Good luck in your quest.[/QUOTE]

Serviced the rear hub on my ultegra wheels last night, new bearings, oiled the freehub, came to the conclusion that its not so bad after all. Every now and then you examine how you are doing things, seek other opinions and then make a decision.
You mentioned LBS info, the MAIN high end bike shop here in Dublin told me that I could not put a hub into my Sirrus, yet you were able to tell me that I could. This is the benefit of these types of forums. Having learned I could put in a hub, I then wanted to see how reliable the Nexus would be. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. It is an expensive piece of kit which is for a specific function, it is as far as I can see now unproven technology. I have a Brompton for 6 years, proven technology, when you buy one of these things it does exactly what is says - you know what you get.

I have decided that I am more on the lines of Interested. For a high mileage commuter, which is what I am, out in weather, then the derailleur along with a good set of hubs is the most optimum machine. Easy to service, clean, and the chain replacement etc. is part of the cost of commuting.

Thank you and everyone else for all the info posted. This is the whole idea of these forums. If you look through my posts you will clearly see that I have in turn posted info to new commers here based on what I in turn learned. The late Sydney was tremendous in helping me learn how to strip the bike down completely.

I make no apology for enquiring how reliable things are before I spend my money on something like a hub bike. The Brompton is a very clearly proven piece of technology. There is a seperate Brompton forum and you will find incredible stories about how the factory have helped people get sorted with repairs etc.

Anyway let hope that Shimano do in fact eliminate the problems around the NExus and give us a hub gear we can relay on.