The tables in this cribsheet identify compatibility of shifters and internal-gear hubs currently or recently in production as of 2014, and one antique. The first table lists hubs by brand, the second table, by number of speeds, and the third table, by average cable pull.

Many of these measurements were taken with Alex Wetmore's cable pull measuring tool (image below by Alex Wetmore). Harris Cyclery provided shifters to be measured. Jeff Meredith and Michael Wilson contributed measurements of several shifters. David Choma contributed measurements for the newer Sturmey-Archer 8-speed. Bruce Dance contributed many useful suggestions.

The main point this page makes is that most internal-gear hub shifters are not interchangeable. Using a non-standard shifter will violate warranty terms and may damage a hub or result in its shifting into a "neutral" gear where the pedals spin forward -- possibly causing a crash. Please read the notes below before considering a substitution.

Notes:

• All measurements are in millimeters.
• The table shows shifter steps, and so there is always one step fewer than the number of gear ratios of a hub. A 3-speed hub has two shifter steps, and so forth.
• "Latch" means that a shift lever has a positive latching mechanism (as in a Sturmey-Archer trigger control or Shimano Rapidfire dual-lever control), rather than only click stops, so a taut cable cannot pull the shifter out of position. This feature is especially important with hubs which require the cable to be taut in its tightest position.
• Generally, shifters and hubs of the same brand with the same number of speeds are interchangeable, except for Sachs/SRAM 3-speeds (there are multiple types) and Sturmey-Archer 5-speed, rotary-shifting and fixed-gear hubs. See our page on the Sturmey-Archer 5 speeds for detailed comments about shifters for them. We're still waiting for information about the rotary-shifting 3-speeds.
• Most measurements were made with new shifters and stock shifters. Cable pull will differ with wear and with other shifters.
• There is some compatibility among different three-speeds but much less among hubs with more speeds.
• Some hubs pull cable to shift down, others to shift up, and so, markings on a substitute shifter may read backwards. (In the column "Low Tight" in the tables, "1" means that the low gear pulls the most cable.) This is so with Shimano 8-speeds, and their shiters are ocmpatibile even when they read backwards!
• The columns for Increment show where a shifter might be usable on a hub with fewer gears. (Compatibilities are not common!) A Shimano 8-speed shifter could be used with a Shimano 4-speed hub, the SRAM G9 hub's cable pull is substantially the same as that of the G8, with one additional speed, probably close enough to work, and the Shimano 11-speed's cable pull is substantially the same as that of the 8-speeds, with three additional speeds, probably close enough to work.
• Cable-pull steps of most internal-gear hubs are uneven. Individual cable-pull steps, not only the averages, must be nearly identical for a shifter made for one hub to work with another. Check before attempting a substitution.
• Because of the uneven steps, most internal-gear hub shifters are not compatible with derailers, even if a ratio adjuster such as the JTek ShiftMate is used.
• If the loosest cable-pull step is larger in a substitute shifter than in the design shifter, the cable will harmlessly hang slightly loose at its loosest position. For example, a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed shifter will work with a Sachs 3 x 7 hub (but not vice versa: the Sachs shifter would not release enough cable to shift the Sturmey-Archer hub into 3rd gear).
• If the tightest cable pull step is too small, installing a tension spring in the cable can make a shifter work. This trick is most likely to work with a 3-speed hub. The spring needs to be preloaded so it does not extend until needed.
• A triple-chainwheel indexed front-derailer shifter which has only a single middle position, rather than a "trim" capability, may work with a 3-speed hub. For example, a Shimano RSX STI brake lever shifter works with a Sachs 3 x 7 hub. Cable-pull measurements of derailer shifters will be offered in another cribsheet yet to be assembled.
• One surprising compatibility was found: The SRAM G8 hub's cable-pull increments are almost identical with those of a SRAM 3.0 8-speed rear-derailer shifter (which will be covered in another cribsheet).

To use this table, first check the number of speeds, which must be at least as many as those of the hub, then Av.(erage) column (third from right), to get into the "ballpark" of matching cable pulls, and finally, whether the individual cable pull increments are compatible.

To use this table, first check the Av.(erage) column (third from right), to get into the "ballpark" of matching cable pulls. Then check whether the substitute shifter has at least the same number of speeds as the design shifter; and finally, whether the individual cable pull increments are compatible.

This page is intended as a quick reference for mechanics. Feel free to print it out, but please don't reproduce it without proper credit and linkage.

Thanks to Alex Wetmore, Jeff Meredith, David Choma and Bruce Dance for help with this page.

Alex Wetmore's description of his measuring tool