Shimano nexus 8 hub gear problems

[beatlejuice]

I brought a second hand Carrera Subway 8. It was slipping in 5 gear, not uncommon. With in a day the whole unit seems unable to transmit motion from the peddles to the wheel no matter what gears it's in but makes a horrible noise. It looks terminal but does anyone know someone in the Hamsphire area that could look at it for me? I have adjusted the cable. Is this a case of chalking it down to experience and moving on?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I have adjusted the cable.

Can I assume the yellow lines are lined up in 4th?

 

[beatlejuice]

Can I assume the yellow lines are lined up in 4th?

Yup. They weren't that far out.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Yup. They weren't that far out.

Drat! This is not for the faint-hearted.

 

[beatlejuice]

Drat! This is not for the faint-hearted.

it's way, way beyond my limited mechanical skills but thanks @RecordAceFromNew

 

[beatlejuice]

I have been checking out the options available. If I go down the repair route I can either replace the internal gubbins (SG-8R25) for about £150 or replace the whole hub with an improved version (SG-8R36). If I do the latter then I have to rebuild the wheel.
It appears that a slipping 5th gear is often the start of terminal decline, which lead to gears 5 - 8 not working then followed by lots of drag and total unit failure.
These units are not maintenance free. To keep the working they need dipping in some incredibly expensive special Shimano oil every year or so. There is an issue with water getting in on the right hand side and poor bearings on the earlier models.
I notice that Halfords and Edinburgh Bike Coop no longer do low end (< £500) hub geared bikes. It appears that they just aren't worth it.
The most sensible option for me would be to take it down to the council dump before I spend too much money on a bike that isn't worth it.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I notice that Halfords and Edinburgh Bike Coop no longer do low end (< £500) hub geared bikes. It appears that they just aren't worth it.
The most sensible option for me would be to take it down to the council dump before I spend too much money on a bike that isn't worth it.

Last time I looked at a Subway 8 I also happened to contemplate what could I do with it if the Nexus 8 had given up the ghost. With secondhand price of such bikes not much more than £150 fully working, no brake boss/tab of any sort front or back, it might just be possible to hang a dual pivot caliper, find a flat bar road brake lever if one is careful with drop measurement to a rim brake rear wheel, and run it as a single speed since it has neither gear cable stop at the chainstay, cable guide at the bb, nor der hanger, although not all such issues are big deal. But options appeared limited and outcomes not particularly attractive. It is a machine that is worth little broken up, and not very much built up.

 

[Tim Hall]

A couple of things:

I did an oil dip on Mrs. Hall's Nexus 8 last week. Runs as sweet as a nut now. Being of a tight fisted nature, I didn't shell out sixty notes for Shimano Blue oil, but used some Hypoid Gear oil I had laying around. Overall cost - nothing. So it might be worth a shot.

I think someone on YACF was flogging the innards of a Nexus. I'll go and have a look.

 

[TheDoctor]

I seem to remember Auntie Helen posting (or was it blogging?) about doing an oil dip and service on her rear hub. Which may have been an Alfine...
Not being much help here, am I?

 

[Tim Hall]

Aunty Helen had hers done by a nice man inna shop, IIRC. The YACF hamsters are knackered at the moment, so searching is off.

 

[beatlejuice]

I am going to take the gubbins out tomorrow and dipping it in some form of lubricant. If that fails then hopefully common sense will prevail and I will take it on a one way trip to the dump.

 

[beatlejuice]

So I entered into the world of hub gear internals. There was plenty of grease in the unit. However the pawls on the Driver Unit had broken and Hub Shell Side Spring was well mangled. This I believe is a case of 'He's dead Jim' ! The whole thing should be heading for the council tip but I am look at replacing the innards thanks to Petracycle.co.uk who have such an item in stock.