General Cycling Discussion - Nexus four speed, anyone?

Hey all... so, I used to live in Boston - which was fine for my single speeders... but just yesterday I went out now in Western MA from Turner's Falls to Wendell and GRIBBLES! it was all uphill into the Wendell State Park... while, I was making it, it was starting to wear on me (especially the point where the three dogs came tearing after me going uphill)... so I've been thinking then about going internal gear hub (derailers still scare me - and, I have track ends with no hanger anyway) -- so some people say - if you're going to, just get the 7 speed... but that's more expensive and in my mind still seems like a lot of gears... so I've been thinking about the Nexus 4-speed and leaving the drum brake off... I don't do any serious touring, might traverse half the state or something like that.. but mostly commuting and relaxing, cooling off and ... "zen'ing." maybe some light gravel/packed trails... So, anybody have any experience, thoughts or comments on say the Nexus 4? Think it'll hold up to some hills? Probably equip it with a 20 or 21t cog and run the same 42 chainwheel as I have now... it'll give me one lower gear and two higher about than what I'm currently running on the single speed... I figure that one lower will be quite useful on the uphills - you know, since I can grind up them already... this will just give me some relief, no? Thoughts? Thanks!

Oh, I was also looking at the SRAM Spectro P5... but the whole clickbox on the outside of the axle nut seems chincy - and there's no rapidfire shifter... so yeah.

I have two bikes that use the Nexus 7 (Bianchi Milano and Van Dressel) I like the Nexus 7 and find it very reliable. I won't commute on anything but a hub gear but some people may feel differently about this. I also commute with a 3 speed folding bike that uses Sturmey Archer. I just like hub gears.

I will NEVER commute with a single speed. I injured my knees for almost 6 months using a junk commuter that had only one gear. If you have hills, get a multi-geared bike because injuring your knees can take months to heal. No less than a 3 speed.

If you do use the Nexus 7, you'll have plenty of gears for any hill unless your real overweight. I always wondered what the Nexus 4 would feel like and maybe one day, I'll thread a wheel using that hub. I was told it was significantly lighter than the Nexus 7! There was a time I was going to purchase a commuter with this hub but turned it down at the last minute. If there is one negative on the Nexus 7, it's the weight factor. Don't let this stop you from using this hub. Last Sunday at Bike New York, I did 42 miles and climbed 3 bridges with the Nexus 7 in first gear with NO PROBLEMS. You should have seen all the rodies I passed who had to walk their bikes! I love the Nexus 7.

I have no problem with the roller break and prefer it now instead of calipers. The roller break costs more but it's worth it. Trust me.

I have never used a hub bike using Sram Spectro P5, P7 or P3. From what I hear, Sram makes a good hub gear and it's less difficult to reassemble after a flat which is something to consider.

Don't pass up Sturmey Archer. The 3 speed technology is ROCK SOLID and I have put thousands of miles on mine and it keeps on working. The only difference with Sturmey Archer is that it's more difficult to assemble after a flat but you get used to it after a while and become a pro. You do need to stop peddalling before you shift for a moment since the paws need to "catch" on but that's really the only detractor. My three speed folder rides in the rain, snow and mud every day. It's a workhorse.

I really can't give you any advice on what type of cog to use since this matter depends on your physical strength. If you do go with a 4 speed, make sure 3rd gear feels right since this is your direct drive which you'll spend most of your time riding in. If this gear is too high, you won't like riding this bike so it should feel comfortable.

Talk to an LBS on if your bike can handle the Nexus 4. Your cycle will need horizontal dropouts for starters. The hub is fairly large so the rear triangle may need to be widened. Again. Only your LBS can make these decisions.

Weight is not really a problem on the bike; it is more of a problem if you need to lift your bike to climb a flight of stairs.

What really matters is the amount of friction of the various gears. I know that the Sturmey Archer has relatively high friction losses in 1st and 3rd gear and I'm aware that the Nexus has less friction; I don't know, however, how the 4-speed compares to the 7-speed hub. I also don't know if the hub does any "click-click" like a typical Sturmey Archer hub.

I would advise against going towards a Sturmey Archer hub unless you have a really good deal. The Sturmey Archer group went down 1 or 2 years ago, meaning that support will become problematic. (P.S. if others are aware that S.A. hubs are still manufactured, I'd like to know.)

Regarding 4 vs 7 speeds, I know that around here, the 4-speed is non-existent, while the 7-speed is rare, but still existent. I don't know about relative availability in your neck of the wood, but that could make a difference for repairs later. Another aspect in favour of the 7-speed is that it offers a wider over-all range and closer gaps between gears. Not that much of a problem for city commutes (unless you have steep hills), but close ratios are great for long distances where it's nice to finetune the gears.

