A very underrated hub. I used Nexus i8 12000 km in first pedelec and now have 15000 km with my 2nd pedelec that having a Gates cdx carbon belt drive. It is used all seasons as car replacement and that device works perfectly and silent. After winter I'm doing regulary oil bath maintenance. When reassemble take care of not to lock left side nut too lose or tighten, that's all. Shimano Nexus is a perfect hub if you're not a too sportive rider or require alpine capability. Don't hard paddle while switching. Peddaling in 8th gear gives me a speed of 34 km/h. Rolling on street steep downhill Garmin GPS shown me max. 63 km/h. In 1st gear 13% uphill is no problem (pedelec). Of cause that's my personal experiance, other riders it may be different.
I realize that this video is now two years old, but I thought I might add some of what I know about this gearbox for other people to consider. In December 2013, I purchased a Breezer Downtown 8 (featuring the Nexus 8-speed) after doing a lot of research on the pros and cons of the Nexus vs the Alfine vs offerings from Rohloff. The Nexus is very cheap and eight gears is perfect. I almost always take off in 2nd and rarely use 1st. Be aware that this gearbox is arguably fragile. Yes, Shimano specify that you can change gear while pedalling; but importantly, they suggest that you reduce power during the shift. I have read accounts of people damaging this gearbox by shifting too aggressively. For this reason, I too always pedal-pause to shift up or down. Also, while this gearbox looks water-proof, it isn't. Again, I have read accounts (accompanied by photographs) of these units being destroyed by water ingress. And the gearbox is not simply a cartridge-the old one has to be unspoked and the replacement spoked onto the wheel. Riding in rain is something I would never do. My Nexus 8-speed has given me no trouble and I like it very much. By the way, great video!
I had a nexus 8 and could not figure out how to get it not to grind in lower gears. It wasn't a terrible grind (and I was not shifting under load, ever), but the lower gears had a very rough feeling to them. I returned the bike as a result.
I have a nexus 8 on my Yamaha e-bike bought here in Japan in 2011. Not only do I ride it in the rain, I have to leave the bike outside, of course in all kinds of weather, even the occasional typhoon! I can report that the gear box, with absolutely no maintenance, is still functioning perfectly after more than 10 years of use.
This video just saved me another day of disassemble/ re-assemble! I bought a Nexus7 in pieces and built it up myself, succesfully. As you have to adjust the cones (usually) on both sides of a front hub, I could not see a way to do this on the rear, as the Nexus gear have two ball retainers installed (a large and a small) with no adjustability from the sprocket-side - and a cone to be adjusted on the brake-side. When i finished, I just realized about the same amount of drag you have in this video, so re-adjusted the cone to even have about 0.2 mm backlash, barely noticeable upon checking, but still, just about the same amount of drag! All works perfectly and runs smooth, i notice no drag while pedalling, but my mind cannot let it go that something is still too tight, hesitating if this is normal or not. According to this vid, it is.
@@GordoGambler you have one of those faces you want to hit and i haven't even seen it haha. Irrelevant comparison, torques and loads are negligible by comparison to +100bhp. If the manufacturer says its alright and you're an average rider, go for it, if you don't trust the equipment do it your way and lean off the caps lol
I've Sturmey-Archer 1 cable 5 speed hubs. I thinks it's gear 2 that is 'forced' - if you slect 2 you get 2 no matter what. I think all the others are unforced and the gear you're in is held until pedal pressure is released then it'll shift. I've often preselected 5 while in 4 and continued in 4 for a a short while then allowed it to change. I've had a spin on a Rohloff 22? speed pushmi-pullyu cables and as an engineer, it wasn't nice to use - seemed to be a lot of friction in the cables and knowing what gear you're in was a bit of a guess. I also have an 18 speed indexed derailleur which is reasonable to use.
I've been running Internal Gear Hubs for about 10 years & there are good models & not so good models. As long as you don't abuse them you can run way out of Shimano Spec, use Power Assist with them, use a front derailleur for more range. The 7 speed model is not as durable as the Nexus or Alfine 8 but as long as you use care they are fine. A good trick is to soak your inner workings in auto transmission fluid which makes a world of difference to freeing up the drag on the grease models. Not the Alfine 11. I wouldn't recommend any of the hubs for climbing Mountain Bike style though as the constant torque on your low gears could have them failing.
