Who has one what do you think of them ? any problems with them? think i will be running on 36 front chainring to 20 tooth rear if i changed rear to an 18 would that gear it up and by how much? cheers
Bike Forum
[closed]
Alfine hub
-
Posted 1 year ago #
-
Currently have an 8spd on my mud/bridleway basher. Love it. Simple to use and reliable so far.
Re gearing - you buying an 8spd or 11 spd? What sort of terrain do you ride & in what conditions? What section of a regular 18spd triple set up do you want to replicate? I have a 32X20T set up on a 29er with an 8spd alfine and that's like having the bottom 2 rings of a triple on a 26" bike with the bottom 2 or 3 sprockets with the lower ring unavailable. What you are proposing would be geared higher than would be of use to me where I live
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've got an 8 speed with a 32 front and 20 rear - been riding it for a few weeks having had it built up.
It's not like a geared bike that I can say - the gap between the gears is pretty big and so I can be spinning away, change gear and then suddenly grinding away! The other disappointment is the weight of the wheel / bike - it's not what I'm used to.
Having said all of that it's intended use is as a winter HT, to munch miles on and keep the legs spinning away with no maintenance and low bills
Posted 1 year ago # -
cheers its in 26inch mtb thats been converted from ss to alfine, so iam guessing i have 7 more gears than i am used to have. if i geared it up a bit it could be used as work bike ,) that was my thinking.. Have you serviced hub yet?
Have read on internet people running them in ATF oil and doing away with the grease just wondered if many here have done this..Posted 1 year ago # -
sm500 - no service yet, bit clunky in places and it doesn't like shifting down under load - you have to ease off a bit which is difficult if you are breathing our your a**e going up a steep singletrack!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have one and I like it - its on an MTB used as a commuter for which it is great.
The ratios are a bit wide and they are not even which I find irritating
Sheldon Brown has a gear calculator or I have one which someone here wrote on excell - email me if you want a copy.
with an 18 sprocket its equivalent to an 11/34 casette - but 8 gears not 9.
Going from 18 - 20 will gear it up by 10 % approx - 2 teeth in 20
Posted 1 year ago # -
I had Alfine 8 speed installed a few weeks ago on my Cotic Simple. I had been riding single speed quite happilly for 3 years but fancied trying the Alfine out. I've done about 100 off road miles on it so far and the jury is out still. Mines 32 on front with a 18 tooth sprcket.
Reasonable spread of gears and good to have a bail out gear coming from SS. Changes up are fine but as others have said, you do have to get used to backing off when changing down otherwise you clank and grind away for a bit until it finds the gear you want.
The weight is very noticable when you lift the bike, but not too bad when riding. I can't make my mind up yet whether it affects the ride or not. Obviously you can notice it when you have to lift the rear over an obstruction.
I also had a tendancy in the first couple of rides to use too easy a gear up hills I was mashing up easily in 32:16. Dont want to waste all that SS fitness
Getting the rear wheel out is alot easier than I thought it would be and obviously maintenance (hopefully) should be minimal. I know people who haven't touched the internals for 2 years and its running well still.
I'm going to perservre for a bit longer with it. I thinI agree with a poster in an old thread that I wonder if the extra heft is worth the relatively small gear range. On yesterdays ride I only used 3 gears.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I run mine with twin rings up front, I know you're not meant to but 2500+ miles on it and no issues at all you I'll keep it that way 'til it breaks!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I also had a tendancy in the first couple of rides to use too easy a gear up hills I was mashing up easily in 32:16. Dont want to waste all that SS fitness
Fitness is about power output not ability to turn a big gear. A lower gear spun swiftly will often have a larger power requirment than a larger gear at a slow cadence.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I love mine. I run 30/22 to ensure I was getting equivalent to 22/34 on a triple chainset 26" bike. I know that's exceptionly low, but I find that I don't miss the top gears as it roles so fast down the hills.
Had an issue with it slipping, but taking it apart and cleaning seems to have (hopefully) fixed that. Was worried about changing the wheel, but have my head round that now.
Massive advantage in being able to change gear without having to pedal. Try to treat it like having 8 singlespeeds though - look at what's ahead, select gear and ride. Don't like changing under load on it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I run mine with twin rings up front, I know you're not meant to but 2500+ miles on it and no issues at all you I'll keep it that way 'til it breaks!
Take it your using a mech as a tensioner to do this?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Run my 8spd on a 20" wheeled Airnimal Rhino. As others have said, heavy at the rear, but it's fit and forget. Jump from 4 to 5 is a bit large. Changes in traffic are superb. I have taken it round Swinley a few times in the mud and it has been flawless.
I've never ridden a conventional MTB in earnest - my other bike is a singlespeed Kona 29er (niche, moi?), but I'm impressed. Suffice to say that I'd be happy to have an 11 speed conventional MTB like the iOiD. I genuinely think that for "normal" off road usage by average riders, they are the future. If you are sceptical, wait a few years until weight becomes acceptable...
Posted 1 year ago # -
How does the Alfine gear change happen? With the Rohloff you quickly learn to change gears at the top of the pedal cycle - with minimal torque. Change is so fast that as the downstroke happens you are already engaged.
Is Alfine similar?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes - just the alfine one which can cope with 14 teeth, so depending on the route I either run 22 or 26 with a 36.
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.
