Originally Posted by
closetbiker
how does a 4 speed Shimano Nexus rate?
I have that on the cruiser and was considering using that to rebuild a new wheel for my road frame, but I'm thinking when I add up the costs of doing that (and rebuilding a wheel for the cruiser) I might be better off just selling the cruiser as is (and maybe the road bike I was considering converting) and put that cash towards a new IGH bike.
So far as the Nexus4 is concerned it is so far as I know out of production so any new one you find is going to be new old stock and Shimano is not well known for keeping spares available for discontinued products for very long. It is an orphan so I would not put money into building it into a new wheel.
Also the Nexus 4 has the same overall gear range as most current 3 speeds, inadequate for many riders and uses. It does give smaller steps between gears than the three speeds but that is the only advantage. Finally, like the SA 8 speed hubs, it has its direct drive in low gear, making it harder to gear it for an adequate low for hilly riding conditions. With the direct drive first and narrow overall range gearing for hilly riding means spinning out in high due to how low 4th gear will be.
Adequate for a cruiser IMO but inadequate for a road bike. To me a road bike needs a range of 250% or more which means SRAM P5, Shimano Nexus 7, SRAM S7, Shimano Nexus8/Alfine or SRAM iMotion9. If you have more money than sense, as I apparently do
, then the Rohloff is also a viable choice. I leave out the SA 8 speeds due to the direct drive first. In my book this makes them more suitable for a small wheel folding bike. The SA 5 speeds do not have the 250% overall gear range I suggested.