9 speed internal gearing by Sram - testing...

[recumbent]

Bought this i-9 hub at my local bike store. They spoked it into a new wheel for a total cost of about $680 CDN. Includes $60 extra for the shifter and $80 for the wheel.

a) best part of the hub is shifing while stopped, or anytime for that matter, it's instant. Grab the well indicated gear dial and crank down 6 gears (or more) in a second and your there. No need to turn the cranks, ideal for Ebiking in city traffic.

b) next best part, no derailer hangers, or gear clusters, which means a stronger, non-dished wheel.
This stronger rear wheel is very noticable for those of us carrying 12 LBS of batteries in our panniers. Less rear-end wobble when loaded with groceries.

c) finally, only one front gear ring. Although you can use more front chain rings, you would need a gear tensioner (hanger) also. For Ebikes, 9 gears are plenty. I use a 48T front ring.

Main drawbacks: after only 500 kms (300mi) besides the high Price is the lack of selection of shifters, I could only get the combo brake & dial kit. They work well, and look nice, but I'd like to upgrade to hydraulic brakes but cannot until they have more selection of shifters, which are soon to arrive according to gossip.

 

[recumbent]

Here's a picture of the whole bike so you have a better perspective.

I completely wore-out the original 9sp derailer gear train after 8,000Km's (6,000mi) of riding, including the front chainring, tires, and chain.

 

[torker]

I have always wanted to try an internal hub. I love the simplicity and shifting while stopped. Also on my 20" rear recumbent the lower part of the deraileur is about an inch off the ground. That should hold up really well. What kind of throttle do you use?

 

[recumbent]

I have always wanted to try an internal hub. What kind of throttle do you use?

Half twist throttle mounted on the left hand side.

The 7spd hubs Shimano makes are half the price if your interested.

Here's another picture of my tucked away chainline, I've ruined many pairs of pants with this chain, no more.

 

[recumbent]

Here's another angle...

 

[EVnewbie]

Looks good, recumbent

That tire shot, is that your back tire? Let me guess, Schwalbe Marathon? I've never worn one of those out but I'm working on a 20x1.75 Marathon Plus on the back of my wife's recumbent. 4,500 miles and counting with maybe 40% worn.
Hear that i9 is a great hub, like the way it has the shifter cabled connected to it now. Now weirdness sticking out off the axle to get hit.

 

[recumbent]

is that your back tire? Let me guess, Schwalbe Marathon? I've never worn one of those out but I'm working on a 20x1.75 Marathon Plus on the back of my wife's recumbent. 4,500 miles and counting with maybe 40% worn.

Yes, that was my rear tire, and it was indeed a Marathon Plus tire like your wife has, however my tire was a goner at 4,500miles. Just goes to show that underinflation is not good.

I was addicted to the smooth cushy ride and left the tire too low (about 30lbs pressure). This time i ordered a larger diameter tire, 26x2.00 instead of 1.75.

 

[mud2005]

coolness, I really like the sleek look of the hub without the derailleur and the fact you can shift standing still. I have a feeling my next build is going to include one of these hubs.
thanks for the review and pics

 

[spinningmagnets]

With quality gears running inside a sealed oil-bath, you will get a LOT more than 6,000 miles from the new hub.

 

[Papa]

With quality gears running inside a sealed oil-bath, you will get a LOT more than 6,000 miles from the new hub.

I agree. But the only, currently produced hub that I'm aware of that baths the gears in oil, is a $1200 Rohloff Speedhub.

http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/

 

[spinningmagnets]

Ahhh. I see,... said the blind carpenter as he picked up the hammer and saw. The 9-speed has grease inside?

 

[torker]

That is an awesome hub. Of course it cost more than my whole bike/ homebuilt. I hope that the 7 speeds will come down more in price now that they are making 8 &9 speeds. Then again they will probably phase out the 7 speeds. Is that a tour easy or mach I frame?

 

[MitchJi]

Hi SM,

Ahhh. I see,... said the blind carpenter as he picked up the hammer and saw. The 9-speed has grease inside?

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7468&p=113229&hilit=alfine+rohloff#p113434

...I have a non-suspension cargo bike we developed for postal delivery with a the Shimano Nexus hub and the handling difference [due to weight] is undetectable, and we tried very hard to detect it. They're extremely reliable and after about 6 months the trick is to open it up, pull out the mechanism and wash all the grease out then dunk it in light gear oil, sit to allow the excess to oil run off and then re-install. It's a 10 minute job and you won't believe the performance after that. Repeat every 6 months. Another downside is that it is a bit of a pain to change a tire.

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/hub-stripping-tips/
http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/alfine-shimano/

...When you need a silent, easy shifting hub take the Shimano Alfine. When you need a real gear more, harmonical gear steps and a easy mounting and dismounting hub go for the SRAM i-MOTION 9.)...

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/i-motion-9-sram/

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7192&p=190563&hilit=velovision#p190563

Nice Velo Vision Review/Comparison from March 2008 of Nuvinci, Rohloff, Nexus Alfine 8 and SRAM iMotion 9 Geared Hubs:
http://www.velovision.com/mag/issue29/vv29hubgears.pdf

There’s a common link between the bikes we’ve reviewed so far this issue: they all use internal hub gears – and not just any hub gears, but the newest and latest from Shimano, Rohloff and NuVinci. As I’d also fitted the new SRAM 9-speed to my town bike, the stage was set for a four-way shoot-out.