Been having a think at a way I can keep my Alfine’d swift, so have been looking at converting it to my commuter/road bike…. as the Kaff isn’t as special…

looking at switching the chain rings from my road bike onto it so fitting a front mech and running the Alfine should give me the gear ratio of about a 2×10 with a 11-34 cassette on 12-28 atm which is the max on the Apex rear mech I have fitted on my road bike apparently, I’m not quite strong enough to get up the hill out of Portreath on it… 1×11 with + tyres no issue…

http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=SNI8&KB=38,53&RZ=18&UF=2240&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=KMH&GR2=DERS&KB2=38,52&RZ2=11,13,15,17,19,21,23,26,30,34&UF2=2240

So was looking at shifter options, would and Shimano 8 speed road shift work or is does the alfine need a special shifter?

Any other advise would be great….well apart from don’t do it…

Cheers, Steve

IIRC alfine shifter is specific. I don’t quite understand why you want two chainrings on an alfine bike as by doing so you lose some of the advantages of having an alfine. If you are struggling to climb a hill on it why not just drop the gearing using a different rear sprocket? T

would and Shimano 8 speed road shift work

sadly not

or is does the alfine need a special shifter?

yes

The options you have on an 8 speed are:

– Shimano’s own flat bar rapidfire shifter, and be aware there are different types for the two different types of A8 the S500/501 ‘reverse’ shifting one, and the ‘normal’ one for s7000 A8s.

– Shimano Nexus 8 speed shifter (for A500/501s), this includes the twist shifter

– Jtek bar-end A8 shifter* ~ £70

– Microshift bar-end A8 shifter* ~ £35

– Versa/Microshift 8speed STI shifter ~ £100+ and very difficult to find now and also not known for being robust, although they work well enough.

– A modded Sram shifter from Zerode, but you might as well just sit behind a rocking horse and wait for it to squeeze one out with the likelyhood of finding one of those… 🙁

If you must have drop bars then you’re limited to bar-end, Versa or bodging a rapidfire shifter somewhere inconvenient.

I use a Microshift bar-end shifter on my drop bar Alfined thing, it’s pretty good, I like it, I find it more ergonomic than my friends Jtek, the price is excellent too, but no long term reliability view on it yet as only had it on there a few months.

My only other advice would be to get your gearing right, be prepared to fiddle with it too if you get it wrong, and in my experience it’s always better to start by gearing the low end for your worst case hill/load scenario, and go from there, if you find the top end lacking then learn to spin more, for general commuting it’ll be fine you can coast or spin on the steep downs unless you really value that last 1-2mph at the top end.

* one thing I dont know is if the Jtek and MS shifters work with the S7000 Alfine 8, as the CJ is backwards and it shifts in the other direction I wouldn’t necessarily assume that jsut ebcasue they are both 8 speed that the pull increments are the same.

I have read (although not measure to confirm) that the pull steps are not linear through the gear range, so simply expecting it to work in reverse might not be a great idea. especially since you cant mix and match the Shimano shifters between models it might be more than jsut the reversed direction if you get what I’m on about.

I could do it with the small ring, just want the big ring for going that bit faster when I can…. just thinking of other options rather than fitting my road bike with a 11×36 cassette and MTB rear mech.

Yea been having a bit better read, Jtek bar end shifters look like my only other option for a shifter. Inboard Alfine shifter will be fugly.

Cheers, Steve

@amedias thanks will look at the Microshift bar end.

Cheers, Steve

The Microshift one is hard to find but easy to get if that makes sense.

I’ll dig out the part number for you, any shop with a Moore Large account can get one for you, but nobody lists them for sale online or stocks them it seems!

You might find you don’t miss the top end as much as you think, my Alfine’d drop bar commuter thing is running 36×18 (16in wheels) which I thought was comically low gearing when I put it on, but I’d set the low end up for hauling 4 panniers and a trailer up steep hills, and yet I can still spin it up to 25+mph on the flat so it’s perfectly usable as a commuter.

