so, ive had an alfine 11 for about 6/7 months, i’ve only done around 350 – 400 miles on it, and last night, when putting the bike away, i noticed that it has a oil leak – mucky oil around the inside (spoke side) of the inner plastic chain guard. Its def not from the chain!

question is – how easy is it to dismantle – as i cant find any documents/manuals showing how.
and
what oil can i re-fill it with? as the shimano stuff is stupidly expensive.

bump? any helpers?

You need a service kit. A search on here will give details but I’d sit down before you read the price.

[edit] http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/alfine-service

Mister P gives details.

400 miles and you have to buy an expensive service kit already?

if it was mine it would be going back tot eh shop as faulty if its leaking oil. It should not do that

I thought the point of these hubs was low maintenance

it seems a seal has gone, i assume so any way – iirc there was oil residue when i bought it (not from a shop – ebay unfortunatly), but i didnt think much of it at the time.
the standard shimano service kit for teh 8 speed is £89.99 – so i assume the 11 speed is stupidly priced also.
thanks for the thread link wwaswas – i did do a search before posting but couldnt find anything….

EDIT – looks like the alfine 11 is due an oil change at the 1st 1000km (621 miles) so maybe ive done more miles than i think and it just needs an oil change and top up.

looks like the alfine 11 is due an oil change at the 1st 1000km (621 miles) so maybe ive done more miles than i think and it just needs an oil change and top up.

Interesting – where did you pick that up from?

from here : http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/alfine-service

about 3/4 the way down.

It seems that there is very, very little info on the Alfine 11, mantainance, servicing etc…..

TBH i maty just email/call Madison and see what they say.

The service interval is on the installation sheet that comes with the hub. As per link, mine’s in for its first oil change the week after next…..

I thought the Alfine 11 oil change was just to flush fresh stuff through? And you don’t have to take anything apart?

It seems that there is very, very little info on the Alfine 11, mantainance, servicing etc…..

I’m sure you’ve found this but just incase you haven’t.

Shimano Alfine 11

I know this post is a preview but they have more info on most hubs, I expect they have some more on the alfine 11 in there somewhere.

I thought the Alfine 11 oil change was just to flush fresh stuff through? And you don’t have to take anything apart?

Indeed, hence my incredulity when I was quoted a price for the hub service….. it seems the oil/service kit still costs an arm and a leg. I’m going to ask for a breakdown of what was done/what it costs when mine goes for the service, just for interest.

this also goes back to alternative oils? cant see the point in buying the shimano stuff (especially as i bought mine through ebay with no warrenty)

be keen to hear how you get on, I have an 11sp recently purchased 2nd hand which has a similar residue.
I presumed enthusiastic chain oiling, but maybe I have a leak too.

Didnt realise there was a specific shimano oil to top with either, let me know if you find a good alternative as id like to flush mine out (if I ever stop it skipping gears)..

Didnt realise there was a specific shimano oil to top with either, let me know if you find a good alternative as id like to flush mine out (if I ever stop it skipping gears)..

Two things there:

– Shimano aren’t quoting a spec for the oil (annoyingly) so your guess is as good as anyone elses as to what works (or not)

– Mine was as rough as a bag of nails for the first ~300 miles or so, skipping/missing gears all over the shop, but since then it has been rock-solid.

Think I’ll stick with my Alfine 8 for now.

Funny how everyone I spoke to about my crunching and skipping gears told me I was the only one, maybe we should start a support group or do a joint buy on a litre can of this dearer than caviar oil.

Funny how everyone I spoke to about my crunching and skipping gears told me I was the only one

Ours is back with Madison at the moment with those symptoms.

Think I’ll stick with my Alfine 8 for now.

Me too – mine has lasted 2.5 years of being ignored and it’s the cup and cone that has brought it down – replaced the bearings to get another winter from it (fingers crossed).

Them I’m either going to have to buy another hub at almost double what I paid for mine or hunt around for one where the gears have mangled but the hub bit is ok as shimano only sell the gears.

