From City to Countryside, Performance Providing Comfort Anytime and Anywhere

Aiming to help add value to all kinds of bicycles, Shimano, as a leading company in the bicycle industry, has been always making efforts to feed back technologies cultivated in the development of components for road bikes, mountain bikes and other sports bicycles to products for ordinary users. “For daily use, I need a more convenient and comfortable bicycle.” “To use it to enjoy leisure time on holidays, I want it to be sporty.” SHIMANO NEXUS is a components series for recreational bikes, which was developed to meet these demands that arose as lifestyles were diversified and the number of bicycle users increased. It is packed with functions perfect for recreational bikes, including shifters that enable riders to shift securely and accurately by just rotating the grip while keeping their hands on the handlebar, reliable brakes that enable the rider to stop at will whenever he or she likes and a lamp that is automatically turned on when it is dark.

STORY
SERIES

STORY

SHIMANO NEXUS, Expanding the City Bike World at a Stroke

At the beginning of the 1990s, the maximum number of rear sprockets had already increased to eight-speed, and the number of gears for internal geared hubs had also increased from single-speed to three-speed, and then five-speed. Aware of this trend, Shimano pursued a more usable, ideal internal geared hub. Shimano paid attention to the disadvantage of internal geared hubs in that riders were unable to shift gears while pedaling. This was the norm at that time. Shimano, however, set the goal of developing an internal geared hub that achieves the new norm in which riders can shift gears anytime while riding bicycles. It was an internal 7-speed geared hub INTER-7 that Shimano developed after solving the two challenges of increasing the number of gears and creating a new mechanism. INTER-7 was very well received as the new standard for internal geared hubs, and Shimano announced INTER-4, an internal 4-speed geared hub featuring a silent roller clutch in 1994. In the same year, adding some components, including crankset and hub roller brakes, Shimano announced a complete system components series dedicated to city bikes proposing a new lifestyle. The series was named SHIMANO NEXUS, expressing connection and association. Featuring performance providing comfort for making a little trip in the city or the countryside at any time and ease of maintenance, SHIMANO NEXUS, developed by reviewing not only the internal geared hub but also the other main components for city bikes, proposed an urban bicycle life in which people use bicycles efficiently as daily tools, helping enhance the recognition of Shimano and also broaden the base of cycling culture.
To use bicycles efficiently as daily tools both on weekdays and weekends, it is important to choose a bicycle that offers the comfort of a light ride as well as ease of use and the convenience of riding for a long time with less maintenance. What SHIMANO NEXUS pursues is to achieve both the comfort of a light ride and the convenience offered by high maintainability. Shimano succeeded in achieving active and light riding performance and eliminating the need for frequent maintenance by building all of the complicated mechanisms for shifting and braking into the hub.

Challenge of Creating a New Cycling Culture

Under the concept of “Everything Inside,” the word “INTER” was used as the name representing the function of each of the main components of SHIMANO NEXUS. INTER-M was a hub roller brake that had all mechanisms built into the hub. “M” represented a multi-condition brake that was capable of always generating stable braking power either in dry or wet conditions. Another inclusion was REVOSHIFT INTER-S, which required riders to just twist the shifter while keeping their hands on the handlebars for shifting, with Optical Gear Display, which provided an at-a-glance view of the present gear position. Other components included INTER-L, which enabled the lamp to be turned on automatically by the hub dynamo (generator) when it was dark, and a crank arm INTER-C, which featured a low-profile design that minimized contact with the ankles during pedaling. All of them were products incorporating ideas distinctive of city bikes to allow anyone to enjoy cycling.

In 1997, Shimano announced AUTO-D, featuring an automatic shifting system that was capable of providing riders with an always comfortable gear ratio just by pushing on the pedals. It was equipped with the Odolock internal lock, which was newly developed for theft prevention.

After 1998, INTER-3 and INTER-8 were added. In 2003, Shimano announced SHIMANO CYBER NEXUS, the flagship components series equipped with DI2, which incorporated the advanced digital technologies into INTER-8.

SHIMANO NEXUS is continuing to grow as a bicycle components series that is loved by many users across the world.

SERIES

Some of series are listed.

1992

INTER-7

Although Shimano had not commercialized even an internal 5-speed geared hub before beginning the development, it took on the challenge of developing an internal 7-speed geared hub equipped with an innovative shifting mechanism. To effectively incorporate all mechanisms into the limited space, development and manufacturing team members made concerted efforts together. The success of this product prepared the way for spreading Shimano components to city bikes around the world.

1994

INTER-4

This was an internal 4-speed geared hub that was released following the success of INTER-7. Adopting a silent roller clutch, it achieved quiet free rides and loss-free pedaling starts.

