Nexus 8 Hub - Help
 

Anyone really used one of these in anger, say 10k miles, all weather. How does it look now, maintenance and condition

I rode one commuting (and still am) 32 miles rt mix of road, trail crused stone w/lots of pot holes and city streets since last October. It was great in the winter not having to claen the accumulated grit out of a freewheel. The wet gunk that accumlated on the chain was substantial. The hub has perfomed great w/ no maintinece except adjusting the shifter cable and cleaning the cog. Shifts well under load and I am happy with it. BTW, I had a bike w/ Nexus 7 and this hub (mine is premium red band) has less drag and is quieter. Hope that helps.

Tried it....did not like the weight that it added to the bike. From a performance point of view, it worked well on the streets on Phlia.

It weighs less than derailer systems except for Dura-Ace. However, the weight is not distributed because it is all inside the rear hub. There is no performance reduction from this.

I have few bicycles with internal gear hubs. 2 with 3 speed one with 7 speed. One commuter with a shimano 3 cc coaster brake for short distances, up until 30 km/day, one for long distance commuting bicycle with a Shimano Nexus 7 and finally a mountain bicycle with a 3 speed 333 shimano hub. I had no problem with them, and they never stoped working, independently of riding conditions.
If you take a look around you may notice that Down Hill bicycles are being equiped with internal geared hubs, and you have to agree, that even for short distances, these bicycles are used in extreme impact conditions

I ride a Breezer with the Nexus 8. I love the internal gears compared to the classic deraileur, but recently ran into some troubles with it. I to between 75 and 100 miles per week and a few weeks ago, the hub started slipping. I'd be riding along as happy as could be and all of a sudden, the pedals would slip out from under my feet. It was almost as if the chain were slipping off. My LBS and I tried a few different adjustments and they finally took the hub apart to clean a lube it. That seems to have done the trick, though I admit I was skeptical that it would work. The hub is still not 100%, but the improvement is tremendous. Perhaps it needs an even better cleaning and lube. My only other remaining problem is that the wheel does not seem to freewheel as easily as it did when new. It sounds rougher and even rotates the pedals when coasting much like it doesn when moving in reverse. Kinda weird, but nothing too traumatic. I definitely plan on taking the bike in to have it really looked at. I'm riding in an MS charity event in June and want to make sure everything is tip top.

I forgot to mention that I've put about 1800 miles on it in every kind of weather since last August.

Make sure they use the specific lube for Shimano hubs. Sheldon Brown's site has it listed as something that is a MUST! I don't have the link on me but If I locate it I will post it.

I am looking at getting the Breezer with the Nexus 8 myself. Glad to hear some fairly positive posts.

Keep Cycling!

Doesn't have one myself, since I dislike riding bicycles with internal gears, this hub is however fairly common where I live, so I do have some knowledge about it. (I assume you don't mean Shimanos new so called "Ultegra level" hub.)
The verdict pretty much is, that this hub is OK for very light, low speed commuting, but are really bad for even moderate distance, all weather commuting (rain and frost).
A colleague of mine has a 25 mile round-trip commute. His 8 speed Shimano Nexus Rollerbrake broke 3 times within the first year, requiring a major overhaul each time, before it finally disintegrated two weeks ago. His new LBS (who sold him a new wheel) told him that he had to bring the hub in every 1400-1800 miles for preventive maintenance or it too would be destroyed.
One could probably do the overhaul oneself (inspection, grease repacking, perhaps changing bearings). But since people usually buy these hubs because the don't want to do maintenance work, they probably won't.
Anyway, if one does all-weather medium distance one one of these hubs, they should expect them to be much more maintenance intensive than a normal dérailleur.
People on the danish bicycle forums I hang out in, tells similar stories. The hub isn't watertight, meaning that road grit and salt and water penetrates it, destroying the bearings. One guy even claimed that the entire hub locked up when cold because of water inside it.

Another common problem is cable problems; since the hub has a weak internal spring (compared to dérailleur), the cable has a tendency to stick when freezing. Especially going from thaw to frost causes problems. Road grit or cable rust also hampers its cable action more than normal dérailleurs.

You can't use a QR with these hubs, so you need to ride with a wrench if you want to change the tube. The Rollerbrake version is really, really nasty regarding this, since all the bolts, nuts and cable adjustments, turns a simple tube-changing job into a laborious affair. (besides its breaking power doesn't impress me at all)

People also claim that the gear ratios aren't that good if you like to go fast (the SRAM 7 speed should be better in this regard). But I guess this is also a matter of personal taste.

