I've been on this site for a while now and don't think I have ever seen a definitive answer on what internal geared hubs will break and which ones won't under normal 2 stroke 2 hp motor bicycle motoring. Some have said that a Shamano enter 3 will hang with a 48cc China girl with no problems. But I wonder about an 80cc (66cc) China girl. Or a 2 1/2 hp 4 stroke Greyhound ? I know "someone" must have bought a hub at Jensen USA on this forum. If so you must have had good luck with it because I called Jensen and asked them and they say they never have any of there Internal gear hubs come back, Sturmey or Shamano ? Something just doesn't seem to add up as far as the info that has been being passed around and the truth about Motorbike vs. internal geared hubs. Please, any of you forum members that have had any actual experience with internal geared hubs on motored bikes please step up and be heard. So we will not depend on all this hearsay about IGHs. Thank you for your input.
Internal geared hubs, Whats good,What ain't
- Thread starter 4950cycle
- Start date
I'm using Shimano Alfine 8 speed IGH. Actually, this IGH has outlast 2 of my engines which got burned due to needle bearing failures. The thing about IGH is that your gear calibration adjustments should be as precise as possible and taking into account cable stretching. Also, try using low friction cable housing and cables, and make sure the cables does not snag or has a delay in response when shifting. The Shimano Alfine is designed for off road with triple clutch shifting, so I think it can handle the engine torque and power. Rohloff would also be good but too expensive for my budget. Next best thing is the Shimano 11-speed IGH.
I'm using 66cc HT engine with SBP shifter kit. I prefer IGH, because you can shift gears without pedaling, and keeps the chain in line.
I'm using 66cc HT engine with SBP shifter kit. I prefer IGH, because you can shift gears without pedaling, and keeps the chain in line.
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I can report that the Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub that I used later on the Felt Slater is still holding up strong!!
http://motorbicycling.com/f41/felt-slater-mb-project-24627.html
http://motorbicycling.com/f41/felt-slater-mb-project-24627.html
Pleased to report my comparatively inexpensive & simple Sturmey Archer X-RD3 3-Speed w/drum brake has held up beautifully for thousands of miles now 
Thank you sooooo.. much for some actual "REAL" (I hope)lol feedback ! I like the idea of a 3 3/4 lbs.(Alfine 8) package better than the 12 POUND ! Nuvinci alternitive. And I have actual feedback on the Nuvinci slipping at higher (Highway gear) ratios under motor power. But, just like you fellas he didn't give me any engine size...ccs or HP ? And I don't believe anybody expects any IGHs to handle 4 3/4 hp or better. Especially 4 stroke torquey power) But hey, we know more now than we did when I started this thread ! Any actual performance (speeds in certain gears) data would be greatly appreciated too (again don't forget to state engine size and/or mods). I know with small motors the top speed doesn't climb much with gears, but I bet versitility and enjoyment ratings are probably higher . PS Great pic BarelyAwake
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my Nuvinci N360 was fun for a while.. then it came open and all the fluid ran out.. i got like 50miles out of it. all in all a huge wast of money there..
i just went with the derailleur setup for about 1/3 the price. just as reliable, cheep and easy to fix. plus you dont need to pay to have spokes made or have your wheel laced up that way either.
i hope your alfine works out. i think the geared hubs are slick and wish mine would have worked out.. but all i got was a $400 lesson. dont buy a NuVinci N360 for a motorized bike!
i just went with the derailleur setup for about 1/3 the price. just as reliable, cheep and easy to fix. plus you dont need to pay to have spokes made or have your wheel laced up that way either.
i hope your alfine works out. i think the geared hubs are slick and wish mine would have worked out.. but all i got was a $400 lesson. dont buy a NuVinci N360 for a motorized bike!
Thank you soo.. much once more Earl. You did the right thing by comming out and just saying I got stung. I bet a lot of guys on these forums know what won't work but are just to embarassed to admit they made a boo boo. My first instinct was to buy a Nuvinci. According to you I'm glad, very glad I didn't. Don't feel stupid Earl. That could have just as easily been me and I ain't no dumby .lol What kind of motor power were you running thrue it "the Nuvy" ? And BTW I don't have an Alfine 8 yet. I'm still sniffin around for one I can afford. But I'm pretty sure my sights are set on one. I would like one more confirmation on that hub though.
So much info on IGHs is comming out on this thread. I'm impressed that dudes are finally saying what has actually happened with their IGH wheel builds.
i was running a 66cc shyhawk through it.. i was breaking in a motor with it, so i was easy on the hub. then i replaced that motor because of some defects. the second skyhawk started to break in and gain power then it blew up.
the whole time i had the hub on i was easy on it and road slow because my motor was new. and i dident know what the hub could handle. once i put some power through it the hub failed hard.
all this aside, im only one person with one hub. it could have been a defective $300 hub. and if im wrong about the n360 i feel bad for talking someone out of buying it. some people use it without trouble and like it..
but if someone would have told me this it would have saved me alot of time and money.
the whole time i had the hub on i was easy on it and road slow because my motor was new. and i dident know what the hub could handle. once i put some power through it the hub failed hard.
all this aside, im only one person with one hub. it could have been a defective $300 hub. and if im wrong about the n360 i feel bad for talking someone out of buying it. some people use it without trouble and like it..
but if someone would have told me this it would have saved me alot of time and money.
Thanks Earl, I think I will have to hear more than one guy say the Nuvy works just fine though from here on out.
Great thread, and tnx for the reports.
Seems to me the deraileur shifter bike guys are the happiest of the multi-speed bunch???
