Brucey wrote:news alert! Guess what, shimano hubs break too!
In fairness I think that if you fit a new shimano hub and just use it, it is more likely not to break than a new SA hub. But when either hub breaks you have a spectrum of repair possibilities ranging from
a) - buy a new centre (might as well buy a new hub in most cases)
b) - buy new spare parts
c) - find used spare parts
I think that both b) and c) are more likely to work with an SA hub than with a shimano one (in the UK, at least) simply because of the number of SA hubs there are in service and the spares support that has existed. However as SA introduce new models the critical mass of useful old spares won't be there and they don't seem to want to supply spares for older hubs that they no longer manufacture. As time goes on options b) and c) may become less viable even for SA hubs.
Shimano IGH spares are often awkward to source. If you look at the EV techdoc you can find part numbers but that is not to say that they are actually available. In some cases shimano have never supplied these parts individually (only in larger -and more expensive- subassemblies) and in many cases these spares have only been available via Shimano Europe. So for example Nexus 8 and Nexus 7 hubs often break pawls, but these spares are simply not available, so
"for want of a nail (pawl that ought to cost about £1.50), the kingdom (well, hub anyway) is lost".
Madison (the UK shimano importer) have taken the view that if they have not imported a given hub, they don't have to supply spare parts for it, even though it may have been fitted to thousands of bikes manufactured for/in, and sold in, the UK. So for example if you want to get Nexus 4 spare parts (e.g. for your UK-built Claud Butler town bike ) from Madison, they will turn round and say 'not our problem'.
The Nexus 5 hub is available in Japan only AFAICT. It appears to be a hamstrung Nexus 7, in that it has some similar subassemblies as a Nexus 7, but arranged to give fewer gear ratios.
cheers
" They (New SA hubs) can't be completely awful I suppose, but that is not to say that they are any better than the previous generation of hubs "
" In fairness I think that if you fit a new Shimano hub and just use it, it is more likely not to break than a new SA hub "
" Nexus 8 and Nexus 7 hubs often break pawls " - I bet an awful lot more don`t break pawls, do you have real stats on this compared to SA hubs?
Bad news travels fast as you know, you don`t hear about the majority of people that have good NHS service, only the very few that don`t.
SJSCs seem to have plenty of Shimano Nexus bits-
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/search/?ter ... hub&page=4I think you would have to admit to having a SA bias Brucey
The vast majority of cyclist have not the inclination, facilities or skills (unlike yourself) to delve into a IGH, they just want to get on and ride the thing.