@@urbancargobikes4930 In case you are interested, I worked out the best gear spread you can get on the most common hubs. Scroll down the page if you need an explanation of what the numbers mean. - mid-islandadventures.weebly.com/ig-hubs.html
Hello, thanks for this, very interesting comment. I was wondering if you could say a little more about running them with a rear derailleur? I have a bike that has one and would be interested in running it with a derailleur so I can have some climbing gears.
I have one one my mountain bike and frequently enjoy shifting under load. I may be missing a gear in the middle. I'm not sure. By the way: I laced it 2 cross not 3 because you get too much angle at the rim when 3 cross.
Hey! Yes, actually there is indeed a cut out/insert spacer on this frame to enable belt drive conversion. You can see it on the right side's seat stay just above the "dropouts".
There shouldn't be that much drag on the back wheel. You're bearings might be adjusted too tightly, or the drum brake might be the culprit. Should spin freely. The bigger issue in IGH vs cassette is that the IGH weighs more than a wheel with a cassette.
ONLY Sturmey Archer has a DRUM brake. This guy has a greased ROLLER brake, that is more like a coaster brake. They have a horrible crunchy feel. Something here is way tight alright. My SA dyno drum front hub has 27,000 awesome miles on a heavyweight tour bike. My SA XL-RD5w has 10,000 miles now. It came with sticky key nubs dragging the pinion sleeve part. I finally figured out it needed the 5 slots grinded at the opening. It goes 45 mph on 9% hills easily. I have done my 6 longest rides and fastest speeds with this hub, 133.6 mile day. I put a thickened oil in mine. Only wear is around the axle, under pinion planet cage. I now trust these SA hubs 100%. I LOVE them. I did 7 century mile rides just this summer. I also have a disc Rohloff14 hub for steeper hills and loaded tours. This will put ANY deFAILeur to SHAME, FACT. But it is a full 3 mph slower than the RD 5w on that same hill. The weight and cost factor is total BULLshit. I expect my bike parts to need NO ADJUSTMENT and have 100% reliability. deR wheels are WAY more prone to breaking spokes, shifters and hangers. And collecting grime impossible to clean.
I have about the same drag on my Nexus 7. Not sure about the rollerbrake, but for the IGH you only have one side with cone-adjustability, i left some 0.1-0.15 mm backlash, just noticable if pulling the axle against the hub, but gears are turning even in free run resulting this much of a drag.
How does the first gear go uphill? I'm working my way up to commuting to work on my bike, and the main concern is that my work is on top of a large hill. I don't even know if I can make it up! I like the idea of the internal hub gear. I just want a solid easy commuter bike. Fiddling with deraileur adjustment and all that does not appeal.
what do you mean by "when its brand new there is stretch in the cables so you tune every couple hours"? what does "tune" mean? do i have to do something every couple hours?
Hello, question. I have the Nexus 8 on a bike. I carry myself and my girlfriend on it with a passenger bench on the rear. I wonder if it's too much weight. We would weigh 300lbs + luggage. I've noticed the hub makes much more noise when coasting with that much weight on. Have you noticed the same on your end? Thanks
Yes, if the hub is reassembled too tight, then it can cause excess drag. Sounded like the drive pawls were causing a lot of resistance during freewheeling in this video.
Is that black spacer that connects the seat stay to the chain stay a opening to put the belt on for a carbon drive? Would love to see more videos on that bike.
It looks like the one on my bike which uses a belt. If the bike didn't have a break point he would not be able to change to a belt, at least not a continuous belt.
First you loose the coaster brake, then remove the bowden cable from the hub, then the two conical nuts from the axle, then you push the wheel out of the rear dropouts.