Well, the CVT guys just whoosh away!
rc
Seems to me the deraileur shifter bike guys are the happiest of the multi-speed bunch???
Well, the CVT guys just whoosh away!
rc
i think that the derailleur setup is the way to go.. even if there is a geared hub out there that will hold up, and im sure there is. it will coast more then its really worth. i could have built another bike with the money i spent on my hub and install.. and it still failed.
the derailleur setup is easy to set up yourself. you dont have to rebuild your wheel. its a fraction of the price. and if something dose break, its cheep and easy to fix yourself with again no wheel building.
here is my rundown on the N-360 VS. derailleur setup
at 1/4 the price you will pay for a n-360 you can have just as much fun and alot less problems with the derailleur setup.
the derailleur setup is easy to set up yourself. you dont have to rebuild your wheel. its a fraction of the price. and if something dose break, its cheep and easy to fix yourself with again no wheel building.
here is my rundown on the N-360 VS. derailleur setup
at 1/4 the price you will pay for a n-360 you can have just as much fun and alot less problems with the derailleur setup.
The derailleur is definitely the least expensive way to go. But for some builds it isn't much of an option. Like Barelyawake I have a fondness for vintage rides, so we're talking about an internally geared hub or no gears. His was a 1940's Rollfast (I believe it was forties, might have been older yet). Mine is a 1934 Elgin. I recently bought the same 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub Barely is using. His awesome thousand and more miles on it convinced me it will serve me well in my needs. I have no interest in pushing the speed limit or really hot dogging it to get the most our of the PK-80 engine on the bike. I want to be able to climb hills and to cruise without pushing the engine. For my needs three speeds will be enough. With shipping it came to around $75.00 from Amazon, so that it very reasonable. True, you have to lace it into a wheel, but that too is something any of us can learn. If I did, anybody can. I can't tell you how it is working out because I'm not that far along in the build... still waiting for the do-re-mi for the shift kit.
SB
SB
It seems the derailer guys are gonna end up possibly taking this thread over. Sure doe's make me sick that I didn't finish designing and make that idea I had after I saw an Autobike back in the late 80s with a ratcheting front chain ring. Its basicly the same idea is what makes SBP design work. I saw the ratchet front chainring and came up with the same idea 21 or so yrs ago and didn't think there would ever be enough people interested in a mutigeared motrized bicycle and he saw it and thought there would be obviously. I had more important things to do back then "yea right" lol
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I'm wondering why the guys with the cargo hauling hubs overseas aren't chimeing in on this topic. I have heard they are pretty tough. I think Rohoff makes at least one. But that must be what Technocyclist from somewhere in Asia was talking about I guess.
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dont get me wrong here. if i knew of a hub that could with out a doubt hold up to my needs. and dident coast $800-$1200 like most Rolofs iv seen, i would own one.
i should have went with the Sturmey Archer 8 speed like i was thinking about.. before NuVinci sucked me in with there seamless shifting bull. seamless till your leaking gray fluid all over the road 15 miles from home. at half the price the for the sturmey archer, it would have only been half as upsetting when it broke.
i should have went with the Sturmey Archer 8 speed like i was thinking about.. before NuVinci sucked me in with there seamless shifting bull. seamless till your leaking gray fluid all over the road 15 miles from home. at half the price the for the sturmey archer, it would have only been half as upsetting when it broke.
Yea, and BTW a SBP shiftkit aint cheap either as Silverbear indicated above. Remember, you gotta buy more stuff after that. The shift kit is not all you need to go down the road. It is a niffty gadget though. I know, I invented it 21 yrs ago. LOL
oops, sorry 'bout that
My shiftkit/Sturmey Archer X-RD3 3-Speed w/drum brake is pushed by a 66cc Grubee Skyhawk, lightly modded as here: http://motorbicycling.com/f52/basics-port-polish-port-matching-16646.html w/a SBP expansion chamber & a CNS V1 carby (apparently the only version to work well lol), the hub has well over four thousand miles on it now, but I also don't beat on it by "speedshifting" (not backing off throttle while shifting gears).
Thanks
I don't bother to babble speeds save to say it's plenty fast 'nuff fer a 70yo bike lol, also gears don't increase your top end anyway - they get ya there faster (final gearing is final, regardless of how many ya used to get there) - if anything mutigear setups would be a tiny fraction slower in top speed than the same engine w/o as there's increased friction drag (bearings, cogs & chains).... provided the finals were the same ofc.
However, having ridden w/gears & without I'll defo include a jackshaft & gearing in any/all my builds - it's so worth the bother & expense. Not only do I think acceleration is critically important (getting the heck outa the way crossing a street/intersection/whatever) but it also provides a far more comfortable ride, the RPMs at cruise speed are greatly reduced as is felt vibration (no kit idler is also part of this).
Ya don't hafta buy a shiftkit (tho it is the easiest option), it's a pretty straightforward fabrication project if you've access to a welder, there's a buncha of DIY jackshaft examples on the forum if yer interested
Ya wonna see jackshaft mayhem, Check out my rear rack Greyhound full suspension Mongoose build on the other MB website under the Mountainbike section. Its got the lightest flange bearings I could find, 1/2 inch aluminum stock for the shaft, 2 speeds via 2 secondary pulley sizes that can be derailed by hand or have a remote derailer installed. Whizzer wheel sheave to accomidate quiet belt drive. Works and rides pretty good. I tranported a motorcycle seat to be recovered on it today . She's a nice quiet rig. Sorry, I got off topic a little.
