New 9 Speed Internally Geared Hub with 554 Gear Range

[Merlin]

Hi,
I'm involved with a rear IGH project that will be a 3-speed 400% range with a torque rating over 350nm and no under-drive ratios (1;1, 1:2 & 1;4). I'm guessing you don't use any of your under-drive ratios for 90% of your riding given the power of the Bafang Ultra so wanted to get your thoughts on the described IGH solution.

Also I believe you might be exceeding the torque rating on the 3x3 with a belt drive ratio with nearly same size front and rear sprockets. I'm just wondering if you think the life could be impacted if the torque limit is exceeded because Rohloff has a table defining what the final drive ratios should be to avoid damaging the IGH.

Our IGH will accept the full rated torque at the IGH axle which is not possible with any IGH we know of.

The 3x3 Nine comes stock with a 32T rear sprocket, so I do not believe a 42T will put me past the 250 nm torque limit. You are correct, the first 3 gears are so low that only a mountain bike on a very steep trail might benefit from them and the last two gears put me faster than I am comfortable with. I start out in fourth gear on power level 1 and at gear 7 I go to power level 3 for a fast ride. A three speed would be great with a 350nm of torque if it is built for a Gates Belt and can achieve 28mph with a 42T front sprocket. My frame clearance for a larger front sprocket looks sketchy. 90% of the ride I only use gears 4 through 7. Gears 8 and 9 put me over 28mph at 60 cadence.

 

[Ken M]

The 3x3 Nine comes stock with a 32T rear sprocket, so I do not believe a 42T will put me past the 250 nm torque limit. You are correct, the first 3 gears are so low that only a mountain bike on a very steep trail might benefit from them and the last two gears put me faster than I am comfortable with. I start out in fourth gear on power level 1 and at gear 7 I go to power level 3 for a fast ride. A three speed would be great with a 350nm of torque if it is built for a Gates Belt and can achieve 28mph with a 42T front sprocket. My frame clearance for a larger front sprocket looks sketchy. 90% of the ride I only use gears 4 through 7. Gears 8 and 9 put me over 28mph at 60 cadence.

Thanks for the feedback. One of the shortfalls for an IGH based on compound planet gears is the under-drive ratios which tend to be of dubious value on commuting ebikes, especially higher power ebikes. We will have less gears but non will be below a 1:1 direct drive ratio so the final drive ratio from the front sprocket to the rear should be kept close to equal which helps belt life while allowing the rider to fine tune a speed/cadence for the ebike.

 

[teskow]

I have both a 9 spd and an 11 spd on Specialized ebike. I really liked the 11 spd and never had experience with the 9 until I changed one of them. I prefer the 9, less shifting and as someone said, my cadence preference expanded.

Re oil bath or grease, I had a 3 point brushcutter on a tractor that wouldn't hold oil. I filled the differential that drives the blade with grease and never had a problem. One of the tractors also had an oil bath gear drive above the front wheels for steering. Wouldn't hold oil so filled it will grease, no problems. There are also different grades of grease, some really hard and some runny.

I believe that is what corn head grease is designed for.

 

[Benjamin James]

What temperatures is it rated for? I'd bet it doesn't shift well in cool weather

 

[Merlin]

What temperatures is it rated for? I'd bet it doesn't shift well in cool weather

I live in the Pacific Nortwest and have no issues I th winter.

 

[Merlin]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and have no issues In the winter.

 

[TPEHAK]

The official reseller of the 3x3 gear hub in the US

3x3

Ease of use Just ride You want to ride your bike and not worry about cleaning sprockets and lubricating and adjusting gears. The NINE offers you reliable performance without any hassle so that you can do just that, whether you are mountain biking, riding to work, or taking on the urban jungle -...

vpl.bike

 

[Merlin]

I have the 3x3 Nine with a gates belt and the Bafang Ultra. The IGH shifts smooth and at a stop. No maintenance is a plus even if it is greased instead of oiled. The first three gears will lift the front off the ground in the lowest power setting, and reach over 28mph in high gear at 60 cadence with a 42T front sprocket. I can take any hill in my area at power level 3 in the middle gears. This IGH is a total game changer, and with the Gates belt I believe I have a bike that will easily get many thousands of miles of use with no maintenance.

