Magnolia_Fan

So I'm planning on building a new commuter up, 650B wheels, maybe a Kogswell frame, other various commuter accouterments.

Anyways, I am having a hard time choosing an internally geared hub. Not interested in a single speed or fixed gear, I am too lazy for that plus I've always wanted an internally geared bike. Basically, there are too many options to decide from, and I'd like a little input.

My options are
-Shimano
-SRAM
-Sturmey-Archer
-Rohloff (not an option really, way too expensive and I'd have a stoke if the wheel got stolen)
-NuVinci (probably too heavy)

and all the various models of internally geared hubs that are under each brand. I've got about a 8% grade to deal with on my daily commute, about a mile long so as long as I've got the gearing to deal with that, then I am primarily concerned with durability - I want this bike to be a daily commuter that'll last me many years without too much maintenance.

Shower me in your opinions!

dynaryder

I have both a Nexus 7 and 8,an i-Motion 3,and an i-Motion 9 on order. I'd go with the i9. Efficient,simpler wheel removal/installation,nice gear spread. I ran the numbers through Sheldon's gear calculator and the range is almost the same as the range I regularly use on my 3x9 daily commuter.

d2create

I had an i-motion 9 for about a week.
It was noisy and had noticeable drag and I didn't care for the huge honkin shifter. Plus I now had to carry extra tools since there was no quick release for the wheel.
Everything about my regular 9 speed cassette and friction bar-end shifters was so much easier, simpler and better for me.
But I don't have snow or hills to worry about. So there was no benefit at all.

The good thing about the i-9 was the quick release shift cable if you do have to remove the wheel. That was nifty. My dad's nexus on his Electra Townie is a SUPER PITA!

corripio

I have the imotion 3 on my swobo otis. It definitely is a noisy little thing as compared to a normal derailleur based system, but I find the sound of it actually quite soothing. It's pretty reliable, shifts well, and was incredibly easy to get properly tuned (one twist of the tensioner). Most of the reviews of the sturmy and shimano systems I've read all seemed to hold the SRAM models as the gold standard.

MichaelW

My Alfine system is pretty smoothe and efficient. I practiced wheel removal and it isnt that difficult. It is better than Nexus 8. Velovision magazine compared the 3 high end hub gears, i-motion 9, Alfine and Rohloff and they all scored well bearing in mind their respective cost.

markhr

Only those two and flip a coin to choose.

krauos

I have the i9. The gear range is great for any city/urban/hill enviroment.

Only dislikes are the clicking noise in 6-9 gear, and something internal is rattling when im coasting over bumps (its normal, just annoying)

But i have 500 HARD miles on it and still is smooth.

Overall I love the hub, simplicity of adjusting/wheel removale, shifting at stops, very fast shifting while moving. The resistance in 5-7 gear is minimal, and those are the gears used most. 1st gear def has a good deal of drag.


Is the nexus redband quiet? That alone would be a selling point for me.

thdave

I love my Nexus 7 speed. I think it would be fine for an 8% grade, but I don't spin as much as others.

interested

It depends somewhat on climate and riding distance.
The Shimano Nexus 8 spd. (red band or not) is genereally considered a rather horrible product in the country where I live. In fact most Danish bicycle producers I know of have pulled the Nexus 8 from their 2008 product lines because of extremely high failure numbers. The main problem seems to be inadequate sealing that makes intruding water destroy the racings and bearing in record time. Since the left racing are part of the hub shell (not a spare part) this mean a new hub and usually a new rear wheel. A former colleague that had 1-2 warranty repairs on his Nexus 8 before he finally destroyed it after a year was given the advice that he needed to have the hub serviced every 1000 miles.
For some reason the Shimano 7 spd. is much more resilient to water and corrosion damage, also the Sram Sram Spectro S7 is considered the most durable of all the "cheap" IGH's.

But no matter what, if you ride a lot and also in wet weather, and perhaps in the winter/spring when there is salt on the roads, get your IGH serviced at suitable intervals, in practise this just means repacking the bearing grease. IGH's are perhaps low maintenance, but they are not zero maintenance devices.

