Tequila Joe

2008 Rocky Mountain Metropolis.

A IGH is a fantastic drivetrain for a commuter especially for foul weather. My Alfine has been flawless thus far.

Hot Potato

Dynamic Synergy. Been out for about a year?

https://www.dynamicbicycles.com/buy/Bikes.php?prodid=75

World's first drop bar road bike to use an Alfine, according to the website.

Edit: D'oh! Already mentioned.

zoodude

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/b...os8/index.html

sheldon brown likes em.


i personally have a schwinn sporterria nx8. i like the flat bars for commuting no matter what the distance simply due to the amount of control and comfort it gives. In a tight situation i rather be upright than caught in the drops....

kmcrawford111

One thing I have learned with my IGH is that you want to put more emphasis on having a robust tire. Fixing a rear flat on my Swobo Dixon is kind of a big deal - it isn't terribly hard to get the wheel off (though there is an extra step or two), but I have to worry about putting the axle back in the dropout in just the right place on each side to get the right chain tension and the wheel in straight. (I use allen bits for measurement). And for some reason, the disc brake often needs a little adjustment. Don't understand that one. I'm looking forward to the way I wear out the exisitng tire so I can replace it with one of my spares - a Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

Come to think of it, the next time I take the tire off at home I'll just put the M+ on then, and save the weaker tires for the front. After the winter anyway, because I have studs on now. The Kenda Kwests that came with the bike are advertised as being highly puncture resistance but I wouldn't buy them alone.

Fixing a rear flat on a bike with derailleurs is also messy, but at least you don't have to fuss with any adjustments.

rhm

Okay, but where you're talking about bikes, I'm talking about components. Ever since I outgrew the shiny new 1973 Schwinn Speedster I got for my 11th birthday, I have customized my bikes to suit my needs. Over the years I've learned what components I'm willing to pay extra for, and which ones I'm not. I wouldn't expect any commuter bike to come with a $300 LED lighting system, and frankly even the dynamo hub is a pretty minor upgrade. Regardless which one you chose, they exist. For example, if you want a dynamo hub that fits in a 16" wheel and doesn't blow up conventional lights, you get a Schmidt; it's pricey, but your LBS can order one for you, and problem solved. If you want to go cheap, you can put a conventional dynamo hub in a little wheel and build your own LED lights; all the electronic components are out there, and you can buy them over the internet. Of course most people aren't going to go to that level of aggravation, but the option is there for those who chose it.

The problem with the IGH / drop bar combination is real. No hub manufacturer makes an IGH hub shifter sized for road bike bars (15/16", AKA 23.8 mm). This is not a problem your LBS can solve, and the only DIY options involve a machine shop.

tedi k wardhana

sorry, maybe slightly off topic,
the last one year I commute on my 3sp IG 16" wheel folder.
I am planning to convert my single speed roadbike to 3sp igh with coasterbrake, just like my folder.
I am no fan of dropbars, so I will not have problem with the gripshifter.
(but hey, I might hide the shifter somewhere under my seat, so my handlebar would be as clean as a beach cruiser bike.....)

paul2432

There are some DIY options to mount a twist grip shifter on drop bars.

One is a split handle bar with a mountain diameter section.

https://viksbigdummy.blogspot.com/200...-drop-bar.html

Another is a Minaura accessory bar.

https://www.amazon.com/Minoura-Space-.../dp/B000BMUF1G

Paul

tcs

Actually, boy and girls, riders used Sturmey three- and -four speed hubs & trigger shifters on dropped bar bikes for decades. Successful; nobody ever seemed to complain (this was the same era that derailleur users shifted from the downtube and didn't complain).

The modern paradigm equates drop bars with brifters. To that end, I've been shifting my T3 hub with a low end Shimano LH triple brifter for several years now - works fine, but a lot more expensive and IMO not any better than an SRF3 with a classic Sturmey trigger.

HTH,
tcs

rhm

Hey, you're preaching to the choir now! Here's the trigger shifter on my 1950 Norman.
But it's not so easy with a Nexus Inter-8 or SA XRF8.

I've tried the split handlebar thing, and I've used a flat bar with drop ends; both are workable solutions, but I haven't tweaked either one to perfection yet. DIY is fine with me, but I do wish the industry would tackle this problem for me.

chucky

They're not too complex. Just that most LBSes are stupid, lazy, and incompetent. So as usual if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.

modernjess

There may not be that many off the rack options is this niche category. But come to think of it, I don't own any off the rack bikes. I run Alfine 8 on my Crosscheck with drop bars and a Jtek shifter bar end. It's an awesome set up.

