Bike with only back gears

obi604

Hi

I like my bike to have a few gears. However I think these 18, 21 and 24 speed are overkill.

On my current bike, I NEVER ever use the small or large chain ring on the front, I just leave it in the centre ring - so it's just a pure waste and was then wondering for my next bike could I just buy one with a single chain ring at front.

Essentially I am looking for a bike with gears at the back only (ideally 6) and just a single chainring at the front. So less maintenance etc.

Is there any such bike ?

Cee-Jay-Cee

SRAM have the X1 group set which is a single front chainring and 11speed rear. Don't know if it's available on any road bikes yet but I think I read that it soon will be available.

obi604

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

SRAM have the X1 group set which is a single front chainring and 11speed rear. Don't know if it's available on any road bikes yet but I think I read that it soon will be available.

Thanks. Is there any specific name given to this kind of bike ?

rollingscone

Are you looking for a city bike?

In that case I'd start by asking about hub gears.

If you're looking for a sporting bike you're looking for single chainring set ups which are still relatively novel and mostly a thing on specislised mountain bikes.

obi604

rollingscone wrote: »

Are you looking for a city bike?

In that case I'd start by asking about hub gears.

If you're looking for a sporting bike you're looking for single chainring set ups which are still relatively novel and mostly a thing on specislised mountain bikes.

Yeah. A hybrid type one.

What are hub gears.

Mucco

obi604 wrote: »

Yeah. A hybrid type one.

What are hub gears.

Hub gears are when all the gearing is contained within the rear hub. Below is a cut-off of a Rohloff hub, which are the Rolls-Royce of hub gears, to show the mechanism. Shimano and SRAM also do cheaper versions.
They are very low maintenance and cleaner, but are also heavier and require some mechanism for tightening the chain.

obi604

Mucco wrote: »

Hub gears are when all the gearing is contained within the rear hub. Below is a cut-off of a Rohloff hub, which are the Rolls-Royce of hub gears, to show the mechanism. Shimano and SRAM also do cheaper versions.
They are very low maintenance and cleaner, but are also heavier and require some mechanism for tightening the chain.

Thanks a million.

I know what you mean now.

I thought these would be high maintenance as you kind of have to open things up to get at them

Hunterbiker

Shimano have recently launched what they call their 'Urban' Groupset.
http://road.cc/content/news/162501-shimano-metrea-1x11-urban-groupset-unveiled

Type 17

If hub gears put the bike's price out of your budget, you can still run a derailleur with a single chainring at the front, but choose the ratios carefully, so that most riding is done with the chain on the centre sprockets at the rear, to minimise wear.
I run a self-built commuting-only bike in Dublin, which has a 7-speed cassette on the rear and a single on the front, and find that I only use 4 or 5 of the sprockets regularly, although I don't travel near hilly places like Mount Merrion or Chapelizod.

obi604

Type 17 wrote: »

If hub gears put the bike's price out of your budget, you can still run a derailleur with a single chainring at the front, but choose the ratios carefully, so that most riding is done with the chain on the centre sprockets at the rear, to minimise wear.
I run a self-built commuting-only bike in Dublin, which has a 7-speed cassette on the rear and a single on the front, and find that I only use 4 or 5 of the sprockets regularly, although I don't travel near hilly places like Mount Merrion or Chapelizod.

thanks

is it a big job to swap out a 3 speed cassette/derailuer on the front with a 1 speed cassette / no derailuer ?

RainyDay

obi604 wrote: »

On my current bike, I NEVER ever use the small or large chain ring on the front, I just leave it in the centre ring - so it's just a pure waste and was then wondering for my next bike could I just buy one with a single chain ring at front.

If you are using the full range of cogs at the rear, you are probably stretching your chain by going from the centre chainwheel to either the largest or the smallest cog.

Thud

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

SRAM have the X1 group set which is a single front chainring and 11speed rear. Don't know if it's available on any road bikes yet but I think I read that it soon will be available.

Specialized have put it on their Allez Sprint, think it's only available in US so far though
http://road.cc/content/news/157746-specialized-s-allez-aluminium-road-bike-goes-aero-2016

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/allez/allez-dsw-sprint-x1-expert#specs

Type 17

obi604 wrote: »

thanks

is it a big job to swap out a 3 speed cassette/derailuer on the front with a 1 speed cassette / no derailuer ?

It's quite easy to do, but you would need to do some basic research on stuff like:

What sizes of front chainring are available, and which size would suit the bikes current rear sprocket sizes and your riding style/conditions (you can also change the rear cassette size, but this adds extra expense, and you may need a new chain too if the cassette and chain are more than lightly worn - can't use a worn chain with a new cassette, it'll jump when you pedal hard).

What length of bottom bracket spindle is currently on the bike, and would the desired new crankset leave your chain-line in the centre of the cassette/the centre of the section of the cassette that will mostly be used.

This all sounds quite complex when written down, but your local bike shop will be able to advise fairly easily.

PS: You might still need a front derailleur - although my bike only has a single front chainwheel, I ended up fitting an old front derailleur (fixed in position, no cable), to act as a guide for the chain, as I found that if you hit a bump just as you changed gear, the chain would wobble sideways and come off the front chainring (it would happen once every few weeks, on average). Some single-chainring cranksets come with metal "guide-rings" on each side of the chainring to prevent this, but most do not, as it's expected that they will be used with a single-speed/fixie/hub gear set-up, where the chain-tension is fixed.

cdaly_

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks a million.

