I was in my local Avanti dealer's shop on Sunday, idly looking at hybrid bicycles, and they had one with an 8-speed rear hub gear.

The last hub gear I saw was a Surmey Archer 3-speed, back in the old country - ok for tootling down to the ship canal but not much more.

What do you reckon to modern hub gears?

SC

Hub gears are great for commuter and leisure cycling, but not so great for sports applications. The advantages are that they need less maintenance and that shifting is dead easy. They are enclosed and don't get dirty. However, there are quite a few disadvantages. Gear selection is limited, power transmission efficiency is slightly reduced, and they are not compatible with quick release systems and rear suspension.

My wife's bike has hub gears and she's happy with it.

Cheers, CM-Expat

No experience nor knowledge of modern hub gears - sorry!! Nothing to add to this thread really but I do remember those Sturmey Archers, .... every time I flicked it into first gear and stood on the pedals, the [top tube mounted] gear lever would spring forward into neutral: Result - testicles ram the lever into 3rd.

'Sportshift' indeed.

Since being member of WarmShowers.org we hosted during the past years several (particularly very) long distance cyclists using the Rohloff Speedhub 500/14. Without exception they all were 100% satisfied with this hub gear system especially when it comes to reliability, longevity at a minimum of maintenance and ratio spread which is wider than the one of any traditional derailleur system.
Disadvantages: High price, and increased weight (what is of minor importance for someone who already carries tens of kilos of luggage around).
If you are really interested in a high class gear hub you’ll be unable to avoid asking Google for more information about the Rohloff and from people who use it. Searching for “Rohloff Speedhub Thailand” you’ll find out where it is available in Thailand.

If robustness, toughness, and high durability of the drive train are important to you, you might want to look into modern pinion gear boxes rather than old-school gear hubs. They are certainly not mainstream, because they require specially adapted frames and drive trains, but they've been making some inroads into mountain bike technology in recent years via "avantgarde" engineering companies like Nicolai, Zerode and others. Gear boxes are somewhat akin to motorcycle transmissions and have the mechanism enclosed in a box that sits between the cranks. You get up to 18 speeds and they can be shifted without moving.

Cheers, CM-Expat

If robustness, toughness, and high durability of the drive train are important to you, you might want to look into modern pinion gear boxes rather than old-school gear hubs. They are certainly not mainstream, because they require specially adapted frames and drive trains, but they've been making some inroads into mountain bike technology in recent years via "avantgarde" engineering companies like Nicolai, Zerode and others. Gear boxes are somewhat akin to motorcycle transmissions and have the mechanism enclosed in a box that sits between the cranks. You get up to 18 speeds and they can be shifted without moving.

Cheers, CM-Expat

Don't forget pinion.eu from Germany. My favorite.

But, as you mentioned, these play in a very different league because they need a special frame.