Right, after just completing my first bike build using a genesis vagabond frame and deciding on alfine 8 as my preferred set up i am now unsure if i need to make some adjustments/alterations.

It look to me that the frame would be better suited to feeding the gear cable underneath the hub rather than above and there appears to be a slight rattle when pushing along whilst when back pedalling feels a bit like its grinding. Chain line looks good and ive match the yellow notches on the hub in 4th so cable tension should be ok. Considering looking at options to route gear cable through the down tube adjusters and under the bottom bracket.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated. Will add pics to help

I found that my yellow marks had to be slightly out for everything to run smoothly

I also had rumbling in some gears when back pedaling

All alfines make a noise when back-pedalling / pushing the bike backwards – this is normal. You can use different anti turn washers to set the angle of the cable entry to any you want

I run my cable down the down tube, above the BB and along the chain stay to get a nice big radius bend. All secured with zip ties so you can pull a bit of slack through o make taking the back wheel out easier. Got an inline barrel adjuster on there as well.

I’m using the blue washers and the cable runs under the chainstay and straight into the cable bracket.

As above, if you have enough wiggle room on the cable, you can simply put the hub in 1st, pull the outer to unmount it from the bracket, and then its a simple push-wiggle on the outer to lift the inner out of the groove and dislodge the nut. One handed operation 🙂

the underside yellow markers were/are more accurate for me.

neglected my alfine for the last year or so after 6 years of neglect. Budget should be available for this winter to revive it.

there is a very simple way to remove the cable. With the bike upside down you will see a small tab on the cassette joint ( the bit that rotates with the cable) that covers the bit of cable wrapped round the pulley that has a hole in it that takes a small allen key. Put the bike in first, allen key in hole, rotate the pulley using the allen key for levearage and it creates the slack needed to get the cable out.

tjagain…but that needs two hands plus an allen key 😆

but it means you can have the cable outer firmly attached to the chainstay

Great advice all thanks, at least i know the back pedaling thing is normal and not down to my poor skills 🙂

Will try all methods to improve wheel removing skills as find it a bit of a b@!$!

Think im over thinking a little as gears change fine and wheels turn round, just trying to make sure ive not done that will bite me 50miles from home. Not much in the way of install guides on the net.

Great advice all thanks, at least i know the back pedaling thing is normal and not down to my poor skills 🙂

Will try all methods to improve wheel removing skills as find it a bit of a b@!$!

Think im over thinking a little as gears change fine and wheels turn round, just trying to make sure ive not done that will bite me 50miles from home. Not much in the way of install guides on the net.

I’d be careful to avoid having the cable entry facing upwards at the hub as the outer will fill with crap / freeze up in winter. I speak from experience! 🙂

https://flic.kr/p/L95ngW
https://flic.kr/p/L2DF77

Just managed to work out how to attach photos, hopefully any mistakes will now become glaringly obvious 😳

That works for me, with an inline barrel adjuster.

So I was just looking at your photo’s, thinking, that doesn’t look like mine.

My cable comes under the hub and wraps around clockwise. I googled, and decided that the 8 routes under and clockwise, and the 11 routes over and anticlockwise.

But I come back to the thread and you are fitting an 8. Is there two routing variants for the 8 speed hub?

Does the routing vary depending on which variant of shifter you’ve got? Mine routes under the hub and clockwise, and uses the backwards shifter. Does routing over the top make the shifter work the other way I wonder…
Pic of mine in a bit, if I can work out how. Meanwhile here is someone else’s.

edit: mine!

good point – mine goes under not over. I guess they changed it so the shifters work in the normal way not “rapid rise” ?

Mine goes under and the trigger shifter is finger release to a lower gear, thumb push to a higher (harder) gear.

That was sort of my question. I was wondering if i can get a differnt part to bring the cable in below the hub so that i can route the gear cable via the in built guides on the frame. Would look a bit neater and i could take advantage of the built in cable tension adjusters

Oh on the shiter fron im using a jtek but i took the bits of the standard alfine shifter to take it into the hub. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for all the comments

Oh on the shiter fron im using a jtek but i took the bits of the standard alfine shifter to take it into the hub. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for all the comments

I’m not sure I am following you now.

Forgetting the shifter end of things for a moment…

Can you rearrange the current set up at the rear wheel so that the cable loops under the hub, rather than over – this will seem ‘wrong’ based on your current arrangement, but I think the inner needs to go from the guide (that points along the chainstay), under the hub, then curl forwards to where it is attached.

edit – like this

But, the shifter complicates matters.

On mine (and sounds like spooky has the same setup), the shifter pulls cable to shift up to a higher gear. Does your Jtek shifter pull cablke for a downshift, like a derailleur?

Is there two routing variants for the 8 speed hub?

yes, Alfine 8 old and new

S500/501 has the backwards shifter and routes under the bottom and cable wraps clockwise.

S7000 (not S700, that’s the 11 speed) has normal shifter direction and routes like the 11 speed, over the top and cable wraps anti-clockwise.

Shifters and cassette joints are NOT interchangeable between the two types sadly, so if you have the old one shifting the ‘wrong’ way you’re stuck with it.

So then, it seems that the alfine hub i have must be the s7000 as its new and routes over the top(anti clockwise). Bugger. Ah well will stick with the current set up then, think i still need to do a bit of tweaking to get it spot on but took her for a spin last night, gears were smooth and bar a little chain noise, problem free (unsure if this is normal). Thanks for the great feedback.

i have must be the s7000

It’ll say on the hubshell what model it is, but sounds like you do have a S7000, routing may not be perfect for you but at least your shifter works in the ‘normal’ direction 🙂

You might still be able to ‘rotate’ the hub by using different colour anti-turn washers, then the cable would exit the hub pointing forwards and down towards the ground.

To me that looks fine – nice straight cable run. I see no issue with the angle of the cassette joint / cable.