The Jtek shifter is perfect, precise, and bullet proof. When I first got it Jay Guthrie the owner of JTek was responsive and helpful when I had stupid questions. Unfortunatley he had to cease production for a time due to his battle with cancer. But JTek is now back in business being run by his son. Good people, and good products.

https://jtekengineering.com/

Tequila Joe

Has anyone run a regular friction bar end shifter with a IGH?

SlowRoller

AFAIK, they won't work on anything with more than three gears. Not enough cable pull. I've also read that it can prematurely wear down your IGH.

SlimAgainSoon

I put an Alfine on my utility bike. Liked it so much I decided to move it to a new commuter I am putting together.

IGH ... I'm a big fan.

Using the Shimano trigger shifters (RapidFire?).

Not a drop bar but old-fashioned "English Racer" bars. This is on a Robin Hood.

As for handlebars on the new bike, it will probably have ... I haven't decided. I like drop bars, but, to be honest, I rarely ride in the drops.

tatfiend 

For drop bars and Shimano 7 and 8 speed hubs the Jtek is an excellent solution that is also an option for the Sunrace Sturmey Archer 8 speed hubs. I am using one on a drop bar Alfine hub bike. Unfortunately it is not available for SRAM iM9 or Rohloff hubs as both use LOTS of cable pull to shift full range and the Rohloff uses a dual cable pull-pull shift mechanism design with the shifting indexing in the hub. For those either the split handlebar, Hubbub or something like the Minoura accessory mount to allow mounting the twist shifter are necessary. I am using a home machined version of the Hubbub with a drop bar and the SRAM P5 hub and shifter on one bike and it works fine.

If you have a bike with a old style stem then a short straight bar end clamped to the stem can also provide a mount for a twist grip style shifter. IIRC this is shown in a photo on the Harris Cyclery web site.

I agree that the manufacturers of IGH units are ignoring the needs of those who want drop bar IGH shifting but historically such riders have been a small minority of the market. Remember that historically IGH bikes have been city bikes or upright commuters in the major markets for IGH units, Europe and Japan. Historically Great Britain is the only country with a tradition of sporting bike use of IGH units and SA made a number of close ratio and medium ratio hubs for such use until the derailleur took over the sports bike market.

SlowRoller

Depending on your tastes, I think the Nitto Lamp Holder is a nice-looking, although more expensive, alternative to the Minoura: https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...roducts_id=873

RayB

I am using the alfine with jtek adapter on my Trek 520 with drop bars and love it for long distance commuting. Mind you where I live is pretty flat, but I will never go back to a standard setup if I can help it....

Lot's Knife

Shimano 3 here, and we don't really have bad weather. It just looks elegant.

ScottCarney

Surly CrossCheck, Nexus 8, Hub Bub bar-end adaptor and twist shift. I put about 3000 commuting miles on this bike between Leiden and Amsterdam and Leiden and Delft last spring. I now commute 8km rt in Illinois.

You might note that the terrain in both places has something in common. The IGH is really bloody heavy, but it's a good trade where I've used it.

HandsomeRyan

This is my IGH commuter setup-




SRAM S-7 IGH shoved into the back of a Motobecane Messenger [formerly fixed gear]

Since I am currently unemployed (hence I have no job to commute to) and I also own a Detour Deluxe I took the S-7 wheel off and converted it back to SS and added a new form of 'utility' with a homemade front rack.
This is what the bike looks like today-

daredevil

Been all over this forum trying to get an answer to a question about the Alfine 8. Mine seems to slip a tiny bit occasionally. Should this be expected? It's just a bit of a soft spot in the pedal stroke in certain gears. Or should it feel no different than a regular geared bike?

Elkhound

Three of my four machines have IGS:

1. Trek Mountaineer, converted with a NuVinci CVT.
2. Surly Big Dummy, Rolhoff 14-speed IHG (and a Stokemonkey, so some may say it is cheating; in my defense, I use it mostly when I have to go up into the serious hills and/or have a very heavy load.
3. A Greenspeed tadpole tricumbent; Shimano 8 speed with a Schlumpf.

Number four is a Montegue Paratrooper; I plan to convert it to an IHG soon.

daredevil

So any chance you can help with my question? This is an oldish thread I resurrected after a search to try to get some answers. Thanks

badmother

Did you make sure the hub is adjusted as it should? If it is I think you should just ride it. If not do it, or have it done.

daredevil

Took a couple days to finally get the answer but it turns out my hub is adjusted fine. The feel I get is typical of IGH I find because of the clutch.