Upgrade a Nexus Inter-4
08-20-06, 04:44 PM
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Bikes: Claud Butler (beach cruiser), Canfox (tour bike)
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Upgrade a Nexus Inter-4
Hi everybody,
I recently bought a second hand Claud Butler Cambridge. This is a commuter built with Nexus Inter 4 and the compatible roller brake. I'm thinking about replacing this system with a Nexus Inter 7 or 8, and I'm seeking some confirmation if it's worth to do. There are several things with the present set I don't like and which I can't judge myself if it's natural or there's some problem.
1. The roller brake I find extremely noisy on an uneven road. As I can see it's due to the looseness of the drum. I read that loosness is natural; but is the noise a necessary consequence?
2. I also can't precisely control the brake effect -- if I squeze the lever to a certain extent, the brake effect is not constant, but it's periodically pulsing. I suspect it reqires grease; is that correct? Would that yield a constant brake effect?
3. In case these are genuine shortcomings of the roller brake, what other brake system would you recommend? As a constrain there are no mounting points at the rear for a v-brake, and I'm not convinced if a disc brake would have a good effect on a commuter from an aesthetic pont of view. Do you know any other brake system integral with this style and not having those minuses?
4. I read about friction in hub gears. I guess this is meant to be friction inside the hub, and not between the rear sprocket and the hub shell. This is what I experienced with my bike, by the way; is it a hub gear (may be specifically Nexus) feature too? For if pedalling backward, or the wheel is just running freely, it's quite a nasty noise.
5. On the other hand, there's another kind of noise too, on a much higher pitch, but with a periodicity like the old train experience. I suspect a chain-sprocket interaction, or a run down bearing (my be both). Do you have any experiences with normal and not normal noises of Nexus gears? Do you think a replecement would solve this problem?
Your comments are much appreciated.
Cheers,
Tamas
I recently bought a second hand Claud Butler Cambridge. This is a commuter built with Nexus Inter 4 and the compatible roller brake. I'm thinking about replacing this system with a Nexus Inter 7 or 8, and I'm seeking some confirmation if it's worth to do. There are several things with the present set I don't like and which I can't judge myself if it's natural or there's some problem.
1. The roller brake I find extremely noisy on an uneven road. As I can see it's due to the looseness of the drum. I read that loosness is natural; but is the noise a necessary consequence?
2. I also can't precisely control the brake effect -- if I squeze the lever to a certain extent, the brake effect is not constant, but it's periodically pulsing. I suspect it reqires grease; is that correct? Would that yield a constant brake effect?
3. In case these are genuine shortcomings of the roller brake, what other brake system would you recommend? As a constrain there are no mounting points at the rear for a v-brake, and I'm not convinced if a disc brake would have a good effect on a commuter from an aesthetic pont of view. Do you know any other brake system integral with this style and not having those minuses?
4. I read about friction in hub gears. I guess this is meant to be friction inside the hub, and not between the rear sprocket and the hub shell. This is what I experienced with my bike, by the way; is it a hub gear (may be specifically Nexus) feature too? For if pedalling backward, or the wheel is just running freely, it's quite a nasty noise.
5. On the other hand, there's another kind of noise too, on a much higher pitch, but with a periodicity like the old train experience. I suspect a chain-sprocket interaction, or a run down bearing (my be both). Do you have any experiences with normal and not normal noises of Nexus gears? Do you think a replecement would solve this problem?
Your comments are much appreciated.
Cheers,
Tamas
08-20-06, 07:35 PM
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Sounds like you are looking for the coaster brake model. I have a Bianchi Milano with the Nexus 8 with coaster brake and it works well-I would rather have a v-brake just to make tire changes easy.I don't know what size wheels your bike has.If it is 26,Harris Cyclery sells a new set of wheels with the nexus 7 and the shifter for $279-If its 700c-and you want the nexus 8 its going to cost more.I don't know how much you would want to spend on your used bike-theres a point where it makes sense to sell it and just buy new.About the way the hubs work,the premium 8 is much better than the regular 8 or the 7-I have all 3.The premium is supposed to be available with the coaster brake but I haven't seen one.I agree that disk brakes seem wrong for this tipe of bike-my car doesn't have rear disks! But Shimano is coming out with a new 8 speed called alfine that is available with disk brakes and if I can get one I'm going to build a bike with it-if it has a disk-so be it.