--
Regards

mconlonx

Love my Nexus "premium/red band" 8sp, been great over about 750mi so far. Not too noisy, but there are definitely gears where you hear a lot of whirring going on out back. Less noisy than a out of adustment derailleur system, more noisy that a single speed or a well adjusted derailleur system in optimal gears. Haven't been through any particularly nasty weather, though, so can't speak for resilience in hard conditions.

I'm using the Alfine rapidfire shifter and this setup feels a lot more precise and better than an older 7sp Nexus up with twist shifter I had in the past. Never tried any other IGH, so I can't compare it to others.

jbabic

I have over 1,300 miles on a Nexus 8 speed red band. It has worked okay but lately has trouble engaging seventh gear.

Junkdad

Can you still buy the old style Sturmey Archer 3 speed?

pluc

From what I gather so far from the work I've done at the bike shop and personal use :
I have used the Shimano 3 speed, the 7 speed, the Nexus premium and the Alfine. I have also used the SRAM i-motion 3 and the 7 speed, and the 5 cargo. I have also rolled on the good old Sturmey AW.

Now my recommendations:
Between the 3 speed models (AW, Shimano 3, i-motion), my vote goes to the i-motion hands down. They all perform pretty much the same, but the i-motion is just so easy to adjust and work on. No chain puller bull****, just a "joint" and that's all. I wish it was available with a thumb shifter like my Nexus, but none of the three speeds have it. Sturmey could be considered as having one, but it's crap (their design hasn't evolved in the last 40 years). On the negative side, the i3 seems more noisy than the Shimano, but I haven't compared both next to each other so it may be a false impression. The Sturmey is a good hub, but the company itself is crap. I would only use an old AW. What I like about these is that it doesn't require greasing it (thus opening it). You need to oil it via the hole on it to keep it in good shape tho.

So in that category, 1. SRAM - 2. Shimano - 3. Sturmey (avoid that company if you can)

For the others, the SRAM 7 has about the same range as the Nexus Premium and Alfine. I have also heard that the Sram 7 has much better water resistance. One thing I hate with the Nexus is how easy water gets in. Being a winter rider, it is an annoyance and I hope they will come out with a better way to seal it. The Nexus is friggin dead silent, and I love it for that. Shifting under load is exceptionally easy. Most of the time you don't even have to release the pressuse. Now most of them are easy too, but the Nexus is a notch above.

The SRAM 7 is less expensive and comes in all kind of brake systems (go with drum brake [ibrake] !). As I said previously it has about the same range. But it's supposed to be sealed better. It makes it my personnal favorite. Plus its gearing interval is more even, whereas the Nexus is pretty much all over the place.

The SRAM 5 is not really in any of these categories. It looks like a very nice hub but I haven't really ridden on it much (15 minutes tops).

I am dying to test the I-9.

I personnaly own the Nexus Premium and the iMotion 3 and both love them.

Torrilin

My bike has a Nexus 7. It's been good enough so far, but hasn't been through a WI winter yet. And when it *does* go through a winter, it'll have indoor storage. It's a bit less smooth than a SRAM 7 and an old style Sturmey Archer AW, and I'd prefer either one if I'd had a choice about what hub went in my rear wheel.

Since I didn't have much of a choice, if I ever wear the hub out, I'll rebuild the wheel with SRAM.

thdave

I wouldn't worry about the mileage comments. What do they mean? These are a few comments out of hundreds of thousands of bikes, if not millions.

I've got over 4,200 miles on my 7 speed. No slips no noise. I ride all winter long. I doubt I'm lucky. But you'd need a Consumer Report type study to find the truth. The only ones who know the failure rates are the manufacturers.

jungwiar

I've been riding the Shimano Nexus-8 since about March of this year putting ~1000 miles on it. No issues thus far - I love the ability to shift while stopped and not having to worry about the chain falling off. I have changed the back tire mid-commute with no real difficulty, but I was prepared with a 15mm wrench in my bag. Also, I thought I have read somewhere about a way to "weather-proof" the Shimano hubs - may have been to pack grease between the rubber seal and hub shell... I'll see if I can find it again.

