Shimano Nexus/Alfine internal hubs??

I have a Nexus 8 speed. At this point it's an older model, the Alfine line is newer and better, but man, I love it. No damage to gears from shitty weather, no mess if it gets thrown in a pile of bikes, etc.

 

But, it's 3-4 years old now, and I've rocked it daily (M-F) for several seasons. I'm orginally from MN, and know some people up there who can service it properly.

 

Who in Chicago can properly service a Shimano internal hub?

 

I'm not necessarily looking for "oh, go here, this person is a guru of bikes and I'm sure he/she knows what to do." I can call LBS's and get that. I'm looking for people who actually have a Shimano internal hub, and have had it looked serviced, oiled, etc.

 

Most LBS mechanics will look at the overall build and think the bike is cool, but fall flat on their faces when I actually ask them if they've ever taken apart a hub, checked for wear, and most importantly, oiled it properly.

 

Anyone have any ideas? Bueller?

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 14, 2011 at 7:50am

Uptown bikes advertises having over 15 years of experience servicing Sturmy Archer hubs. Might be worth a call.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 14, 2011 at 8:10am

Any good bike shop can do it; Shimano has excellent tech docs and a skilled mechanic regardless of having worked on that particular hub should be able to properly service it.

 

Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on October 14, 2011 at 5:24pm

Nope. Not completely true, unfortunately, in my experience, unless they spend a lot of time with those docs. These hubs are trickier than those bulletproof old S-A AW 3-speeds- Uptown was baffled on the phone when I called them about my Nexus (that needed a guts replacement after a pinion gear got busted). Maybe it depends on the mechanic who answers the phone - worth calling them again probably. I'd try Blue City or Rapid Transit first (had pretty good luck at both) now that Dutch Bike is gone, probably JC Lind too. It's possible that an oldish Nexus is ready to fail if you've never changed the grease (special gold and diamond plated Shimano grease). Or, it's possible that the less you do to it the longer it runs. Hard to say. Shimano says change the grease.

The sprocket has a tendency to fall off afterward unless someone uses a punch to hammer the circlip back in, possibly better to use a fresh circlip each time. The guts of Nexus 8 and Alfine 8 are now supposedly the same, but Alfine takes a disc brake, I think, and Nexus is coaster or roller brake. The Alfine 11 speed uses an oil bath, not grease, so they can say it's just like a Rohloff - no Nexus version of this one.

These internal hubs are getting to be more common now and next year or the year after most places will have some experience with them, but at the moment I'd say go to a good LBS who will stand by their work and re-do it until they get it right. As Dug says, if they are a good shop they'll get it fixed.

I'd also suggest to bring in the whole bike, not just the wheel, so that if something doesn't work after the repair nobody will say it's because you put the wheel on wrong or something. Even a tire change with Nexus hubs scares a lot of people here.

 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 14, 2011 at 7:59pm

If somebody can't service a hub with the tech docs in hand they should not be working on bikes.  There are many hubs I have not opened up before but would have no fear in opening up with the right documentation.  If you worry about your shop being able to do it find a new one....

 

Bring the hub to me and I can make it right, period.

 

Permalink Reply by Sol on October 16, 2011 at 6:29am
There is a guy at uptown bikes who took apart and rebuilt my 18 year old shimano 3 speed two years ago and it has been great ever since. Also, Justin at johnny sprocket on Bryn Mawr is happy to work on internal hubs. He particularly likes to work on bikes for people who actually use their biikes regularly.
Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on October 16, 2011 at 11:26am

Next to having DUG, Owen at Blue City, or even me do this, the best person to do this is you. They ain't hard and you'll be able to tell when someone is bullshitting you.*

Lots of do it yourself stuff here. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geared_hub_bikes/

Wash out the old grease, drill and tap an M6 hole in the hub shell, thread in a Sturmey Archer oiler, tell Shitmano to keep their overpriced lubricants, get a squirt bottle of ATF and never worry again.

That said, I've never torn into my Alfine, yet. No reason to at this point. But nearly all IG hubs come apart the same way. My Sram S7 was converted to oil lube two years ago and I haven't looked back.

 

*Someday, over a beer, I'll tell you guys about my 'toe to toe' with a certain IG hub rep.

Permalink Reply by Adam Sterling on November 3, 2011 at 6:13am
Thanks, guys.

Two recommendations for Blue City = sold. I think it just needs some lube and love. I thought it was starting to really slip gears, then realized that was just a couple tight links in my chain.

And, DUG n Mike, where do you guys work, if you work at shops.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 3, 2011 at 6:58am

I work at Rapid Transit.

 

FWIW, I just 'rebuilt' a Nexus 8 last week.  I use the quotes because after getting it apart and identifying the problem areas I found out Shimano is no longer stocking many of the internal parts for the older Nexus hubs.  A bunch of grease and adjustment had it better than it was but not as good as it could have been...

Permalink Reply by Adam Sterling on November 3, 2011 at 7:20am

OK had I known that I would have never called Blue City. I just tried to call RT and you're not there today. I was all ready to be like "this is Adam from chainlink SUP."

 

I am leaving town tonight and not coming back till Sunday. If I drop it off there tonight, do you think you'd have time to rip it apart, diagnose/repair, and have it ready to rock by Sunday afternoon (assuming there is no ordering of parts or anything out of the ordinary)?

 

RT is way closer to me than Blue City, and I want someone who has experience working on them. I realize 'any good mechanic' should be able to do this, but in my experience many mechanics shy away from them.

 

Let me know, and thanks again for replying.

 

notoriousDUG said:

I work at Rapid Transit.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 3, 2011 at 8:59am

I work next on Sunday, I should be able to get it done then provided there is no issue and we are not to busy that day.

 

The real question is this; what is the problem you are having that you want it torn apart?  Is it making noise?  Dragging?  Some other issue?

 

Honestly unless it is giving you problems there really is no reason to take it apart; if something in there is bad enough for me to be able to see it or tell by examining the parts it is going to have an effect on the performance of the hub in some way.  It's a pretty 'farmer' way of looking at things but I adhere to the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' school of thought.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 3, 2011 at 9:04am
Can I get an appointment on Sunday to bring my 2 year old Sturmey Archer SRF3 into RT? No problems or noises, just seems prudent to do a little preventative lubing/maintenance before the winter sets in.

notoriousDUG said:

I work next on Sunday, I should be able to get it done then provided there is no issue and we are not to busy that day.

 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 3, 2011 at 9:28am

Sure, bring it on in, I'm there noon till 5.


Kevin C said:

Can I get an appointment on Sunday to bring my 2 year old Sturmey Archer SRF3 into RT? No problems or noises, just seems prudent to do a little preventative lubing/maintenance before the winter sets in.

notoriousDUG said:

I work next on Sunday, I should be able to get it done then provided there is no issue and we are not to busy that day.

 

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