Bat22

The only maintenance I've done on the Nexus inter 8 is to look at an inspection window to
adjust gear alignment. It took all of 5 seconds on a weekly basis.
I believe IGH can only improve.

daredevil

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm not getting any traction in threads I post.

I'm new to IGH and just got a Shimano Alfine 8 on a Trek Soho. The pedal stroke is soft at times, not really slippery soft but noticeably soft especially when climbing out of the saddle. If I stop pedaling and start again, it slips ever so slightly. Is that how they normally behave or is mine out of adjustment or possibly damaged? It's something I can live with as long as that's normal but I'm skeptical. At first I thought it was only doing it in one gear but it's not.

kccommuter

Read this - courtesy of Dutch Bike Co. This is very easy to do.

https://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/_blo...ano_Nexus_Hub/

daredevil

^^^thanks! Can I damage the hub if I don't adjust it immediately?

Elkhound

Go for it. There are things about derailleurs that make them best for sport cycling, but for transportational/utility cycling, IGH is best.

Part of the problem was that until relatively recently, IGHs were limited to three speeds. But now five, seven, eight, and even fourteen speed IGHs are available.

Advantages to the derailleurs: more speeds, lighter, easier to fix and adjust.
Advantages to the IGH: more durable, less vulnerable.

Disadvantages of derailleurs: very easy to get out of adjustment; gears are exposed to all the dirt and muck.
Disadvantages of IGH: heavier; while they don't need fixing/adjusting, when they do they are harder to take care of.

The light weight and ease of servicing make the derailleur the choice for sport cyclists. For transportational cyclists who are out in all weathers, having the gears tucked away inside the hub is a wonderful thing. The multiple-speed hubs are very expensive, but unless you live in a VERY hilly area, three speeds (high, medium, low) may well be enough. (That IS, admittedly, an issue where I am; WV is called 'the Mountain State' for a good reason.)

daredevil

^^^^I pulled out this old thread to try to get some answers for myself about IGH. Got any info for me on my question? Something tells me the OP is long gone.

rhm

In my opinion the weight thing is irrelevant. To me the IGH makes such a big difference to the ride that I really don't care if it weighs a pound or two more. How much more does it really weigh? I honestly don't know, because honestly, I don't care.

The number of gears is also not much of an issue. 7, 8 and 9 speed hubs have a range as wide as your traditional "10 speed" derailleur bike, more or less, depending on various factors of course.

The big benefits of the IGH, in my opinion, are the ease of shifting. You can shift at any time, moving or stopped. There's no confusion of front shift vs rear shift; you either need a higher gear or a lower gear.

Chain tensioners are a pain in the neck, I don't like them. I try to avoid vertical dropouts for this reason. There are plenty of workarounds, and if you don't mind that, then vertical dropouts don't need to bother you... I guess I just don't like them.

Maintenance issues are radically changed. The IGH can go for very long periods of time with no maintenance, which is good, but then the maintenance required is beyond the abilities of most home mechanics, which is not so good. Worse, it appears to be beyond the abilities of many bike shops. Worse still, they are often unlikely to admit this.

There are a lot of different IGH's on the market now, new; more still are available used. I'd recommend doing some research into the gear ratios before buying one. The Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub, for example, is ideally suited to a bicycle with small wheels; it is by far the best transmission for a bicycle with 16" wheels. Most of the others are better suited to bikes with normal sized wheels.

daredevil

Once again, this thread was dug up in a search and is over a year old with the OP long gone. I posted here because I wasn't getting anywhere with my own threads. You guys now posting that seem so knowledgeable, please address my questions. Thanks.

SlimAgainSoon

Soft pedal? That doesn't sound right.

I'm using an Alfine 8-speed and never have that happen.

daredevil

I've been posting about this in several threads as information has been hard to come by. I learned elsewhere that the slight slipping effect is the result of the clutch and is perfectly normal. It typically happens when climbing out of the saddle, stopping pedaling and then resuming while still standing.

elfmachine

Warning about non replaceable ball bearing cups and cones. Eventually all bearings wear out and need replacement but Rohloff seems to have industrial bearings which can be easily be replaced while Shimano hubs such as Nexus need whole hub replacement. My Nexus 7 bearing cones and cups worn out so much that developed crack and ball bearings no longer work so there is a lot of friction when pedaling.
Rohloff 14 is German engineering marvel, has a lot of benefits over all other gear systems and they are really worth money. Bad thing that they don't have coaster brakes like Nexus does which I loved because they very rare maintenance.

Gresp15C

I'd like to know if bearing failure on IGH's is a common problem before rushing to a $1200 solution. All the data I have is anecdotal: Three Sturmey Archer AW's, each around 50 years old, minor wear on the bearing cones but little to none on the races. The wear on the cones is probably due to loading in a single orientation for decades, also observed on an old Bendix single speed coaster hub. Two of the races on the AW can be replaced, don't know about the third (non drive side).