You can get Alfine Di2 now, thats the way I’d be looking

I’ve already for the Alfine all built up with rapid fire shifter, but don’t really want to mount it inboard if I do decide to convert the Swift from a MTB for a Commuter bike, I could always switch my 2×10 SRAM Apex over but I fancy keeping the Alfine.

Cheers, Steve

You can get Alfine Di2 now, thats the way I’d be looking

Yeah, but that’s 11speed only and massively more expensive! It’s even more annoying that they did it so that the Di2A11 and mechanical A11 can;t be converted despite the gubbins being basically identical it’s more than just a CJ change, which is infuriating!

Besides, the OP already has the 8speed hub,

cost of a new shifter Vs cost of new 11speed hub+shifter+battery+wheelbuild+box of tricks…

but if I were buying new I’d go with Di2 if I had the cash, no question

Can you use a friction bar end shifter with Alfine?

Can you use a friction bar end shifter with Alfine?

yes…. but NO. You could, but you’ll likely ruin the hub pretty quickly as IGH are not tolerant of improperly engaged gears, you’d do damage while ‘feeling’ it into gear, and it wont stay in gear like it would with a cassete/chain combo, basically a recipe for a stem-testicle interface and a big bill.

for OP..

Microshift BS-N08
Moore Large part number is(was!) GE78

http://www.microshift.com.tw/BS-N08.html

I’m pretty sure it’s the shifter Genesis have been using for a little while on their drop bar Alfine builds (Day one?) so if you have any shops with one in stock locally you could go and have a fiddle and poke.

but bear in mind what I said about them being for S500/501 hubs, I’m not sure if they will work with an S7000, do you know which model you have?

Can you use a friction bar end shifter with Alfine?

No It would missshift all the time

Ah I have the S7000.

Cheers, Steve

then I’d say drop MS an email first for confirmation as it *might* work, but I don;t know.

If it turns out that it doesn’t then your shifter options may have just boiled down to ‘The Shimano Rapidfire one’ as far as I know all the other alternative 8sp shifters were developed in the S500/501 era.

Its not the neatest but this is the route I took for using drop bars and a std Alfine shifter.

I found it remarkably practical as when up and running I found I was changing gear far, far less that I was on my geared off road bikes so being able to change gear in the drops wasn’t an issue for me.

The alfine flat bar shifter is the best in my experience. The alfine is extremely sensitive to cable alignment and shifting precision. I ran a Shimano Alfine flat bar rapid fire shifter for circa 8000 miles and once bedded in it was flawless.

Had a J Tec now for 3 years and its not as precise – more dodgy shifts. Its feeling a little imprecise now after maybe 6000 miles commuting and I rarely change gear (flat). The problem is, for drop bar there aren’t many sensibly priced shifting options.

Di2 could be the holy grail for alfine – removing the cable sensitivity issue? or maybe just introducing a whole load of complexity into a system extremely sensitive to alignment.

Each to there own but for commuting I love the Alfine but no way would I have it on a “performance” bike that I wanted to enjoy riding fast.

You know you can take the alfine shifter apart and fashion up a top for it fairly easily so that you lose the gear indicator and get a bit more bar space too.. thats what the zerodes used to run before getting the index plate for the old x9

@tmetalktomark neat solution!

What clampy thing is that?

Cheers, Steve

Just revisiting this idea as I’ve been muddling it around in my head for sometime.

I don’t really want to sell the Swift but don’t need another MTB, my kaffenback is a bit utilitarian but what to be expected, only one can stay. I don’t race but was looking at doing somethings like the Dorset gravel dash and other sort things on whatever is created, the swift just gives me that choice for wide tyres if needed.

As I struggle a bit on my climbs to work last one is 20 degree climb in places (read fattie) My choices are to keep the Kaffenback and fit a bigger cassette/mtb mech combo or drop bar the swift with the Alfine 8…. I did enjoy my rides with the alfine but didn’t try it on the road really, was looking at going 40T x 16T rear.

