corvusVelox

Has anyone used an internal-gear hub through a winter or two? How do they hold up against the spray and the sub-zero temperatures? Up against a Midwestern winter, would they be more or less practical than a conventional derailer system?

erig007

My bike called sub-0 has been designed for canadian winter and came with an IGH. 5 winters later i can say that winter has virtually no impact on my IGH.

Archwhorides 

I rode a BMC Alpenchallenge Shimano Alfine 8 gear IGH belt drive all winter in Boston this year, and a Breezer Finesse Shimano Alfine 8 gear IGH chain drive the prior winter.

This winter I spent literally zero effort on drive maintenance with the IGH belt drive; I cannot imagine an easier system to keep going (other than a belt drive single speed). The prior year I was cleaning and lubing the chain every two weeks, which was a pain; the IGH itself required no maintenance, other than cleaning the cogs.

In extreme cold weather the oil bath in the IGH becomes more viscous and the drive train slows down a little. I suppose stripping down the hub and replacing the oil bath with a thinner lubricant could resolve that.

corvusVelox

Thanks! Will see what I can dig up on short notice, but it might have to go on the list of future modifications. Also, when pawing through brake levers yesterday while mumbling something about how it might be better to just bring in the handlebars and my enormous mittens, one of the workers at the shop just starts laughing and tells me to wait a while. He brings back a pair of these:


So I got 'em. Might even be able to make them work. Silliest, most overbuilt looking levers I've ever seen, but they look easy to pull with mittens.

fietsbob

Light oil filled , or ATF dunked cores removed from the Hub shell , will function better than Greased Ones when the grease thickens ..

I use A Rohloff (8Yrs).. their Grip shifter will work inside Pogies , with out needing to see what number is displayed
[linear sequence.. 123456 etc. all in a row]
as well as It Works Under My cycle rain cape in the Marine Squalls of winter storms.

In a Flat town a 3 speed should be adequate .. S-A drum brakes are on my Old MTB . they can be combined.

MichaelW

Afline grease becomes too viscous at -10C, so sticks in gear for about 20 mins. Always leave it in a useful gear., An oil bath is good for lower temps and is a big improvment.