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Regreasing Nexus 8 hub

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Finlay Mackay

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Jan 28, 2007, 12:39:31 PM1/28/07
to
My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
gears 6-8 (ie all of those which are gearing up the rotation of the
cog). I assume it needs re-greasing - I am a little worried it needs
this after only a year of fairly light use (1500-2000 miles), could it
be something else?

I have the instructions at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8, have the
special grease on order and am happy I can strip down and rebuild the
hub (I doubt any local shops have much experience of these hubs anyway)
but I was wondering whether anyone had done this and had tips? Is is
necessary to totally strip it down, or can I just take it to the point
of (for example) removing the shell, then pack it with grease and
reassemble?

cheers,

Finlay

M-gineering

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Jan 28, 2007, 2:15:54 PM1/28/07
to
Finlay Mackay wrote:
Is is
> necessary to totally strip it down, or can I just take it to the point
> of (for example) removing the shell, then pack it with grease and
> reassemble?

pull the unit and grease everthing in sight. No further disassembly required

--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

Sue White

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Jan 28, 2007, 6:52:51 PM1/28/07
to
M-gineering <ikmotg...@m-gineering.nl> whizzed past me shouting

>Finlay Mackay wrote:
> Is is
>> necessary to totally strip it down, or can I just take it to the point
>> of (for example) removing the shell, then pack it with grease and
>>reassemble?
>
>pull the unit and grease everthing in sight. No further disassembly required
>

Finlay - I'll have to do that before long - please could you post any
useful discoveries you make?

--
Sue ]:(:)

Rola

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Jan 29, 2007, 3:14:23 AM1/29/07
to
With mine, some seal had gone somewhere, and when it was opened up it
was like a relic from the Titanic. The bike shop asked me if I'd
recovered it from a lake :-) It had done just over 6k.

Anyway, the corrosion was so bad it had to be replaced, and the
replacement was carried out under shimano's 12 mth warranty. In the
meantime, I'd bought a Nexus 8 Deluxe from an ebay seller in Germany,
and found that to be a much better unit than the standard one.

I kept the replacement as a spare, but did another 8k on the deluxe
version one with no issues at all.

Naqerj

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Jan 28, 2007, 4:26:35 PM1/28/07
to
Finlay Mackay wrote:
> My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
> gears 6-8 (ie all of those which are gearing up the rotation of the
> cog). I assume it needs re-greasing - I am a little worried it needs
> this after only a year of fairly light use (1500-2000 miles), could it
> be something else?

My own experiences have been with a Nexus 7. Mine started doing that
after water got in - once from being submerged as I rode through a
flood, the second time from snow packed around the hub. (Never had the
problem from heavy rain, though.)

>
> I have the instructions at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8, have the
> special grease on order and am happy I can strip down and rebuild the
> hub (I doubt any local shops have much experience of these hubs anyway)
> but I was wondering whether anyone had done this and had tips? Is is
> necessary to totally strip it down, or can I just take it to the point
> of (for example) removing the shell, then pack it with grease and
> reassemble?
>

As Marten says, just extract the works and grease what you can see. I
used WD40 first to get rid of any water in there.

--
Andrew

Finlay Mackay

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Jan 29, 2007, 6:12:49 PM1/29/07
to
On 2007-01-28, Naqerj <pat...@globalnet.co.invalid> wrote:
> Finlay Mackay wrote:
>> My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
>> gears 6-8 (ie all of those which are gearing up the rotation of the
>> cog). I assume it needs re-greasing - I am a little worried it needs
>> this after only a year of fairly light use (1500-2000 miles), could it
>> be something else?
>
> My own experiences have been with a Nexus 7. Mine started doing that
> after water got in - once from being submerged as I rode through a
> flood, the second time from snow packed around the hub. (Never had the
> problem from heavy rain, though.)

There has been a lot of rain here this winter and several times bits of
my commute have been flooded - junctions/underpasses etc with a few
inches of water - I'll bet riding through those has done it, along with 2
weeks off at xmas to give the corrosion a chance to get going. And the
warranty has just run out too.

cheers

Finlay

M-gineering

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Jan 30, 2007, 3:36:25 AM1/30/07
to
Finlay Mackay wrote:
> On 2007-01-28, Naqerj <pat...@globalnet.co.invalid> wrote:
>> Finlay Mackay wrote:
>>> My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
>>> gears 6-8

> And the warranty has just run out too.

