I've seen several folks claim that, but when asked nobody has been able to provide documentation to back that up.

Alright, having spent a significant portion of my morning searching for evidence, I can't find any such claims from that time period, just that it'd be well-suited to small wheels (which we already know).

I had a very bad experience with a Shimano Nexus 8, my son has had a very good one. I currently have a Nuvinci n360 and love it. But if I was going to use anything on an older frame with narrower dropouts, I would definitely use a Sturmey Archer. Nobody I know has ever had a problem with them.

Marc

If your environment is relatively level with mild to moderate hills an SA 3 speed can do the job quite well if you are reasonably fit, the 5 speed has the same middle 3 gears and then adds an underdrive and overdrive.

The SA 3 and 5 speed hubs have been in production for a very long time, both are relatively simple (mechanically) and tend to be bombproof... the new Sun Race models are very well made and would say they are better than the last production that came out of England.

When I set up SA 3 speeds I prefer to make the 3rd gear my primary gear and then have 2 steps down from that for hills and bigger hills... 2nd gear is direct drive on the 3 speed.

The latter production Shimano Nexus / Alfine series of hubs have shown themselves to be extremely reliable... the first ones had teething issues.

The current SA 5-speed design, the 'W', has been in production only since 2009. It is similar in to the 'Sprinter' design produced from 1993 through 1998. It also shares some parts with the 'Summit' 5-speed manufactured from 1999 through 2008, but practically nothing with the earlier production SA 5-speeds, which date back to 1966.

The current SA AW-NIG design family dates to 1984. Surprisingly, one of the oldest IGH designs still on today's market is the Shimano Nexus 7, which debuted in 1992.

"Cool" is the furthest thing from my mind when commuting. It's all about light and fast. Things old Schwinns are not.

If your commute is short, no worries. But, if your commute is 15 miles or more, each way, you may want to rethink that whole idea.

For all intents and purposes, the SA AW has been in production for over 100 years with Sunrace making some positive design changes to eliminate the dead spot between 2nd and 3rd which is something I have never found to be problematic if a hub is properly set up and the shifter and cables are working properly.

I actually prefer the SA AW hubs from the late 40's and early 50's... this was the golden age of production for Sturmey Archer and these hubs are wonderfully made.

I have a earlier Nexus Inter 7 on my Moulton and it has been a reliable hub... it is a little noisier than the newer versions and might have a touch more drag but still... it is very smooth and operates perfectly.

The Alfine 8 on my wife's city bike has seen some of the most tortuous use imaginable and aside from regular lubrication has never caused an issue, this replaced a stock Nexus hub that was not so reliable and was a hub that died after 10,000 miles.

You can make good time on a 3 speed, my '54 Raleigh is a 28 pound bike after some upgrades and ticks along pretty nicely at 30 kmh and is also quite good over distances of 30 or more miles.

The AW debuted in 1936. The SA design team in Nottingham, England developed the AW-NIG sometime before 1984. Sturmey-Archer was sold to SunRace in 2000.

and that right there is the heart of the issue. your initial post in this thread where you made a blanket statement about how all shimano nexus/alfine IGH's suck and are a PITA to remove did not include that extremely pertinent piece of information.

your original post regarding shimano nexus/alfine hubs:
if i had known that your comment was being mainly applied to older nexus hubs that were more complex to remove due to the removable lock ring, then i wouldn't have said anything. as it is, i find my newer alfine hub to be really freaking simple to remove (stick an allen key in the cable holder, pull back to relieve tension, pop the nutted cable out), and i just wanted to offer a counter opinion to yours so that someone new to IGH's reading the thread could get a balanced view about shimano nexus/alfine hubs in terms of difficulty of wheel removal.

you find them to be a "PITA". great, that's your opinion.

i find my alfine hub to be really easy to remove, and i would expect it to be so for anyone with even a small amount of mechanical aptitude. (again, stick an allen key in the cable holder, pull back to relieve tension, pop the nutted cable out. done.)




of course it wasn't necessary. sarcasm is never necessary. but it sure is fun!

^^^Reading comprehension much?

I'll make it easy for you;Shimano's cable attachment system is more of a PITA than it needs to be. They're smart people,they can do better.

And I've owned 2 Alfine bikes.

that's an opinion you're certainly entitled to hold. i simply disagree with it. and that's ok too.

i think we're long past the point where we should agree to disagree and move on.