Originally Posted by
timo888
Derailers, in my experience, drop their chains when the bike is ridden over a fairly large bump or off a curb, and therefore the rider can almost always anticipate the jolt and hold onto the bars more tightly, and adjust pedaling and riding position accordingly; whereas the SA8's slip into first gear and sudden loss of pedaling resistance happens without any warning whatsoever.
Well I can't say that's been my experience. The only time I've had the big slip is if I keep pushing it after a crunchy shift instead of giving the hub a chance to lock in gear.
Truthfully I suspect at lot of the issues people have with shifting internal hubs has to do with being too accustomed to derailleurs. Since the shift/pedal timing and tactile feedback for an internal hub is basically the opposite of a derailleur I think lots of folks are messing up their hubs by instinctively and subconciously pedaling and shifting with the worst possible syncronization every single time they shift. Stop using a derailleur for six months and then tell me how horrible the shifting is on Sturmey Archer hubs.
Originally Posted by
BruceMetras
7th to 1st in one motion, not really much call for that in everyday situations.. perhaps you haven't tried a rapidfire shifter on a Nexus 8spd hub .. it'll shift as fast as you can wiggle your thumb.. other than more precise indexing over a twist grip shifter, it also allows both your hands to remain firmly on the grips as you brake and shift at the same time (now that's handy).. also it's easier on the wrist... a measure of safety actually.. now, where going from 7th to 1st in a single twisting motion is nice is if you also have a Schlumpf Mountain Drive or a High Speed with a 2.5/1 to one overdrive/underdrive, there you basically have two separate gear ranges with little gear overlap..
I do it at least 6 times a day (7th to 1st). Once coming to the traffic light at the bottom of each hill on my way to work and the same on my way home.
You are right, I haven't tried the trigger shifter for the Nexus (just with derailleurs) but I still think I'd rather stick with the twist grip. Like I said, I usually shift in steps of two because the steps on the SA8 are too close together, so why double my wiggles? Also, when braking I'd rather have as few distractions as possible. Different strokes I guess.