I prefer stop pedaling while change the gear,i avoid jump gears. I NEVER jump gears. My NEXUS 8 is still perfoming well after 10 years(dip in shimano oil every 2 years)
Helllo and thank you. So, so you advice would be better or in any case better care for the hub to make the changes with out pedalling? For me would be ok if do like that if I’m taking care of my hub
Is that a fully automatic transmission that automatically starts off in first gear from stop and goes up to wherever you set the high gear while you're pedalling?
Thanks for the video. Regarding the drag - do you find there's a low level noise from this? Just wondering as I picked up my first internally geared bike yesterday!
I have a problem with this type of rolled brake, when the brake lever is pressed, the wheel can move a few degrees freely before it is completely locked. Is it normal? 
sorry dude i'm talking about the type of internal gear AS ON THIS VIDEO. THIS IS ROLLER BRAKE. And talking abbout efficiency, did you know that diskbrake is not the most efficient for bike? Maybe for motorbike or car yes.
it is, Shimano states it. (i hate it too). "If you apply the front Inter-M brake strongly while the bicycle is stopped and then shake the wheel, you will notice that there is a small amount of play in the brakes. This is normal, and will not cause any problems at all while riding."
The Shimano Alfine/Nexus internal gear hubs don't have a direct drive. The gears are always engaged, and in the case of the 11-speed Alfine the 1:1 speed actually engages all three gear sets for the worst efficiency. I'm not sure why they did this, but it probably allowed for a simpler design.
@@cmmarttiyou may be right about the Alfine 11, but the Alfine 8 definitely has a single speed gear/direct drive that's more efficient than all other gears.
@@am7265 You're right, I was thinking of an article on Sheldon Brown's website, which was about the 11-speed Alfine specifically, and not the 8-speed. I'll quote the relevant paragraph here: > The gearsets could give twelve ratios (2x6) of which only eleven are used, because one ratio is a near duplicate of another. The unused gear is the direct drive gear. Instead, a gear that gives almost the same ratio is used, despite its using three gear trains and presumably being less efficient.
@@cmmartti you're a star for admitting the minor mistake! I specifically bought the Alfine 8 hub for its reliability and the single speed gear and can't wait to install it ☺️
Probably not. Sturmey-Archer internal hubs aren't designed to handle a ton of torque. Shimano hubs are probably better, but probably not enough to handle 6.5 horsepower.
A very underrated hub. I used Nexus i8 12000 km in first pedelec and now have 15000 km with my 2nd pedelec that having a Gates cdx carbon belt drive. It is used all seasons as car replacement and that device works perfectly and silent. After winter I'm doing regulary oil bath maintenance. When reassemble take care of not to lock left side nut too lose or tighten, that's all. Shimano Nexus is a perfect hub if you're not a too sportive rider or require alpine capability. Don't hard paddle while switching.
Peddaling in 8th gear gives me a speed of 34 km/h. Rolling on street steep downhill Garmin GPS shown me max. 63 km/h. In 1st gear 13% uphill is no problem (pedelec). Of cause that's my personal experiance, other riders it may be different.
I realize that this video is now two years old, but I thought I might add some of what I know about this gearbox for other people to consider. In December 2013, I purchased a Breezer Downtown 8 (featuring the Nexus 8-speed) after doing a lot of research on the pros and cons of the Nexus vs the Alfine vs offerings from Rohloff.
The Nexus is very cheap and eight gears is perfect. I almost always take off in 2nd and rarely use 1st. Be aware that this gearbox is arguably fragile.
Yes, Shimano specify that you can change gear while pedalling; but importantly, they suggest that you reduce power during the shift. I have read accounts of people damaging this gearbox by shifting too aggressively. For this reason, I too always pedal-pause to shift up or down.
Also, while this gearbox looks water-proof, it isn't. Again, I have read accounts (accompanied by photographs) of these units being destroyed by water ingress. And the gearbox is not simply a cartridge-the old one has to be unspoked and the replacement spoked onto the wheel. Riding in rain is something I would never do.
My Nexus 8-speed has given me no trouble and I like it very much.
By the way, great video!
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I had a nexus 8 and could not figure out how to get it not to grind in lower gears. It wasn't a terrible grind (and I was not shifting under load, ever), but the lower gears had a very rough feeling to them. I returned the bike as a result.