Besides that, these hubs are heavy. I am not a weight weenie, but a rear wheel with such a hub, really feels like a bag of bricks to hold. The drag may be low, but for me it just sucks the joy out of cycling. This of course is a matter of personal taste, thousands of people use Nexus 8 speed hub and are very happy about it. The same with grip-shift; some like it, others don't.

The hubs are expensive. I don't know US prices, but where I live, a Nexus 8 speed rear wheel alone, usually cost the same as a pair of super strong Campagnolo Vento wheels + cassette, or a pair of Shimano wheels + cassette. Even a hand built rear wheel with Mavic rim and Shimano Ultegra hub are cheaper.

Normal dérailleurs are very simple, extremely durable and very low maintenance (if you don't mind that they look dirty), even though they look complicated with all their springs and moving parts. They are cheap too compared to internal gears.

In fact I personally can't find any significant point where these expensive (though not high quality) hubs with internal gearing are better than normal dérailleurs and hubs. Their perceived low maintenance probably is much worse than normal gears, they have drag, they are heavy, they are expensive, they make the wheel difficult to service, you are restricted to grip-shift (IMHO), can't run very fast because of gear ratios, may need more cable maintenance than normal etc.

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Regards
Peter H.S.

Thank you very much for taking the time to give such a detailed review. It is very helpful.

I second that! Very detailed review! Thanks so much for sharing. I think I have made up my mind against the Nexus Hub. I am sure it is fine for some circumstances but for heavy riding (commuting) and long distances it isn't the best choice.

Keep Cycling,

I'll third that it is a VERY detailed review; especially from someone who states up front that he"Doesn't have one myself, since I dislike riding bicycles with internal gears,…

It appears that this review may be mostly cherry picked anecdotes that confirm the poster's antipathy towards such hubs and slightly less than objective; given the poster's stated made up mind about internal hubs.

Note: My personal experience with ownership and cycling experience with one bike with Shimano 7 speed hub, 3 bikes withSachs 7 speed hubs in the last six years and numerous bikes equipped with Sachs Torpedo and Sturmey Archer 3 speeds over the last 35 years revealed NONE of these problems.

Comments to a thorough review
 

A couple of counterpoints to a very nice review...

My Nexus hub (which is only a 7 speed) does not have a rollerbrake so I don't have that problem. I've ridden the bike through the winter and didn't notice any problem shifting--but the bike is still pretty new (one winter). I don't know the weights of any of the components but I definitely don't think I'm riding on a bag of bricks!

My biggest disagreement is with the comment that derailers are "very low maintenance." I've ridden a derailer bike for 25 years and it needs regular adjustments every couple of weeks. Cables must be cleaned often. The chain would fall off every once in a while, too. That never happens on my Nexus.

I never have to look down when I shift to see if the chain "caught" when shifting. I always do on my derailer bike.

I've also heard the opposite regarding maintenance for an internal gear hub. I've only had mine since December, and haven't done any thing to it, but it is way too early. I guess I'll find out.

Regardless, I love my internal gear hub.

My bike is equiped with a nexus 8 gearhub. I've been commuting on it since feb 2005 every day all
types op wheater. I've now almost put 5000 miles on it without any significant problems. There where only
2 minor adjusments first the cable has been adjusted once after the first 300 miles or so. And last february
exacltly 1 year after buying the new bike the chain has been replaced by my LBS during yearly maintainance
because it was strecthed to far to tighten it.

So all with all it seams to hold up quite well during my 20 miles round trip commute. And I'm lazy so no
preventive maintaince besides lubing the chain once a month.

This seems to be the one provable assertion in this thread, and several others have also made counter-claims about the 'heaviness' of the hub--does anyone have any details or first-hand knowledge (i.e. before and after conversion weights) of this?

Interested provided a very detailed review, I agree. However my experiences, based on riding every workday for nearly five years and over 12,000 miles (20,000 km) could not be more different. This involves a heavy salt/sand environment in the winter. In the summer, I tow my child to day camp with it. I have a Nexus-7 with roillerbrake.

Before getting my bike, I commuted for three years on the same route, under the same conditions, with a derailleur bike. I did not find the derailleur the least bit convenient or reliable. In fact, it made me think of driving a 1910 car with manual spark advance and an exposed chain drive. I'd routinely have just half of my gears available. One time, the whole rear derailleur came apart, scattering small pieces in all directions. Meanwhile, the rim brakes would reliably destroy the time, requireing a new wheel at the end of each winter. It was like using a violin to drive nails.

