Nexus & thumbshifter compatability

[Walker]

Has anyone tried to run a Nexus 7 with a shimano 7 speed thubshifter? I have no room on the handlebars for the factory grip shifter and the set up needs to be intuitive and subtle so I don't want to do a seat post mount or a big billet custom thing.

thanks!

 

[mikeeebikey]

Has anyone tried to run a Nexus 7 with a shimano 7 speed thubshifter? I have no room on the handlebars for the factory grip shifter and the set up needs to be intuitive and subtle so I don't want to do a seat post mount or a big billet custom thing.

thanks!

No I haven't but would love to know! My "paddle" shifter sux.

 

[Walker]

I'm going to check with my lbs and see if they'll loan me one for an experiment.

 

[Rooski]

Index type shifters are very specific to certain IGH hubs, and derailers. The distance the cable travels between "clicks" has to precisely match the connected device, and the ONLY index shifters that are fully compatible with a Nexus 7 are the ones specifically designed to work with one. I've researched this myself, and came up empty handed.

I don't know what Shimano's official spec is for the cable pull of an NX7, but I measured one of mine at about 31 mm for the entire range, , and since each pull appears to be identical, this works out to 5.16 mm per click. There are no derailer shifters out there that use a cable pull anywhere close to this.

 

[Walker]

I found a company called Jtec that makes a bar end shifter compatible with the nexus hubs. $80 though...

 

[Rooski]

I found a company called Jtec that makes a bar end shifter compatible with the nexus hubs. $80 though...

I was gonna mention the Jtec, but not sure what you'd do about the cable running along the grip area.

There's an older NX7 shifter that Shimano used in the 90's, but they're hard to come by. It's an ST-7S60. They take up less room than a grip style shifter, and are made of alloy. It's kinda cool looking, but a bit weird. The upshift is done by pushing the thumb lever hanging below the bars (1 push per shift), and the downshift is done by pressing the big "NEXUS" button on top (1 press per shift). I have this one I bought for an upcoming project, and have never used one on a bike, so I can't comment on how awkward it might be to use it.

Shimano also made the ST-7S20 "Rapid Fire" shifter for NX7, which is also hard to find. Never tried one, myself.

 

[Walker]

I read some comments on the NX7 shifter that it was a bit fragile. not that that would matter on this build but I guess I need to find some bars with a long enough pullback to allow room for the ugly grip shifter.

 

[mikeeebikey]

I have the rapid fire now, hate it!
Had the sweet alum. one he posted but never have run acrossed another, mine broke pretty quickly....
For 80$ I'll just pony up and get a Hot Rod shifter, http://www.hotrodbicycles.com/

 

[Rooski]

I guess I need to find some bars with a long enough pullback to allow room for the ugly grip shifter.

I assume you're referring to the common gray colored SL-7S10. Those are shaped weird to allow co-location with a brake lever. I don't like the way they look, especially the way the cable feeds from the top side.

I've been swapping out my 7S10's for the newer SL-7S30. I think they look much cleaner, the cable exits from the bottom, and they're available in black . Yeah, they're cheap plastic, like a lot of newer stuff, but there's not much to pick from, out there.

I don't know what grips you intend to use, and you're probably already aware, but many grip sets are 1 regular length for left, and 1 shorter length grip for right (about 1" less), to allow more room for a grip shifter.


Here's a couple pics of the newer 7S30. They're available in black or gray. The black ones are common on Ebay, and can be found for pretty cheap (cable included).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Nex...0946882609?pt=US_Shifters&hash=item20d116c031

 

[Walker]

The bike is a 1941 colson with white torpedo grips so the factory silver shifter is better suited than a black on in this case. I don't want to cut down the grip so may have to modify the bars for more space, use different grips or something else..

That trigger shifter you have would probably work but it would appear they are rare so I wont be hunting one of those down, need to get this bike out of my shop!

