I would too, alan. Especially for longer rides. Most cyclists like to enjoy a big ride with a fast bike.

But for my everyday 6.5 mile commute with two hills, I'm better off with this internal gear hub. I need the excersize and the features this bike has.

Regarding that wise crack on my maintenance, I know I'm fussy and want every gear to work. I had a tough time on my hybrid with that and it was getting worse. I know I would need a new derailler if I rode it more. But, regardless of that, I know a lot of people with derailler bikes and many need tuning. I tune my kids bikes a couple of times a year. I much prefer a low or no maintenance bike--like the old Schwinn's when I was a kid. I'm sure a new, high quality derailler bike would probably change my opinion regarding these, but I remain frustrated with them at the moment particularly with the front sprocket.

On my road bike I try to avoid rain but this isn't practical when living in Indiana! The last 30 year average rainfall is 35.55 inches a year with 35 inches of snow a year.

My commute miles are not very far only about 3 miles, but ride after work between 10 to 20 miles and on the weekends (usually just one of the two days) I ride between 60 to 150 miles. The street quality here is not real good due to the rain and snow there are a lot of potholes and large cracks. I also ride on chip and seal pavement which is very rough and even sometimes ride on (short) brick roads which are actually smoother then chip and seal! But I have only lived here since 2004 before that I was in Calfornia for 35 years.

What you also don't know is that the road bike I'm riding on has over 140,000 miles on it and still going strong. The bike was my last bike I used in racing back in the mid 80's so it's a racing bike made of steel and equipped with 100% Suntour Superbe components. When I moved here from California I decided after my first surprise downpour while riding that I better treat the internal frame with a rust preventer to be safe...though I'm not sure why since I want an excuse to buy another racing bike (sentimental reasons) even though I don't race...so why buy another racing bike? for fun.

Good info here.

I'm the relatively new owner (just over 6 mos. and 1,000 miles) of a Breezer Uptown 8 with the Schimano Premium Nexus 8 (red band) hub. I think the hub works fine, haven't had any functional problems with it. My Uptown 8 is not a lightweight racing bike, so the weight of the hub is no issue as far as I'm concerned. My problem is that the shift cable linkage and it's stupidly awkward attachment to the shift cog is a real pain to remove and replace. And this must be done each time the wheel needs to come off, such as to patch or replace the tube or tire. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I cannot patch a tube without taking it out of the tire. Which means having the wheel off the bike. So, the rigamorole necessary to get the rear wheel (the one that always goes flat, BTW) off the bike is just absurd and intolerable. Nothing about the process is easy, and every action on that cable linkage requires the application of seemingly destructive levels of force using oversized tools. It's not just lift-off, drop on by any means. Therefore, I'm afraid I'd have to discourage anyone from getting involved in this thing. The whole concept is questionable in any case, since derailleurs are much simpler to maintain, pose no problems as far as wheel removal is concerned, are cheaper and lighter in weight. What's the reason for this Nexus hub anyway? If I could delete it from my Uptown 8, and get a good 24-speed derailler system in it's place, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

thanks a lot for your input Yo Doc

I see two significant benefits to the internal hub 1) Ease of use 2) Low maintenance

If you're someone who could benefit from gearing, but are completely confused by deraileurs, this is pretty foolproof. Experienced cyclists may take it for granted, but I know several relatively intelligent people that just don't get it, let alone cross-chaining.

I sought out the Nexus8 for the low maintenance. Riding every day, rain or shine, an exposed drivetrain requires a lot of cleaning to keep it in proper working order. An internal hub keeps all the important bits protected in a bath of lubricant. The drum brake is a plus for me, as well, since it works in icy conditions when the front may not.

I have my concerns about removing the rear wheel efficiently (especially in the cold), and plan to practice a bit before I promote this bike to a full-time commuter this winter. If I can patch, I will likely just break the bead on one side and pull the tube out with the wheel still mounted, which I've done before. It may not be as easy as having the wheel removed, but I'm guessing its easier than removing THIS wheel. Puncture resistant tires and/or tire liners are good protection against this situation.

Ease of use and low maintenance come at a cost, and I see two: 1) weight 2) inefficiency

The hub has significant weight, which is concentrated in one spot. As someone who carries loaded panniers every day, this is negligible, and shouldn't deter someone from buying one. If it does, you're probably looking at the wrong bike to begin with.

I notice a bit of drag in the hub when I'm pedaling compared to a deraileur drivetrain, but only in some gears. I don't recall which ones, I think 3 and 7, but I hear a lot of gear winding sounds and notice the drag compared to the next gear up or down. I've already developed a tendancy to skip those gears. I'll try changing the oil and adjusting before blaming the hub, but I am picturing the planetary and sun gears spinning, which has to produce some resistance over a chainwheel and cog.