 

[Merlin]

I have the 3x3 Nine with a gates belt and the Bafang Ultra. The IGH shifts smooth and at a stop. No maintenance is a plus even if it is greased instead of oiled. The first three gears will lift the front off the ground in the lowest power setting, and reach over 28mph in high gear at 60 cadence with a 42T front sprocket. I can take any hill in my area at power level 3 in the middle gears. This IGH is a total game changer, and with the Gates belt I believe I have a bike that will easily get many thousands of miles of use with no maintenance.

It has been over two years since I installed the 3x3 Nine and a few thousand miles of trouble free riding. One note, it does not shift under load, but shifts quickly enough once backed off a bit. Anyone with a Bafang Ultra should consider it. As far as having nine gears, I virtually never use the first two, unless climbing on a steep twisting wooded trail where you need to go slow because of conditions. I also seldom use the last two gears unless flying down an open road for a total thrill. Gears 3 and 6 are a little noisier than the others, so I tend to use 3 to launch five to accelerate and 7 for cruising at 20mph 60 cadence.

 

[Nvreloader]

Merlin
A question for you,
Would this 3-9 IGH work with a trail riding bike, ie cross country, heavy load application like a trailer being pulled via a Ultra 620 motor,
on a narrow cow/horse trail?
Think Hunting Bike.....Low and slow....I don't need speed, just the bottom end grunt power.
Tia

 

[indianajo]

Wow!. I missed this thread and product. I need one.
I bought a Sturmey Archer S-80 IGH May 2017. With no underspeeds it was useless without a 42 tooth rear sprocket which was not for sale. Only 18 tooth. When I did not own a car that got > 5mph; carrying 60 lb groceries up 15% grades unpowered at 2 mph was important. Also the S-80 shift cable retainer ring wore out in 500 miles, where the cable would pop off every mile.
I bought a Shimano Alfine 7001 IGH August 2022. It was useless. I could never buy any adapter to connect the shift ring to a shift cable from a twist shifter. I don't use thumb shifters, which was the only kind to match the Alfine. In 2010-2016 when I was using shimano thumb shifters on derailleurs, a painful 10 cm x 2 cm cyst grew over my thumb joint. Also taking the Alfine 180 miles to Chicago yearly for lube replacement by Greyhound was a non-starter. No car, remember? Dealer was off the Chicago metro routes, and taxis make me carsick. Actually the dealer I found with parts in stock was in Oregon, only 3500 miles from here. Alfine sits gathering dust in the garage.
The shimano 8 speed sprocket derailleur became useless after 10000 miles. Only 2 speeds would work, 24fx28r and 32fx28r. The rear derailleur would upshift easily enough, but I am not strong enough to make it down shift. Replacing every shifter part, derailleur part, cable, housing, improved nothing. Was SRAM shifter parts, shimano sprocket cluster installed by Yuba on my bike.
Riding unpowered 70 miles/week is important to my health. Especially now that 1300 w geared hub motors have been outlawed, that could actually help me on the 4 grades over 12%. Now that Yuba e-bike has been stolen, riding up 15% grades at 1 mph with a 750 w mid-drive does not entice me. I am comtemplating buying a mid drive cargo bike that does not drag the motor when riding unpowered. Problem, frame for >20" wheels and 27" legs may no longer be in production. Short people are obsolete since human growth hormone was marketed about 1983. The 2025 Ford F150 solves all problems except maintaining my heart muscle in the condition it was April 2025 before ablation surgery. Surgery necessary to destroy heart nerves to prevent AFIB which could have ruined my brain. I had a 250 watt heart with zero blocked arteries 4/25, measured by bicycle+cargo+body weight, rise, and time. Just heart beat too often irregularly when I was asleep.