Did the brake design change significantly between the 7- and 8-speed Nexus? The rear brake on my Milano works fine. Not super strong,but it does the job for a rear brake.

Of course,I'm used to riding motorcycles,so I use the front and rear brakes differently.

Rohloff has a quick release skewer. And bayonet clips on the shifter cables. To me there has been very little difference in time to change a tire,

Rohloff makes an OEM disk brake model, and a retrofit disk hub. I got the OEM since I built the frame and used thier dropouts which are two part and adjustable. They also have a winter oil and an all season oil. This will be my first winter commute with the rohloff. I did have my derailleur freeze last winter, and it would not shift until I knocked the ice off.
The rohloff's have a issue controlling torque and the soultion on the retrofit none disk is a bar that transfers the torque to the chain stay. The disk brake retrofit model uses a "speedbone" that attaches to the disc brake tab and is much nicer to look at.
The oem droputs eliminate all thos problems.
I would stongly suggest that if interested that you read the manuals that are on thier web site. Rohloff's that is.
I have not been riding the hub that long, just finished the bike in late June. But I will say this so far I love it.

For me, part of the attraction of internal gearing is the simplicity of operation. Adding external cogs or bb gearing just adds (to me) unnecessary complication.

The nexus 7 spd give me a wide enough gear range for hilly Knoxville (6% slopes common, 10% occasional). This is a commuter bike, and the gearing is not suitable for a long pull up a mountain pass, but okay for an unhurried longer cruise.

[QUOTE=bostontrevor]It's true, they are a bit less efficient but many people will never notice. Heavier? Are you carrying a set of clothes, tools, lights, maybe rack and pans. Some fenders? Lunch? Heavier seems to be relative. As for less gear range, modern 7 and 8 speed internals have about the same range as a classic 10 speed. It's not quite a triple, but then that's probably ok most of the time.

On the other hand, you don't have to deal with your rear cluster turning into an iceball in the winter, do ya?



Maybe the best argument for one of those shaft drive bikes is icing on the bike ? I wonder if they are very well sealed?

I don't really buy it.

Shaft drive requires an internally geared hub. Once you're there, a chain drive and shaft drive perform just as well in inclement conditions with the chain being marginally more efficient, lighter, and tons cheaper and more readily available.

[QUOTE=2manybikes
Maybe the best argument for one of those shaft drive bikes is icing on the bike ? I wonder if they are very well sealed?[/QUOTE]
One of the people on the Icebike list got one. On the one hand, he said that friction losses from the shaft drive were lower than expected. On the other hand, he also remarked that it was not particularly sealed against the elements.

Paul

The losses in the rohloff are way below 10 percent. And when I brought this issue up on another site, I was roundly savaged for my ignorance, there are at least some who believe these hubs are more efficient even with the titanic weight. It comes down to the fact that we readily accept the inefficiency of the derailleur, how dusty and dirty it gets, the angles, the longer chain, the weight in the cranks, and so forth. Then the issues of gear range come up, and the next thing you know someone is advocating a fixed drive, in San Francisco. I mean somewhere between that stage of your life, and the electric wheelchair, there might be a place for a few gears.

Anyway, I haven't used one, and the main advantages in durability really don't mean much to the real world of even my touring and MTBing to date. But it is certainly an interesting trend. The main thing the Nexus has going for it is that it has a full double range, and triples only really became the norm about 20 years ago, so we are at a reasonable place relative to gearing, and a reasonable price. I'm not plunking down what they want for a Rohloff until a few more decades have gone by. I have no interest in paying early adopter prices.

I also remember when bikes didn't have quick releases, in fact I'm getting them off my bikes. With the fenders all coming to the same point of attachment in the old days, we fixed almost all our tires in place, and kept them about 5-10 patches worth. With the new instant patches being so low profile a few patches seem reasonable. The way you find holes if it is noisy or whatever, is just use your eyes, and when you find something suspicious, put your finger over it with a little spit Don't worry your inertube is already wearing a rubber, you won't catch anything!

Does anyone know whether the Nexus has dish?

Internally geared wheels are dishless.

I've never had ice or anything give me chain problems in the snow. Do you get ice problems from riding or leaving the bike outside? I don't think I leave my bike outside as much as you do.


That pretty much removes any benefits of the shaft drive. I would think any moisture inside the drive unit would be a problem in the winter.

That's basically what I'm saying. I never have a problem with the chain, ring, or cog so I don't see the win with a shaft drive. My bikes overnight inside, so they see both indoors and out.