You might care to look up your rights as an EU consumer then ;)

Finlay Mackay

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Jan 30, 2007, 2:07:34 PM1/30/07
to
On 2007-01-30, M-gineering <ikmotg...@m-gineering.nl> wrote:
> Finlay Mackay wrote:
>> On 2007-01-28, Naqerj <pat...@globalnet.co.invalid> wrote:
>>> Finlay Mackay wrote:
>>>> My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
>>>> gears 6-8
>
>
>> And the warranty has just run out too.
>
> You might care to look up your rights as an EU consumer then ;)

I'm not sure how easy it would be to cliam that any damage which may
have occurred is not the result of normal wear and tear. In any case,
this morning as I crossed some rough cobbles the hub seized up in 5th
(direct drive) and I thought all was lost. But after a bit of shifting
up and down, backpedalling etc it started working again and the noise in
the higher gears had gone. I'm more worried now, if anything, so I'm
going to take a look inside asap in case something is badly wrong, eg
there's a broken bit rattling round inside.

cheers,

Finlay

Peter

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Jan 30, 2007, 2:55:47 PM1/30/07
to

As an aside, I have a 4-speed Nexus ans was thinking it'd be OK on a hack
bike (Northants, so no real hills), but I've broken 3 AW3s and this thread
has made me nervous about Nexi.
If they're as easy to break as SAs, does any one want this one - free apart
from P&P?


--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.

Tom

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Jan 30, 2007, 4:05:05 PM1/30/07
to
Peter <giraffe...@homecall.co.uk> wrote:
>
> If they're as easy to break as SAs, does any one want this one - free
> apart from P&P?

Check your email :-)

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is at
http://www.happy-penguin.info/address.jpg

Don Whybrow

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Feb 1, 2007, 6:28:13 PM2/1/07
to

Prompted by this thread and the fact that mine had just started to make
a noise when freewheeling. Either that or I have only noticed it because
of this thread. I have just re greased mine.

I printed off the relevant pages from Sheldon's site [1] as well as the
assembly instructions from Shimano [2]. Why? well the manual Sheldon has
starts off with a hub with the drive sprocket already removed.

Once the wheel was off the bike I started going through the assembly
instructions [2] in reverse. Things that I found tricky/different were:
o Removing the snap ring from the sprocket assembly, but persistence
paid off.
o I did not have a right hand dust cap B fitted which I would have
expected as my sprocket is 21T.
o I had to remove the large right hand dust cap prior to removing the
hub shell
o Heed the warning about removing the stop ring. I did not lose mine,
but only because I had it smothered.
o I could not identify the ring gear stop ring for removal, so I didn't.
o I did not disassemble the axle unit any further than stage 10, and
that was probably a step more than necessary.
o The pictures all show a nice clean unit, mine was not.
o Reassembly started at step 11 of the assembly instructions, applying
grease liberally at the indicated locations and turning teeth etc round
to work it in [4].
o Getting the stop ring on was a hassle until I stopped trying and just
eased it into place with a mole grip.
o The snap ring again presented a bit of a problem and did not want to
go back on at first, but I managed to persuade it.

It took me about 2.5 hours from walking out the front door to walking
back in leaving the bike ready to ride having also checked tyre
pressures and reset the seat hight after having to move it to use the
stand. I was expecting it to take longer, but found the job quite easy.

As an aside, when I was putting everything back together I checked the
chain line on my bike. Prompted by either something said here or
something I had read on Sheldon's site. Just looking from the back wheel
along the sprocket, the chain ring is not in line. I can't shift the
sprocket about with spacers as the hub gears do not allow for that so I
need to shift the chain ring out a bit. I assume that means I need to
replace the BB with one that has a longer (for want of a better word)
RHS taper.


[1] http://sheldonbrown.com/nexus8/
[2] http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ryegk opens up [3]
[3]
http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/media/cycling/techdocs/en/bikecomponents/SG/SI-34R0D_v1_m56577569830592938.pdf
[4] I did not use Shimano's recommended grease, rather a Teflon based
one that I picked up at a LBS for general greasing. This stuff is
supposed to handle high temperatures so I think it should be OK. If it
all suddenly falls apart ...

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

If you're happy and you know it, clunk your chains.

Don Whybrow

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Feb 2, 2007, 3:05:08 PM2/2/07
to
Don Whybrow wrote:
>
> Prompted by this thread and the fact that mine had just started to make
> a noise when freewheeling. Either that or I have only noticed it because
> of this thread. I have just re greased mine.

Well, as the actress said to the bishop, a bit of lubrication makes a
world of difference.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"The POP3 server service depends on the SMTP server service,
which failed to start because of the following error: The
operation completed successfully." (Windows NT Server v3.51)

Message has been deleted

Don Whybrow

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Feb 3, 2007, 6:36:19 PM2/3/07
to
raisethe wrote:
> Most people seem to use their nexus hub gears without servicing them
> until they fail. When they investigate the hub they tend to find that
> the grease is no longer there. Would anyone have any comments on the
> wisdom of regreasing the hub as a form of preventative maintenance,
> and if so, at what sort of mileage would this be recommended?

