Shimano Nexus 8 Shifting problems
12-03-12, 12:39 AM
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Shimano Nexus 8 Shifting problems
I moved to a new city about a month ago, and the rough pavement is really taking a toll on my bicycle! I have a Windsor Kensington 8 as my commuter bicycle, and lately the shifting has been all over the place. Especially in 5th gear, I have to hold tension on the grip shifter to keep it in 5th. If I don't, it goes completely out of gear, and makes this horrible grinding/ratcheting noise when I pedal. Gears 1-4 are hit and miss - it's supposed to (and used to) change gears even at a stop, but lately it might be 40-50 yards before it changes gears in the lower range. I've taken it to several bike shops, but they don't ever get on the bike, they just put it on the repair stand, say it works there (it does) and then send me on my way. I'm pretty sure the problem is at the shifter, not hub, but they keep spending all their time poking around at the hub.
I've googled and looked on youtube for advice on what's going on, but it's all about the hub and not the shifter too.
I've googled and looked on youtube for advice on what's going on, but it's all about the hub and not the shifter too.
12-03-12, 12:44 AM
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Because when it's having this problem, a big length of bare shifter wire comes out of the shifter. Also, the marks on the hub that should line up when the bicycle is in 4th gear do line up. (Though I have to give the shifter a few jiggers to get it *into* 4th.)
12-03-12, 12:47 AM
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I have a feeling that you need new cable housings. Older cable housings wear down and cause excess friction in the cable.
12-03-12, 12:56 AM
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The bike is less than a year old, but it was a super-cheap one, so I guess the cable housings could just be POS.
12-03-12, 01:33 AM
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This is a huge generalization, but most shifting issues that exhibit on the
road but not on the stand are more related to the things that are under more
load when you are on the bike, pushing hard on the pedals in order to move
forward..............while it is true that grip shifters crap out pretty regularly and
need replacement, it's usually something more related to internal wear or lack of
lubrication
Have these shops have checked for that ?
There have been a number of threads on Nexus 8's here over the last couple of
years, and a lot of the experience described has been negative. Read these:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ng-in-4th-gear
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...bility-8-speed
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...o-Nexus-8-hubs
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...GH-suggestions
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-8-loud-noise
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-Inter-8-dead
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-hub-wierdness
Originally Posted by buncha guys on the innerwebz
--i have the nexus inter8 on my ridgeback nemesis, So does my pal. His broke down agfer tow years and could not be repaired.
I thought this a was just bad luck but mine has brtoken down after 2 1/2 years light use. My local and usually reliable repairer
says it cant be fixed and replacement cost is £200. Is this normal or are we being ripped opff?
--I was astonished to read that "However, with the 'sealed for life' tag that comes with the Shimano Inter-8, spares shouldn't be a consideration."
My experience is that the hub has no effective weather-sealing. I believed the publicity at first and did not get the hub serviced regularly, with
the result that it disintegrated after a year. I am not a heavy rider but live in the west of Scotland, which is not the driest part of the UK.
The replacement hub has been greased every few months and lasted two years before it started to malfunction. Other people that I know with
these hubs have had a similar experience. I decided not to waste any more money on it (the matching hub brakes had also degraded to uselessness)
and have just bought a new bike with a SRAM hub gear instead. I'll see whether that is any better. It's a great pity because the Nexus worked
beautifully while it was in good condition.
--I am very unhappy with mine. Just out of warranty on a giant crx city , it imploded on my commute home from work . I had to freewheel it home.
Prior to that I had to do constant rear wheel adjustments due to chain stretch- chain jumped off a few times. and , despite correct adjustment it
clicked in some gears very annoyingly. It has done 1540 km's and only once in the wet. All riding has been done on asphalt. It is unrepairable-
cheaper to replace it than attempt to repair it.
--I have ridden seriously for 30 years and I would have to say that, for all the hype , this 8 speed internal hub was a manufacturing disgrace.
I feel that I have been conned. Without a doubt the worst cycling investment of mine EVER.
https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...ared-hub-33958
I thought this a was just bad luck but mine has brtoken down after 2 1/2 years light use. My local and usually reliable repairer
says it cant be fixed and replacement cost is £200. Is this normal or are we being ripped opff?
--I was astonished to read that "However, with the 'sealed for life' tag that comes with the Shimano Inter-8, spares shouldn't be a consideration."
My experience is that the hub has no effective weather-sealing. I believed the publicity at first and did not get the hub serviced regularly, with
the result that it disintegrated after a year. I am not a heavy rider but live in the west of Scotland, which is not the driest part of the UK.
The replacement hub has been greased every few months and lasted two years before it started to malfunction. Other people that I know with
these hubs have had a similar experience. I decided not to waste any more money on it (the matching hub brakes had also degraded to uselessness)
and have just bought a new bike with a SRAM hub gear instead. I'll see whether that is any better. It's a great pity because the Nexus worked
beautifully while it was in good condition.
