To cut down on drivetrain maintenance further you can pair gear hubs with belt drivetrains. Other nice features include the ability to shift gears while stationary and the rear wheel can also be built stronger thanks to the shorter spokes and even spoke tension.
Add in the nine chains ($63), six rear sprockets ($18) and three front sprockets ($33) that your drivetrain will wear through over 90,000km, and you’re looking at US $313 to ride more than twice the circumference of Earth!Īdditionally, should you crash or drop your bike, there is no rear derailleur (or hanger) to put out of alignment, or worse – destroy.
As a result, you get a significant reduction in drivetrain maintenance, and with fewer components exposed to the elements – a reduction in running costs too.įor example, I’ve known Shimano hubs ($199) to have worked well for around 90,000km (56,000mi). Internal gear hubs usually offer between 3 and 14 different gear ratios that are hidden inside a weather-sealed hub shell. Internal gear hubs replace the derailleur gears on a bicycle, and you can actually remove your derailleur drivetrain from your bike and fit one up right now. What are the advantages of internal gear hubs? With a good handle on both gear systems, I’ll be drawing comparisons between these hubs throughout this presentation.
But over the last decade, I’ve been riding around the world on expensive Rohloff hubs. I’ve actually spent many years using and abusing Alfine hubs, including on a mountain bike that I built specifically for wet and muddy conditions. I will answer all of this and much more in this in-depth Shimano Alfine resource.īy the way, according to Shimano, it’s not pronounced Al-fine or Al-feen. So, how good is a $199 Shimano hub? And should you switch from your derailleur gear system to an internal gear hub? I’ve analysed many of the top-tier bicycle gearboxes on this website, but have spent little time discussing the Shimano Alfine internal gear hubs that offer almost unbelievable value for money.