SHBR

I agree, when conditions are favorable.

Have you ever changed a flat in sub zero weather? (-30C + windchill)

I have, even with a single speed this can be a daunting task, trying to manage all the steps you mention can be an almost impossible task for those who have been brave enough to attempt it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Why would a derailler equipped bike be much less daunting in extremely cold weather for any tube changing tasks? All the steps - ya mean 15 seconds more to get the wheel off for an IGH? Be assured there is no patching glue that will work at those temperatures. I know from experience at -18 C.

Darth Lefty 

How many machine built Nexus wheels could you buy for the price of a hand built Rohloff wheel? It does look like a marvel but it's a steak in a cheeseburger world

acidfast7

Every bike I have seen a Rohloff has been a precision-engineered machine. Meaning that nothing was an afterthought.

Adding a Rohloff to a standard bike really makes no sense.

This is an excellent example of what a Rohloff was designed for:

https://www.r-m.de/en-gb/e-bike/deli...17D07_05030719

Buying an Rohloff-equipped wheel is a foolish endeavour as the bike will not likely have an appropriately designed frame to incorporate a Rohloff properly.

Here is another excellent example of a frame designed specifically for a Rohloff.

example 2

Adding a Rohloff to a normal bike is similar to adding Lambo-style scissor doors to a Honda Civic. Sure, to can be done, but why do it at such a cost?

Bike Gremlin

I find IGH good for extremely cold conditions, when RD cables and the pulley wheels would freeze up.

For all other purposes, 6 to 8 speed RDs are practically bomb proof, cheap. Easier to service as well. Also, 0 slipping on climbs, unlike many IGH.
Another disadvantage is when taking a wheel off to fix a flat - it is more hassle with an IGH. Bike shops in my city charte 2 to 3 times the price for changing a tyre on an IGH wheel - I'm sure they're skilled enough, so it's just the matter of extra time/hassle.

Viich

I agree with the 7 speed Rd for the snow & cold. I have used a single speed for deep snow, switched back to the 7 sp after the road is plowed. (Studded on the 7sp, cross tires on the single)

I'm interested to try an s2c for winter, but am not sure how it works in extreme cold (-20 to -30). Would be an attempt to unify the winter bikes.

fietsbob

I did so with my AW3 circa 1957, you learn how far to move the lever, or at least I did at age 10...

Barabaika

The Shimano Nexus 8 speed is only 104,96 € on bike24:
https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content...menu=1000,2,98

Some rear derailleur hubs cost more.

NormanF

IGH is set and forget it.

There's a reason old Raleigh 3 speeds have stood the test of time. Simple, practical, every day bicycle.

Banzai

I had an Alfine 8. It sucked. 5th gear, where the roller clutch engages, was never right. It slipped and skipped, under light load too. Definitely under heavy load. And by heavy, I'm 140lb pack fodder.

Wheel removal is a pain. Carrying an extra wrench for it should be counted in your calculations of system weight. God help you if you have to change a flat in cold, wet, and dark conditions. Just call a cab at that point.

I dumped so many dollars into having shops attempt to fix it. They were happy to take my money, but they ever solved the problem. So you better hope that either you or your shop can service the damn thing.

I went back to a derailer setup, and was happy with my bike again.

Banzai

BF has a lot of love for the Alfine, but if you check MTBR, a number of people had the same problems I had.

sweeks

I have an Alfine 11 on my folding commuter bike which has just turned over 5,000 miles. It's never complained when I stand on the pedals. A couple years ago I did a century on this bike and climbed a few hills; the hub performed flawlessly.

IMO, geared hubs are ideally suited for commuter bikes, especially if the wheels are small. On my folder, which has 20" wheels, a derailleur would hang down perilously close to the road where the chain would be exposed to dirt and water.

As to the flat-repair issue, I don't find removing the wheel a problem at all, though I *do* carry a 15mm box-end wrench to remove the axle nuts. But I haven't had a flat in years because of the tires I use: Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Flats are a non-issue.

Don't think I don't like derailleurs though! I have a nice 9R/3F-speed Ultegra drivetrain on my road bike which also works really well.
Steve

CrankyOne

A typical IGH does not get flats nearly as often as a road, hybrid, or similar with thinner tyres. When there is a flat it is typically fixed by pulling the tube out and patching it which takes no more time on an IGH than any other bike.

If you need to do a new tyre or tube then an IGH is a bit more of a pain but considering how often that must be done and all of the advantages of IGH it's not an issue for many people. There's a reason that just about every bicycle used for transportation in Europe is IGH (or single speed coaster brake).