Bikes with shaft-drive?

[Etherealicer]

I doubt we'll see many road bikes with shaft drive, but there's plenty of commuters riding city/urban/cargo bicycles who would love one

Pair it with a Rolhof hub gear and you've got a killer year round bicycle

Sent from the astropathic choir.

I love my Rolhoff Hub, but wouldn't want it with shaft drive (there are gears that have some vibration, for the same reason full chain encasing is not recommended, as this will acoustically enhance the vibrations).

No, I would rather combine the Rolhoff Hub with a belt. Low maintenance and low noise.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I've not got a Rolhoff (would bloody love one!) So I didnt realise that it wouldn't work

A belt is a damn good substitute though

[Etherealicer]

I've not got a Rolhoff (would bloody love one!) So I didnt realise that it wouldn't work

A belt is a damn good substitute though

I got mine second hand, smoothest gear box you will ever drive from my brother (too much money, no time to ride it ). Shifts very quickly, awesome gear range. The only drawback is those vibrations, with a normal chain setup you practically don't notice unless you have something like a gear shaft, or full chain cover.
Maybe it would work with a Pinion Gearbox, altough those are as pricey as the Rohloff.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I was always hoping that the other companies would of come up with a cheaper rival. The alfine is supposed to be close bit still not as good but even that's bloody expensive

I just stick to looking at them longingly

[hiraethus]

I built a shaft driven bike while I was at university - inspired by the BMW motorbike design where the single sided rear sub frame is the support structure for the shaft - no traditional triangular seat and chainstays.  This had a couple of advantages such as completely enclosing the drivetrain and allowing easy access to the tyres to fix a puncture.  It was heavy and inefficient though - the shafts work nicely if you've got plenty of power to play with and can suffer some losses but the gears need to be large to handle the amount of torque on a bike.  I couldn't integrate gears or brakes into it either, so real world applications were limited...

I've used an 8 speed Shimano Alfine gear hub for a few hundred miles (on a Mike Burrows Recumbent ) and that was very nice but still quite hefty.  The 11 speed version should be better - helical gears and an oil bath instead of grease should make it quieter and it's got almost as much range as the Rohloff for quite a lot less money.  There are reports that it's not as robust as the 8 speed version though.

The Gates carbon belt drives have their issues such as the belts slipping under load and needing to feed the belt through the frame.  The ultimate reliable bike for me would be a fixed gear with mudguards and disc brakes, maybe with a chain case.  I've ridden thousands of miles on fixed over the last 8 years or so and with regular maintenance (chuck the chain away every 3000 miles, new cog every 6000 and a new ring every 12000 or so) they just keep going.

[Zed]

I built a shaft driven bike while I was at university - inspired by the BMW motorbike design where the single sided rear sub frame is the support structure for the shaft - no traditional triangular seat and chainstays.  This had a couple of advantages such as completely enclosing the drivetrain and allowing easy access to the tyres to fix a puncture.  It was heavy and inefficient though - the shafts work nicely if you've got plenty of power to play with and can suffer some losses but the gears need to be large to handle the amount of torque on a bike.  I couldn't integrate gears or brakes into it either, so real world applications were limited...

I've used an 8 speed Shimano Alfine gear hub for a few hundred miles (on a Mike Burrows Recumbent ) and that was very nice but still quite hefty.  The 11 speed version should be better - helical gears and an oil bath instead of grease should make it quieter and it's got almost as much range as the Rohloff for quite a lot less money.  There are reports that it's not as robust as the 8 speed version though.

The Gates carbon belt drives have their issues such as the belts slipping under load and needing to feed the belt through the frame.  The ultimate reliable bike for me would be a fixed gear with mudguards and disc brakes, maybe with a chain case.  I've ridden thousands of miles on fixed over the last 8 years or so and with regular maintenance (chuck the chain away every 3000 miles, new cog every 6000 and a new ring every 12000 or so) they just keep going.

I mentioned fixed gear bike above as like you say they are very reliable and almost maintenance free  i trained on a fixed gear back in the late 80's till around 96 and loved them,did buy one a few years back but found it harder this time switching from fixed to free geared bike,ive got a 1950's falcon in my shed that one day ill build my ideal winter hack fixie,its been in my shed for about 8 years next to my zaskar project  mike burrows the man who built boardmans lotus bike  very cool,saw him at cyclex many years ago 

[Etherealicer]

I built a shaft driven bike while I was at university - inspired by the BMW motorbike design where the single sided rear sub frame is the support structure for the shaft - no traditional triangular seat and chainstays.  This had a couple of advantages such as completely enclosing the drivetrain and allowing easy access to the tyres to fix a puncture.  It was heavy and inefficient though - the shafts work nicely if you've got plenty of power to play with and can suffer some losses but the gears need to be large to handle the amount of torque on a bike.  I couldn't integrate gears or brakes into it either, so real world applications were limited...

I've used an 8 speed Shimano Alfine gear hub for a few hundred miles (on a Mike Burrows Recumbent ) and that was very nice but still quite hefty.  The 11 speed version should be better - helical gears and an oil bath instead of grease should make it quieter and it's got almost as much range as the Rohloff for quite a lot less money.  There are reports that it's not as robust as the 8 speed version though.

The Gates carbon belt drives have their issues such as the belts slipping under load and needing to feed the belt through the frame.  The ultimate reliable bike for me would be a fixed gear with mudguards and disc brakes, maybe with a chain case.  I've ridden thousands of miles on fixed over the last 8 years or so and with regular maintenance (chuck the chain away every 3000 miles, new cog every 6000 and a new ring every 12000 or so) they just keep going.

I mentioned fixed gear bike above as like you say they are very reliable and almost maintenance free  i trained on a fixed gear back in the late 80's till around 96 and loved them,did buy one a few years back but found it harder this time switching from fixed to free geared bike,ive got a 1950's falcon in my shed that one day ill build my ideal winter hack fixie,its been in my shed for about 8 years next to my zaskar project  mike burrows the man who built boardmans lotus bike  very cool,saw him at cyclex many years ago 

I have an old Allegro bike, had it for about 20 years. Used it a lot, then a little less, but for the last 4 years I did about 100km / week, all year round. The 3-Gear Hub is from '81 but still smooth and good, with no maintenance other than a drop of oil every spring. So you can have gears and reliability, although I think to really get this, you need to buy an older bike.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Bicycles were certainly built better then

[Etherealicer]

Bicycles were certainly built better then

No, you still can get the same quality, you just can't afford it anymore .

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That's true

I had a 1940s Rudge and it was lovely to work on and despite a lot of wear in places it just kept on working