On Nov 18, 2009, at 7:04 AM, Steve Wimberg wrote: > I agree that the internal gear hub is not as efficient as a derailleur > setup
> On Nov 17, 2009, at 4:24 PM, Eric Norris wrote: > >> My only issue with the hub (once I got the first defective hub >> repaired by the good folks at Hiawatha Cyclery) is that it's >> definitely not as efficient as a standard derailleur setup, and much >> less effiicient than a fixed gear. Frank Berto's comparative efficiency testing of derailleurs versus hub gears indicated that hub gears are very close to the efficiency of derailleurs in most gears. It also showed that derailleur systems are nowhere near as efficient as people think they are (e.g., the 98% efficiency claim many people make is under very ideal conditions only). It was quite interesting that gear size has a much bigger impact on efficiency, especially the rear cogs. As the cog gets small, efficiency drops dramatically. Cogs below 14 teeth are less efficient than hub gears. Hub gears have gotten a bad rap since about 1914 when Lucien Petit- Breton complained that they were "friction boxes." Mind you, this was after he was leading the Tour de France using a Sturmey-Archer hub until he hit a dog and crashed out of the race... I've been convinced for decades that hub gears are preferable to derailleurs for about 90% of riders in terms of use (simple shifting, reliability, etc.). The big problem for most riders is dealing with flats, being a bit more complicated than is the case with derailleurs. -- 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-bu...@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=.
