OT: Bicycles with Internal Gear Hub

Here in Toronto I see many decades old bicycles still on the road, which is amazing considering the really extreme temperatures we have. Most of these bikes have a 3-speed internal gear hub, invariably made by Sturmey-Archer. The longevity of these bikes and the hub tells you something about the reliability of the internal gear hubs. Naturally, as a gearhead, I am intrigued by these hubs.

What makes them so attractive is the simplicity and they make the bicycle look clean without clutter. Many also come with a coaster brake, which allows you to forgo the handlebar mounted brakes. This is the reason I love single speed/fixed gear bicycles. I ride the single speed/fixie bike to work exclusively for many years, despite having many other bikes. At times, I do wish I could change gears for the occasional hills I had to climb, or when I really wanted to go faster without pedaling like mad, and the internal gear hub seems like a perfect fit; at least on the surface of it.

There are some limitations with internal gear hub. The major concern for me is the extra weight compared to a single speed/fixie. In fact, the gear hub weighs almost as much as the frame itself, and I do not like heavy bikes. Also, 3 speed seems limiting, and the 7, 8, 11 speed variance are too expensive. Finally, they are not as easy to put together as a normal single speed hub. I wanted to try it, regardless.

4-Speed Road Bike - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 100mm f2.8L IS Macro. Click for larger.

A little while ago, I bought a 26 inch rim that came with a 4-speed Shimano hub, and a matching shifter. After reading obakesan's "On yer bike" blog post, I decided to put a bike together with this hub. Since I don't have any frames that can take the 26 inch wheel, and besides, the rim is in terrible shape, I decided to remove the hub and re-lace it to a 700c rim. Lacing the wheel is a time consuming task, especially truing the wheel. I didn't do a proper job by using spokes with too small a gauge. Heavy hubs like this should use very strong spokes, but that was all I had around the house.

4-Speed Hub - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 100mm f2.8L IS Macro. Click for larger.

Mounting the hub is relatively straightforward, but there are couple of things to watch out for. Some hubs, like this one, uses anti-rotational washer (or non-turn washers), and you need to use the right one for the dropout your bike has. My bike has a slightly downward dropout but the washer matched it perfectly so I don't need to buy a different one. There are ones for horizontal, vertical, and other variations. Do not omit this washer as it secure the hub from rotating. Another thing to watch out for is the reaction arm, for those hubs that come with coaster brake. I made a very bad mistake by trying out the hub without securing the arm, I almost ruined the anti-rotational washer when the coaster braked engaged accidentally. Be sure the reaction arm is secured before testing/riding. The coaster brake is too sensitive, in my opinion. It engages too easily.

Shifter - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 100mm f2.8L IS Macro. Click for larger.

When all was finished, the bike is heavier than I would like, and it's rear-heavy. My crank is a Campagnolo with a 53-tooth chain ring, which is larger than most on single speed bikes, but I like it as it provide me with more speed. It's mated to a 20-tooth cog on hub. This proved to be a good combination for me. At lower gear, it's good enough to climb hills but at higher gear, it can go really fast. I would like to have more speed choices in between, but for this experiment, I am quite satisfied. It works better than I expected.

The hub shifts instantly and very smoothly and almost noiseless. A very pleasant change from external derailleurs where even the best ones make some noise. I would love to try a 7 or 8 speed version, but the cost is prohibitive for me. An 8-speed gear hub costs around $350, and an 11-speed is in the $800 zone, which is too much for me.

This experiment is an eye opener for me towards internal gear hubs. I think I will ride this one as my daily commuter. At the same time I got the hub, I also got a Shimano dynamo hub for the front; lots of fun to be had. Now you know why this month there are so few entries for my blog :)

1D III Gets Some Love

Spider Plants on Barb Wires -- 1D III & EF 100mm f2.8L Macro. Click for larger.

Every so often I would question if some of the gears I bought are sensible purchases and the answer often is no.  I can give many examples, but it may be too long for this post :)  One such item is the 1D III.  I really, really like this camera. The later version of this camera that had the sub mirror fixed in factory do not seem to exhibit focus problems.  At least not with the one I have.  But, I only use this camera a handful of times a year.  The NEX-5/5N gets the most use the 1D III only gets used when I need auto focus, like my kids sporting events.  I justified it by telling myself that when I need a camera to do AF work, get the best that I could afford.

The RAW files from the 1D III is so beautiful.  There are so much details available event in ISO 3200 and ISO 1600 is very very clean and I would not hesitate to use.  I would say at ISO 3200, the 1D III is better than the Sony NEX-5N.  The pixels are bigger in the 1D III, but it's almost five year old!

If only it were smaller and lighter.  I would carry it everywhere!

First Outting with the 1D Mark III

Butterfly -- 1D III & EF 100mm f2.8L Macro. Click for larger

Took out the 1D III for the first time since I bought it few weeks ago. Other than a few dozen test shots, I didn't really use the camera at all for real shooting. Took along the 100mm f2.8L macro lens. Very happy to say that the focus has been very good, though I still have not done too much testing with Servo (tracking) AF. Hopefully it will be as good as one-shot.

One thing I have noticed is that the exposure is not as accurate as the EVIL cameras or when the pictures are shot in live-view on the 1D III. They tend to over-expose. I guess this has been an issue before, just never thought about it since I have pretty much shot with the NEX exclusively for the last eight months.

On the Sony EVIL note, just read the Sonyalpha rumor that the NEX-7 has a 3-million pixel OLED viewfinder! Unfortunately, the sensor pixel count has increased to 24MP, which means the RAW files will be around 30-35MB or more. Just imagine, my first hard drive was 20MB RLL drive. It would not even hold one RAW NEX-5 file today. How technology has advanced.  But, I am looking forward to the NEX-7 to replace my much loved NEX-5.

Outing with an Old Friend

Fallen Petals -- 1D IIn & EF 100mm f2.8L Macro. Click to enlarge.

Chester emailed me that he just got a 1D III the other day and I immediately felt so guilty.  I have not used my 1D IIn for a l ong time except the swim meet in March of this year.  I did invest a lot of money into the Canon system, especially the lenses, but I found myself not using it much, and instead, prefer the lightweight and small NEX-5 with manual focus lenses.  Anyway, I decided to take the 1D IIn and the 100mm f2.8L macro lens, since we have finally got some colour and the weather is quite a bit warmer as we go deeper into spring.  For macro work, nothing beats a swivel screen, or even a tilt screen, for ground level shooting.  Shooting at low angle through the viewfinder is just awkward.

The EF 100mm f2.8L macro lens is one heck of a lens.  I may have to get rid of my 100mm f2, as the Image Stablization (IS) proves to be invaluable at low shutter speeds.  I meant to do a comparison of the two lenses, but never had the drive to do it.  Perhaps I have been waiting for the full frame camera to do it :)

Last Bit of Fall Colour

Last Bit of Autumn -- Canon 1D IIn & EF 100mm f2.8L IS Macro. Click for larger size. 

It's always sad to see autumn going away.  The last bit of fall colour signifies the coming of bone chilling winter.  Having lived in Canada for 30 years, I am still not completely used to winter.  I don't really mind it, but prefer warmer temperatures.  The good thing about where I live, is that each season  is distinctively different, unlike warmer places like California, or Florida, where the weather is pretty much the same all year round.