Some points:

The twist grip shifter is a drawback, especially in the rain and after the grip ridges have worn down.

Flat tire? Call a cab, take it to the shop. I'm not going to get my hands dirty on the way to work.

Preventative maintenance? change the grease and replace the shifter cable once a year. Costs about $30 at my LBS.

Weight? Who cares? Most bikes these days are too light and fragile for routine use.

Expense? Who cares? If I drove to work every day, it would cost me about $2,000 in parking.

I have the same expectations for my bike and my Mercedes -- no fiddling, no changing clothing in order to use it, no pieces falling of. Internal gears are required to accomplish this.

Paul

An obvious authority.

Out of the 20 or so threads I've read regarding internal hubs, this is one of maybe 2 or 3 posts declaring that internal hubs have chronic upkeep issues. Most post I've read are somewhere along the lines of "Yeah, I just put some lube in it every 5 years or so and I'm good." My personal experience has been that internal hubs are almost maintenance free.

Never had this problem, so I can't comment towards it.

http://www.veratomic.com/

Yes, the rollerbrake sucks, don't get that version.

Get a smaller cog.

Yep, the hub definately does weigh more than a cassette/hub. The thing is, if you're in the commuting forum, you probably want a bike that can maintain momentum. More weight on a wheel means a higher moment of inertia which means that the bike will coast much better than if it had a lighter wheel. The downside of course is that it will take more work to accelerate. Regardless, the difference isn't that great between cassette and internal acceleration/momentum.

Let's see. $230 for the hub and shifter on Harris. And we all know how reasonable his prices are. [/sarcasm] Add a Shimano brake only lever for $50. You seem to think that The Nexus-8 isn't truly Ultegra level, so let's compare it to a 105 setup. $150 on nashbar for one shifter (assuming you want a single chainring up front for fairness' sake), $30 on nashbar for a 105 cassette (that you'll have to replace, compared to $10 for a new cog w/ the hub), ~$50 for a 105 hub, and $70 for a rear derailler. Internal $280, Cassette $300. Oh, enjoy the premium paid for your dished wheel too.


Not as low maintenance as internal hubs. I do mind the dirt; it's a commuter and w/ internal I get to use a chain gaurd. As regarding affordability, see above.

All personal opinion w/ nothing to back it up.

Regarding the "weight problem",my Milano isn't significantly heavier than a standard hybrid;it just feels funny when you pick it up because the weight is concentrated in the rear wheel.

I don't mind the roller brake at all. I can drag it coming down a hill without trashing a set of brake pads. And rear brakes aren't for stopping. They're for scrubbing speed,holding the bike on a hill,and keeping the back end in place when braking hard. The front brake is what does most of the actual stopping. If I may rant for moment,why the frag do all these 'commuter bikes' that come with Nexus or other internal hubs come with rim front brakes? I wouldn't think of regularly riding in bad weather without discs.

As for the grip shift;yeah,they should've just updated the thumb shifter from the older 7 speeds. Much nicer.

That's why (cycling) gods invented coaster brakes. No problems, ever!. Of course I don't commute up and down 4 mile hills with an average 10% grade. If I did I might consider some other rear braking mechanism.

Thank you:)

I don't think the Shimano Nexus 8 speed has been out on the market more than a few years, so people hardly "just put some lube in it every 5 years", and please notice that it is this particular hub I and the top-poster was talking about, not SRAM 7, or the Rohloff, or the legendary Torpedo T3.
[snip]

I don't think that there are good arguments for heavy bikes, but I do think it is a matter of personal taste; some people commute on road bikes without fenders, some on heavy bikes with fenders, racks and mirrors. Personally I think bikes should be fun to ride, and while being no weight weenie, I do think that light bikes are more fun, and Nexus 8 rear wheels tend to be very heavy. A matter of personal taste of course, but none the less someone should take into consideration when thinking about getting a hub with internal gears.

Hardly a fair comparison; for only $20 more you get very light, 10 speed race level goodness with crisp shifting action, compared to a heavy, city-bike level hub with a guaranteed extra drag due to construction.
I think a SRAM X-7 derailleur with a single SRAM X-7 trigger shifter, combined with 105/Ultegra hub, Tiagra cassette would be a more fair comparison; it would of course be a superior solution regarding gearing options, speed (drag) and weight, but probably also regarding price.

