Shimano Nexus geared hubs?

I run a Shimano Nexus 8spd hub on my Tour Easy recumbent with a Bafang BBSHD mid drive. I do not use a gear sensor, but I tap the brake lever for slight pause. I used friction shifters for years so a slight pause is nothing new. I usually start in 5th gear, direct drive, as it is strongest. I currently have a little over 1200 miles on this combination and hope to have many more.
 
Nice set up. I never thought of a e- recumbent but it makes a lot of sense. Is it a Class 1 motor? The only thing I was told by one of our local e-bike retailers, is that Bafang mid drive motors, put out a lot of torque and tend to eat up rear internal hubs. Since you have 1200+ miles on it, sounds like so far so good. Hope you have many more safe miles ahead of you. Thanks for sharing.....
 
Cool, but not familiar with your set up please elaborate. I am a big fan of front hub motors, it’s all about the torque and speed. My first one I purchased was a used, 750 watt motor, with a twist throttle, from a guy coming off a DWI conviction. I got 1000 miles on it, before the motor went, what a ride! I sold it to someone and basically rode for free. The only thing I hated was, back then, battery technology was cumbersome, heavy, and at best got 20 mile range. I had 3 small, but very heavy lead acid batteries, on the rear rack. Living in Florida, I would get a lot rear flat tires. Changing it with a Shimano rear internal hub was difficult. At first, I had trouble realigning the mark on the rear chain ring and have it in the right gear. It sucked to ride home with one gear. I may take a Specialized Hybrid and build a wheel with a front hub motor. If I could keep it around 45lbs that would sweet. Thanks again.
 
Tourista829 said:
Nice set up. I never thought of a e- recumbent but it makes a lot of sense. Is it a Class 1 motor? The only thing I was told by one of our local e-bike retailers, is that Bafang mid drive motors, put out a lot of torque and tend to eat up rear internal hubs. Since you have 1200+ miles on it, sounds like so far so good. Hope you have many more safe miles ahead of you. Thanks for sharing.....
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I’m curious about the LBS claim. In 5 years of supporting BBSxx kit builders and owning every BBSxx 250W 350W, 750W, and 1000W the best setup will use a Gearsensor. But the choice in IH is critical. Especially important with a BBSHD. IGH’s are good for road bikes, with some caveats. But not for under load shifting.
 
James McAllister said:
I run a Shimano Nexus 8spd hub on my Tour Easy recumbent with a Bafang BBSHD mid drive. I do not use a gear sensor, but I tap the brake lever for slight pause. I used friction shifters for years so a slight pause is nothing new. I usually start in 5th gear, direct drive, as it is strongest. I currently have a little over 1200 miles on this combination and hope to have many more.
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A very popular item, i was a beta tester and most thought it was just another bit of kit that added complexity when a simple brake tap, or slight back pedal did the same thing. I have 3 or four in my parts box where they’ll stay. I did put a Green Button on my wife’s bike. A thumb tap and shift.
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
A very popular item, i was a beta tester and most thought it was just another bit of kit that added complexity when a simple brake tap, or slight back pedal did the same thing. I have 3 or four in my parts box where they’ll stay. I did put a Green Button on my wife’s bike. A thumb tap and shift.
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I believe in the adage KISS, the less things to go wrong the less will go wrong. The brake sensors are essential and a safety mechanism, but to me gear sensors are not essential. I learned to drive on a three on the tree 56 Chevy, coordination between the left foot, right foot and right hand. I worked in train service for forty years, you don't make good time attaining speed you do by maintaining speed. I anticipate the hills and stops I make so as to lessen the need to shift under load. One question, what is a Green Button?
 
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James McAllister said:
I believe in the adage KISS, the less things to go wrong the less will go wrong. The brake sensors are essential and a safety mechanism, but to me gear sensors are not essential. I learned to drive on a three on the tree 56 Chevy, coordination between the left foot, right foot and right hand. I worked in train service for forty years, you don't make good time attaining speed you do by maintaining speed. I anticipate the hills and stops I make so as to lesson the need to shift under load. One question, what is a Green Button?
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But sometimes the stops are out of your control (-:
 
steve mercier said:
But sometimes the stops are out of your control (-:
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That's the beauty of the IGH if you stop and do not have it in the right gear for start up you can select preferred gear while stopped. I experienced a chain failure when I had to stop on a hill with 9spd cassette and tried to start in to high of gear, I don't worry about that happening again.
 
steve mercier said:
Thomas what do you think about the stuff on this bike? ...nevermind the price as it will be lower.
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They did a lot of things right! Nice battery placement! Some riders complained of turns, the rider's feet hit the tire. If I pedal with my heels a number of bikes will too. Jeebus I wish Bosch would break down and have a throttle option.
 
