Hub gears with drop bars

Civilian_Target

After 3 of years on deraileurs that keep getting smashed, I'm thinking of moving my commuter bike back to hub gears.

I've been looking at the Alfine 8 or 11, or maybe, just maybe, the Rohloff.

Thing is, I have drop bars, and the hubs all come with twisy shifters as standard. Obviously a setup like that is going to be a pain to use.
I like the brake-lever shifters I have on my current derailleur, and there are some custom shifters for the Alfine 8 (http://www.amazon.com/Versa-VRS-8-Alfine-Shifter-Levers/dp/B002P7VE38) but they look pricey and not so good. There are also bar-end shifters for the Alfine, but I can't imagine bar-end shifters on a hub gear being a great experience either.
I saw this page on using the Rohloff on drop bars, and, well... they all look pretty sketchy
http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2011/11/rohloff-hubs-with-drop-handlebars/

Have you tried hub gears on drop bars? Suggestions? Opinions? Advice?

Wishbone Ash

Civilian_Target wrote: »

After 3 of years on deraileurs that keep getting smashed

What are you doing to "smash" them?

Seaneh

Civilian_Target wrote: »

After 3 of years on deraileurs that keep getting smashed, I'm thinking of moving my commuter bike back to hub gears.

I've been looking at the Alfine 8 or 11, or maybe, just maybe, the Rohloff.

Thing is, I have drop bars, and the hubs all come with twisy shifters as standard. Obviously a setup like that is going to be a pain to use.
I like the brake-lever shifters I have on my current derailleur, and there are some custom shifters for the Alfine 8 (http://www.amazon.com/Versa-VRS-8-Alfine-Shifter-Levers/dp/B002P7VE38) but they look pricey and not so good. There are also bar-end shifters for the Alfine, but I can't imagine bar-end shifters on a hub gear being a great experience either.
I saw this page on using the Rohloff on drop bars, and, well... they all look pretty sketchy
http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2011/11/rohloff-hubs-with-drop-handlebars/

Have you tried hub gears on drop bars? Suggestions? Opinions? Advice?

I'm *fairly* sure that Shimano 2300 STI's (8speed) will work with Alfine 8speed hubs.


Those shifters you linked just look to be rebaged MicroShift shifters, which are the same pull-ratio as Shimano's shifters.

All Shimano shifters are the same pullratio, so mountainbike and road shifters should work with alfine hubs.

Indexed bar-end shifters should work perfectly as well, no idea why you'd be put off them?

dquirke1

Obviously, this is whats required

Solve all your problems...

Civilian_Target

dquirke1 wrote: »

Obviously, this is whats required

Solve all your problems...

That looks like it needs to be charged... scary!

Civilian_Target

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

What are you doing to "smash" them?

First I munged the back cassette and rear derailleur because I forgot to check the chain length often enough (single speed chains in a chain guard last for years)
Then broke the rear hanger with Swiss Air.
Then broke the front deraileur when I got hit by a car
Then the front deraileur cracked again, after only a few months after fixing the last one, no obvious reason

I'm told over 3 years, and about 15,000 miles of commuting, that's that fairly average wear-and-tear for a derailleur...

Schnell

Seaneh wrote: »

I'm *fairly* sure that Shimano 2300 STI's (8speed) will work with Alfine 8speed hubs.


Those shifters you linked just look to be rebaged MicroShift shifters, which are the same pull-ratio as Shimano's shifters.

All Shimano shifters are the same pullratio, so mountainbike and road shifters should work with alfine hubs.

Indexed bar-end shifters should work perfectly as well, no idea why you'd be put off them?

Definitely not the case, the pull ratio for shimano internally geared hubs is nearly double that of derailleurs. Apparently 8sp shifters coupled with a Travel Agent (http://problemsolversbike.com/products/travel_agents/) should work though that's not from experience.

Seaneh

Ah, I didn't know the alfine pull ratio was different.

Never mind me so!

Lumen

In my experience the Versa 11sp shifters are fine, although the hoods are not as comfortable as my other (SRAM) ones due to the hard material they're made of. They have the same tactility as those cheapo Tektro drop bar brake levers.

The Versa shifters are not as simple to set up as bar end shifters due to the lack of barrel adjuster. I fitted aftermarket adjusters on mine.

The main issues I've had with hub gears is that (a) they're draggy as hell at high speed (I once did a lap of Phoenix Park at >30kph and it almost killed me), and (b) when they are out of alignment they don't work, at all - you may as well get off and push.

650Ginge

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/genesis-day-01-alfine-8-13?utm_source=email-26-04-13&utm_medium=email&utm_content=reviews&utm_campaign=day#reviews

rp

Here's a few ideas for a Rohloff hub: http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2011/11/rohloff-hubs-with-drop-handlebars/
Or just order up one of these: http://www.co-motion.com/index.php/singles/americano_rohloff
Add mud-guards, rack and a hub-dynamo, and you'd have a decent little commuter.

rp

Lumen wrote: »

The main issues I've had with hub gears is that (a) they're draggy as hell at high speed (I once did a lap of Phoenix Park at >30kph and it almost killed me), and (b) when they are out of alignment they don't work, at all - you may as well get off and push.

I commuted with a Rohloff in a very hilly town for couple of years, and, other than being totally reliable, the only difference to a deraillier setup was the extra weight on the back, which combined with a rack and pannier, was a bit unsettling.