YMMV

https://www.sandsmachine.com/a_syc_r1.htm

FWIW, I've ridden my Nexus-7 based Nishiki now for four years. I don't have an exact mileage, but a few thousand kilometers is a minimum I've ridden with it. Mainly commuting, but some longer trips as well.

Due to my commute, I ride it on pavement, on gravel, in mud, in wet conditions and occasionally during below 0 degrees centigrade.

I have to park the bike outside in the pouring rain, sometimes for weeks (of course I ride on it daily, but it stays in the rain, when I go in).

Sure, some of the metal parts are slightly rusted on the sprockets of my bar and brakes...

... but the Nexus-7 keeps on going with only two lubes during the whole time.

No misalignment, lost gears, odd sounds or any maintenance.

It just works. Day in, day out.

I'm not a hardcore drive in the snow type of a biker, but I'm not the scared of rain type either.

For me, coming from a series of derailers - this thing is exactly what I wanted: simple, relatively maintenance free compared to derailers I've used (nothing is absolutely maintenance free) and just works.

Now, maybe it's just my unit and maybe I'm in luck, but I'm going to risk my luck and the next bike I'll get (when this one is beyond repair) is going to have a hub gears in it as well.

YMMV.

cheers,
halcyon

I've read the thread, and I am interested in the Nexus premium hub. I'd rather have a Rohloff, but the ~$800 price delta is a bit daunting, to say the least. My question is this: Is the Nexus hub ok for a big rider? I weight 325lbs and generally carry up to 30 lbs, maybe more on a short tour. Would the Nexus hold up? Or am I stuck with a Rohloff?

Thanks!

You'll find that the Nexus preimum hub will hold up. What you need to be concerend about is the quality of the wheel build. I got mine from Sheldon Brown (Harris Cyclery) as a prebuilt wheel and it was built to take a beating (on sun touring rims). I'm not a small guy....and have been known as a spoke killer. This is a good wheel that shold proably last you a long tim and also meet you budget constraints.

phillybill, thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback. I am currently looking into getting it built by IRO (through velocity) on a Velocity Cliff Hanger rim. I have a fixed gear wheel built by them on that wheel and it is indestructable. I'm very glad the Nexus will hold up to my size. I am definitely going to go this route!

legot73, have you taken the rear wheel off before? if you haven't, give yourself plenty of time to figure it out! the first time i took off the rear wheel, it took hours. i didn't want to do it wrong, and i didn't have anyone to show me what i was and wasn't supposed to remove, so i was scared of breaking or messing up something important. i spent most of the time looking up nexus-8 hubs on the internet, trying to find a how-to (i didn't find one). i finally asked for help on the mechanics forum anyway, i had a flat tire a day or two ago, and i got the tire off in record time! it took a couple minutes to get it back on again, but still it was way, WAY better than before.

my bike has a roller brake, so there's a brake arm that's attached to the chainstay. it's attached with a bolt and a nut. it's really annoying to get that off of there, because you have to get a wrench to the back side of the brake arm and then hold that still while you turn the head of the bolt with a screwdriver or another wrench. someone suggested replacing the nut with a wingnut, so i did. it cost a dollar or so and it is a million-billion times better.


my problem with my hub is that i can't get it adjusted correctly, so maybe 50 times a day it jumps out of the gear i'm in, and my feet are flung forward crazily. i adjust it frequently but it doesn't seem to make any difference. i don't have a workstand so i can't run it through the gears while the pedals are moving, and i think it would help if i could. when i fixed the flat, i adjusted the hub with the bike upside down so i could move the pedals; i hope that helped, but i haven't tested it out yet to be sure.

i'd like it if the gearing range were wider but if i think about people with single-speed bikes then i realize maybe i am just being too particular

one more thing i almost forgot: the grip-shifter for the nexus-8 kind of sucks. sometimes (if you're sweaty or the grips are wet) it's difficult to get the friction to turn the thing, and it can be a little "smooshy" so you have to fiddle with it to get it to go into gear. it's also raised above the level of the grip on my handlebar, so if i have my hand around the grip, it pushes my thumb joint backwards into an unnatural position. sounds like no big deal, but i've ridden 500 or so miles in two months and if i put any pressure on my thumb it hurts (sometimes a lot). i haven't heard of anyone else having that problem, but it's kind of a big deal for me so i thought i should mention it. i read here that shimano's alfine hub uses a different kind of shifter--maybe it would work with this hub? don't know, but if it did, i would buy it in a heartbeat.

I haven't taken the rear wheel off yet, but I do have some time scheduled this weekend to practice. I saw the bolt for releasing the brake, but wasn't so sure about the gear adjustment afterwords. I definitely plan to practice before using it as a commuter, and be able to do it in the dark. Thanks for the wingnut advice, sounds like a good idea to me.

