Jina Chan said:Jeff, hope this clarifies. I hadn't realized that a 3x7 hub would go on
the back of the bike rather than the front; thanks for explaining that. I
would be eliminating the front derailleur, but I guess I'd have to keep
one chainring in front. Obviously I am not the person who would actually
be doing this work, but I'd like to know about the wisdom of this idea
before having a mechanic do it.
Okey-dokey!
You gain:
"Cleaner" looking front end (no multiple chainrings or front
derailleur)
Capability of shifting while stopped (the "internal" part of the hub
allows this)
A little weight (the hub is pretty heavy, but you'd lose two chainrings
and the front derailleur)
There's a little more mechanical friction in "low" and "high" gear
ranges. In the middle range friction is the same as "conventional"
derailleur gears.
The derailleur shifting should be more reliable since it doesn't have
to work with three front chainrings.
You'll have to have an additional gear cable run to the rear hub.
You lose:
"Standard" equipment- not all bike shops everywhere know about these
hubs. Getting one repaired inthe middle of nowhere may be problematic.
(But you might never have a problem.)
Quick-release capability at the rear wheel. You'll have to carry a
wrench to remove the rear wheel.
Many people like the DualDrive hub on trikes since it makes it easy to
get a large gear range with 20" wheels. This obviously isn't a problem
on your Thunderbolt.
IMO, you'd be better off spending your money on replacing the crankset
with a higher-quality one than the original. Upgrading the shifters
might be helpful, too.
Jeff