From the Shimano website at http://preview.tinyurl.com/3xkzu9 [1]:

"Shimano recommends to perform maintenance on an internal geared hub
every 5000km's or every 2 years. When the bike is used in severe
(wheater) conditions, it may be necessary to shorten this interval."

[1] Resolves to
http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/cycle/seh/nl/en/technical_service/faq_s/city_and_comfort_bike/do_i_have_to_perfom.html


--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

Give your child mental blocks for Christmas.

PeterC

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Feb 4, 2007, 4:51:35 AM2/4/07
to
On Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:36:19 +0000, Don Whybrow wrote:

> "Shimano recommends to perform maintenance on an internal geared hub
> every 5000km's or every 2 years.

So every 2 months, do they mean?

Don Whybrow

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Feb 4, 2007, 6:20:17 AM2/4/07
to
PeterC wrote:
> On Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:36:19 +0000, Don Whybrow wrote:
>
>
>>"Shimano recommends to perform maintenance on an internal geared hub
>>every 5000km's or every 2 years.
>
>
> So every 2 months, do they mean?

Well, I have only had mine a year (~3000-4000km) and it has benefited
from a strip down and re-grease. I am not sure I would have waited for
the 2 years given the noises I was getting. Neither would I have used
the dipping oil. It may look good doing it with a nice shiny new hub,
but with old grease in the gears it would need a method of filtering out
the gunk after each use. It also seems a bit light to last 2 years with.
It would need backing up with grease anyway.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardio plate
crossoffs. They used teepers. They used bribery. They used
stick tites. They used intimidation. They used torment. They
used torture. They used finks. They used cops. They used
search and seizure. They used fallaron. They used betterment
incentives. They used finger prints. They used the bertillion
system. They used cunning. They used guile. They used
treachery. They used Raoul-Mitgong but he wasn't much help.
They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology.
And what the hell, they caught him. (Harlan Ellison, "Repent,
Harlequin, said the Tick-Tock Man")

Message has been deleted

Don Whybrow

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Feb 4, 2007, 9:42:48 AM2/4/07
to
raisethe wrote:
>
> Is there any reason to suppose that heavy grease is preferable to oil
> in this application, after all, motor vehicle gearboxes run in oil
> quite happily. The only reason I can think of is that the hub isn't
> oil tight so it may leak away.
>
> I can't tell from the web page but is the intention to provide a
> coating of oil to the internal parts or to actually have a quantity of
> oil sloshing about in the hub? (Excuse my ignorance, but I've never
> had a pushbike with a gearbox before).

Here we hit the limits of my ignorance as well!

ISTR that the Rohloff has an oil bath, so I presume that it has oil
tight joints. From what I can tell of the Nexus, it does not have oil
tight joints, although I will not be offended if I am proven wrong. My
interpretation is that the dipping oil would give a coating to all the
parts, but that this would dissipate after a while. Grease would hold
the lubricants where they are needed. Motor vehicle gearboxes are even
more a mystery to me, but I would have thought that the comparison fails
as they are not part of the axle of the driving wheel and do not rotate
themselves. Do they not also have a sump and a mechanism for circulating
and cleaning the oil?.


--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the
legislature is in session." (Judge Gideon J. Tucker, 1866.)

Message has been deleted

Don Whybrow

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Feb 5, 2007, 4:28:47 PM2/5/07
to
raisethe wrote:
>
> True. However, the oil tends to only deteriorate because of engine
> generated heat. The gunge that people are reporting in Nexus hubs
> would probably write off a motor vehicle engine. It would certainly
> appear that the Nexus hubs are not properly sealed which is strange
> given that they are designed for use in bad weather. In fact, if the
> components are circulating whilst enclosed in a grungy paste they are
> likely to last less longer than a derailleur system.

OK mine was not clean, but I would not have expected it to be. What was
there did not seem to me to be the residue of ground up components or
paste. I do not know if grease breaks down after a period of use, but it
would seem reasonable to me. I do not think that the reported gunge it
anything other than spent grease. All you are doing by re-greasing the
hub is replacing this used up stuff. I do not think that it is valid to
compare the performance of lubricants in a bike hub gear to those in an
engine or vehicle gearbox. The conditions are completely different.

> Perhaps I will lubricate the hub more frequently than the recommended
> 5,000km - I'll see what its like the first time I go in there.

