Utility Cycling - Which shifter for Nexus 8?

Hello,

I was wondering what people felt about the Nexus 8 shifter options, re. ease of use, durability, etc.

Thanks

John

It's more a matter of preferance than ease of use. Both the twist grip "Revo" shifter and the RapidFire shifter work fine. I used a Revo shifter on a Nexus 7sp setup with no problems over about six months before the bike was stolen. I currently have the RapidFire shifter on an 8sp hub and so far so good.

I got the rapidfire shifter because I knew I'd be trying to find a place for it on a moustache bar--not sure if a revo shifter will slide on as easily over bends and whatnot. If you're using straight bars, then even this is not an issue.

The biggest difference AFAIK is with the twist shifter you can shift all 8 gears if you want in one wrist motion, whereas with the rapidfire you can only shift one at a time. It's fantastic being able to shift that quickly. I find the twist shifter to be quite bulky and I experienced a bit of pain between my thumb and finger. Just a matter of finding the most comfortable position in relation to the brake lever and wearing gloves has helped a lot. The brifter option may work better than just the plain twist shifter.

The most precise shifter is the Alfine shifter.

You can get it here for $35:
http://www.hiawathacyclery.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=279&zenid=e2e27b483af3accab65c1b486ae72dfb

So the Nexus hubs use the same shifter actuation as Shimano's derailleurs? One could theoretically use barcons or downtube shifters? as long as they were eight speed? For some reason I had the impression that there was a different amount of cable pull. I suppose it'd also be slightly more difficult to find the index gear and you would have to count out the three shifts....

So the Nexus hubs use the same shifter actuation as Shimano's derailleurs? One could theoretically use barcons or downtube shifters? as long as they were eight speed? For some reason I had the impression that there was a different amount of cable pull. I suppose it'd also be slightly more difficult to find the index gear and you would have to count out the three shifts....

I seem to remember a post about this recently (might not have been on this forum). Someone got bar end shifters to work, but it wasn't a direct bolt-on. Might have used a Travel Agent.

BTW, I am using the Alfine Rapidfire trigger shifter. I thought the quality was better than the twist shifter.

My suggestion is to use the stock Nexus/Alfine shifter for Nexus/Alfine. The travel agent method is still fairly clunky.

My suggestion is to use the stock Nexus/Alfine shifter for Nexus/Alfine. The travel agent method is still fairly clunky.

Yeah. I work at a bike shop and I've always heard that the Nexus and now Alfine only use the twist and nowAlfine shifter. Could you post a link for the travel agent build? That would be rad.

Yeah. I work at a bike shop and I've always heard that the Nexus and now Alfine only use the twist and nowAlfine shifter. Could you post a link for the travel agent build? That would be rad.

http://bikehugger.com/2008/04/alfine_hub_drop_bars_omg_i_wan.htm

I've always avoided twist shifters at all cost. Just a personal preference though. One of my bikes has a twist 3-speed and even though I don't shift it that much, it still bugs me.

I don't understand all the avoiding twist shifters stuff. One of the nice things about the Nexus 8 and a twist shifter is you can be riding around at full speed and have a pedestrian walk in front of you or something, slam on your brakes and in one motion shift to a lower gear and be on your way. Nothing worse than being in traffic, clicking around to find a gear.

As far as the twist shifter with brake versus twist shift without brake, I'd recommend the without brake as you'll have more options later on.

That is super rad. It'd be cool to use a Afline/Nexus hub on something with drop bars. Like his rad bike. Thanks for the link.