I have a nexus 8 on my Yamaha e-bike bought here in Japan in 2011. Not only do I ride it in the rain, I have to leave the bike outside, of course in all kinds of weather, even the occasional typhoon! I can report that the gear box, with absolutely no maintenance, is still functioning perfectly after more than 10 years of use.
@@TheShotenZenjin Thanks for that info. It certainly makes me feel more confident. Greetings from Australia.
I bought a bike with nexus 8 and did not know about any of this. Thank you for the tips.
This video just saved me another day of disassemble/ re-assemble! I bought a Nexus7 in pieces and built it up myself, succesfully. As you have to adjust the cones (usually) on both sides of a front hub, I could not see a way to do this on the rear, as the Nexus gear have two ball retainers installed (a large and a small) with no adjustability from the sprocket-side - and a cone to be adjusted on the brake-side. When i finished, I just realized about the same amount of drag you have in this video, so re-adjusted the cone to even have about 0.2 mm backlash, barely noticeable upon checking, but still, just about the same amount of drag! All works perfectly and runs smooth, i notice no drag while pedalling, but my mind cannot let it go that something is still too tight, hesitating if this is normal or not. According to this vid, it is.
Excellent details, I had been thinking of getting one of these gear hubs for my cannondale, this helps lots. Thank you for sharing.
Update nexus said you can shift gears while paddling as the old hub you cant do that. So happy hub pedal shifting.
Cool! Thanks!
STUPID fucking IDEA. Would you shift your CAR without using a clutch???
I have a Rohloff, SA 3 and 5 w.
@@GordoGambler you have one of those faces you want to hit and i haven't even seen it haha. Irrelevant comparison, torques and loads are negligible by comparison to +100bhp. If the manufacturer says its alright and you're an average rider, go for it, if you don't trust the equipment do it your way and lean off the caps lol
I've Sturmey-Archer 1 cable 5 speed hubs. I thinks it's gear 2 that is 'forced' - if you slect 2 you get 2 no matter what. I think all the others are unforced and the gear you're in is held until pedal pressure is released then it'll shift. I've often preselected 5 while in 4 and continued in 4 for a a short while then allowed it to change.
I've had a spin on a Rohloff 22? speed pushmi-pullyu cables and as an engineer, it wasn't nice to use - seemed to be a lot of friction in the cables and knowing what gear you're in was a bit of a guess.
I also have an 18 speed indexed derailleur which is reasonable to use.
I've been running Internal Gear Hubs for about 10 years & there are good models & not so good models. As long as you don't abuse them you can run way out of Shimano Spec, use Power Assist with them, use a front derailleur for more range. The 7 speed model is not as durable as the Nexus or Alfine 8 but as long as you use care they are fine. A good trick is to soak your inner workings in auto transmission fluid which makes a world of difference to freeing up the drag on the grease models. Not the Alfine 11. I wouldn't recommend any of the hubs for climbing Mountain Bike style though as the constant torque on your low gears could have them failing.
Awesome advice! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience.
@@urbancargobikes4930 In case you are interested, I worked out the best gear spread you can get on the most common hubs. Scroll down the page if you need an explanation of what the numbers mean. - mid-islandadventures.weebly.com/ig-hubs.html
Hello, thanks for this, very interesting comment. I was wondering if you could say a little more about running them with a rear derailleur? I have a bike that has one and would be interested in running it with a derailleur so I can have some climbing gears.
@@ephraimluwemba1392 Nor a rear derailleur - front derailleur so you can run a second chain ring. Not recommended for heavy torque applications.
We
great video. do you have any more information about conferting to carbon drive? or maybe a video about it?
I have one one my mountain bike and frequently enjoy shifting under load. I may be missing a gear in the middle. I'm not sure. By the way: I laced it 2 cross not 3 because you get too much angle at the rim when 3 cross.
I think the 1:1 is the fifth gear and you can’t convert to Gates belt drive because your frame isn’t open.
