> Internal gear hubs like the Alfine have some drawbacks. The big one is > that they make wheel removal for flat fixes somewhat more difficult > than it is with a derailleur set-up.
The Rohloff designed for OEM drop out disc brakes at least has a handy little device where the cables meet the hub that snap on and off. I guess I assumed Shimano would do something similar if not better as the conventional wisdom anyway is Japanese companies do user interfaces better than German. I like the convenience of the Rohloff for touring, but do not tour in the cold and have never gone to some remote area. (although I note extreme conditions companies like Tout push the Rohloff) On Jan 20, 8:37 pm, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > The LX hubs are a great value. Practically speaking, you give up > almost nothing by getting the LX hubs rather than Phil hubs. > > Internal gear hubs like the Alfine have some drawbacks. The big one is > that they make wheel removal for flat fixes somewhat more difficult > than it is with a derailleur set-up. Since the Bleriot has vertical > dropouts, you'd need a chain tensioner, which can be another source of > headaches. Also, the Alfine doesn't work great in really cold weather, > which is an issue here in MN, but probably not in CA. And if something > goes wrong with it (which is rare), not many bike shops will be > prepared to fix it. Finally, these big gear hubs are on the heavy > side. By my calculation, there is more downside than upside. > > On Jan 20, 7:57 pm, Tyler <mock...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > I bought a used Bleriot some time ago that came with wheels made with > > Sunrim CR-18 rims and they're unquestionably from the oversized > > batch. I knew about the oversized rims before I purchased the bike > > and decided the bike was well worth the price even if I had to replace > > the wheelset. The wheels have been great aside from how unbearably > > difficult it is to fix a flat.. so far I've simply worked through the > > problem with brute force. However, yesterday I spent over half an > > hour trying to just get the tire off the rear wheel and snapped a tire > > lever in the process. I gave up and decided it was time to get a non- > > faulty set of wheels... it's hard enough to fix a punctured tube at > > home with these rims; I'd hate to have to do this on the side of the > > road (which I've been spared, so far). > > > I know very little about wheels so I'm fishing for advice from those > > more knowledgeable. The existing wheels are 36-spoke with Shimano > > Deore LX hubs; there's a 7-speed Hyperglide cassette on the rear. I'm > > a big fellow (6ft, 220+ lbs) so I need something that's going to be > > strong enough for my daily commuting and light touring. > > > I'm thinking about buying a built wheelset from Rivendell. A set of > > wheels built with LX hubs is about half the price of a set of wheels > > with Phil "Rivy" hubs (w/ freewheel). I don't understand what you > > gain by using the higher quality hubs, I'm sure a difference exists > > but I don't know what that is. Is it worth the extra money and why? > > > Alternatively, I'm kicking around the idea of building a rear wheel > > around an Alfine internally geared hub; I've always liked the idea of > > an internally geared hub for my kind of riding and it seems alot of > > folks swear by them for everyday riding. If I want to go this route > > now would be a good time since I need to replace the wheels anyway. I > > know that a few folks on this list have rivendells with this kind of > > setup (having searched through the old postings), I'm curious to know > > how those people feel about their shifting setups now that they've > > used them for months or years since last posting. > > > Any input is appreciated, thank you!- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