Finally, if you want to go for a derailleur, there are hangers and derailleurs with built-in hangers. A derailleur system may require a bit more maintenance and adjustments, but the maintenance is much easier to do and can be quite easily done on the road. And another advantage of hub gears is that you can switch gears while stopped.

Regards,

The friction loss on the Sturmey Archer in 3rd gear is obvious. It's not so obvious in 1st gear and this is what the poster wanted. What makes the Strumey Archer AW-3 (3 speed hub) so attractive is it's relative lightness and durability. The hub is 1/3 the weight of the Nexus 7 and I can feel the difference. The Nexus 7 is said to have very litttle friction loss to it's benefit.

Sturmey Archer has been bought out by Sun Race and they are producing hubs. Parts are plentiful and new bikes are being made with the Sturmey Archer AW-3 again. My LBS is able to get parts so I figure that may be the case anywhere. Performance sells parts for the AW-3.

The three speed can be set low enough to handle most hills. Seriously. It depends on the choice selection of the rear cog or chainring providing the builder wants a low gear bike. To date, I can't recall how many hills I've had to walk with the AW-3 in the past three years. I'm not Lance Armstrong but that gives you an idea of how effective the system is and its' simplicity cannot be beat.

I never tested a Strumey Archer 5 or 7 speed hub. All opinion from what I hear is the 5 speed is more difficult to adjust after removing the rear wheel to fix a flat

Hmmm, thanks for all the great input... I guess now I'm curious -- if I'm going to put the money down... perhaps I'll just go for a 7 speed... now, I see that the Nexus has a better-protected shifting mechanism (and a rapidfire shifter) whereas the SRAM has the clickbox (and some steel rod protector) and those twist shifters... but... also - is one more efficient and more sturdy than the other? I'm trying to find some actualy experience to judge from... not just hypotheticals... thanks for all yer helps!

--dave

Hey hows it going ? I have a Raleigh auto shift bike that has the 4 speed hub that you're talking about. Apparently my computer is fried due to water damage so Id like to get a 4-speed RapidFire Shifter for Nexus hubs. It sounds like you have one because no one in their right mind uses the auto shift. The bike just doesnt respond right when you want it to and nothing compares to manual shifting anyways. So I was wondering since it sounds like you have a Nexus 4 sped shifter can you tell me where I can order one or how to fix a damaged one? The screws that hold the battery in place are frozen though so there really doesnt like theres much hope in fixing the components for the auto shift but I would love to keep the bike going as a manual 4 speed.

You can email me too. actually if you could that would be better. My email address is tpaul55@excite.com

Trevor

Sorry, from the info I can find the Nexus 4 sp is all about overdrive
gearing. I prefer a 3 sp for urban use with a 23t chainring (or lower
for hills i.e. 20t chainring) 99.9% of the time this 3 sp set up is ideal.

If you simply want more gears then it's cheaper to use a 5 derailer with
one chainring or find a Sturmy 5 spd or a new Sachs 5 spd. But the
3 sp is bulletproof.

I'm trying to find some actualy experience to judge from... not just hypotheticals... thanks for all yer helps!
My seven years of daily year round cycling with a Sachs/SRAM 7 speed hub with click box and coaster brake.: No problems, works great. Highly recommended . I also had an old Sturmey Archer FW 4 speed but I changed out one internal set of gears, added the left shifter mechanism and converted it to a five speed. I liked having a higher high gear available. It worked just like the S-A S5 five speed that worked flawlessly for me for 25 years.

WOW..

This is an old thread that's almost four years old. As you can imagine, I've sold my Bianchi Milano and Van Dressel because I hardly used them.

Today, I could never recommend the four speed by Nexus because it has so little support should the hub go bad. The Nexus 8 speed is the only way to go if you want a Shimano internal hub.

I've learned so much from the forum over the years that my comments seem kinda childish. At the time, I too was afraid of derailuers and only purchased hub geared bicycles. One day I purchased a Univega hybrid and lost all my fear of derailuers as that old bike shifted like a dream! The efficiency of a derailuer system was a total shock and the range of that hybrid was incredible. I ended up selling ALL of my hub geared bicycles within 6 months.

Guess what? Last year, I went ahead and purchased two folding bikes with hub gears. Go figure!

WOW..

This is an old thread that's almost four years old
Wow is right! Next time I'll look at the date of the post before I waste a reply.