lxpatterson

I have been thinking about getting an internal hub for my commuter bike, since i hate drivetrain maintanence and i like the clean look. I am wondering if anyone uses these things. I have a few questions:

1. how much maintanence is needed?
2. chain tension device necessary?
3. Can you use QR?
4. Road spacing (ie. 130mm)?
5. The weight penalty if any?
6. The type of item that is fine to buy used?

Thanks

reverborama

I have a 1980-ish Fuji Royale frame with a Nexus-8 hub.

1. 1500 miles and I haven't needed any maintenance yet.

2. Not if you have horizontal dropouts. If you have vertical dropouts you'll need one -- unless you have an excentric bottom bracket. (Just get a frame with horizontal dropouts!)

3. No. The axles are threaded. You will need to carry a 15mm wrench to change the rear tire. Park makes a stamped steel one with a headset wrench on the other side that will mount under your bottle cage.

4. Nexus 8 is 130mm. Some SA hubs are 126 or even 120 but they have only 3 to 5 speeds.

5. Weight penalty is minor. I seem to be able to keep up with anyone.

6. No idea.

tellyho

You can always buy an old Sturmey Archer AW. Like a tank. I'm setting up my rain bike with one.

waldowales

Passed on an old Schwinn for $20.00 last week. Had a Sturmey Archer AW in good condition, with the cable and shifters. Only three speeds, but nearly bullet proof. I ride two of them regularly.
I've heard great things about the Nexus hubs, but have never ridden one. A bit too expensive for me.

histbuff1190

sturmey archers as pretty easy to get used and parts are still available. weak point is the nuts which hold the hub to the frame, they are soft metal (always carry an extra one or two along with a 15mm wrench). been using the AW model for some time and only killed one which had over 6000 miles on it if the speedo on the bike is to be believed. have an extra hub laying around my place if you are interested for not a lot of money. 3 speeds, over 30 years of production for the AW model alone, and the company still in business since 1902 B-)

Grand Bois

If you can get by with only three speeds, the new Sturmey-Archer SRF-3 is a good deal. I got mine from Aebike for $53 and it came with a shifter and all the other necessary hardware. It has an aluminum shell with thick flanges and they've eliminated the neutral between 2nd and 3rd gear.

https://good-times.webshots.com/album/560796524cQRWSB

histbuff1190

took out the dead space, and for only $53?!?!?! wow... know whats goin on the wishlist for next year :-D if you want to try out some Sturmey Archer stuff, i have an extra hub and know of 3 others availible for around $10 each. what i love about the old AW model (despite it faults) is you can find parts just about anywhere.

https://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30...ils&sku=HU2209

K6-III

Big fan of the Sturmey AW over here. Nice thing is that an oil-filled hub like the AW should be more efficient than the modern grease-filled hubs.