youthcom

Figure there are alot more IGH users here so can anyone tell me if this is normal for the lower end Nexus 7 IGH. There's a very audible clicking above 4th & most noticeable in 5th & 7th. This is my 1st experience with IGH so I'm not sure what to expect. Unfortunately going Nexus 8 will mean spending $300+ more then what I spent for this REI Dahon rebrand folder.

You can hear what I'm talking about in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp1-EViDIxg

Bottomfeeder

Well I've never rode the Nexus 7 speed. But I did have a Sram 7 speed hub which did the exact same thing. It turned out this was simply a function of the hub once shifted into the higher gears. In my particular case, the faster you went the faster the clicking was. And it was fairly loud.

So I guess my question would be, has your hub made this noise from day one? Or is this something which started up after some time?

DanO

youthcom

I'm certain this was from day one. Oh well luckily REI has a very good return policy should I choose that route. When I went there the mechanic said it was normal. Unfortunately they didn't have any other Nexus 7 equipped bike to compare, but did briefly check out a Nexus 8 & an Alfine equipped bike & they were silent i.e. no ratcheting noise because of their roller clutch design. Of course I didn't know about all this when I chose this bike so it looks like the Nexus 8 or Alfine are the ones to get for a quiet IGH experience.

Bottomfeeder

I can attest to that. I just started commuting on a new Swobo Baxter with the Alfine 8. Wonderful hub... smooth and quiet. I have to say that a few years back I did get used to the ticking. But I eventually stopped riding the hub because 1st and 2nd gear exhibited almost a grinding mechanical friction which made them kinda useless for climbing. Happy to say that all the gears in the Alfine are smooth running.

I'd suggest you seriously consider grinning and bearing it for the present with your new bike. In a year or two Shimano is coming out with the Alfine 11 speed, which looks like it will be a real leap forward.

All the best. DanO
DanO

coolio

I used to have a nexus 7 bike (fuji kyoto)

Is the click, click clicking when you're not pedalling? Couldn't tell from the video. That sounded excessive. I remember there was a clicking but almost like buzzing noise, not too noticeable. It would go away when you pedalled though. It only buzzed when you coasted, say on a gentle downhill. YOu can hear the buzzing in your bike, but there is that additional clicking that wasn't there for my bike.

Could be that one of the internal rings is not properly lined up. You can take these apart. however, it sound like it's under warranty. I wouldn't do that. and, as you mentioned, REI has a great return policy.

Torrilin

You should have a quiet tick tick when you coast. On a brand new hub, it can be fairly loud, but it should quiet down within 1-2k miles if the hub isn't abused. There should be a sliiiiiiight feeling of noise if you are pedaling hard in all gears, since a nexus 7 does not have a direct drive gear (4 is close, but is not actually direct drive). If you're a masher and are inclined to stand on the pedals, you may hear noises or experience sudden automatic downshifts if you try to climb in high gears. Most internal gear hubs are not designed for aggressive climbing, so if you normally climb at 70-90 gear inches, you may find a smaller rear sprocket is a good idea. (however, if you normally climb in gears that high, you may want to see if you can improve your climbing technique first)

The only noise I hear in the video is the "thunk" that comes from trying to shift while you're putting power to the pedals. Don't do that. That is vicious and cruel and will eventually eat your hub's gears. You only need to coast for a fraction of a second for a shift... most of the time, people climbing behind me can't tell I'm downshifting for a hill.

Mr IGH

It's normal to have that clicking when the hub is in overdrive gears, that's 5-7. Your hub is fine, ride it and love it!
Mr IGH

rhm

I don't know the Nexus 7, but I have some other IGH's: Sturmey Archer 3, 4, and 8, Shimano 3, 4 and 8; Rohloff 14; etc. And I can assure you some gears are noisier than others. A complicated hub has multiple gear cages that it uses for the different gears. The Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub, for example, has three cages; the lowest gear is 1:1 and doesn't use any of them; the next three gears use one cage each; the next three gears use different combinations of two cages; and the highest gear uses all three cages. In general, the more gear cages in use, the more noise and the less efficiency.

thdave

My Nexus 7 is very quiet. I've got about 8K miles on it and have only heard a little clicking in coast mode.

youthcom

No shifting in that video; just pedaling forward in 5th gear. It's like the sound of chain trying to catch the next gear but missing. Louder then I care for. I've decide to try another bike with a Nexus 8 Premium hub (2009 Dahon MU XL Sport). Hopefully this online shop comes through since it'll only cost around $100 more then this Flyby Shuttle. The Nexus 8 should be much better as far as noise is concerned because of the way it's gears are engaged right?