Hey! Yes, actually there is indeed a cut out/insert spacer on this frame to enable belt drive conversion. You can see it on the right side's seat stay just above the "dropouts".
@@urbancargobikes4930 Yes, I can see it now, sorry I have missed it.
you can buy split belts which are not cheap but enable you to use any bike frame.
@@urbancargobikes4930 Did you convert in the end? I have a Gates and this hub - think it's brilliant.
There shouldn't be that much drag on the back wheel. You're bearings might be adjusted too tightly, or the drum brake might be the culprit. Should spin freely. The bigger issue in IGH vs cassette is that the IGH weighs more than a wheel with a cassette.
ONLY Sturmey Archer has a DRUM brake. This guy has a greased ROLLER brake, that is more like a coaster brake. They have a horrible crunchy feel. Something here is way tight alright. My SA dyno drum front hub has 27,000 awesome miles on a heavyweight tour bike. My SA XL-RD5w has 10,000 miles now. It came with sticky key nubs dragging the pinion sleeve part. I finally figured out it needed the 5 slots grinded at the opening. It goes 45 mph on 9% hills easily. I have done my 6 longest rides and fastest speeds with this hub, 133.6 mile day. I put a thickened oil in mine. Only wear is around the axle, under pinion planet cage. I now trust these SA hubs 100%. I LOVE them. I did 7 century mile rides just this summer.
I also have a disc Rohloff14 hub for steeper hills and loaded tours. This will put ANY deFAILeur to SHAME, FACT. But it is a full 3 mph slower than the RD 5w on that same hill. The weight and cost factor is total BULLshit. I expect my bike parts to need NO ADJUSTMENT and have 100% reliability.
deR wheels are WAY more prone to breaking spokes, shifters and hangers. And collecting grime impossible to clean.
I have about the same drag on my Nexus 7. Not sure about the rollerbrake, but for the IGH you only have one side with cone-adjustability, i left some 0.1-0.15 mm backlash, just noticable if pulling the axle against the hub, but gears are turning even in free run resulting this much of a drag.
Great comment, except I have no fucking clue how to loosen said bearings nor where to even start to find such information.
You have to change the oil in it every 10,000 Km, by the way.
How does the first gear go uphill? I'm working my way up to commuting to work on my bike, and the main concern is that my work is on top of a large hill. I don't even know if I can make it up! I like the idea of the internal hub gear. I just want a solid easy commuter bike. Fiddling with deraileur adjustment and all that does not appeal.
Did you go for a internal 8 gear? How is it uphill? I have the exact concern about my next commuter bike. Thanks
I've had this for nearly a year. 1st gear is just right for me. I'm in love with it really. Deraileur is old tech, this is better.
Fourth speed is 1-1 correct. What is first gear ratio ? What is the ratio for eight gear?
bike.shimano.com/en-EU/technologies/component/details/inter-8.html
It's 0.53 and 1.61 for 1st and 8th respectively.
what do you mean by "when its brand new there is stretch in the cables so you tune every couple hours"? what does "tune" mean? do i have to do something every couple hours?
How to install
Hello, question. I have the Nexus 8 on a bike. I carry myself and my girlfriend on it with a passenger bench on the rear. I wonder if it's too much weight. We would weigh 300lbs + luggage. I've noticed the hub makes much more noise when coasting with that much weight on. Have you noticed the same on your end? Thanks
Do you think thumb shifter will work as a replacement for the revo shifter?
that clicking noise pedal backwards is also not normal
my nexus 8 is quiet all time
or your bearings are way to tight
Yes, if the hub is reassembled too tight, then it can cause excess drag. Sounded like the drive pawls were causing a lot of resistance during freewheeling in this video.
Is that black spacer that connects the seat stay to the chain stay a opening to put the belt on for a carbon drive? Would love to see more videos on that bike.
It looks like the one on my bike which uses a belt. If the bike didn't have a break point he would not be able to change to a belt, at least not a continuous belt.
So it doesnt make that ticking sound that Nexus 3 does on the 2nd and 3rd gear?
Thanks for the video, where can I buy it?
I have the same bike as you, and I have two broken spokes, can you make a video about how to remove the wheel. thank you.
