mymorningjacket

I'm currently working at a Norco warehouse and I have a chance to get a brand new Indie IGH for very cheap.
https://www.norco.com/bikes/city/urb...igh/indie-igh/
I'm looking for something to do some touring with, but I'm worried that this may not be the right bike. I'm very new to biking and am very inexperienced. Any information on this is gladly accepted and appreciated.
Now I know the IGHis more of a city bike, but I'm wondering if I can maybe throw some hybrid tires on it. Also is having no front shock going to be a problem? How is it going to hold up on long distances on road and trails? Will I be able to attach some racks to it?
Tell me what you think.
Thanks!

Happy Feet

The better question to answer is what type of touring do you see yourself doing?

No front shock is good, tires are probably good, handle bars could be swapped out or have simple bar ends added for multiple hand positions. If it has holes for fenders and racks good but you can also work around not having them with either clamps or bike packing gear. Not a show stopper.

The biggest issue is whether the range of the 8 gears available will serve you for the type of touring you want to do. Supported or cc may be fine. Fully loaded or hilly may be too much. I can't answer that one. Also depends on how young/fit you are and how hard you want to work. Some people tour on 3 and single speeds but my older knees like being able to drop into granny gears rather than sustained cranking. But, I also have a 6 speed I love riding round town - just not heavily packed up hills.

SparkyGA

Depending on the price that bike looks like a pretty sweet ride. I'd tour on it as long as I wasn't in a super hilly area.

The Shimano 8 speeds IGH are pretty decent if you learn to use them properly.

I also noticed that the rear end of the things has derailuer mount. Nice option if needed.

AdvXtrm

For kicking around town if it's not very hilly, I'd say it's fine. For going any distances where you may encounter some grades, I'd say no. I don't even think it's a very good deal at that price to begin with.

saddlesores

unless you're talking "fell off a truck" cheap, i'd pass.
looks fine for short, flat rides on a comfort bike to the beach,
not so comfy for longer and/or loaded rides.

martianone

Depends upon how well the bike fits you ? What works ok for commuting half an hour may not be comfortable after 2-3 hours in the saddle. Would probably upgrade to a touring saddle. Rear cog would swap out the 18 for a 22, Not sure if the bottom bracket area is eccentric to allow for chain stretch ? Cannot tell from the pic if there are rack mounts ? If no rack mounts, would not make a good touring bike.
Ps, have a Bike Friday NWT with an 8 spd hub, taken it on a couple supported tours. The hub was quite fine, terrain was hilly but was I not fully loaded. Don't let the hub hold you back, as it is only one part of the whole bike set up.

Inpd

It has no FD so only 8 gears, no rack mounts, no fender mounts.

How could you tour on it?

Yan 

Actually, if you look at the picture, it clearly has both front and rear rack mounts, and even a RD hanger.

elcruxio

I think it looks ok. It does have rack and fender mounts so it allows for both lowriders up front as well as rear carrier in the back.
The issue with the 8 speed IGH isn't nearly as big as people make it out to be as swapping the rear cog for a larger one is dead easy. Sure, you'll lose quite some speed with the highest gears but that usually isn't a problem and you'll have a granny gear.
Dealing with IGH maintenance is also easier than with a derailer system, the chain lasts longer, swapping worn parts is cheaper and the rear wheel is potentially stronger

djb

unless I made a mistake, using sheldon browns gear calculator, it gives about 33 to 102 gear inches. I put in a 42t and 18t and a 700x32 wheel, and checked off shimano 8 speed alfine

mr jacket, this "33" number is a black and white number that easily gives you an idea of what low gearing is going to feel like, when compared to something you know for example. To give you an idea, on my first fullyloaded tour with four panniers, a tent and all that crap, my bike had about 25 gear inches for a low gear. I went somewhere where there were long steep hills and I soon realized that 25 wasnt low enough. I didnt know about gear inches at the time, but all i knew is that I need to get lower gearing, so when back, a bike store showed me how to change things and showed me charts to calculate the gear inches. After the change, I had about 21 g.i and trips afterwards were a lot easier on the knees.

really though, it depends on how much weight you will carry, and the terrain. But all in all, 33 gear inches is pretty high and wouldnt be fun going up hills, really hard on your knees and legs and would end up with your walking the bike up stuff--thats ok too, but really it comes down to how much the bike will cost you. You could find a used hybrid with regular gears, derailleurs, that would have much lower gearing for perhaps the same price as this "deal"--unknown cost to us at this point.

good luck with getting informed opinions based on the money involved.

Inpd

Your right. When i click on the link, it takes me to a different indie.

The IGH has nice long 450mm chain stays but the fork rake looks minimal so not sure how stable it will be.

OP can you take one for a spin, that will tell you lot. Also how long can you ride for on flatbars?

bradtx

Really, for a first time bike you could do much worse. It isn't ideal, but it's good enough for you to gain experience to know what does and what does not work for you without being punishing. The main criteria that has to be met is how well the bike fits you. You may need to try a couple of different frame sizes and try to have an experienced bicyclist give you advice.

Brad

fietsbob

Touring is what you do on a Bike .. If you like that bike, Go some where And You are touring.

A couple years ago 2 Guys From Sweden that had started in Alaska and were Riding down the West coast and then to Florida,

passed thru town .. on Shimano 8 speed IGH step thru bikes they shipped over here with them..

they had already been thru Alaska, Yukon, BC, Washington state, before they got this far.




'/,

mymorningjacket

Ill be buying this bike for around $350 considering its around $1000 brand new, im still highly considering.
Itll leave me lots of room to upgrade it. Now i dont have much experience with bikes but how easy would it be to change the gears to make it easier on hilly areas?
Only spending $300 leaves a lot of room for other purchases for the bike.
So yeah the stock bike by itself isnt amazing, but how would it be if i bought the correct parts for it?
So what would I need for this to be a good touring bike? New seat, handle bars, more gears..
Thanks.

fietsbob

You need to de fine what you mean by " correct "..

you always have the Two foot gear.. steep hill?. get off and push.

(British vernacular 'Push Bike' applies to bikes without motors)


Sprocket's size, Tooth count, on IGH, that ratio determines where its gear ratio range falls..





'/,

djb

for what its worth, you could buy it, use it for a while, see how it goes, and then easily sell it for the same amount you bought it for long down the road if and when you find you want a diff bike.

350htrr

I personally wouldn't tour with anything less than a 14 speed IGH. JMO