SlowRoller

Did you play around with the barrel adjuster to try and dial-in the indexing?

Mr IGH

Depends which Nexus hub your new bike has. The only quiet Nexus 8 is the newest 8R36, all the others have noise in overdrive (6-8).

Torrilin

I'd ***** to the shop then, because it should not try to shift on it's own. For an internally geared hub in particular, that is dangerous and damaging. There should be some adjustments you can learn so that the noise goes away.

mtalinm

If my IGH clicks in *all* gears then is something wrong?

jtgotsjets

Is it adjusted properly?

mtalinm

The yellow bits line up in 4th gear if that's what you mean

I think I'll take it where I bought it and ask then to fix it

sauroman1

What could be causing nexus 7 grinding noise when pedaling?

tjspiel

Not an expert but if it's otherwise working it could be:

1. inadequate/incorrect lubrication
2. something out of alignment
3. worn, bent, or missing splines or teeth
4. metal bits floating around in grease or oil
5. shifter not adjusted correctly or shift mechanism not working right

RaleighSport

If it makes you feel any better my inter 3 rides like a charm but it's click city in every gear!

sauroman1

I checked inside and noticed that inner ball bearing retainer has cracked into many pieces. Cone and cup were already worn. Just took out metal chards and added more ball bearings, and extra graphite grease. That fixed problem.
Shimano should think about upgrading bearing systems as they are most vulnerable IGH components. Rohloff at least has enclosed bearings that can easily and cheaply replaced.

noglider 

Nothing is perfect. Shimano generally offers decent value and decent reliability at regular prices. In general, if something is super-duper durable, it might be too heavy to ride. The exception is very high end stuff. No doubt, the Rohloff stuff works amazingly well, but you pay a lot for it. Most people don't have trouble from Shimano hubs most of the time, and they are in widespread use.

tjspiel

I have an alfine 8. Once in a while I'll get a bad shift or even a noisy ghost shift if it needs adjusting. Otherwise it's almost silent. One of the things I like about it.

Mickey2

I like hubs that can be oiled, greased and serviced, and have the worn or damaged part replaced. Some Nexus 7 speeds have been very open; water and road salts have seeped in and totally ruined the internals. If you ever hear a worrying noise, open it and inspect it; if discovered early enought it can be fixed; Shimano seems to mostly sell the inners as a full assembly; a bit unnecessary in many cases, and expensive; it's easy though. I have been very happy with some of the Nexus 7 hubs I've had.

I have tried with synthetic oil in an old Nexus 7 in stead of the recommended grease, it works fine; I've had plenty of oil in there, it seeps out but runs very smootly. It doesn't interfere with the coaster brake even if it probably has been drenched in oil at some point. After just a short distance of pedaling and back pedalling, the brakes return as they should be. I might order a oil cap and drill a permanent hole in the hub shell. I read about this in a blog some where, and it's not a bad idea.

I also have an old 80s Sachs 5 gear, the type with one toggle chain on each side of the axle. I have oiled it with synthetic telfon oil, runs very smooth, still a bit heavy to pedal the bike though. I'm not sure if it's the gear hub or some other type of tuning that needs to be done.

ShortLegCyclist

I have two Nexus 7 bikes and both make that sound in overdrive gears.

I have an Alfine 8 bike too and it is silent in all gears.

youthcom

This was over 5 years ago. At the time I returned the bike to REI & bought a Dahon Mu XL Sport with a Nexus red-band 8 spd IGH instead. Doesn't get much use but I still have it today.