Fitted one to Katie’s commuter bike (an old vertical dropout Mtb) last weekend.
Shimano policy of breaking what you need into shifter/hub/small parts/sprocket seems crazy. Frankly it should be one kit supplied with all the possible non-turn washers.
On the bike it’s currently working very well although we’ve got an unidentified ‘click’ – could be cranks or pedals. Shifting seems fine.
However, not impressed by the quality of the ‘small parts’ – all seems very fragile. Split ring to hold the sprocket on? please. The shifting mechanism at the hub looks very susceptible to dirt – I’d imagine it’s the same as the 8 but it looks as it would suffer in mud or general road grime (maybe the spring is strong enough to cope?)
A bit concerned about the non-turn washers. In vertical dropouts on the frame we’re using these are only just captured on one side. I could see a problem with big strong riders.
The shifter is huge and difficult to position brakes around. Not sure why it needs to be so much larger than a conventional shifter – it’s a single cable pull/release with the spring tension at the hub same as a mech. Unsprung Alfine single jockey tensioner means you don’t need any sort of chain device/guide on the front but doesn’t feel very strong – adjusting for correct chainline relies on a tiny grub screw to hold it in place and if used as recommended you’d lose the tensioner it if it came loose.
It’s good, but it’s not a Rohloff and the decisions that they’ve made differently all seem to be at the expense of reliability/longevity which should be one of the big plusses for a hub (but then it *is* half the price).