http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: "Shimano to launch 11-speed Alfine hub gear" en Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:48:19 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2495 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:17:28 +0000 wee folding bike 2495@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm thinking about cleaning the chain more frequently. Brompton chains don't last well in the winter so anything which helps would be good. I've got some green chain cleaner to try out at the weekend.</p> <p>Their oil waxes up in cold weather. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2487 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:06:49 +0000 chdot 2487@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ah yes.</p> <p>Closely related to -</p> <p><a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/nanodrive/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://sheldonbrown.com/nanodrive/index.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2486 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:59:43 +0000 gembo 2486@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>this is the one I meant</p> <p><a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html" rel="nofollow">http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html</a></p> <p>this endeared me to Sheldon but he might already have died before I read it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2484 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:29:28 +0000 chdot 2484@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#cleaning" rel="nofollow">http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#cleaning</a></p> <p>And how many people actually do? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2478 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:39:41 +0000 gembo 2478@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>hibbee biker - I do 5000 mile per annum also and they were recommending at bike co-op that I took the thing in to be serviced every 3 months due to my rate of cycling. The mechanic Gordon is great and helps out with bits. I am on my second and had the first replaced under warranty but still not worth it. I have a downhill commute to work and an uphill on the way back. the nexus 8 is basically 1-4 and 5-8 and it gets stuck in one of the two ranges. if stuck in 5-8 quite tricky getting uphill.</p> <p>I recommend Sheldon Brown's advice on chain cleaning </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2469 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:16:15 +0000 chdot 2469@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Arellcat</p> <p>"While everyone managed for years and years with their 3-speed hub gears, did no-one complain that sometimes 'top gear' felt too hard to pedal, but 'middle' meant pedalling too fast? Did everyone end up with bad knees in later life from pushing too hard on the pedals all the time?"</p> <p>I wonder about people riding fixed/singlespeed ("bad knees in later life")... Bit like athletes generally, apparently.</p> <p>The 'normal' 3 speed (Sturmey Archer AW) doesn't have enough range (that's the difference between top and bottom gears SRD) to suit many people. Most bike manufacturers compromised in favour of top gear - on the basis that 'everyone' wants to go as fast as possible.</p> <p>The result was that (probably) most people had bikes that were "over-geared" - especially if they lived in hilly cities. At least it was relatively easy/cheap to change by putting a bigger sprocket on the rear wheel (and maybe a few extra chain links).</p> <p>One of my 'occasional' bikes has the old style 5 speed hub with twin toggle chains. I just use the right hand one so have a wider (than AW) gear range. I wouldn't like such big jumps on a 'daily' bike, but it's a great, simple way of having the basic gears - uphill, flat, downhill - or accelerating fast off the lights, normal, fast.</p> <p>The BIG advantage of hub gears (especially for city riding) is that they can be changed when the bike is stationary. </p> <p>So anyone thinking about gears for a new bike should note which gears they <em>use</em> - combination of front ring and rear sprocket and then use <a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/gears">SB's impressive on-line Gear Calculator</a>.</p> <p>For most people toggling "Gear units" to "<a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_g.html#gearinch">Gear inches</a>" will give them the answers they need for future judgements.</p> <p>Other considerations are whether the bike is for long distance touring and/or large payload - or fast day trips/racing.</p> <p>If the answer is "both" you need n+1 bikes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2468 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:49:10 +0000 chdot 2468@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2697/4343836832_06359f3c94_o.jpg">Or this-</p> <p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2697/4343836832_4ee62e643f.jpg"></a></p> <p>I collect books too... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2464 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:37:49 +0000 chdot 2464@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://cyclingedinburgh.info/2007/07/25/new-book-from-cycling-guru">City Cycling (presume you mean this one)</a> is good.</p> <p>Still think you'd benefit from the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1844254216?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=cyclingedinbu-21&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creativeASIN=1563921375">Haynes manual</a> - nice big pictures and everything named and explained well. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2462 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:27:42 +0000 SRD 2462@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thanks for the words of wisdom arellcat &amp; hibeebiker; I shall bear it in mind. Chdot - I think I'm more the target audience of 'cycling for dummies' but cyclecraft and Citycycling both look promising too! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2449 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:35:21 +0000 HibeeBiker 2449@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I ride around 5,000 miles a year. I've been using the same Nexus 8-speed hub for 4 year. </p> <p>I've had the hub serviced at 2 year intervals by the Bike Co-op. This involves them stripping it down the hub and regreasing the internals you can get at. That's pretty good considering I'm used to derailleur systems where the cogs, chainset and chain need replaced annually - the joys of being 15 stone and cavalier about maintenance.</p> <p>I'd recommend Nexus 8 to anyone looking for a simpler and cleaner system if you're happy to put up with a slightly reduced top-to-bottom range than you'd get on a similarly priced 21 or 24-speed bike.</p> <p>I've heard that 8-speed Alfine is better than Nexus. </p> <p>But reading about the new Alfine 11-speed, its benefits - engineering, gear range, user-servicability - that's probably the next transmission I aspire to. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2443 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:12:46 +0000 chdot 2443@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"But I see a few useful looking titles on amazon...."</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1844254216?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=cyclingedinbu-21&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creativeASIN=1563921375">This one for instance -</p> <p><center><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/4342597205_51130c7c6a_o.jpg"></a></center></p> <p>Regard it as a reference book to help you to "describe what is wrong with my bike to a trusted mechanic".</p> <p>Should save you time and money. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2442 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:59:58 +0000 Arellcat 2442@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>The really basics - like blowing up tyres - still seem to be beyond some people!