IGH gears vs. derailleur

[RobF]

But that was a later change by Shimano. Traditionally hub gear bikes always had 1/8" chain and sprockets until recently. I'm certain the reason for the change was simply to make it easier for Shimano to only make chainwheels and chainrings in one width.
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Quite possibly, although Herr Rohloff has always gone with 3/32".

 

[Woosh]

I wouldn't consider anything less than 7-speed. (Although I have run a FWD Ridgeback with a 2-speed SRAM Automatix & that was rather good.)

I would have thought that 5-speed IGH is enough for e-bikes.

 

[tommie]

I would have thought that 5-speed IGH is enough for e-bikes.

and even less imo,

with the Alfine 8 i`m always double-clicking up the gears to save time,

there`s enough torque to go with 4 - 5 gears

 

[flecc]

I would have thought that 5-speed IGH is enough for e-bikes.

Yes, as long as the gear range is adequate. I'm remembering Shimano's old 4 speed IGH that had 2% less gear range than their 3 speed, rather silly!
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[anotherkiwi]

I agree with flecc it isn't the number of gears but the range and a pedelec can get away with wider range between individual gears. Pinion has wide range e-bike specific boxes. Now that e-bike numbers have hit critical mass we should see specific cassettes too.

My current pet idea is a nexus 8 with a double chainring to cover riding in the mountains or on the plain. Easier/more flexible than changing sprockets before going for a ride.

 

[Croxden]

I would have thought that 5-speed IGH is enough for e-bikes.

I have 14, rarely use the first four unless out of charge.
Then I'm so glad they're there.

 

[flecc]

My current pet idea is a nexus 8 with a double chainring to cover riding in the mountains or on the plain. Easier/more flexible than changing sprockets before going for a ride.

Brompton have long had a variant of that idea by using a double sprocket on a Sturmey Archer 3 gear hub with a jockey wheel chain tensioner:

 

[Georgew]

On my Moulton TSR 27 I have a single chain-ring with a Sram Dual-drive and a 9 speed Der. This gives a good chain-line and a huge gear range but having e-assist does make these many gears superfluous. Handy if the battery gives out miles from home though as you know that you'll make it home by pedalling.

 

[Warwick]

The Sturmey 5-speed hub doesn't have a good reputation, and I'm not sure about the SRAM one. The more gears, the wider the gear range - usually - and the smaller the steps between gears. That is important for me, as my knees don't appreciate big jumps in gearing. If I could afford it, I'd be using an 11-speed Alfine hub as it would then be easier for me to find the cadence sweet spot. A Rohlhoff is a pipe dream...

The Ridgeback/Automatix combination worked well, however, but I had to accept that I would spin out at a lowish top speed. I needed the lower gear to be pretty low so my knees wouldn't baulk at starts. It's a nice idea, the Automatix, but feels very draggy.

I have a Brompton with the 2 x 3-speed set up and it works well. My Birdy has the Dual Drive transmission and that is also a great hub. My Mezzo has a Nexus 4-speed IGH set up and I'm not so sure about that as it falls between two stools.

 

[flecc]

The Sturmey 5-speed hub doesn't have a good reputation, and I'm not sure about the SRAM one.

The SRAM P5 is quite tough and has a useful 250% gear range. However it does suffer from a slow down change, the spring loaded plunger into the hub always rather sluggish. Therefore it's important to plan ahead and make the downchange to the right gear before hitting a hill.

There was also a P5 Cargo version, stronger but with slightly less gear range.
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[flecc]

My Mezzo has a Nexus 4-speed IGH set up and I'm not so sure about that as it falls between two stools.

That gear hub was discontinued by Shimano many years ago now. It only has a 198% gear range, while their 3 speed hub has 200%, something that has long been puzzling. It seemed to make the 4 speed pointless, apart from having closer ratios.
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[Warwick]

Just read elsewhere that SRAM are to stop making IGHs & producing spares...

 

[flecc]

Just read elsewhere that SRAM are to stop making IGHs & producing spares...

Yes. They tried a new design 9 speed which didn't get accepted in the market. Now that there's another maker of a dual drive and Sturmey have been revived by the Sunrace company, I think they've finally decided that their tiny share of the small IGH market isn't worth bothering with.
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[Forty45]

I know this is an old thread, but there is a lot of info about IGH's here;

Mid Drive Kits, Dump the Derailleur and get an IGH?

The popular Bafang BBS02 and BBSHD mid drives are introducing an entirely new generation to electric bikes. Many of these new ebikers are asking about the option of using an Internally Geared Hub (…

www.electricbike.com