What's the best maintenance free bike?

[cwah]

Ok, maybe belt drive then?

I may found some nexus+belt drive bike such as this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roux-G8-Bike-Carbon-Belt-Drive-Nexus-8-Gear-Hybrid-Town-Bicycle-/261614700752?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3ce97388d0

Do you know if I can put a BBS02 on it? If so, how to?

 

[cwah]

What do you think about this one?
http://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/dutch-city-bike-cumberland-fully-serviced-drum-breaks-nexus-hubs-30-off/1082548822

- Cheap
- Drumb brake
- Chain guard
- Thief repellent (because it's a dutch bike)
- Small front suspension

I could put a nice BBS02 on it and leave it out overnight with peace in mind?

 

[flecc]

Nice bike, but someone has removed the front mudguard for some odd reason. Fitting a BBS02 might mean losing the chainguard and you might have to check the bottom bracket is suitable for that motor unit.

The combination of your riding power and the motor unit can stress Nexus hub gears so you'd have to change gear carefully on either of those bikes.
.

 

[KirstinS]

Cwah - the gates belt drive bike looks very nice indeed. Someone else will have to advise re the bbso2 fitting it

But - it will be tempting to thieves id have thought

The cheap Dutch bike won't be

But the nexus 6 isn't a great hub - nothing like as good as the nexus or alfine 8 in terms of reliability

And the drum brakes just seems like a bad idea knowing the speeds you'll go. My experience with drums is they are fine for pottering about town at 10mph but at 25mph no no

and the extra weight of batteries , motors etc just makes matters worse

It comes down to the fact that a bike no one wants to steal is , by definition , not a good bike

My personal opinion is you can't have it both ways. - sad but true

 

[cwah]

Hmm.. So mountain bike still the best? Maybe the best would actually be a dutch bike with disc brake and suspension?

 

[cwah]

Is that good value for money for maintenance free hub?
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/291249243140

 

[trex]

I think the BBS02 will kill the Alfine gearbox in no time at all.
You are stuck with conventional cassette.

 

[axolotl]

Depends how carefully you ride. If you change gear under full load, that will tend to wear out the gear box. But it will also prevent the gear change happening until you ease off the power. In my experience, riders with gear hubs quickly learn to momentarily ease off the power as they change gear, resulting in a quick gear change and minimal adverse load on the hub. Kalkhoff's Impulse drive lifts off the power automatically for you, which is nice, but witha little practice it's easy enough to do this manually.

 

[cwah]

hmmm... It's probably not going to be a very much a maintenance free hub then if I have to be careful everytime...

Maybe normal gears are better?

 

[axolotl]

Well, whilst derailleurs will require regular tinkering and adjustment they're relatively cheap and easy to fix when they do break. Hub gears,not so much.

 

[Nealh]

No bike is totally M free, there is always something to tinker with.The more extreme the riding the more to check regularly. My current set up is for general road use or very light trail. Brakes need the odd adjustment as pads/blocks wear, hydro easiest as just a small allen grub screw on the break lever to take up any travel play. Pads on decent brakes replace every 1-2.5k dependant on useage, Spokes a quick ping every quarter to check tightness, deraillers so far good no adjustmnet needed unless cable stretches a little. Every quarter I just check general tightness of all nuts /bolts etc; dropouts, mudguard & light attachments, battery bottle fixing, brakes fixings.

Cwah if your battery fixings loosen use a star or spring washer.
Your motor needs to be a decent one or either you re over loading it.
Wiring once fitted if you are unhappy wth the connectors, waterproof the connections( cut and solder joints together and heat shrink the joints).
If bike has crappy hydro breaks fit Shimano or tektro hydraulic breaks they come as kits just need to bolt on, no need to bleed and are not too expensive.
As for fittings its simple don,t leave your bike for too long in unsecure areas anything extra attached will always attract more attention from low lifes or the under class.
Most of that I have written is obvious but it is the obvious that needs pointing out !!!

 

[Tim]

The Kalkhoff Impulse 2.0 bikes - the Pro Connect Alfine 8G for example - have taken reliability to a new level. Kalkhoff ironed out a few creases in the original Impulse system by building it around a new German-made gearbox that makes it much quieter, more powerful and more durable.

The Impulse 2.0 Shift Assist system is much easier on the drivetrain too - the motor is momentarily switched off during each gear change, which protects motor, chainwheel, chain, sprocket and hub. It's going to make for bikes with incredible longevity, and the Pro Connect and Agattu are already renowned for that, there are plenty on the road dating back to 2007-2008 season, sometimes they show up on our Used Electric Bikes listings.

Then there's the battery which is good for 1,100 charge cycles before it's down to 60% capacity. That's years of useful life.

Finally, the brakes. They're Magura HS11 hydraulic rim brakes. No cable stretch, pads last for ages, apply the fully to the rim rather than biting it at an angle. They're standard across the Kalkhoff Impulse range, except for the couple of models that pack Magura disc brakes.

These bikes don't trouble our workshop much.

Just back from a trip to Vienna - pleased to see Kalkhoff is a really popular brand over there, for both ebikes and pedal cycles. I had to make do with the Viennese equivalent of a Boris bike, but a great city to explore by bike all the same.