--I am very unhappy with mine. Just out of warranty on a giant crx city , it imploded on my commute home from work . I had to freewheel it home.
Prior to that I had to do constant rear wheel adjustments due to chain stretch- chain jumped off a few times. and , despite correct adjustment it
clicked in some gears very annoyingly. It has done 1540 km's and only once in the wet. All riding has been done on asphalt. It is unrepairable-
cheaper to replace it than attempt to repair it.
--I have ridden seriously for 30 years and I would have to say that, for all the hype , this 8 speed internal hub was a manufacturing disgrace.
I feel that I have been conned. Without a doubt the worst cycling investment of mine EVER.
https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...ared-hub-33958
There were some genuine quality control issues with some of these hubs,
but whether yours is actually defective is impossible to tell from this distance.
12-03-12, 02:23 AM
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The standard warning applies: Do not ride the damn hub if there's a potential shifting adjustment isse. It's not like a derailleur system, which won't really be damaged by short-term misadjustment. If the cable is misadjusted on an IGH, you can round the corners off various internal parts, which really won't do the hub any good.
12-03-12, 11:47 AM
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This is a huge generalization, but most shifting issues that exhibit on the
road but not on the stand are more related to the things that are under more
load when you are on the bike, pushing hard on the pedals in order to move
forward..............while it is true that grip shifters crap out pretty regularly and
need replacement, it's usually something more related to internal wear or lack of
lubrication
Have these shops have checked for that ?
road but not on the stand are more related to the things that are under more
load when you are on the bike, pushing hard on the pedals in order to move
forward..............while it is true that grip shifters crap out pretty regularly and
need replacement, it's usually something more related to internal wear or lack of
lubrication
Have these shops have checked for that ?
There have been a number of threads on Nexus 8's here over the last couple of
years, and a lot of the experience described has been negative. Read these:
years, and a lot of the experience described has been negative. Read these:
12-03-12, 12:32 PM
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simplest solution by far is to find some used 3 speed Sturmey Archer
hubbed garage queen Raleigh lightweight and either rehab it yourself
or get someone you know who is a way cool bike mechanic (like me),
to overhaul it for you.
It really depends on what you need for a high and low......the number
of choices in between are swell to have, but not at the cost of durability
and reliability........I don't know anything at all about the newest of the
IGH hubs, other than that when I wanted to build a wheel with one to
see what all the fuss was about, I picked a SRAM product because of all
the Shimano stories of death and destruction I was reading.
The swell thing about new technology is that by the time the bad reviews
start to roll in, your manufacturer has moved on to another model.
And lastly, it is not impossible that you are correct in your guess that the
grip shifter or cable binding are at fault. In such a situation, the granola
hippies at the bike coop can actually prove handy for your further edification.
Wish I could fix it for you.......then my personal legend would grow larger.
12-03-12, 12:51 PM
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There aren't many hills, but the ones we do have are doozies. I really liked this hub, in the lowest gear I could just spin away and float up the steepest hills. Felt like magic. The issues others are describing sound exactly like some of the stuff I've been dealing with in mine - mine just didn't start until I moved to Eugene and the number of potholes I had to roll over increased exponentially - I like the one guy saying he has a Rohloff on his MTB. Maybe that's the way to go but I know Rohloff = $$$$
I would take it to the bike co-op here, but the hippies don't get up early, and I'm in bed by the time it opens.
I would take it to the bike co-op here, but the hippies don't get up early, and I'm in bed by the time it opens.
12-03-12, 12:56 PM
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It sounds like a cable issue to me. Any basic bike will come equipped with low-grade housings and standard cables, which IME are good for a year or so. Go for a better quality cable (Shimano Dura Ace is nice, but $19) and good quality lined housing (Jagwire, etc) and make sure you're fully housed from shifter to the rear hub arm.
This is a starting point.
IME the grip shifter and trigger shifters for Nexus and Alfine are pretty reliable, and the hubs themselves are super reliable (unless you have a faulty one). Cables have been the biggest factor in shifting performance from my experience with them.
The bumpiness should not be an issue. I've ridden Alfines offroad with no problems, and many MTB'ers ride these as well (mainly in Europe).
If it is "hanging up" or delaying in its shifting, I'd say 1. cable or 2. faulty hub (including incorrect lubrication or bad spring, etc)
This is a starting point.
IME the grip shifter and trigger shifters for Nexus and Alfine are pretty reliable, and the hubs themselves are super reliable (unless you have a faulty one). Cables have been the biggest factor in shifting performance from my experience with them.
The bumpiness should not be an issue. I've ridden Alfines offroad with no problems, and many MTB'ers ride these as well (mainly in Europe).
If it is "hanging up" or delaying in its shifting, I'd say 1. cable or 2. faulty hub (including incorrect lubrication or bad spring, etc)
