Originally Posted by thdave
By far, the easiest and smoothest shifting system I've tried. Quick, quiet, reliable. No load or full load up a hill shifting.
Yes,the Nexus 8 hub rocks. My Milano has one and I'm building a bad weather bike out of my Surly and an older 7sp hub. I really like being able to shift whenever I want without any clunking or having to pedal faster.
Originally Posted by thdave
Very responsive bike--quick off the line.
Yup. No derailer slop,it's just like a single speed or fixie.
Originally Posted by thdave
Strange feel. I'm used to a steel bike with bigger tires. I never knew how different the feel would be!
Not sure if tires were properly inflated or if the seat was too soft--but it felt soft.
What I'd expect from a comfort bike. Sounds kinda like my Sedona.
Originally Posted by thdave
Once up to speed, it felt slow. No speedometer, so I can't verify. It just felt slow. This might be because it had a cushy ride.
In the top gear, #8 on this model, I pedaled too easily. I was going downwind when I had this problem, but I felt that it pedaled too easily in all the gears. I understand this can be adjusted, so they all pedal a little harder, with the same range. I would need to do that.
Sounds like it's geared too low. My Milano is 44/20,and has a pretty good range. I have no idea how you could adjust the pedaling resistance on a Nexus. They have adjustments for cable stretch and brake wear. You could easily swap the sprockets to change the overall gearing. Sheldon has a neat calculator on his site.
Originally Posted by thdave
If you spin the front wheel (note there is a dyno hub generator on the hub), there is drag on it. It does not spin freely and comes to a stop fairly quickly. This happens with the lights on or off--I don't get that.
There shouldn't be any serious drag with the dyno. As I understand it,they're brushless and make power through induction. It's possible the brake needed adjusting or the skewer was to tight. Also,the dyno makes power when ever the wheel spins;the lights don't need to be on.
Originally Posted by thdave
There is a drag on the rear wheel, too. It doesn't spin freely either. Note--I didn't feel the drag while peddling.
Ummm,not sure about this. I'll have to give my rear wheel a spin and report back. On my Milano I notice some drag while pedaling,but none while coasting.
Originally Posted by thdave
Can I get ever over the freakishly small fat wheels? I really wish I rode the Villager men's style. They didn't have one.I don't know what to do!
Small fat wheels? They're only 1.5's. Come ride my Surly;it's got 2.35" knobbies.
I can't personally get into the Breezers. I like more performance. My Milano,despite the beach cruiser looks,feels like a smooth-tired MTB. I'd also want disc brakes for an all-weather machine.
Cannondale makes some sweet Nexus machines that they don't import into the US:
http://gb.cannondale.com/bikes/06/CE/cats/Urban.html
I wish we could get them here.
There was also a forumite who posted a Nexus/disc brake-equipped hybrid from the UK(can't remember the brand) that also isn't found Stateside. That's why I'm rolling my own with my Surly conversion.