# Internal gears for CX?



## SlowJoeCrow (Sep 3, 2009)

While hanging around in the line for the bike wash Sunday, and looking at a fellow racer's torn off derailleur the topic of internal gear hubs came up as a way to avoid clogging and breaking drive trains while still having multiple gears. Has anybody ever seen this and would there be some rule against it (like disk brakes pre-2011) or just weight/cost considerations? For top level riders with pit bikes and power washers I could see it as being unnecessary but mere mortals could benefit from something low maintenance.


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## c-lo (Sep 30, 2008)

This is being done in MTB's now. 

what's next....a motor so you don't have to pedal?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

I have a Shimano Alfine 11 rear hub on my city bike (one of the best available). It's pretty efficient but I wouldn't race on it. It's also heavy and makes the bike rear-heavy, it would be tougher to manage while running.


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## Gripped (Nov 27, 2002)

SlowJoeCrow said:


> For top level riders with pit bikes and power washers I could see it as being unnecessary but mere mortals could benefit from something low maintenance.


I've found SS to be extremely low maintenance and not particularly hindering my results.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

There is always the efficiency problem. People argue back and forth about it, but generally you need to have a reaaaaaaaally muddy drivetrain before internals catch up with traditional derailleurs. There is a bit of a weight penalty, but not much. I'm pretty sure they don't' make shifters compatible with drop bars, which is likely the closest thing to being 'against the rules'. 

I've always been curious of a HammerSchmidt/SS combo that would give you 2 gears. The lower, broader gear would lock out 1:1 for top efficiency and the higher gear could be used on road sections and starts where drivetrain efficiency could suffer in the name of cadence.


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## wibly wobly (Apr 23, 2009)

I don't know what the weight of something like this is but, it might do what you're thinking.


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## Digger90 (Nov 3, 2011)

Nice!


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## SlowJoeCrow (Sep 3, 2009)

kbiker3111 said:


> There is always the efficiency problem. People argue back and forth about it, but generally you need to have a reaaaaaaaally muddy drivetrain before internals catch up with traditional derailleurs. There is a bit of a weight penalty, but not much. I'm pretty sure they don't' make shifters compatible with drop bars, which is likely the closest thing to being 'against the rules'.


I was more concerned with the "getting you rear derailleur torn off" problem than pure efficiency but I guess weight and cost is a bigger issue since you can buy a lot of SRAM Rival for the price of one Rohloff.
As far as shifter compatibility, there are shifters that will work on drop bars, or since I was talking low level racing just run flat bars since local series rules permit them.


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## cyklopath (Feb 24, 2007)

At the Syllamo's revenge MTB race, I was surprised to see a number of internal geared bikes being raced. Mostly SS 29'rs that had been converted to run the Alfine hub. That race is a famous one for being muddy and tearing off rear der's, so the Alfines were to eliminate that just as others above had suggested.

Personally, I'd ride SS before I'd carry one of those hubs over the barriers..


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

Gripped said:


> I've found SS to be extremely low maintenance and not particularly hindering my results.


do you race against the geared bikes on the singlespeed? I find this a little tempting sometimes


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## Shojii (Nov 27, 2004)

Methinks building up a quiver of spare wheels would be a drag also...not to mention pricey.


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## Gripped (Nov 27, 2002)

jroden said:


> do you race against the geared bikes on the singlespeed? I find this a little tempting sometimes


No. We have pretty big SS fields here on the PacNW. However, we had a messy race this past weekend that is notorious for snapping off derailleurs. The second and third placed A racers ran SS. It was a flat ace.

Also, they run the SS and B race together staggered by 60 or 90 seconds. I always catch a large portion of the B field if the SS goes second and usually a few B racers ride past me if SS starts first.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

Shojii said:


> Methinks building up a quiver of spare wheels would be a drag also...not to mention pricey.


That's the biggest issue in my mind.


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## wvucyclist (Sep 6, 2007)

It's the multiple wheels that have held me back, but I've always wanted to try. There are drop bar shifters for 8 and 11 speed alfine hubs though.


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