Alfine VS 12-28 (Current)

http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS&KB=34,50&RZ=12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28&UF=2185&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=MPH&GR2=SNI8&KB2=40&RZ2=18&UF2=2185

Alfine vs 11-36 (possible)

http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS&KB=34,50&RZ=11,12,14,16,18,21,24,28,32,36&UF=2185&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=MPH&GR2=SNI8&KB2=40&RZ2=18&UF2=2185

I don’t really get into the top gears on the Kaff but spend most my time in the 50T chainring, so not sure if I would miss the last few cogs..

I’m just worried about spending out on the Swift then wishing I had a few more gears….

might be mad , might just be bored at home on sick leave…..I would love the Cannondale Slate at my LBS but over £2k for a bike is a bit nuts for me….

PS sorry for rambling on……

Cheers, Steve

Well bought most the parts needed to do this apart from bar tape…. so see if it works, not really cost me anything as sold parts to do it so not too bad…

Only part I need is a 38T or 40T chainring and maybe a chain, I did have one out in the shed somewhere for this… will build with my oval 32T for a trial.

Also ordered 2.0 big apple tyres to go with the 700×28’s and 29 x 2.1 just to play with.

Should be fun….. though still got 3 months before I’m allowed to ride… oh and the misses is making me have the snip while I’m off the bike…. yay….

Cheers, Steve

So fitted the final brake cable, chain and wrapped the bars….. not the neatest job but didn’t think I done bad for my 1st try… tbh I’m quite pleased with it, I did just trial in in the estate and regretted it, wrist is hurting a bit now….

[url=https://flic.kr/p/R2XsS4]DSCF7891[/url] by Stephen Williams, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/QsPMWq]DSCF7892[/url] by Stephen Williams, on Flickr

It’s easy enough to change up, down is an issue atm but I’m in a cast…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/R2XtDp]DSCF7893[/url] by Stephen Williams, on Flickr

I’ve got a shorter stem on order (though it’s not too bad atm, as well as spacers etc, might get it finished before I’m allowed to start cycling again…

Cheers, Steve

[/url]12742385_10156585769150008_7381167338296876281_n by singlespeed_shep, on Flickr[/img]

This was my alfine 8 road build. (Sorry not the best view of the shifter)

I started with the versa shifters which i didn’t like. Then went to j-tek which was great but i smashed it in a crash. I didn’t want to fork out another £80 for a shifter so looked at other options.

Here i have a Hubbub Rolloff adaptor which i picked up on sale. which plugs into the end of drop bars. Then Fitted a Nexus 8 grip shift shifter £12 and it worked a treat. The shifter has a barrel adjust which makes setting up and adjusting an alpine a doddle.

Hubbub at SJS

You could probably make one from an old 22mm handlebar.

I should never have sold my alfine, missed it as soon as it was gone

a rohlof style chain tensioner like this one, If you still fancy going down that route.

Would allow you (depending on rings) a double up front with a alpine at the rear.

Although i was very surprised what i could get up with mine

42 Chainring, 18t alfine cog. and had a 25% climb every day on my commute.

I do like swifts though 🙂

I’m just in the process of moving my Alfine gear over onto a new frame. Does someone have experience with not having full length outer gear cable? The old frame didn’t have cable bosses, so I simpley zip tied the outer to the frame and it stretched the whole length. The new frame does have shifter bosses so would indicate that partial outer would be better.

BUT, I’m worried that might have adverse effects on the gear indexing, which is extremely fickle IMHO.

Also, to comment on an earlier point, I ordered a non-revers shifter accidentally a while back. Didn’t realise that there was a reverse and non-reverse option until I installed it. Still works fine, except 1 is 8 and 8 is 1. 🙄

It will work better

Will be looking out Gevenalle shifters in the future if I get on with it, all just proof of concept atm.

Cheers, Steve

I’ve some versa shifters going spare. For drop barscand 8 speed Alfine, if interested.

I’ve some versa shifters going spare. For drop barscand 8 speed Alfine, if interested.

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