Originally Posted by
interested
I advice against getting a 4-8 spd IGH for your riding pattern. People tend to project all kinds of fantasy wishes into IGH's imagining them to be zero maintenance everlasting devices immune to wind and weather. IGH's have their uses, but they actually need maintenance just like any other mechanical device. The last official Shimano doc I have seen says that a Nexus 8 spd IGH needs an overhaul every 5000 km (3100 miles, but much lower intervals if used in bad weather), but someone well informed on IGH's on this forum says Shimano now recommends 1000 miles per overhaul, which is total in line what local mechanics in my country says. The 1000 miles rule is for all weather high mileage fast commuters, if you are a fair weather low mileage commuter the service interval can be much longer.
My 4 speed Nexus malfunctioned after less that two years of commuting which is way under 1000 miles. There was grit inside and it was skipping and grinding. The LBS said it'd cost me almost as much in labor to fix this one as 2/3 the cost of a new one. I looked inside and this thing has like hundred parts, impossible to overhaul it by yourself. I said forget it and had that wheel rebuilt for singlespeed. On my new DIY commuter bike I went with regular RD and cogs.
Adam