Tourista829 said:
I have owned two bikes with a Shimano Nexus rear hub. One was on a Breezer Uptown with a 750 watt front hub motor. I bought it used and put 2500 miles on it. It acted flawlessly and never had an issue shifting. I have one on my 2019 Electra Townie Commute Go 8i. It is an 8 speed internal rear hub. The motor is a mid drive Bosch Performance 250 watt motor. I am careful when I shift, usually pause, not to stress the hub. I have close to 1000 miles on it. I like that I can shift to a lower gear, while standing at a traffic light. It has not been great. I seem to have two issues. When shifting it is slow to shift into gear. Second, no matter how many times I or my LBS work on it, when in 5th gear, it will inevitably skip. I was told it was finicky and had to be adjusted just right. After numerous times, I asked if I could have the rear hub replaced, under warranty, I was told Trek wouldn’t authorize it. I will eventually replace it.
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It sounds like the shifter may not be indexing correctly. A new shifter is a lot cheaper than a new hub.
 
James McAllister said:
It sounds like the shifter may not be indexing correctly. A new shifter is a lot cheaper than a new hub.
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Thank you James, I will try that. I found it odd, the amount of time I brought my bike to the shop, and the amount of adjustments, that they couldn’t come up with this. Well on second thought, maybe not.
 
Anybody know the difference between the shimano allfine 8 speed and the shimano nexus 8 speed? Modernbike has both, I'm not in the mood to ride Greyhound to desmoines to hear the salesman.
They still have that Sturmey Archer S80 that was such a shifting disaster, too. Cog pops off the ring, every mile after ~500. No reduction gears either, had to ride the 22 front sprocket all the time,
 
indianajo said:
Anybody know the difference between the shimano allfine 8 speed and the shimano nexus 8 speed? Modernbike has both, I'm not in the mood to ride Greyhound to desmoines to hear the salesman.
They still have that Sturmey Archer S80 that was such a shifting disaster, too. Cog pops off the ring, every mile.
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Obviously not everyone. My Trek shop is use to adjusting derailleurs. (Maybe I need a to go to a place more familiar with rear hubs) I have two bikes with 3 speed rear hubs. One a Brompton M6R folding bike. Has a 3 speed rear hub and a 2 speed derailleur. (6 speeds) My other bike is an old West German folding bike with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer rear hub. All I had to do is put the oil, in the hub, and it worked great. I wish I could get the front hub electric motor, controller, throttle, and battery. Brompton doesn’t allow its dealers to sell it anymore. They are afraid it will hurt their Electric Bike business. They want you to sell your 2k folding bike and spend 3.5k+ for their factory e-bike.
 
indianajo said:
Anybody know the difference between the shimano allfine 8 speed and the shimano nexus 8 speed? Modernbike has both, I'm not in the mood to ride Greyhound to desmoines to hear the salesman.
They still have that Sturmey Archer S80 that was such a shifting disaster, too. Cog pops off the ring, every mile after ~500. No reduction gears either, had to ride the 22 front sprocket all the time,
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The Alfines 8 and 11 are supposedly more refined versions of the Nexus hub. I am not sure if the Alfines are oil lubricated or just greased as the Nexus hub is; from within. But that's easily found on google.

I do recall a good number of mtb'ers and touring types had issues with the Alfine 11 not shifting correctly or skipping out of gear on occassions noted on various bike forums.

A big pet peeve for the Nexus 8 is that there was no provision for a disc brake; which the Alfine 8 has. My Trek Soho DLX came with Shimano's Roller Brake, which has the feel and stopping ability of our old school Coaster Brakes.....only worse! :)
 
I run an Alfine 8 with Gates belt on my eProdigy Magic Pro and it's been flawless and that's with their proprietary mid drive which is a torque monster, capable of a wheelie at every start if I wish. As far as gear sensors I don't know what's not to like, I have one on my Biktrix Juggernaut HD and I forget it's even there, I've had the bike a couple years now and wear on chain and sprockets is minimal and I don't baby my bikes. Mike above is correct, if you have disk brakes you need an Alfine 8/11 but aside from that the Alfine is a refinement over the Nexus. Adjustment on the Alfine is critical but very easily to do, it takes less than a minute.
 
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Mike TowpathTraveler said:
The Alfines 8 and 11 are supposedly more refined versions of the Nexus hub. I am not sure if the Alfines are oil lubricated or just greased as the Nexus hub is; from within. But that's easily found on google.

I do recall a good number of mtb'ers and touring types had issues with the Alfine 11 not shifting correctly or skipping out of gear on occassions noted on various bike forums.

A big pet peeve for the Nexus 8 is that there was no provision for a disc brake; which the Alfine 8 has. My Trek Soho DLX came with Shimano's Roller Brake, which has the feel and stopping ability of our old school Coaster Brakes.....only worse! :)
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That would explain the use of Magura hydraulic rim brakes on the Gepida and some Gazelles. Does anybody have these brakes? How do you like them?
 
Steve, I will give you a call later.
I had a bike with the 8 speed Alfine. I used it for 6 years through all kinds of weather. It worked great but the ratios were not the best. Big jumps between some of them. I had heard about the 11 Alfine and tried one at MEC. It had more even spacing in the gears and I liked it a lot. The shifting was smoother and easier. But the frame was not right for me.
The 8 speed Alfine is grease lubed and is good for about 5 years. Mine began to not shift well so I took it to MEC and they cleaned it and put oil in. This what Shimano recommended. It was like brand new. MEC had a mechanic who really knew these hubs.
The 11 speed is oil lubed and it can be changed without taking it apart. Not the 8 speed. I also read some reports of the 11 speed not being as robust as the 8. And this was before e bikes.
John
 
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