1995

INTER-C

INTER-C was a crankset for NEXUS, adopting crank arms made of aluminum alloy. The stylish and sophisticated silver finish emphasized its sporty image. It featured a low-profile design to prevent the rider from being injured as a result of their ankle making contact with the crank arm during pedaling.

1995

INTER-M

INTER-M was a hub roller brake system that pursued safety and reliability. It had all the mechanisms built into the hub, and offered stable braking force and control in any environment. Also, it pursued noise reduction and a comfortable operation feel. From the mid-2000s, the name INTER-M was no longer used.

1995

INTER-S

INTER-S was a shifter products group including the REVOSHIFT shifter, which requires riders just to twist with the thumb and index finger while keeping their hands on the handlebar. It was equipped with Optical Gear Display, which provides an at-a-glance view of the present gear position. INTER-S was then merged into internal geared hub series, and its name gradually disappeared.

1996

INTER-L

Aiming to make bicycles safer, Shimano developed INTER-L as a dedicated lamp for NEXUS. The dynamo (generator) incorporated into the hub achieved efficient power generation with low resistance. INTER-L was equipped with an illumination sensor and enabled the lamp to be automatically turned on when it was dark and to be automatically turned off when it was light. Although the name INTER-L later disappeared, various types of lamps for different uses are now available as the efficiency of the hub dynamo is further improved.

1997

AUTO D

Although internal geared hubs had been able to be operated easily even by users who were not accustomed to gears, the fact remained that shifting operation was troublesome. To free riders from troublesome shifting operation and allow them to enjoy cycling comfortably, Shimano developed a speed-sensing automatic shifting system. This system was controlled by computer, enabling the rider to start pedaling easily since the bicycle returned to a low gear when stopped, and offered three modes from which the rider could choose according to his or her liking. Also, Shimano released an internal geared hub equipped with a lock function “Odolock,” playing a role in theft prevention.

1998

INTER-3

To offer all riders an unprecedented feeling of safety and user friendliness, Shimano incorporated the expertise cultivated in higher-end models of NEXUS (INTER-7 and INTER-4) into a conventional internal 3-speed geared hub to develop INTER-3. In terms of functionality, the gear change support mechanism, which was favorably received in INTER-7 and INTER-4, continued to be incorporated. This enabled shifting without stopping pedaling as the rider traditionally had to. It incorporated the RAKU-RAKU PRESELECT mechanism, which enabled the rider to move the shift lever even on slopes. Also, adopting the piano touch lever, which pushed comfort another notch higher, and REVOSHIFT, which was favored in INTER-4, offered dramatically light shifting operation.

2000

AUTOMATIC INTER-3

To further popularize the use of automatic shifting systems, Shimano incorporated the AUTO-D automatic shifting system into an internal 3-speed geared hub. Since it was powered by four alkaline size AA batteries, battery replacement could be easily done anywhere.

2003

INTER-8

INTER-8 was a higher-performance version of INTER-7, which had become the standard for city bikes mainly in Europe. With the expanded total gear range (307%), INTER-8 was suitable for varied terrain. Furthermore, it significantly reduced shock at the time of shifting and made the lever stroke short, achieving more comfortable riding. It can be said that INTER-8, which was cleanly styled yet achieved 8 speeds with a wide gear ratio, created a new style of sporty bicycles.

2003

CYBER NEXUS

In those days, Shimano tried to roll out the concept for premium comfort bikes named SMOVER in Europe. This was a proposal for bicycles close to a lifestyle for enriching people’s daily lives. Under this concept, CYBER NEXUS adopted an internal 8-speed geared hub and the latest computer system. The automatic system comprised of automatic shifting, automatic suspension and automatic lighting functions represented a concept for high-end daily-use bicycles at that time. The hub dynamo self-generated electricity to power this system. Shimano called this concept “Eco Vision,” and symbolically promoted the bicycle as a smart mode of transport in the 21st century with both health and environment-sustaining benefits.

2011

INTER-5

With the total gear range wider than INTER-3, it achieved smooth shifting according to the situation. Furthermore, with each gear step being closer, it offered riders smooth shifting, making cycling more comfortable. Different specifications suitable for various bicycle types were available, including two types of hub shells (aluminum and steel), two types of shift levers (REVOSHIFT and RAPIDFIRE) and two types of brakes (roller brake and V-BRAKE).

2015

HILMO

While bicycle traffic rules were being reviewed, Shimano developed a lamp named HILMO, which is always lit regardless of day or night, and offers light pedaling with an emphasis on increasing visibility from drivers. Compared to conventional lamps, light distribution has become wider and the body has become more compact. Since it has reduced power generation resistance to half when the lamp is lit, the rider can pedal lightly even when the lamp is lit.