The belts are a great low maintenance feature found on several bikes. Riese & Muller is probably the largest ebike manufacturer to offer these on many of their models.Bulls also have the 2017 Lacuba E8 that uses the Shimano Nexus / Belt set up which is great.Once people know and hear about the benefits of going with a belt we should hopefully see more and more manufacturers producing models for the NA market. The issue, for now, is basically the price as many NA's are still very price sensitive vs many EU regions when it comes to how much they want to pay for their bikes.But the long-term benefits of these products should actually cost the owner less to operate and certainly require less maintenance which can be very convenient for a lot of people.regards,Will. Keith,On bikes like these for urban/recreational use, I really don't see any or have heard of any issues based on our experience on a Nexus / Gates setup. It has so far been a non-issue for us. I have heard rumors but have not seen anything anywhere where this set up has caused issues (just words but no pics or facts).We heard the same concerns when Cube introduced the SUV with the Nuvinci HSync electric shift / gates belt set up in 2016. From a stress / mechanical standpoint there were never any issues (however a few HSync modules had issues which Nuvinci corrected quickly).regards,Will.
Although they are efficient and work very well, I get it that derailleurs are mystical to some people, and their maintenance is messy. In that regard, the IGH and toothed-belt drive systems do make a lot of sense.Unlike chain, a belt needs to run at a high tension between the pulleys which increases bearing loads.
The teeth of a belt have a sliding engagement which creates more drag than roller chain. When a chain picks up debris or a pebble, it usually clears itself. A pebble in a belt system can stop rotation. Not so much a problem on bicycles which can use narrower, weaker, and more flexible belts, but belts have bend restrictions which limit small-pulley diameters.Most internally geared hubs are heavier than derailleur-and-cluster transmissions. Their internal complexity makes a derailleur look like a child's toy.
Fortunately, a good IGH can run for years without dealer service. The typical disappointment with the IGH has been their limited ratio range which has not been favorable for riding hills.As I see it, all the downsides of a belt-and-hub system can be engineered out if the market can tolerate the price. Yes, it is technically correct that some derailleur systems have a much higher range than an IGH.In practice, most electric bikes on the market use a 7 or 11 speed rear derailleur, which gives gear ratio ranges of around 300 percent or 410 percent, respectively. This compares poorly with a Rohloff hub at which has typically a 526 percent range. A Rohloff hub also has slightly less distance between the gears and the gears are more evenly distributed, which should help your pedaling efficiency (and since you are using a mid drive with that Rohloff, you get an even bigger efficiency boost).Now a 3-chainring by ten speed derailleur setup might have a range of 650 to almost 700 percent, but only have fifteen usable gears. Some cycle tourers I know are using custom made or modified cranksets that can give them a range of almost 900 percent (or so they claim), with the substantial caveat that you have to be damned careful in your shifting or you will have the chain come off the chainring.
Rohloff Hub For Sale
I remember in the past they had bikes that auto up shifted when climbing and downshifted when descending. I guess it just never caught on with the biking community. Now with more folks purchasing ebikes, I could see this coming back. Personally I prefer to shift manually just like I prefer to drive a 6-speed manual over an automatic.As for belts vs chains, both have their benefits and drawbacks. That's why the car industry still flips back and forth between timing belts and chains, with the current trend being chains.
When it comes to cars the number of manuals sold in the US is miniscule and most models no longer offer manual at all, so that fight is pretty much over. As for timing belts and chains the use of belts is just about over. They can be a bit more efficient but the catastrophic consequences if they break and the on-going expense of having to pay to replace them every 60k miles or so has made them so unpopular that even hold-outs like Honda have totally changed to timing chains. Not saying it will go the same way with eBikes but in the long term the marketplace tends to end up with the easiest and less costly to maintain solution. At a bike show last weekend I tried a couple of e-bikes with the Nuvinci rear hub.After those bikes I tried two bikes with derailleur gears.Honestly it felt like going back to medieval times. Gears crunching, waiting times for the chain to go from one end to the other of the rear cassette.
Rohloff Hub Manual Transmission
Stopping with the wrong gear made starting hard.I know the derailleur system is by far the most popular but I will never ever get another bike with it. IGH is the way to go. Nuvinci, Alfine, Rohloff. Anything but derailleur. At a bike show last weekend I tried a couple of e-bikes with the Nuvinci rear hub.After those bikes I tried two bikes with derailleur gears.Honestly it felt like going back to medieval times.
Gears crunching, waiting times for the chain to go from one end to the other of the rear cassette. Stopping with the wrong gear made starting hard.I know the derailleur system is by far the most popular but I will never ever get another bike with it. IGH is the way to go.
Rohloff Hub Problems
Nuvinci, Alfine, Rohloff. Anything but derailleur.