Hub gear bike dilemma

Ah, so many lovely bikes :-)

My criteria for the bike was
1. Alfine 11 (I rode an 8 and really wanted the extra range and closer ratios)
2. CDX rather than CDN
3. Fairly light <12kg
4. Preferably LBS so I could try it out, and where there was some expertise in hubs gears should things go poorly.

The Editor seemed to fit the bill the best, at a reasonable price compared to some of the alternatives. e.g.

- Canyon Commuter 6 https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/urban/commuter/2018/commuter-6.html looks lovely but is CDN for €1700 (albeit with a carbon fork and dynamo lights but worse brakes but better hubs probably, ah fuhgeddaboudit).


- BMC Alpenchallenge AC01 ONE is also a thing of beauty but is €2k


- Cube Travel SLT is also very tasty but is €1900, and heavier at 13.7 kg


I was able to try the Editor out, and there is a comfort in having the shop 10 mins walk up the road in case my hub gear / carbon drive experiment ends in tears. Also the shop does a good deal on accessories which brings the effective price down by a bit. All of which swung it against the Canyon, which I was really tempted by.

So the Editor it (probably) is. Plus I like the simple no nonsense stealth look



Re the reliability of the Alfine 11. The old version SG-S700 has quite a few issues, but the new version SG-S7001-11 seems to have addressed them. There is a long term reliability thread at https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=64432&start=630

The SG-S7001-11 IGH has the following newer parts that no longer can be used with the older SG-S700 model:
Item No. 8 - Sun Gear 4
Item No. 10 - Carrier 2 Unit
Item No. 11 - Sun gear 2 Unit
Item No. 12 - Carrier 1 Unit
Item No. 14 - Hub Axle Unit
Item No. 15 - Clutch Unit
These are not trivial parts. They have to do with the functions that have well documented problems

... and indeed reports on the SG-S7001-11 since it was introduced are very good. I must have read every post on IGH and belt drives from the last 9 years. I'll let you know how it goes!

droidus wrote: »

A couple of things about the Cube. Ask them to take of the 42 tyres and replace them. The rims will only take 32 and up. I went with 32 conti 4 seasons and am very happy with them. Less punctures last year than any other year.

I replaced those tyres with myself with Schwalbe Marathon Plus 38mm, have been bullet proof after 2500Kms. Must put the original set of tyres up for sale, somebody will get some use out of them.

droidus wrote: »

The bars are also very wide - too wide for city commuting IMO. I cut about 10cm off mine.

Had not thought about that but they are unnecessarily wide, might be the only way to get some aero gains on this bike. :P

droidus wrote: »

The best fitting mudguards for the Cubes are SKS Primus 45's.

I went with the SKS Bluemels Reflective 45mm width as the tyres I got were quite big.

droidus wrote: »

The saddle is awful!

Updating it to a Brooks Cambium C17 has been on the list for a while now. I don't spend enough time on it (30 mins * twice a day, Mon-Fri) so doesn't really bother me that much with padded bib shorts/tights.

Polar wizard adventure wrote: »

I have an Editor. Lovely city/commute bike. Smooth, comfortable, handles well and is quick.

Had some issues initially with gear slippage from lights. Thought I had bought a lemon but having done some research I simply adjusted the barrel adjuster for the gears a quarter turn and it sorted it out entirely. As you probably know almost all issues with the gears are simple misalignment and can be sorted by minor adjustment of the indicators.

Two things I would point out, handlebars are stupidly wide and need to be cut and you must keep the pressure up in the tires or the bike starts to bounce in
resonance with your peddle stroke.

Nice! When did you get your one?

Good tip on the adjuster thanks, I've seen the same advice on a few forums. That and too loose belt tension seem to be the root cause of lots of issues.

So, this is something I never would've considered when purchasing or riding the a belt drive bike. I'd a fall recently due to black ice on the road and didn't notice anything broken on the bike at the time. Noticed something off with the drivetrain cycling home yesterday which would've been a few days of cycling after the incident. Managed to get home without incident so under some light I noticed that a couple of the belt teeth were missing so I've had to order a new belt. Not going to cycle it in the mean time. Unsure if it's normal wear and tear or if it was as a result of the crash.

Large image so externally linking: https://i.imgur.com/I3cyjh1.jpg

Gandorf wrote: »

Ah OK, I'll ask the guys at the shop to show me how it's done when I pickup the bike. Also pointers on how to change the rear wheel, 15mm stubby spanner will be packed in the frame bag.

Video here. You just need to know which way to turn the screws to increase/decrease tension. Depends on setup. You will know which way as you will feel the tension in the belt getting tighter or looser. Recommended to turn those screws an equal amount on each side (quarter turns is good) to keep the wheel centred.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThqSoNUCIYM

Tension on my cannondale was 98hz from the shop and 35-50 is recommended for an IGH. Rode it maybe a hundred km before adjusting it myself. Found the iphone app more consistent for taking readings compared to android. I have it around 53hz now.

Here's how to remove the wheel on a cube. Very boring but watchable. Basically rotate hub to get slack on the gear change cable (you may need a 2mm allen key), remove gear change cable, loosen nuts with a 15mm spanner, wheel comes off along with belt. Reverse to get wheel on but do not roll belt on as it will get damaged, just position it on the cog. The axel nuts need to be tightened to torque spec so the hub doesn't rotate against the axel. Mine are 30-45nm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo_BJ3pFIJI

Gandorf wrote: »

Ah OK, I'll ask the guys at the shop to show me how it's done when I pickup the bike. Also pointers on how to change the rear wheel, 15mm stubby spanner will be packed in the frame bag.

If you look at the photo of my Mtb on the previous page you can see the spanner on the bottle cage mounts. Drilled it with a dedicated metal drill bit and Piller drill but any engineering firm could do it easy.

Don't the modern alfine hubs have little tabs to release the cable. I found that if you dropped to bottom gear you could push the cable out of the retaining bit with your fingers easy enough.

@Gandorf : probably best to email them. From their website

https://www.cube.eu/en/2019/bikes/tr
"Split & Slide Dropout
The SPLIT function allows the frame to open at the rear dropout to enable a drive belt to be mounted. The SLIDE function at the horizontal adjustable dropout allows wheel adjustment and chain/belt tension to be made easily without having to readjust the disc brakes. Adjustment screws avoid readjusting the wheel and ensure perfect function and durability."

However if you look here and click details
https://www.cube.eu/en/2019/bikes/trekking/urban/editor/cube-editor-blacknpurple-2019/
"It's also been specially designed to cope with the specific demands of the Gates belt drive, with an eccentric bottom bracket housing to make adjusting belt tension a simple process. "

So looks like it has that ecentric bb. Here's a guide on adjusting tension with it. Maybe helpful.
https://www.montaguebikes.com/folding-bikes-blog/2016/03/adjusting-belt-tension-with-eccentric-bb/

Flaccus wrote: »

However if you look here and click details
https://www.cube.eu/en/2019/bikes/trekking/urban/editor/cube-editor-blacknpurple-2019/
"It's also been specially designed to cope with the specific demands of the Gates belt drive, with an eccentric bottom bracket housing to make adjusting belt tension a simple process. "[/url]

Duh I read that page and completely glossed over that, thanks!