Rob_E

Do you mean "old" or "old style"? You can get old Sturmey Archer 3-speeds on eBay, or on thousands of old bikes where ever old bikes are sold. I've seen a number of old, 3 speed bikes on Craigslist, and bought one of them.

As for "old style," Sturmey Archer still makes a 3-speed hub (maybe), that, from what I understand, is pretty much the same basic design as always. It's one of a dwindling number of new hubs that can squeeze into old, narrow drop outs. I've been in the market for one because my Craigslist bike came with a 28 spoke wheel, and I want to go 36. The problem I'm noticing is that I'm not seeing Sturmey Archer hubs in stock many places anymore. They mentioned in the spring that they were changing the 8 speed hub and, I think, reintroducing the five speed. I'm wondering if they are letting current stock sell out in anticipation of a new line of hubs that should be out "early this summer" according to their website.

But it may depend on what you're looking for. I was specifically looking for a 3 speed coaster brake and the dynamo/drum brake front hub, both of which seem to be becoming scarce quickly. Other models may not have that issue.

For my part I currently have 3, old, 3-speed hubs: a Shimano 3CC, an SA 3SC, and a Fitchel & Sachs Torpedo. None are currently in use, but the SA and the Shimano both worked fine last I tried them (false neutral in the SA, but I believe that's a problem a little cleaning usually solves). The Sachs I'm still looking for an indicator pin for, but it appears to be in working order otherwise. I know that's germane to the OPs question, but it does speak to the longevity of IGHs in general.

Allen

[QUOTE=markhr;7218378]
Of all the hubs I've owned, those two are by and far the superior, and the only ones that have survived the abuse I've thrown at them. Both Rohloff and NuVinci are bomb proof.
Shimano comes closer than the rest to matching them, but ain't in their class.

Don't worry about the weight of the NuVinci, you are putting it on your commuter, not a race bike.
What you are going to get for the weight penalty is the quietest, smoothest, and strongest hub on the market.

rigel

I've been searching for info on the i-Motion 3 for the longest time! 'haven't logged into these forums for a while now (spending too much time on mtbr.com ), so I'm glad I did now.

I've just recently converted my hardtail MTB into my full-time rigid SS commuter, and while am loving the simplicity and light weight, I'm contemplating going 3-speed IGH. Apart from the seemingly OEM-only-spec Nexus 3 (on the Specialized Globe Centrum/San Fran bikes), iM3 is the only 3-spd IGH I know that has a disc brake version.

How is the performance of the iM3? You and another poster mentioned it's noisy. Do you notice any significant drag? Or is it just noise?

What's SRP in the US for the iM3?

Thanks in advance for any input

dynaryder

My iMotion 3 makes a little noise,but it's no big deal at all. I think I tweaked the cable tension once,otherwise it's been maintenance free. Shifts slick and positive. The shifter cable attaches to the hub with the same connector used on V brakes,so it's really easy to connect/disconnect. Overall I'm much happier with my iMotions than my Nexus's.

rhm

+1. And it is by far the most pleasant to use.

closetbiker

how many bikes have the igh on a road frame?

I used a igh on a cruiser, but I like a road frame's position better than the way you sit up on a cruiser.

NormanF

Agreed. The drag is not that noticeable in riding. The NuVinci is easy to use but it will never make the bike a speed demon. With a commuter, comfort is the main thing.

NormanF

Older road bikes are good candidates for IGH conversion since they have horizontal dropouts.

rhm

There's nothing about a road frame that rules out an IGH. The problem is that all IGH shifters that I know of are sized for a 22.2 mm (7/8") handlebar, while "road bars" such as drop bars and moustache bars are 23.8 mm (15/16").

There are various work-arounds, my favorite being to use a Northroad bar upside down, comme ca: