From what I gather so far from the work I've done at the bike shop and personal use :
I have used the Shimano 3 speed, the 7 speed, the Nexus premium and the Alfine. I have also used the SRAM i-motion 3 and the 7 speed, and the 5 cargo. I have also rolled on the good old Sturmey AW.
Now my recommendations:
Between the 3 speed models (AW, Shimano 3, i-motion), my vote goes to the i-motion hands down. They all perform pretty much the same, but the i-motion is just so easy to adjust and work on. No chain puller bull****, just a "joint" and that's all. I wish it was available with a thumb shifter like my Nexus, but none of the three speeds have it. Sturmey could be considered as having one, but it's crap (their design hasn't evolved in the last 40 years). On the negative side, the i3 seems more noisy than the Shimano, but I haven't compared both next to each other so it may be a false impression. The Sturmey is a good hub, but the company itself is crap. I would only use an old AW. What I like about these is that it doesn't require greasing it (thus opening it). You need to oil it via the hole on it to keep it in good shape tho.
So in that category, 1. SRAM - 2. Shimano - 3. Sturmey (avoid that company if you can)
For the others, the SRAM 7 has about the same range as the Nexus Premium and Alfine. I have also heard that the Sram 7 has much better water resistance. One thing I hate with the Nexus is how easy water gets in. Being a winter rider, it is an annoyance and I hope they will come out with a better way to seal it. The Nexus is friggin dead silent, and I love it for that. Shifting under load is exceptionally easy. Most of the time you don't even have to release the pressuse. Now most of them are easy too, but the Nexus is a notch above.
The SRAM 7 is less expensive and comes in all kind of brake systems (go with drum brake [ibrake] !). As I said previously it has about the same range. But it's supposed to be sealed better. It makes it my personnal favorite. Plus its gearing interval is more even, whereas the Nexus is pretty much all over the place.
The SRAM 5 is not really in any of these categories. It looks like a very nice hub but I haven't really ridden on it much (15 minutes tops).
I am dying to test the I-9.
I personnaly own the Nexus Premium and the iMotion 3 and both love them.
Originally Posted by
interested
It depends somewhat on climate and riding distance.
The Shimano Nexus 8 spd. (red band or not) is genereally considered a rather horrible product in the country where I live. In fact most Danish bicycle producers I know of have pulled the Nexus 8 from their 2008 product lines because of extremely high failure numbers. The main problem seems to be inadequate sealing that makes intruding water destroy the racings and bearing in record time. Since the left racing are part of the hub shell (not a spare part) this mean a new hub and usually a new rear wheel. A former colleague that had 1-2 warranty repairs on his Nexus 8 before he finally destroyed it after a year was given the advice that he needed to have the hub serviced every 1000 miles.
For some reason the Shimano 7 spd. is much more resilient to water and corrosion damage, also the Sram Sram Spectro S7 is considered the most durable of all the "cheap" IGH's.
But no matter what, if you ride a lot and also in wet weather, and perhaps in the winter/spring when there is salt on the roads, get your IGH serviced at suitable intervals, in practise this just means repacking the bearing grease. IGH's are perhaps low maintenance, but they are not zero maintenance devices.
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Regards