I previously wrote about the problems with my Shimano 3-speed hub here and here. I recently had the shifter mechanism replaced for my Nexus 3-speed and still I cannot get first gear.
There have been some improvements however as a result of this change. The gear changes are more consistent and there is not longer any “play” in the mechanism when I have selected fist gear. Previously, I would get third gear in either second or third gear position and that is no longer the case. I now get second gear in first and second gear position and third in third gear position. Also, the gears would sometimes spontaneously change and that no longer happens.
The adjustment is perfect, and I have tried different positions of the indicator in the adjustment window to see if it made any difference but it does not.
At the suggestion of some readers on here I had considered getting an old vintage thumb shifter and adapting it but discarded that idea as it seemed there was no knowing whether they would be compatible.
The only thing I can think is that there is a problem with the hub itself since the shifter works and so does the cable and the indicator in the window. I see the bike shop about this again next week.
Vicki,
If you are doing this work yourself, be careful as sometimes you can make things worse and create new problems, you can also damage your warranty if you have any. Where I worked, we used to say to each other, ” fools rush in where wise men fear to tread “, meaning that we should read up and check on the workings of the object before we try to fix it. It would be interesting to see how the gears operate and change inside the hub.
The only work I am doing is adjusting the mechanism they refer to as the “bell crank”, Wayne, and I did not do that until a few weeks ago. The bike shop installed the new shifter and I have since adjusted the bell crank again but I don’t think that would void any warranty as it is a very simple adjustment. I paid for the replacement of the shifter too, parts and labour, so none of it was apparently under warranty, I am not sure of he warranty terms of the whole thing …
Vicki,
I don’t mean to upset you with my comments, I only meant it is best to check things out first. I just had a look on google and there are many trouble shooting and workshop manuals that can be looked at and show the internal workings of the hub gears, they are thorough and make interesting reading and maybe help? Best wishes.
Thanks Wayne, I will have a look but I am not very mechanical and can only do very basic things mechanically. I will see what the bike shop has to say this week.
testing…
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Reblogged this on Hubstripping.com and commented:
I noticed this post from a Shimano 3-speed hub owner who is having trouble with shifting the hub into 1st gear. She replaced the shifter and has tried different adjustments but is still having trouble with it. If the cable is moving to the correct position, perhaps there is a problem in the hub? Maybe needs a cleaning and regreasing?
hello
you are of course aware of the Yahoo group for IGH`s? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geared_hub_bikes/
No I wasn’t, thank for that link, I’ll have a look at it.
I work at a shop that services a lot of IGH’s and this is actually a common problem. There are two lengths of Nexus 3 pushrods (that go into the hub) available. The shorter one, which is for 168mm length axles, and FW/roller brake hubs (175mm axles) is very difficult to find through distributors. The difference is less than 10mm, but it’s enough that the hub won’t function correctly. Chances are wherever you bought parts for it assumed that there is only one size, but their parts catalog usually just says “Nexus 3 pushrod”, and doesn’t indicate the length.
The shorter one is 81.85mm long (Shimano part #Y 33R 98080) and the longer is 86.85mm long (Shimano part #Y 33S 98180). You can also do what I do whenever I can’t find the correct shorter length in a catalog:
Get and older, solid (no spring) Nexus pushrod (don’t know the part number), and cut it down to the correct size. This makes ZERO difference in hub operation, is cheaper than the “correct” one, and doesn’t take two weeks to show up from wherever you ordered it from.
Thank you for this information Jonathan, this could have been the problem with the original hub which has now been replaced by the bike shop which installed it originally. I hope the new one functions better (so far it is working perfectly) but if there are any further problems with it, I can tell them about this information.
I recently purchased two used cruisers with nexus 3i hubs(from husband and wife). They both have shifting problems and more or less have to be held in the proper gear with the shifter. I tried adjusting both to no avail. I switched the complete shifter/cable mechanisms between the bikes because one looked like it had been previously replace, to no avail. Does this sound like an internal problem? Any help is greatly appreciated.
I am not sure what the problem could be, maybe the shifter is broken, they only cost $20 to buy. My problem was resolved by the hub being replaced, but it had a different problem from yours.
if they have to be held in gear with the shifter, then the shifter isn’t working. there is no indexing mechanism inside the hub, only in the shifter.
If the shift cable tension is properly adjusted but the hub doesn’t stay in the correct gear, it basically means the hub internals are broken. Shimano only offers a complete internal replacement, so finding the specific cause is merely educational and not really a solution to the problem.
I have found the problems fall into two categories: (1) the clutch spring become damaged and jams between the axle and clutch which doesn’t allow the clutch to shift into first gear very well. and (2) some part of the internals break off and become lodged into the planetary gear mechanism which doesn’t allow the clutch to fully engage in third gear.
Thanks for this information Jeff. It must have been the hub that was broken as eventually it was replaced for me. But the shifter had problems too and also had to be replaced.
I am looking for a used Shimano nexus 3 gear hub 32 spoke holes
I do not know where you could get one dave but many people read this thread and one of them may be able to help you. If you are in Newcastle you could try the bike ecology centre, see the link at the right of this page.
Hello. I have to fix a Shimano Nexus 3 because it makes awefull noise when braking. Do you have any tip how to do that?, or, why the hub makes that loud noise?.
Cheers.