Following on from chilled76’s thread about what is needed for commuting, I have my own question… Is there a downside to having something like an Alfine on a commuter bike, or is it just a lot of faff compared to a cheap road bike with a 2×8/9 cheapy Shimano groupset on?

I like the cleanness of the Alfine/Rolhoff idea and the weather proof-ness I guess, but I do wonder if the drawbacks (what they?) outweigh the advantages.

32×18 single spade makes the perfect work bike for my 12 mile commute.

no looking after, no washing and faffing. ace.

Is your commute flat or hilly Ton?

I had an Alfine 11spd on my previous commuter. I’m not sure if it was me not having it set up right or it was a unit that was on the edge of the reliability curve but it became increasingly vague at shifting (I’d changed the oil at the recommended intervals). Eventually it gave up the ghost.

The idea is good but I think that the 8spd is possibly better, I’ve read comments that the 11spd is at the limits of what Shimano’s layout is capable of so there’s very little tolerance.

I’ve always been curious to try one. Just seem heavy and expensive and would probably only save me a cassete every 2 yrs over what my 1×11 cross bike will use.

Is your commute flat or hilly Ton?

starts with a downhill, ends uphill, in both directions. flat in the middle.

42×16 fixed is my current commuter bike. 13 miles each way, couple of reasonable size hills, 850ft elevation gain, all on the road. I’m a grinder not a spinner so I reckon an 18 tooth cog would work better for most people but the 16 allows me to get down the hills not just up them.

Interesting ton – I’ve got a 12 mile flattish commute and wondered about single speed for ease/lack of maintenance, but keep convincing myself I’d either spin out or die on the two mile climb to get home at the end of the day.

Thanks Lunge

*Goes off to see if Genesis still make the Day One*

Yes they do, the 2018 model should be in dealers now. I have a Genesis Flyer as one of my commuters. The 2018 version is in Tarka Green and looks really smart.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/blog/17/08/17/colour-and-spec-updates-for-selected-2018-bikes

If you’re looking at the Day One also have a look at the Kona Paddy Wagon, that’s what I have and it’s lovely.

Mainly towpath commute, so want discs, 35mm tyres, full guards and panniers. Maybe a dynamo set up to make full use of the C2W limit.

If my wife asks, we’ve not spoken, okay?

I have Claris 8speed on my work horse. Running 34/42 on the front and a 12/34 cassette. It’s been faultless for 4 years and over 30k miles. My route is fairly flat. The 42 ring is perfect for most if the ride just dropping it down to the 34 on a hill near work. Chain line runs straight at 15 to 17 mph to extend chain life which is roughly 6 months/ 4K miles. Cassette normally lasts a year and the chain rings have been on for three.
I contemplated going Alfine but can’t see the need as the Claris stuff works just fine.

I used an Alfine 8 for commuting, it was great. It eventually wore out (5 years or approx 15,000 miles) and now I’m using singlespeed (about 67 inches), which is also great but mostly because it costs a lot less.

Where the Alfine 8 has a big advantage over the derailleur is the changing up and down at lights- I commute in London so you are doing this every 30 seconds, and the Alfine is soooo much easier and quicker.

I have never tried Alfine 11 but a lot of people seem to struggle with it..

There are some very detailed posts on hub gears and their lubrication on the Cycling UK forum, e.g. here and here. In particular a poster called Brucey appears to be a fount of all knowledge about hub gears, and he suggests using semi-fluid grease in some of the Shimano hub gears. On one of the threads I recall there was a discussion about drilling an oil port on Shimano hub gears (like the older Sturmey Archer hubs which just kept going used to have).

My commuter came with Alivio, now has a 105 mech. And it’s been faultless. Chains last ages, far longer than on an MTB, and it never breaks or needs adjustment.

Only disadvantage? I cannot enclose the chain completely to keep the rest of the bike clean, nor can I use a belt.

Biggest drawback is the extra weight if climbing hills, but great as workhorse bikes, being able to change gears while stationery etc.

My Pylon8 was a bargain back in 2007, just £350, was gutted when I found a terminal frame crack on the seat tube in 2013. 👿

had alfine for 4 years .

wore it out

moved to claris

have not been disapointed.

Lost all the drag , the crap gear range and the weight . Gained an entire drive train change for about 30 quid when needed and a propper range of gears.

Alfine is fine for commuting, but fit Marathon Plus tyres because the time taken to replace the tube is longer than a rear derailleur. I commute fixed on a flat route though did ride an Alfine for a while.

Re wear, it’s usually at the point where my riding style has adapted to avoid chain slippage that I start wishing I could keep the triple up front and ditch the rear derailleur.

I ended up replacing some 12 year old Sora when I got a new frame for aesthetic reasons only. It wouldn’t die, it was in near daily year round use, and winter training duties etc Whilst it cost me some chains, cassette’s, chain ring’s and jockey wheels these were cheapo affairs, so probably cost me less than £200 to keep it going over that time and it outlived two frames.

fixed has been cheap so far:

i’m on the second chainring. third chain and cog (iirc). some of these have been forced by wanting to change gearing and not wanting to run new cog old chain.

bike will be 10 come spring. it’s been my main commuter 3+ days a week year round that entire time.

I’ve been building a nexus hubbed commuter for a couple of years – but never seem to quite finish it!