Simple rule of thumb, if it sounds rough, slap some grease in, otherwise
why bother.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

People must not do things for fun. We are not here for fun.
There is no reference to fun in any Act of Parliament.

Simon Brooke

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Feb 5, 2007, 6:11:33 PM2/5/07
to
in message <52plshF...@mid.individual.net>, Don Whybrow
('d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk') wrote:

> raisethe wrote:
>>
>> True. However, the oil tends to only deteriorate because of engine
>> generated heat. The gunge that people are reporting in Nexus hubs
>> would probably write off a motor vehicle engine. It would certainly
>> appear that the Nexus hubs are not properly sealed which is strange
>> given that they are designed for use in bad weather. In fact, if the
>> components are circulating whilst enclosed in a grungy paste they are
>> likely to last less longer than a derailleur system.
>
> OK mine was not clean, but I would not have expected it to be. What was
> there did not seem to me to be the residue of ground up components or
> paste. I do not know if grease breaks down after a period of use, but it
> would seem reasonable to me.

It will emulsify if there is enough water getting in. The resulting
emulsion does lubricate to some degree, but it won't protect against
corrosion.

--
si...@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn.
;; Jim Morrison

Don Whybrow

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Feb 6, 2007, 5:13:33 PM2/6/07
to
Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <52plshF...@mid.individual.net>, Don Whybrow
> ('d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk') wrote:
>
>>OK mine was not clean, but I would not have expected it to be. What was
>>there did not seem to me to be the residue of ground up components or
>>paste. I do not know if grease breaks down after a period of use, but it
>>would seem reasonable to me.
>
>
> It will emulsify if there is enough water getting in. The resulting
> emulsion does lubricate to some degree, but it won't protect against
> corrosion.

Now you have started me thinking. If all I did was to add more grease to
a grease/water emulsion my effort has probably been wasted. The question
is, should I strip it all down to basic components, clean them all and
re-assemble greasing as I go?

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

Hackers make toys. Crackers break them. (Peter Seebach)

Message has been deleted

Simon Brooke

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Feb 7, 2007, 8:01:37 AM2/7/07
to
in message <52scseF...@mid.individual.net>, Don Whybrow
('d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk') wrote:

> Simon Brooke wrote:
>> in message <52plshF...@mid.individual.net>, Don Whybrow
>> ('d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk') wrote:
>>
>>>OK mine was not clean, but I would not have expected it to be. What was
>>>there did not seem to me to be the residue of ground up components or
>>>paste. I do not know if grease breaks down after a period of use, but it
>>>would seem reasonable to me.
>>
>>
>> It will emulsify if there is enough water getting in. The resulting
>> emulsion does lubricate to some degree, but it won't protect against
>> corrosion.
>
> Now you have started me thinking. If all I did was to add more grease to
> a grease/water emulsion my effort has probably been wasted. The question
> is, should I strip it all down to basic components, clean them all and
> re-assemble greasing as I go?

I'm afraid that that is what I would do.

...but have you *seen* the size of the world wide spider?

Don Whybrow

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Feb 7, 2007, 3:12:36 PM2/7/07
to
Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <52scseF...@mid.individual.net>, Don Whybrow
> ('d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk') wrote:
>>The question
>>is, should I strip it all down to basic components, clean them all and
>>re-assemble greasing as I go?
>
>
> I'm afraid that that is what I would do.

Looks like a job for the weekend then, luckily I have a spare one.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"There is a wicked pretense that one has been informed. But no
such thing has truly occurred! A mere slogan, an empty litany.
No arguments are heard, no evidence is weighed. It isn't news at
all, only a source of amusement for idlers." (Gibson-Sterling,
The Difference Engine)

Richie

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Feb 8, 2007, 1:13:00 PM2/8/07
to
On Jan 28, 5:39 pm, Finlay Mackay <fmackayatclaradotcodotuk> wrote:
> My Shimano Nexus 8 hub gear has started to make nasty grinding noises in
> gears 6-8 (ie all of those which are gearing up the rotation of the
> cog). I assume it needs re-greasing - I am a little worried it needs
> this after only a year of fairly light use (1500-2000 miles), could it
> be something else?
>
> I have the instructions athttp://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8, have the

> special grease on order and am happy I can strip down and rebuild the
> hub (I doubt any local shops have much experience of these hubs anyway)
> but I was wondering whether anyone had done this and had tips? Is is
> necessary to totally strip it down, or can I just take it to the point
> of (for example) removing the shell, then pack it with grease and
> reassemble?
>
> cheers,
>
> Finlay

Do you know whether or not you have the standard or premium version of
the hub? The premium version has a red stripe around the hub. It's
supposed to have improved seals.
I have the Carrera Subway 8 which is fitted with the premium version.
I bought this bike because I do a daily 14 mile round commuting trip
and wanted something I didn't have to tamper with on a regular
basis ,apart from cleaning an general lubing. Sounds as though the
Nexus hubs aren't quite what they've been made out to be. A six month
strip down sounds like a whole lot more maintenance than would be
needed for a standard derrailleur. Mmmm.

