How much do you think I should be paying to have one of these bad boys serviced at a LBS??

It took an hour tops for me to strip clean and relube.

Does it need servicing? I ask as I have read a few times to just leave them until something goes wrong. I felt like I should service mine last year after doing about 6 years on it and god knows how many thousands of bad weather miles. The advice I got was if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I don’t always live by this mantra but have done with the alfine as it still works as well as the day I bought it and I haven’t maintained it at all in that time.

I paid £25 last time. Although they said they don’t really need looking at until 5000 miles. A LBS owner the other day was saying that the only ones he’s known to fail have been as a result of being left idle after flood damage. Brilliant piece of kit!

That sounds promising then. I’ve had the thing for years so could probably do with a once over. Doesn’t always shift down the gears as it should without a bit of backwards peddling

I recommend Rocol Aerospec 100 liquid grease as a lubricant – some people swear by ATF and I have used it but my hubs seem smoother with the Rocol. You can buy it for some silly price but I got mine courtesy of a friend at Flybe.

This stuff – https://www.rocol.com/products/aerospec100-low-temperature-aerospace-grease

Using guide online, I stripped mine down to gears and axle together. Mine was feeling a bit draggy and slow to change.

cleaned with diesel and brush to get all the old grease off the. Let it dry.
Cleaned again with brake/caliber cleaner and let dry
Dunked for a good while in ATF and allowed to drip dry for a short while
Rebuilt and it’s been a phenomenal difference. Changes are much lighter and quicker and the whole system seems to have lost the feel of any drag.
I would say though that you can now feel the meshing of the gear under load a little more.
Definitely worth the effort . . . Which wasn’t hard.

Does the transmission fluid not leak? I read conflicting information on using fluid vs grease. Both having pros and cons. The fluid being less draggy but leaking especially if the bike is left on its side. The grease causing a bit of drag but not leaking. It’s still in the back of my mind to service mine so I’m just harvesting information.

I’d be tempted to try a new cable first to see if that helps.

I’ve got a strip, dunk in ATF and rebuild down to about 30 mins. It’s relatively straightforward, just one of those tasks that seems scary until you’ve actually done it. Hardest part is adjusting the bearings at the end!

If you’re not mechanically inclined, it’s worth popping into a shop. £25 would seem a fair price.

You let it drip dry before reassembly so most of the spare fluid drips off. I greased the bearings as well. As above, much lighter after getting rid of the dried up manky shimano grease.

I haven’t seen any leaks appear to date which is about 18months now. The bike is stored upright and goes long periods unridden. I did let it drip dry for long enough that it wasn’t dripping regularly before refitting. So I don’t expect that there is a bath of oil in there. Just enough for everything to be coated.

andysredmini – Member
Does the transmission fluid not leak? I read conflicting information on using fluid vs grease. Both having pros and cons. The fluid being less draggy but leaking especially if the bike is left on its side. The grease causing a bit of drag but not leaking. It’s still in the back of my mind to service mine so I’m just harvesting information.

That’s why the Rocol Aerospec 100 is ideal – less likely to migrate past the primitive seals but less draggy than the OEM grease. Anyway if it’s good enough for Q400 prop gears it’s more than good enough for me. Smoother than ATF, less draggy than grease. Win-win..