# IGH with fat tired bike?



## Ant-Eater (Aug 25, 2011)

Does anyone have any experience with using an IGH on a fat tire bike. More specifically, I'm thinking of building up a Pugsley with a SRAM i9 hub for winter use. It does get cold here and was wondering if there are any issues with an IGH. I've seen -40F here but I doubt I'd be going out in anything below -10F. Teens and 20s would probably be more common riding temperatures. Any thoughts?


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## Drew Diller (Jan 4, 2010)

SRAM i9 - not such a good reputation.

Several people up in Alaska have ridden / still ride Alfine 8 hubs.

I've been riding Alfine 8 and NuVinci N360. -10F is my personal limit and both hubs did fine at that temp.

I've heard about one person having their Alfine shift actuator freeze at the hub, literally because of ice buildup. But if you've done winter biking, you know what to do about that in a worse case scenario 

(Be sure to wash your hub later on! Gross.)

I thought at first that my NuVinci was draggy in the cold... turned out to be my low quality bottom bracket bearings. They got stiff and at one point, my BB unthreaded itself while pedaling. That was *not* a very fun reason to call for a quasi-emergency pick up (I was okay).

I also like the fact that, with an internal gear hub, you can lie the bike on its right side without thinking of breaking a derailleur. This _helps_ (not guarantees) to keep your brake rotors free of ice so you don't have to pre-scrub the brake or find yourself having an oh-****-where-are-my-brakes moment.


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## jnl1105 (Oct 3, 2011)

I run an alfine 11 on my fat tire but have not had the opportunity to try it in the cold....
I have the nuvinci on my 29er and luv it. I am seriously considering going to a nuvinci on my fat tire as I do like it better


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## Drew Diller (Jan 4, 2010)

Speaking of - NuVinci Pug is up for sale.

2008 18" Pugsley w/ John Deere paint

(Are CL ads ok here? I guess I could understand if this gets deleted.)


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## ADV (Jun 7, 2009)

I run a Alfine 8 on my Schlick Northpaw so far I really like it. We had a very mild winter last year so i did not get much snow/slush riding in but I know sand water mud its just fine. I currently have it geared as a 32x22 but I am going down to a 32x24 soon.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Pugsley with Alfine 8 - down to -40 deg C with windchill for a few hours at a time. Below -20 deg C for all day rides.

No problems at all. Never wished I had derailleur gears on my fat bike...:thumbsup:


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## pursuiter (May 28, 2008)

Forget the i9, I had one on an MTB, it wasn't up to it. I have a Pugs and a Moonlander running the Alfine 8, very nice for all weather conditions. Using a Shimano IGH on an MTB is a non-standard application, be ready to become involved in the process. Many LBS's aren't up to speed and if something goes wrong they may not be able to fix/solve the issue.


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## john_dalhart (Nov 6, 2009)

vikb said:


> Pugsley with Alfine 8 - down to -40 deg C with windchill for a few hours at a time. Below -20 deg C for all day rides.


Windchill has no effect on or meaning to the operation of IGHs.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

john_dalhart said:


> Windchill has no effect on or meaning to the operation of IGHs.


Thanx for that , interesting ! :thumbsup:


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

john_dalhart said:


> Windchill has no effect on or meaning to the operation of IGHs.


I've never seen an IGH that pedaled itself....hahahaha....


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## Canoe (May 10, 2011)

john_dalhart said:


> Windchill has no effect on or meaning to the operation of IGHs.


Cool! Where'd you get the frictionless IGH?


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## Yoreskillz (Feb 10, 2011)

Can't help with the cold weather portion of the discussion at this time as I got my Alfine 8 late Spring and a Rohloff a few weeks ago, but I fully intend to use a Rohloff on my Moonlander this winter. Last winter was quite mild for many areas and N.UT was no exception, hoping for more accumulation this year.


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