I have the pdf from Shimano that explodes the hub and defines the parts, and a pdf (from Sheldon Brown, I think) that covers the adjustment. I can forward it to you if you like. I'll search for your mech post to take advantage of the advice you got.

I think I need to adjust my gear cable anyway, which I've read about but won't get it till I do it. It tends to slip between 4 and 5, but I haven't lost gears at all. I also notice that 4 is noisy and I feel a lot of drag, while 5 feels like a lot less drag and no noise. I tend to avoid 4 and favor 5 in its place just because of that. From what I've found, lack of cable adjustment is one of the very few ways you can hurt these hubs.

legot73: thanks for the offer! i do have that pdf though. i didn't realize that the roller brake and the hub have different manuals! so eventually i downloaded the roller brake manual and then i knew what to do. but just as a warning: the roller brake manual shows a brake "quick-release" that doesn't look or work like my quick-release. i have an '06 bianchi milano.

if your bike is like my bike, you shouldn't have to adjust any cables after you remove your wheel--the brake cable and the shifter cable both come out with the nut still attached, so when you reinstall the wheel, you just pop them back where they were.

the bike mechanic at my LBS said that after the shifting is worn in a little, 4 and 5 will be kind of mushy. i used to have to give the shifter a little push to get into 4th. but now i have it mis-adjusted differently so i don't have to do that anymore do you know how to use the barrel adjuster on the shifter? the mechanic told me to use the barrel adjuster to adjust the shifting, until i can see 1/4" or so of threads sticking out, and then i need to tighten the barrel back up and adjust the shifting with the nut down at the hub (the nut that you pull out when you need to take off your wheel). you don't want to let the barrel adjuster have more than 1/4" or so of threads showing, because it could snap off.

hope some of that makes sense. i think i'm going to make a tutorial or something, in case anyone is desperately searching the internet trying to find why they can't get their wheel off. it was so frustrating!!

I've been tinkering with the barrel adjuster, which fixed 2 and 3 but still get the "mushy" feeling between 4 and 5. I think the problem is that I can't envision what the cable adjustment is doing, so I don't know how much/which way to get the results I want. I guess that's a drawback of having it all encased.

I'll look for the rollerbrake pdf, because I don't have that one.

Also, I'm planning on carrying two wrenches for the axle nuts for field repairs. I'm also considering the bolt-on axle for the Nexus generator hub since I'll have them on hand, anyway.

ohh, do you have the generator hub? or are you planning to get it?
if you have it, how is it? i've been looking at those seriously in the past few days, because they turned out to be less expensive than i thought they were.

i always turn the barrel adjuster the wrong way. but i realized that when i turn the adjuster forward, then the yellow line on the right-hand side moves forward. so i just try to remember which yellow line moves the same way as the adjuster! i guess you could think "right-hand adjuster, right-hand line" or something like that. er, i think it's the right-hand side. haha. jeez.

I've been running the shimano generator hub on 2 bikes (B&M lights). They are holding up very well. One bike has seen 1,500 miles on a dirt road and gets sprayed off at the carwash (I know one is not supposed to carwash a bike, but it's easier) and the hub has not had the first issue.

I've also got over 3,000 miles on a Rohloff and it has not had the first trouble. They behave exactly as one would expect. One of the few instances of actually getting what you pay for.

--A

I don't have the hub yet, but am putting my order together for PeterWhiteCycles for the hub, two 2.4w front lights (one with a capacitor and one without), a switch, a dynamo taillight, and Nokian studded tires. The tires are my sticking point, I'm not sure if I need them.

The hub is $45 bolt, $55 quick release per Peter's email. The site is great for all things winter (www.peterwhitecycles.com)

thanks guys! i really need to win the lottery or go to trade school or something so i can snap all this stuff up.

Hi, I am building a bike with either a Shimano Alfine or a Nexus 8R25 ("red band"). Since the frame has horizontal dropouts, I think I would be more comfortable with a rollerbrake than an Alfine with a disc, I use the front brake most of the time, the rear brake is for a backup only so I am OK with non-disc performance - and I would not need to adjust the disc brake whenever I adjust chain tension, besides the Nexus red band is easier to get in the US than the Alfine. I am planning to get the Deluxe (BR-IM70-R) version (V-brakes I don't want, mainly because sometimes I ride on dirt roads in the rain and it eats brakepads like crazy).

One thing I read on the Shimano website is that the rollerbrake may drag in cold weather due to the grease becoming solid. I would like to know if people have experienced that and at what temperatures. Weather where I live rarely if ever goes below -10 Celsius / 14 Fahrenheit, so if I am OK at those temperatures I would buy a red band with rollerbrake.