Swap 5-speed IGH for 7 or 8 speed?

[danfoto]

I'm wondering about getting the 5-speed Nexus rear hub of my Gazelle e-bike (belt drive, disc brake) swapped for a 7 or 8-speed one. And I have questions ...

1. Assuming I could find somebody to do it (rear wheel there and back by courier), could anybody take a guess at a likely sort of cost including the new shifter?

2. Would I inevitably need a new cable (which is routed through the frame), or perhaps just a new inner?

3. Is the Alfine a replacement for the Nexus, or what?

4. Anyone you would recommend to do the job ?

Reasons for contemplating this: advanced age, emphysema and some long steep hills in this neck of the wood ...

 

[matthewslack]

£100 for the build, £130 ballpark for the hub, £30 ballpark for the shifter, £10 ballpark for belt pulley if not the same as your 5 speed, plus courier costs...

Possibly not much change out of £300.

 

[Nealh]

Nexus 8 and Afine 8 are diffferent systems both are still sold.
Alfine is 4x lighter then Nexus.
Lubrication differs .
Gears are cut differentally .
And gear changing is very different.

Nexus 5 low gear is 1:1000 ratio where as Alfine 8 1:1000 ratio is gear 5 , Alfine 8 has four lower gears . Alfine 8 lowest gear ratio is 1:0581.
Nexus is cheaper then Alfine.

 

[danfoto]

Nexus 8 and Afine 8 are diffferent systems both are still sold.
Alfine is 4x lighter then Nexus.
Lubrication differs .
Gears are cut differentally .
And gear changing is very different.

Blimey! Glad I asked. OK then... would there be any reason to go for a Nexus rather than an Alfine when my primary consideration would be best reliability on an e-bike with a 75Nm motor and longest life?

 

[sjpt]

3. Is the Alfine a replacement for the Nexus, or what?

I saw somewhere (https://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13227.0) that the Alfine fits disk brakes and the Nexus don't.

The Nexus can come with coaster brakes. (That would be a big downside to me. But it can come without coaster brakes.)

 

[Nealh]

Beauty of Alifne is the gear changing in one can jump from 1 -8 and vice versa in one twist even when staionary.

 

[Nealh]

Nexus I have read are stronger then Alfine , that said Mine hasn't given me any issues even when towing 100kg loads on my trailer . I don 't live in a very hilly area so can't comment on it's reliability in those settings

 

[danfoto]

I saw somewhere (https://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13227.0) that the Alfine fits disk brakes and the Nexus don't.

My current Gazelle has a Nexus 5 and a rear disc brake

 

[Bikes4two]

My only IGH experience is with Rohloff so no idea about what you have/are looking at but a change to Nexus or Alfina looks to be a costly exercise.

So, assuming the front chain ring is a single, might it be possible to fit a double chain ring to increase your overall gear range? Not as neat an option as going to another IGH but at much less costs.

 

[Nealh]

Dan uses a belt drive so double chain ring is out unless he converts back to mucky chains.

 

[Nealh]

If converting to chain drive then a double chain ring will work and chain line will ot be an issue .
I used a cheap 39.99 Sunrace mech from SJS Cycles that works very weel once adjucted correctly , I clean it at regular intervals to ensure good chain changing as muck/ grime seems to prevent it doing so sometimes due to off road usage. .

 

[danfoto]

... unless he converts back to mucky chains.

And believe me, having now lived with belt drive for two years, he'd give up his bike if he had to do that.

 

[matthewslack]

If you wanted to go the whole hog with IGH, given the cost is non-trivial, (a second look suggests I may have underestimated), Rohloff is even more expensive but lasts for ever and would command a very decent resale price somewhere down the line. And no arguing with its 500%+ range of ratios.

 

[danfoto]

If you wanted to go the whole hog with IGH ...

I don't

 

[matthewslack]

I don't

Fair enough!