I know what you mean now.

I thought these would be high maintenance as you kind of have to open things up to get at them

Hub gears are low maintenance because they're enclosed and sealed so dirt doesn't get in and damage them. Essentially, you make sure they have enough oil (I think you're supposed to change the oil from (long) time to time) and that's it.

Cassette/derailleur gears are high maintenance due to dirt causing wear.

obi604

Type 17 wrote: »

It's quite easy to do, but you would need to do some basic research on stuff like:

What sizes of front chainring are available, and which size would suit the bikes current rear sprocket sizes and your riding style/conditions (you can also change the rear cassette size, but this adds extra expense, and you may need a new chain too if the cassette and chain are more than lightly worn - can't use a worn chain with a new cassette, it'll jump when you pedal hard).

What length of bottom bracket spindle is currently on the bike, and would the desired new crankset leave your chain-line in the centre of the cassette/the centre of the section of the cassette that will mostly be used.

This all sounds quite complex when written down, but your local bike shop will be able to advise fairly easily.

PS: You might still need a front derailleur - although my bike only has a single front chainwheel, I ended up fitting an old front derailleur (fixed in position, no cable), to act as a guide for the chain, as I found that if you hit a bump just as you changed gear, the chain would wobble sideways and come off the front chainring (it would happen once every few weeks, on average). Some single-chainring cranksets come with metal "guide-rings" on each side of the chainring to prevent this, but most do not, as it's expected that they will be used with a single-speed/fixie/hub gear set-up, where the chain-tension is fixed.

Thanks a million, great input.

obi604

cdaly_ wrote: »

Hub gears are low maintenance because they're enclosed and sealed so dirt doesn't get in and damage them. Essentially, you make sure they have enough oil (I think you're supposed to change the oil from (long) time to time) and that's it.

Cassette/derailleur gears are high maintenance due to dirt causing wear.

oh ok, I thought being being in the hub internally would make them complex, but obviously not.

do these hub nears normally just come in 3 gears ?

Or in this day and age is > 3 gears becoming more normal and affordable ?

Type 17

Three-speed hub gears are mostly old hat these days, and only come with kids and shopping bikes - most hubs by Shimano and others that are fitted to city/commuter bikes are 6, 7 or more speeds.

Note that hub gears are incredibly complex inside, but you'll never need to open them (or have a bike shop do it), once you keep the cable adjusted and lubricate them correctly (both of which are easy to do), and they are a lot less maintenance than derailleur systems.

tomasrojo

Three-speed hubs are still used in Brompton folding bikes. Pretty much the standard model.

Three is plenty for cycling around Dublin, I find. My other bike has way more, and I do use them, but I could get by happily enough with three, and I do on my Brompton.

If you have a mudflap on the front mudguard, or a chain case around the chain on a hub-gear bike, the chain can really last for an awful long time.

OleRodrigo

8 speed on the Genesis Day One:

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/urban/urban-cross/day-one-alfine-8

Type 17

tomasrojo wrote: »

Three-speed hubs are still used in Brompton folding bikes. Pretty much the standard model.

Three is plenty for cycling around Dublin, I find. My other bike has way more, and I do use them, but I could get by happily enough with three, and I do on my Brompton.

If you have a mudflap on the front mudguard, or a chain case around the chain on a hub-gear bike, the chain can really last for an awful long time.

Very true, it's the perfect hub for the Brompton.
...and three speeds is enough for Dublin, I grew up here riding 3-speed Raleighs and only have a derailleur with more because I wanted closer ratios - my 7-speed cassette is a 14-21.

obi604

Want to look for a bike with a 6 speed + hub gear setup.

Searching on adverts etc what would be the best search term for this, something like : 6 speed hub gear bike OR do they have another name they go by ?

tomasrojo

Could try the hub brand or model names. Alfine is one that comes up a lot.

obi604

tomasrojo wrote: »

Could try the hub brand or model names. Alfine is one that comes up a lot.

Oh right. Was wondering if they had a special name on them like "hubby" etc (like Fixie)

ShatterProof

Triumph 20

tomasrojo

ShatterProof wrote: »

Triumph 20

Hey, get with it, Grandad. Hub gears are in now.

tomasrojo

obi604 wrote: »

Oh right. Was wondering if they had a special name on them like "hubby" etc (like Fixie)

Don't think so, but people nearly always mention the brand/make of hub.

Shimano Alfine and Rohloff are well-regarded (as far as I know) modern multi-speed hubs.

Sturmey Archer are best known for three-speeds, but they do make hubs with more speeds.

SRAM do hub gears too.

I'm not the best person to answer this actually, but that's my limited knowledge.

ford2600

Nexus and Alfine are two shimano hub gears types.

I'd be inclined to look at eBay in mainland Europe, the market there isn't skewed like here towards recreational/sportive cycling.

Mudguards and dynamo lighting while you are at it

Nekarsulm

I pulled a Raleigh Shopper (Triumph Twenty) out of a builders skip a couple of years ago. The three speed hub works perfectly, despite probably zero maintenance since the 1970's.

machiavellianme

Some of the hubs come with belt drives instead of chains (see cube editor or cube Hyde race).
Apparently the belt drive is even lower maintenance as it doesn't need lubrication and can be just wiped clean.