that is only true for some IGH set-ups. my alfine 8 bike has vertical drop-outs and the lock nuts are very easy to get on and off and they haven't stripped in the slightest in about a half-dozen wheel removals over the past 2 years.

perhaps you would be well served getting a closed 15mm wrench, it's near impossible to strip a new nut with such a wrench. i have one like the image below and it works like a charm.






the shimano trigger shifter that came with my alfine 8 bike has held up just fine over ~6,000 miles of daily commuting over the past two years and shows no signs of quitting on me anytime soon. but perhaps 6,000 miles of daily urban bike commuting (LOTS of gear changing for all the stop lights) is not serious enough for you?

Depends on the setup. I'd love to see you get the rear wheel(Nexus 7/roller brake) off my old Dr Good in 30sec,without using an angle grinder.

I'm not sure what you mean. Is the QR lever on the derailleur side? I've never had to pull a skewer to get the wheel out.

Pick up a leaf,stick,or piece of paper. Use that. No greasy hands.

it really does, that can't be stressed enough. not all IGH wheel removal procedures are the same.

i have an afline 8 disc brake bike with vertical drops and an EBB for chain tension. it really isn't much more difficult to take the wheel off vs. my other derailleur bikes:

1. loosen the axle nuts with a 15mm wrench.
2. stick a small allen wrench in the shift cable holder and pull back to release tension on the shift cable.
3. pull the shift cable nut out of its socket.
4. remove the wheel.

that's it!

having the IGH married to disc brakes is pretty nice because IGH's that use drum or roller brakes usually require additional steps to remove the wheel. reinstalling the wheel on my bike is also a snap because it has vertical drop-outs so there's nothing to readjust or realign when putting the wheel back on, it just falls into place and steps 1-3 are repeated in reverse order. all in all, it's fairly painless and not much more time consuming than a derailleur wheel removal.

yes yes, I knew I would catch some flak for my comment. I am trying to avoid spending a lot of time on the forum, and therebye forgetting to properly censor myself. I am surprised shimano does not offer a bar end or brifter option for any of their internal hubs. I think that is more what I was trying to say. Bar end and brifters fit onto drops better, and drops are typically more comfortable for "serious" riding. Of course, faltbar v. drops is a whole other debate, so just take it as my opinion.

I do have a closed wrench for the nuts. Not exactly like that, I think its has the 12 divets rather than just six sides, so this might be worth investigating, thanks for the tip.

fair enough, to each their own. i only took exception to what you initially posted because i have not found my alfine 8 trigger shifter to suck at all. on the contrary, it has performed flawlessly for me.

I didn't say 30 seconds total, I said maybe 30 seconds more. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It won't be hard to get off, even if it takes a little longer. Also, a roller brake is kind of a special situation.

I know which side the lever goes on, man. I have a bike where you pretty much need to take the skewer out to get it past the RD. I mean, you can do it without, but it snags and is annoying, so I usually just take it out. It's not a big deal, it's just something you have to do. Idiosyncrasies of bikes, just like your nexus setup above.

I'd rather use my hands. I don't care if they get greasy, I'm just pointing out that removing the wheel from a derailleur bike is not somehow WAY easier than with an IGH. I think you may have missed the overall point?

I got spoiled by an IGH, so needed to relearn to shift before the stop.
I've learned this little trick when riding a fixie last summer, there it's pretty necessary.

That's the way mine works too, although sometimes when attempting to shift under load it won't make any strange noises but it also won't bother shifting either. It'll wait until I quit pedaling for a second.

One benefit of the higher ended Shimano IGHs is silent coasting. Newer model Alfines and Nexi are super quiet.

If you were on a fixie, why did you need to gear down when stopped?

Ah, nothing to do with gears, but to put the pedal in the right position. The moves are the same.

Aha -- it all comes clear now, cool!

Love my Alfine 8 on my Trek Soho. Curious about the maintenance though as I haven't done any yet. Anybody?

I think it also depends a lot on what kind of IGH you have. I found that on an 5-speed SA X-RD5(W), I was only using the middle 3 gears, even when I lowered the gearing by changing the cog and chainring. I think I would have been happier with a simpler 3-speed model. Adjusting the indicator spindle on the X-RD5 (W) was a bit tricky to get 3rd gear/direct drive exactly right (it feels like there's such an incredibly small window for it on that hub). However, once the hub was adjusted properly, it was pretty good. There is really a major convenience to being able to shift at a stop for city riding.

The only other thing I'd say is that I wish more of these hubs still used oil lubrication. I think that taking apart the hub and replacing grease after 5 years is probably daunting to most people. I'm also not sure if dealing with a drum brake makes this any more difficult than usual.

As for getting the wheel in and out of the axle for flat repairs, it really isn't a big deal. With a basic wrench, you can easily remove and replace the wheel. On the SA hubs with an indicator spindle, tightening the barrel that connects it to the shift cable isn't too bad either - the indicator rod has a line to show the proper adjustment. Just be sure to grease the anti-rotation washers and axle threads so that you can tighten the nuts down securely.

[QUOTE=noglider;15654223]Repairs on a 3-speed hub are simple and cheap, and they are rarely needed at all.

Repairs on 7- and more-speed hubs are expensive or difficult. I believe 5-speed is somewhere in the middle. So some of the great attributes -- long term reliability and durability -- given to IGH really apply mostly to 3-speed hubs.
QUOTE]

Agreed.

If the three speed hub needs repairs, buying a new one is actually less expensive than have a bike shop take it apart for repairs. I have a Sturmey 5 speed and it's a lot more weight to carry for the benefit of two extra gears. I can't tell you how durable it is since I hardly ride it anymore. The light weight Shimano Nexus 3 speed is such an advantage over a heavier hub, I wouldn't trade it for a Nexus 8. I don't have hills or mountains to climb but only then would a multi-speed hub become necessary.

I find that when I had a multi-speed hub in the back of the rear wheel, I'd find myself shifting alot more because of the heavy hub itself. I don't find myself doing so much shifting with the 3 speed at all.

I was a bit daunted the first time I wanted to maintain my Alfine but with a bit of research, I found it quite simple and about the same level of difficulty as servicing a normal shimano hub.
Removing the circlip/snap-ring holding the sprocket in place (and getting it back in) is fiddly, but illustrated on youtube.
Removing the large plastic serrated ring (clockwise) requires a special tool but I made my own from some 1" plywood.
The hubstripping website has pics of a complete breakdown but you don't need to do this, just remove the innards as a unit and dip in auto transmission fluid (ATF).
Keep all the washers and buts in the correct order. Take some pics as you go along if you need to.

[QUOTE=tcs;15648783]Modern IGHs like the SRAM iMotion3, Sturmey-Archer R-SRF3 and others disconnect their gear cables quickly without tools and reconnect without readjustment.

If you want an IGH with quick release, it's easy enough to select an appropriate model and fit one.

[/QUOTE
Wow! Nice QR devices! Where does one get these? Are there any such devices for Sturmey Archer 13/32" x 26 tpi axles?

Life is simpler with only 3 speeds to work with! :-/

Just sayin.. there is no between with one cog.. cassettes can pack crud between cogs..

As you can see in the picture, they are Axle Releases. They're available in 3/8, which would fit Shimano 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11 speed IGHs plus the SG-3R75 and the Sturmey Archer R-SRF3 (the ONLY Sturmey with a 3/8 axle), and 10mm which would fit the SRAM iMotion IGHs and the Rohloff. There's also a model for the NuVinci.

Obviously these won't work on an IGH that has a shift cable/rod coming out the end of the axle.