First you loose the coaster brake, then remove the bowden cable from the hub, then the two conical nuts from the axle, then you push the wheel out of the rear dropouts.
I prefer stop pedaling while change the gear,i avoid jump gears. I NEVER jump gears. My NEXUS 8 is still perfoming well after 10 years(dip in shimano oil every 2 years)
Helllo and thank you. So, so you advice would be better or in any case better care for the hub to make the changes with out pedalling? For me would be ok if do like that if I’m taking care of my hub
I have a Nexus Sg-6001 8-speed IGH. Will these handle semi-long distance bike touring travels with a full load greater than 20kg?
Is that a fully automatic transmission that automatically starts off in first gear from stop and goes up to wherever you set the high gear while you're pedalling?
No it's manual, need to select gears 1 to 8 on the grip shifter
Can I convert my trek 7300 to this automatic hub?oops thought this was a automatic hub. But am still interested in it.
Thanks for the video.
Regarding the drag - do you find there's a low level noise from this? Just wondering as I picked up my first internally geared bike yesterday!
Great info. Best I’ve seen. Thanks!
I have a problem with this type of rolled brake, when the brake lever is pressed, the wheel can move a few degrees freely before it is completely locked. Is it normal?

sorry dude i'm talking about the type of internal gear AS ON THIS VIDEO. THIS IS ROLLER BRAKE. And talking abbout efficiency, did you know that diskbrake is not the most efficient for bike? Maybe for motorbike or car yes.
Whatever...
Back to topic..
it is, Shimano states it. (i hate it too).
"If you apply the front Inter-M brake strongly while the
bicycle is stopped and then shake the wheel, you will
notice that there is a small amount of play in the
brakes. This is normal, and will not cause any
problems at all while riding."
Thank you. I am shopping and looking at an Inter-7. Your video was very helpful!
Pat McD by
So what would be the differences between an IGH with a chain and a belt ?
upfront costs and lifespan (both higher for belt). belts also need less maintenance, but chain maintenance isn’t hard
"made in japan"
lol no, it's made in czechia
I know, I work in that factory.
Where can you purchase one?
don't igh suck on hills when you have to stop pedaling to change gears?
well its just for a milisecond... duh... you dont lose anything, you have the momentum anyways
@@nikolasimurina I know that now I got one. Why do you have a girls name?
Bull shit. You can't shift a defaileur on a steep hill either, because you have to be MOVING.
are the 8 gears on it enough for you to go uphill with such a heavy cargo bike? how strong are you lol
Isn't 5th gear direct dive?
Not sure but that would make sense. Spend most of my ride in 5th.
The Shimano Alfine/Nexus internal gear hubs don't have a direct drive. The gears are always engaged, and in the case of the 11-speed Alfine the 1:1 speed actually engages all three gear sets for the worst efficiency. I'm not sure why they did this, but it probably allowed for a simpler design.
@@cmmarttiyou may be right about the Alfine 11, but the Alfine 8 definitely has a single speed gear/direct drive that's more efficient than all other gears.
@@am7265 You're right, I was thinking of an article on Sheldon Brown's website, which was about the 11-speed Alfine specifically, and not the 8-speed. I'll quote the relevant paragraph here:
> The gearsets could give twelve ratios (2x6) of which only eleven are used, because one ratio is a near duplicate of another. The unused gear is the direct drive gear. Instead, a gear that gives almost the same ratio is used, despite its using three gear trains and presumably being less efficient.
@@cmmartti you're a star for admitting the minor mistake!
I specifically bought the Alfine 8 hub for its reliability and the single speed gear and can't wait to install it ☺️
What is the price ?
This is best with belt drive, basically indestructible
Are this IGH strong enough for pulling 6.5hp go kart?
Probably not. Sturmey-Archer internal hubs aren't designed to handle a ton of torque. Shimano hubs are probably better, but probably not enough to handle 6.5 horsepower.
Those brakes are draggy.
The cable management on this hub gear is complete trash, there is nowhere to secure the gear cable safely
These are horrible long term