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| 60cm Giant "Melbourne" Nexus 8 | | |
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This is the Dutch City Bike style Giant that I obtained from the local garbage tip shop in February 2013. It dates from around 2003 or 2004 judging by the Shimano date codes and was complete though a bit scruffy. The Nexus gear hub changed gear but sounded dry and noisy. The Shimano front hub dynamo made the halogen Busch+Muller headlamp light up. Unfortunately, the frame was about three sizes too large for me. However, I wasn't going to let it go because I figured that the nice rack and the hub dynamo wheel alone were worth $40 to me even if the rear gear hub was beyond redemption. It was my intention to transfer as much as possible to a 56cm Surly Crosscheck frame that I happen to have.
The Nexus hub came apart and proved to be full of dried up grease and pitted bearing balls. A good scrub and a turn in an ultrasonic cleaner made the hub core spotless once more. The roller brakes, front and rear received the same cleaning treatment and were re-lubricated with Shimano roller brake grease. The dud hub bearing balls were popped out of the original pressed steel retainers and new balls painstakingly inserted. You wouldn't do this for a headset or wheel bearing but some of the ball and retainer assemblies were several inches in diameter and obviously made just for this hub. A complete new wheel with Nexus for under $200 would be a lot less trouble than tracking down spare bearings. Some research on the internet produced a consensus among experienced hub strippers that you can dip the hub core in synthetic ATF instead of the specified Shimano $100 per litre dipping oil. And so the core was dipped and reassembled back into the shell.
Would it work? Yes it did. Much quieter, and it did change gear except that on the down-change it went from fifth gear to third, missing fourth on the way. However, this proved to be a faulty twist grip changer and a new one cured the fault. Time will tell how much life is left in this Nexus but it's looking good so far.
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| 56cm Surly Crosscheck with Nexus 8 |
The Surly Nexus turned out quite well. Even the original Nexus crank set looks good without the ugly plastic chain case. Unnecessary in a mild climate. It now has B+M dynamo LED lights front and rear. The original halogen front lamp was much too dim by modern standards. The nicely shaped AXA battery rear light still had the original Dutch AA cells in it and time and corrosion had ruined the stand-light and sensor electronics. Such a pity. One day I will make some new insides for it. I really don't think much of the brightness of the B+M IQ Fly headlamp or the annoying artifacts in what beam throw it has. All it has going for it is a good cut off at the top edge of the beam which is a product of the reflector design. But it is adequate for suburban use where some street lighting exists. Anywhere else needs the amazingly cheap Chinese Magicshine LED light with Li-Ion battery. However, the dynamo lights are always ready to go when the bike is and are suitable for a grocery getter.
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| B+M Toplight Plus dynamo lamp and original Dutch bike shop sticker. |
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The Shimano roller brakes work okay. They don't seem very powerful at first but the harder you squeeze the more effective they become. Their strengths, I think, are a compact profile and low maintenance.
Anyway, I got my $40 worth of parts out of the Giant and had more than $40 worth of fun in building up a new bike.