Hubs with internal gears gets just as dirty as derailleurs, both needs cleaning if you want them to look good.
Regarding price, then I really do think it is hard to show that the Nexus 8 is cheaper than an external derailleur combo. But I don't care if you really believe that yourself.
Regarding maintenance, then there isn't any maintenance on an external derailleur besides cleaning and lubing.

Look, I am not on a crusade against internal gear hubs, as I wrote, many people are happy with the particular model the top poster asked about. However, it is my conviction, that this particular hub isn't suited for being used "in anger, say 10k miles, all weather." to quote the top poster, or at least one has to maintain and service it with very regular intervals.

That internal gear hubs are inferior to external derailleurs in many respects, and have few, if any significant advantages is so obvious to me. For starters, then the extra drag is just a fact, not an opinion, so nothing to discuss there. I also think that price and weight is higher, though it is a question of personal taste if this matters, it is something worth considering.
My personal pet peeve with internal gear hubs are that they are marketed as "maintenance free". They aren't, but need regular maintenance and inspection if you want to ensure they work, just like any other bike part.
It is also my conviction, based on what I see and hear, that this particular hub model (or others in a comparable price range) have lesser quality bearings and sealing, than normal hubs and thus probably needs more regular service.

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Regards

Shimano sell these things as being the ultimate commuter tool, low maintenance, use and forget. What does appear to be the case is that this is unture, some people who use these things in anger have major problems with them. I am very interested in the comments from interested as it pulls from a differeent foreign gene pool where these things tend to be used more.

It really did not feel as light as a 105 or Ultegra setup.......felt almost a whole pound difference really was not as good. But for general commuting, it's probably great.

I consider it a failed experiment for my part.....and a loose of 100.00 over all.

But interested is not one of them and is "reporting" what he has chosen to hear about a type of item that he obviously has an inate dislike for some reason known to him; and nothing from any personal experience or direct knowledge. His non debatable facts are hardly that at all.

Hi
Well, my discussion regarded another version hub than yours (Nexus 8). But when reading your post, your experience probably match what I said. Let me explain; it looks like (from what you write below) your LBS service your hub every year (2.400 miles), this is somewhat over what my colleague's LBS recommended, but they are probably on the safe side. But since my colleague reached your yearly milage in perhaps 4 months, he should have serviced his hub at least 3 times a year. He didn't and his hub was destroyed. If your average service period was 3 years, meaning that your hub would only have been serviced once in 5 years, it too would probably be in a worse shape than it is.

Internal gear hubs aren't magical devices that never needs maintenance; in fact I suspect Shimano Nexus hubs to need much more frequent maintenance, and are more susceptible to water penetration than a Shimano 105 or Ultegra hub.
So I honestly don't think that a Shimano Nexus 8 (or 7) hub is a good choice for long distance commuting.

I have no problem understanding that you had problems with external gears. With all due respect however, I suggest that the problems you mention, mainly where caused by cheap shifters, derailleurs, and cables, and likely lack of knowledge on how to adjust the indexing (something one needs to learn, nobody is born with that ability). A lot of internal gear riders are refugees from derailleur experiences like those you describe. OTHO, the derailleur-camp where I live, is full of refugees cursing their internal gear hub experience.
My guess is, that if you got a bike with modern quality shifters and derailleur you wouldn't have the problems described above, eg. having just "half" of the gears available looks like a cable/indexing problem, and is therefore unrelated to whether one uses internal or external gears, since they both depends on cables. Regarding rim wear, then that is independent of gear-system choice too.

I am not questioning your logic here, in fact I think it looks sensible much of what you say. However extra weight, drag, cost, and difficulty of wheelservice, etc, may not be showstoppers in them self, but they are hardly selling points either. Besides, what is no problem for you, like getting a cab when needed, may be a serious problem for others, so one cannot disregard the fact that the rollerbrake version of the Nexus makes the wheel much harder to service than a normal hub+derailleur would do.

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Regards

So now more people are more in FAVOR of the Nexus HUB? ( take back my original post) I guess I will have to NOT second guess getting that Nexus 8 hub on the Breezer Bike I have been lusting after for many years! Plus they put a "red label" Nexus 8 hub that is 1 lb lighter than the avg. Nexus Hub.

I have gone back and forth. I will get the Breezer and keep my Kona Tiki as a good backup. I plan on testing those tubeless Amertyre's on my Kona Tiki and if I like them I will get them for the Breezer and then I will have no flats! and a nice hub system.

Keep Cycling!