 is too many. The big thing for London is being able to pull up suddenly when a car blocks your way and just drop down straight from 8th to 1st. That and the fact that I have not had to adjust the gears in the last 9 months.

On an unpowered bike, derailleurs, no contest (for me).

 

[wd0021089]

I agree with EddieO on this I know people keep saying derailleur gears need constant adjustment but to be honest I have not found this if they are set up carefully and correctly to start with. I use an LX derailleur and the changes are light, fast and almost noiseless.

I am in agreement with Flecc with regard to convenience but I used to have Sturmey Archer gears on my bikes when I was a child and they only took a short period of time before they began to slip when peddling up hills. I know they have come on a lot since but I guess it will take a lot before I trust hub gears again.

 

[Mussels]

But surely the elephant standing in the corner of the room with hub gears, is that you have to stop peddling to change gears? hardly a recipe for smooth and rapid progress is it......

That's where the Alfine does really well, I rarely have to easy off the pressure let alone stop pedalling.

 

[mike killay]

Although I am drawn to hub gears, particularly the ability to change gear when stationary, derailleur gears are easily replaced when worn. Also, gear ratios can be changed within reason.

 

[Biged]

The elephant standing in the corner with deraileur gears is if you have to stop quickly in high gear then that's the gear you are stuck in to start off again.
With deraileur gears you get chain and sprocket wear on the most used one which can cause problems with the other unworn gears.
I have both Shimano deraileur and nexus gears on bikes (which was the question) the hub gears are by far the best. At the end of the day its all personal preference and a hub man is not going to convince a deraileur man or vise versa

 

[peasjam]

But surely the elephant standing in the corner of the room with hub gears, is that you have to stop peddling to change gears? hardly a recipe for smooth and rapid progress is it......

I've had an Alfine 8 for years and can state with absolute certainty that is not the case with this hub.

For a town/commuter bike I wouldn't have anything but a hub gear. They are near enough no maintenance, super smooth gear change, change gear stationary and not prone to being bent and bashed around like derailleurs are.

The one thing I find awkward is that you have to adjust the bottom bracket (mine is in an eccentric housing) to keep the chain tension correct, whereas the spring mechanism of a derailleur automatically takes the slack up as the chain wears.

 

[HarryB]

I have only ever owned one hub geared bike and sold it pretty quickly. In the 70's wouldn't be seen dead riding one having experienced the 3 speed sturmey archer hub - as Flecc says the derailleur was the thing to have. The 7 speed Nexus was better but I sold my Agattu as I couldn't get on with the change. I have ridden a few Alfine hubbed bike and think they are fantastic and am really attracted to the idea of having less chain maintenance. My Emotion needs a lot of fettling to get the change right and the chains don't last that long. I would add that adding the power of a motor to your legs puts a strain on any gear system if you try to change gear under power - even my deraileur complains bitterly if I get it wrong. Overall for commutting I would definitely go for the alfine.

 

[NRG]

I only have experience of derailleur and wanted to find a hub geared bike with the spec I'm looking for on my next project but they don't seem to exist, all the sporty type bikes even XC ones seem to all come with derailleur...

 

[tillson]

On an Ebike and in particular one used for the relentless daily grind of commuting, I would definitely choose a hub gear system (only have experience of the Alfine). Mine has given me thousands of trouble free miles and apart from a slight cable adjustment (10 second job) two weeks after delivery has never needed any further adjustment. I haven't even renewed the chain or any of the sprockets which have now done over 8000 miles.
They may be less efficient than a derailleur, but the inefficiency is absorbed by the motor.

I don't know if it is a general situation, but my gears have a peculiar habit of not changing lower than 5th when the temperature is at or below minus 5 degrees C. At this temperature they can slip which in turn leads to a condition know as Alfine Testicles. This isn't too much of a problem for me as I usually use the car if there is a danger of ice on the roads.

 

[Mussels]

I don't know if it is a general situation, but my gears have a peculiar habit of not changing lower than 5th when the temperature is at or below minus 5 degrees C. At this temperature they can slip which in turn leads to a condition know as Alfine Testicles. This isn't too much of a problem for me as I usually use the car if there is a danger of ice on the roads.

I've seen that mentioned a lot but only experienced it once, either they forgot to pack the grease in mine or it's a bit warmer in London in the winter.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thanks guys....it is obvious that both systems have their converts and both systems are needed,but the balance seems to be swinging towards hub gears. The very latest Nexus systems have all the internals of the Alfine but the Alfine has the ability to fit disc brakes,I did carefully confirm that with the Shimano rep at a trade show.
Thanks for all your comments