Mountain Biking - Shimano Nexus Cassette/Hub/Brakes

I was just looking at the Shimano Nexus Cassette/Hub/Brake-contraption ( http://bike.shimano.com/comfort/Nexus/index.asp ) on Shimano's website and I'm wondering why these haven't caught on more for mountainbikes. It seems like it would be great to be able to remove the rear derailleur, put on a chain-tensioner and use the Nexus Hub. That way you could still shift the front rings, but wouldn't have to worry about a rear derailleur hangin' around waiting for a rock to tear it off. Are these things really unreliable or heavy or hard to maintain? I would love something like this if it was easy to setup and maintain (i.e. no limit screws and bodged shifts). Well, just wondering...

They're great for on-road recreational bikes, but aren't durable enough for MTB riding. They're also a little heavy.

Have you seen the Rohloff internal geared hub?

Why dont they make those for freaking dh and fr bikes. I would love shimano for that. A reasonably priced internally geared durable system would kick ass and be the best thing to hit the mtb scene ever. Deraileurs suck for any sort of tough usage....I am baffled as to why they haven't tried a more durable hub....man...

I have myself considered the roholf and then saw the price, proceeded to vomit and than walked away...;)

EBasil,

No, I haven't seen the Rohloff, but I'm guessing from Maelstrom's comment that they're waaaaaay expensive... well, I guess I'm off to look up a Rohloff...

Around 1000$ cdn for the hub...last time I checked...

You can ebay a brand new Rohloff right now for around $600USD. I've talked to people who have over 50,000 miles on them, figure out how many XT drivetrains you would go through, and it becomes uber cheap. BTW, I'm still riding while all around me mechanical out...

That's really cool to hear Buzzbomb! Maybe after I convince my wife that I need a new $1000.00+ Specialized Enduro SX frame I can convince her that I need a new $600.00 transmission system for my bike.. haha.. that'll go over well... too bad I can't win the lotto or something...

Have you priced an XTR gruppo lately? Colorado Cyclist, for example, says that for 960 series XTR; rear der. 121.99
fr. der. 89.99
shifter/brake levers 377.99
cassette 141.99

for a grand total of 731.96. Even if you didn't need shifters/levers it's 353.97, meaning you must get 25,000 miles on your XTR drivetrain before you break even with the Rohloff. Not trying to be a smartass by recomending what I know is an expensive part, you asked about internal gear hubs and I just gave you my opinion.

Buzzbomb,

I have, and you're right... similar cost, but I just bought my current frame and now want to upgrade to a stronger more versatile frame so I'm pretty sure it would cause some issues if I start buying too much at once... I'll just have to wait a while and slowly convince my wife that I need all these new parts...

I've been in the same boat...

Originally posted by Buzzbomb
Have you priced an XTR gruppo lately? Colorado Cyclist, for example, says that for 960 series XTR; rear der. 121.99
fr. der. 89.99
shifter/brake levers 377.99
cassette 141.99

for a grand total of 731.96. Even if you didn't need shifters/levers it's 353.97, meaning you must get 25,000 miles on your XTR drivetrain before you break even with the Rohloff. Not trying to be a smartass by recomending what I know is an expensive part, you asked about internal gear hubs and I just gave you my opinion.

Very true...I am actually suppost to be riding with a guy who ran the roholff hub...gonna see how he felt about it.