Unless I can get an engineering firm to cut the hub to take hope parts or something for less then the price of a new hub…..

/me rubs chin.

I have an alfine 8 as well as an 11 (the 8’s on the commuter), the 11 did crunch/skip for the 1st 100 miles or so but had no problems with that since – you do have to be spot on with the cable bolt distance though, and also readjust after the cable stretches – i’d be tempted by some Power Cordz to stop this however the cost of those is pretty silly.

Never had a problem with the 8 – hense buying the 11 for the mtb. I’ve never serviced the 8, currently at about 2-2500miles and its still going strong with noperformance change.

However overall the 11 is much much better for a number of reasons.

I like the idea of an Alfine support thread…

Im holding on to the thin vein of hope that this hub fires in to life and gives me miles & miles of trouble free service (as i built a bike around it)..if not, im peeved.

TBH i cant see you having many issues with it – they are pretty solid, even with the oil leek mine still runs fine.

I was told mine has had little use and externally it scrubs up like new, but hard to say how many miles its had put on it. So hopefully its nearly new and is just settling in..

Im going to fiddle with the cable length this weekend and try and get it running sweet, didnt have many issues with my 8sp so hoping this comes up trumps.

Incidently, whats your set up? Im running 32/20 on a s/s on-one frame, probably way outside recommended ratio but i want to see what its capable of.
whats the best ratio to use to get the most out of it off road?

currently 32/18 which is just about fine for the trails around Bristol , there only a couple of steep hills i strugle on. I also have a 20t and 22t (Nexus sprockets) – for the welsh trips.


not the best photos.

Wow. You got your reba’s resprayed and custom stickers?

How much?

did it my self for about £70 all in – did the stickers myself (only cost £5 for printing).

theres a load more photos here if your interested.

On my alfine 8 I serviced it using car automatic transmission fluid. No idea what’s in the shimano stuff, but nothing magical enough to justify the price.

My compliments – very professional looking. It looks so original that I wouldn’t have noticed if Al hadn’t said something.

custom paint on the Reba’s is cool.

also loving the auto fluid idea in the alfine 8.

Yep I changed my Alfine 8 oil change with auto transmission fluid too.

I thought the Alfine 8 used grease rather than oil and therefore wasn’t fully sealed?

Mines skipping a bit; cable change might be due

The Alfine 8 is greased – however you use oil to clean it prior to regreasing.

so with a bit of google searching it lead me right back to singletrack! alfine 11 internals – thanks epicyclo

i’m thinking my ‘right hand dust cap / wiper seal’ is not up tight or seated correctly.

And a bit more searching has lead me to the Oil Maintenance Kit TL-S703 which is now a bit cheaper at £44.99 (avalible direct from madison) Tools including the kit. Syringe, Tube, Bleed nipple, Container – however this does not include the right hand seal tool TL-S704 which is another £30, so perhaps this explains the price drop.
Madiosn also sell teh oil seperatly now, SG-S700 for £13 for 50ml or £90 for 1lt.
Shimano have also released the oil change maintainace doc TL-S703

scratch the TL-S704 (thats for the bearing seals) – more searching TL-AF10, the right hand dust cap tool only £15!

£90/litre!

Is it whale oil?

thanks for the info monkeyboy.
anyone interested in a group buy on 1l of oil?

did you catch the health warning on the oil change document?

”Stay warm and quiet, and seek professional medical advice if required. If breathing
stops, perform artificial respiration, and if breathing is difficult, provide the affected
person with oxygen.”

holy cow, no wonder its £90 a litre, its clearly made of plutonite!

Do not drink the oil. If it is drunk by mistake

I’m struggling to find the situation in which I might drink gearbox oil by mistake….

if you were out of mineral oil?

I took mine back to my LBS as it was skipping a little in gear 8, they spoke to Madison and they said they were aware of a problem with one of the seals and took it back for a strip and service and replaced the seal, all FOC.

Cass