Of course, there’s always the option of what I like to call a Cheapskate Rohloff: a Shimano Nexus-7 or Alfine-8 hub, tensioner and double chainset. Range is 20”-90” with an Alfine-8 with an 16T sprocket and a 48-32T chainset, less with a Nexus-7 (to get a 20” gear you’re dropping the top end to about 80”).
Its advantages are as follows:
- Plenty of ground clearance;
- Grease lubrication makes for a clean ride, compared with the oil used in Alfine-11 and Rohloff hubs;
- Ease of maintenance - an annual dunk of the hub innards in grease is all that’s required;
- 20” wheels enable a low bottom gear without compromising the 1.9 ratio of sprocket - chainring recommended by Shimano;
- Ease of indexing compared with the fussiness of the Alfine-11 and a greater range than the Alfine-11 with a 1x chainring;
- Range of shifters - bar end, flat or dropped bar STI, thumb shifters and probably twist shifters are produced by Shimano and Microshift;
- The option of electronic shifting (possibly, I’m not sure how Shimano Di2 would play with the combo, but all the hardware is there for it at least);
- Range of dropout widths - Nexus-7 hubs fit 126mm and upwards; and
- Price compared with a Rohloff.
The principal disadvantage I can see is the additional hassle of getting a wheel built around your hub of choice, and the lack of range compared with a Rohloff’s massive 20”-110”.
Any thoughts?