</em></p> <p>True. I knew someone who was so unmechanically minded that flat tyres meant they had simply stopped riding their bike. To be fair, I don't think riding a bike featured very highly in their interests anyway.</p> <p>SRD, good derailleur gears have come on a long way in the last, well, 15 years now I suppose, but the system by its very nature is not for leaving well alone. While one can experiment with Grunge Guards and mudflaps and things, the components are always going to be on the outside of the bike and exposed. That's why hub gears didn't go away when derailleurs were invented. An occasional oil change that can be done by your local bike shop, and perhaps a little oiling of the chain and gear cable from time to time, is all the maintenance it needs.</p> <p>The hub gear, especially now that it's easy to buy one with 7, 8, 11 or even 14 consecutive ratios, is precisely the sort of thing one needs to minimise fiddling. While everyone managed for years and years with their 3-speed hub gears, did no-one complain that sometimes 'top gear' felt too hard to pedal, but 'middle' meant pedalling too fast? Did everyone end up with bad knees in later life from pushing too hard on the pedals all the time? More gears, more chance of being in the right gear for you at any given moment, because the human body is most efficient in a quite narrow range of pedalling speed.</p> <p>Of course, it's not just the number of gears. What feels right to you when pedalling up hills and racing down hills is partly the total range between top gear and bottom gear, and how evenly spread the gears in between are. Too big a gap can make it like the old 3-speed, and too small a gap means you're always having to change up or down two or three gears in one go. That at least is why you can buy so many different combinations of sprockets for those finangling derailleurs. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2441 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:49:36 +0000 SRD 2441@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I *know* it can be done, but was obviously spoiled by older brother who raced and father who took up triathalons, both more mechanically minded than me. Lack of work space and time doesn't help. But I do want to know enough to make sensible purchases and be able to describe what is wrong with my bike to a trusted mechanic. Most of the magazines etc seem to be aimed at a somewhat higher level than that. But I see a few useful looking titles on amazon.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2440 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:31:36 +0000 chdot 2440@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"much as I feel about the inside workings of my computer actually"</p> <p>Yes. </p> <p>I think most people just want things to work without having to understand how/why. </p> <p>It's impossible to know how everything works - especially in a micro-processor age. Bikes are a bit different, most of the workings are visible, and the principles fairly straightforward. </p> <p>The <em>really</em> basics - like blowing up tyres - still seem to be beyond some people! </p> <p>One thing I do is go into schools and show people how to look after their bikes. They are usually quite excited about learning how. For some the idea that it's <em>possible</em> to do such things for <em>themselves</em> seems a novelty.</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chdot/2298471837/in/set-72157605532032840/"><br /> <img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/2298471837_731b5bca85.jpg"></a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2439 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:12:46 +0000 SRD 2439@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>perhaps I ought to have said 'i find it hard to imagine a time when I would care enough about the mechanics of my bike that I would _want_ to be able to follow the discussion in the articles linked to' (much as I feel about the inside workings of my computer actually!). but each to their own :) I want to know enough to decide what sort of gears/software/hardware I want, and then I just want it to work! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2438 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:05:29 +0000 chdot 2438@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>" although I still don't think I'll be able to follow the links...."</p> <p>Advice on using computers is extra.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2437 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:04:06 +0000 chdot 2437@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"chdot - that's a nice wee page you wrote."</p> <p>Thanks. I read it occasionally and wonder if anything needs adding/changing. </p> <p>I'm aware it might be a 'hard read' for young children or complete beginners to bicycles. But it was written as a classroom talk where I could point at bits of a bike and also explain in more detail if required.</p> <p>UPDATE <em>just</em> had this from a PS teacher "Perfect for P6 Cycle training thanks" - that's gratifying! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2436 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:03:28 +0000 SRD 2436@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ah yes, both very handy. thank you. I understand how a derailleur works, but not much beyond that.... Will work my way through slowly, although I still don't think I'll be able to follow the links.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2435 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:56:46 +0000 miggy_magic 2435@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>chdot - that's a nice wee page you wrote. I'm such a dolt - I cleaned my bike thoroughly last weekend including my cassette but only this morning did I realise I forgot to lube it and my chain. After a few days it's now making a horrid crunching noise with each push on the cranks and I can't back pedal. What an idiot, and <em>I</em> have the cheek to remark on people's saddle height?!?! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2434 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:20:22 +0000 chdot 2434@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Sheldon is always a good place to start. </p> <p><a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/gearing/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://sheldonbrown.com/gearing/index.html</a></p> <p>Here's something I wrote a while ago, not sure if it covers what you need to know. </p> <p><a href="http://bikebase.wordpress.com/basic-basics/beginners-guide-to-living-with-a-bike/#Gears" rel="nofollow">http://bikebase.wordpress.com/basic-basics/beginners-guide-to-living-with-a-bike/#Gears</a>. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2432 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:21:38 +0000 SRD 2432@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Could anyone direct me to a really, really basic guide to gears? I can't understand more than 3 words in any of the recently posted links....Thanks! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2430 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:51:09 +0000 gembo 2430@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>hmm - I have a Nexus 8 which is a lot worse than a nexus 7 as they switched to lithium grease which cannot withstand ingress from scottish weather, I believe I may have posted on this before as it still annoys me that I BELEIVED THE EBC SALES SHTICK oh oh, not that annoyed just went upper case for a sec by mistook. Anyway EBC still punting it as reliable and relatively maintenance free. Not my experience.</p> <p>what sort of grease is inside the alfine 11 hub? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2428 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:38:42 +0000 chdot 2428@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://road.cc/content/news/13981-shimano-alfine-11-speed-hub-car-park-test">Quick test at road.cc</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=301#post-2275 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:23:54 +0000 chdot 2275@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.velovision.com/cgi-bin/show_comments.pl?storynum=1083" rel="nofollow">http://www.velovision.com/cgi-bin/show_comments.pl?storynum=1083</a> </p>