Richie

Sue White

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Feb 8, 2007, 5:52:24 PM2/8/07
to
Don Whybrow <d...@fwhybrow.wanadoo.co.uk> whizzed past me shouting

>My interpretation is that the dipping oil would give a coating to all
>the parts, but that this would dissipate after a while. Grease would
>hold the lubricants where they are needed. Motor vehicle gearboxes are
>even more a mystery to me, but I would have thought that the comparison
>fails as they are not part of the axle of the driving wheel and do not
>rotate themselves. Do they not also have a sump and a mechanism for
>circulating and cleaning the oil?.
>

No, a typical motor vehicle gearbox is just an oil bath. The engine
bearings have the sump, pump and filter.
Typically the gearbox gets no maintenance; if the seals fail you replace
the gearbox with a reconditioned one (which has presumably had the oil
changed and the seals replaced.)

I've had my Subway 8 for two years and done nothing to the hub, I'll
have a go this weekend and regrease it with non-emulsifying MTB grease.
The front roller brake needs attention too, or else replacing with a
disc brake.

--
Sue ]:(:)

Do they make a street bike with a Rohloff hub?

Andrew Price

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Feb 9, 2007, 3:55:51 PM2/9/07
to
On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 22:52:24 +0000, Sue White <S...@blackhole.invalid>
wrote:

>Do they make a street bike with a Rohloff hub?

Fahrradmanufaktur T-900?

<http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/touren/t-900.htm>

M-gineering

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Feb 9, 2007, 4:28:01 PM2/9/07
to
Andrew Price wrote:
> On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 22:52:24 +0000, Sue White <S...@blackhole.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> Do they make a street bike with a Rohloff hub?
>
> Fahrradmanufaktur T-900?

In Germany you just walk into a FdgM (aka LBS) and order an SRM bike,
where SRM stands for Son, Rohloff & Magura. /Everyone/ does them over there.

Simon Brooke

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Feb 10, 2007, 9:44:16 AM2/10/07
to
in message <eqioon$mkn$1...@localhost.localdomain>, M-gineering
('ikmotg...@m-gineering.nl') wrote:

> Andrew Price wrote:
>> On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 22:52:24 +0000, Sue White <S...@blackhole.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Do they make a street bike with a Rohloff hub?
>>
>> Fahrradmanufaktur T-900?
>
> In Germany you just walk into a FdgM (aka LBS) and order an SRM bike,
> where SRM stands for Son, Rohloff & Magura. /Everyone/ does them over
> there.

Presumably Magura as in HS33s?

Anagram: I'm soon broke.

M-gineering

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Feb 10, 2007, 1:06:11 PM2/10/07
to
Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <eqioon$mkn$1...@localhost.localdomain>, M-gineering
> ('ikmotg...@m-gineering.nl') wrote:
>
>> Andrew Price wrote:
>>> On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 22:52:24 +0000, Sue White <S...@blackhole.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Do they make a street bike with a Rohloff hub?
>>> Fahrradmanufaktur T-900?
>> In Germany you just walk into a FdgM (aka LBS) and order an SRM bike,
>> where SRM stands for Son, Rohloff & Magura. /Everyone/ does them over
>> there.
>
> Presumably Magura as in HS33s?
>
mainly HS33 but Firmtech or Louise are admissible too ;)

Finlay Mackay

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Apr 10, 2007, 4:28:39 PM4/10/07
to
On 2007-02-08, Richie <rich....@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
Well, I finally got round to opening up the hub and it seems something
had gone wrong inside - specifically the "ring gear stop ring" (see
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8/pages/14.htm) was bent out of shape
and possibly broken (looks like it's a split ring in the photo on that
page but shown unbroken in exploded diagrams elsewhere) and the drive
side bearing cage was also bent, with a few balls having fallen out into
places they shouldn't have been. It also looked as though there was a
roller bearing missing from the outside of the "carrier unit" - there
was certainly a gap where one would fit, and no way for it to fall out.
A Friday afternoon special, it appears. Ho hum, back to Halfords (I have
the subway 8 too) for repair/replacement under Shimano's (2 year)
warranty.

Many thanks to everyone who posted with helpful advice,

Finlay

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