 

[Rooski]

The bike is a 1941 colson with white torpedo grips so the factory silver shifter is better suited than a black on in this case. I don't want to cut down the grip so may have to modify the bars for more space, use different grips or something else..

That trigger shifter you have would probably work but it would appear they are rare so I wont be hunting one of those down, need to get this bike out of my shop!

Oh.......okay. Gotcha. Wasn't aware it was a vintage bike. Most of my bikes are modern Electra's, but I do have a 95 Black Phantom I planned on adding an NX7, and that's what I bought the alloy shifter for.

I've seen some people just use a friction shifter with IGH's, and just hunt for the gears, but not sure if doing this can potentially cause premature wear, or damage to the hub.

 

[Walker]

I considered the friction option but this is for a customer and I don't think she wants to hunt for gears.

 

[Dorian]

Shimano also made the ST-7S20 "Rapid Fire" shifter for NX7, which is also hard to find. Never tried one, myself.

These shifters work like a dream!


=

 

[toro1978]

I had the ST-7S20 -I replaced it with a revo shifter, but in the end I am tired of being so limited by the bulging size of it, so I want to have a thumb shifter again. Then I can use bolt-on grips or move my break levers a it on the bars. The alloy one is great, I love the look of it, and the button on top, would love to try it.

The ST-7S20 can be had for as cheap as 10 bucks in Europe, and it can be found new for 20-25 Euro.
This is what it looks inside:

Those are some massive metal cogwheels inside of it. Unfortunately I have the memory of intentionally destroying the plastic cover (firmly and stupidly believing I would never need that shifter again) and while I was able to reinstall it a few weeks ago, fummeling with it lead to losing some parts so it is not functioning anymore. So I use a revoshifter for now, but will probably order this rapid fire shifter. It worked without issues too.

P.S. So, I ordered a new shifter (used 12 bucks shipped) and was shocked to find out it is not functioning. I took a closer look and found out that it was greased very thoroughly with some relatively hard grease. Now on the pic you can see on the right side a "thumb" that engages with that big metal cogwheel. The grease was preventing the spring from returning the thumb back between the cogwheel teeth. Sprayed it with WD40 and it moves easier. I installed it and it works.
Now I am trying to remember where I put the big round spring from my original shifter (to try to fix it) LOL.

 

[kowalski385]

I had the ST-7S20 -I replaced it with a revo shifter,

Sorry to bump the thread, but what model of revo shifter did you use (the one for Nexus)?

After reading this thread, I'm not sure can a ST-7s20 be replaced with SL-7s30.

 

[toro1978]

I just had a look, the two revoshifters I used (and which I can confirm compatible with the rapid fire shifter) are the SL-7S31 and the SL-3000-7.

 

[Starnger]

Funny thing about old Nexus rapid fire shifters. You guys know about wide compatibility between nexus 4 and nexus 7, right? Like almost all parts can be exchanged.
For example 7 speed shifter can be used with 4 speed hub, you just have to use first 4 speeds.
This is rapid fire shifter that was stock on early 1995 - 1996 Dyno Matic cruisers:

And this is nexus 7 rapid fire. Doesn't it look similar?

The only part that is different between them is the glass. Your Nexus 4 shifter actually can shift all 7 gears and has 3 steps after the last number on the glass.

 

[SpikeFC]

Has anyone tried to run a Nexus 7 with a shimano 7 speed thubshifter? I have no room on the handlebars for the factory grip shifter and the set up needs to be intuitive and subtle so I don't want to do a seat post mount or a big billet custom thing.

thanks!

I think I have both of those - a new Nexus 7 revoshift & a normal 7spd thumbshifter, If I remember I can check them tommorow how much line they pull with each shift.

 

[Starnger]

I think I have both of those - a new Nexus 7 revoshift & a normal 7spd thumbshifter, If I remember I can check them tommorow how much line they pull with each shift.

Is this the information you need?

 

[SpikeFC]

Is this the information you need?

Eyup! Kinda