[Closed] Why would I buy an Alfine Hub?

an alfine is the equivalent of a 1x9 not 2x9. They work best in a frame designed for them or SS so no chain tension is needed.

I have one and I like it - smooth easy and constant chain tension

Why? Two winters with completely no maintenance. Same chain and ring/sprocket.

sold

Seriously, though. 1x9 may be fine for my do-it-all bike.

Sod it you dont know until you try. Will have to run a tensioner initially though

The new 11 speed one out in September/October is more like 2 x 9, and a Rohloff is pretty much 3 x 9.

So you can go belt drive ?

why would you:

low/no maintenance
good shifting

why wouldn't you:

heavy
a bit of drag

As a confirmed Rohloff user, I'll be really interested to see these.

I could never go back to dérailleur now, so I'd definitely recommend the hub experience.

I've just got a belt drive Zion Rohloff and the combination is excellent. I'll definitely be giving the Alfine a go.

The big plus for me is instant, no pedalling shifting, not affected by mud and very minimal maintenance. If the Alfine matches Roholff for that then I'm interested too.

The drag thing is a bit of a misnomer, once a conventional setup is a bit worn, light on oil or caked in mud, there's going to be plenty of drag there too!

If I run a rear tensioner, will I need some kind of guide on the front to stop the chain falling off when it gets rough?

Why would I buy an Alfine Hub?(

Because your boat needs an anchor? 😉

dancake - unlikely if the tensioner gives decent tension and you have an unramped chainring The chainline should be perfect so little chance of the chain coming off

Because your boat needs an anchor?

lol, how true

From a bit of research I thought the Alfine was equivalent to (roughly) a 12 to 38T cassette (with an 18T sprocket). So the potential gear range is broader than a typical 1*9 set up.

Someone with better grasp of gearing might know better.

Whilst drag is acknowledged from new it's supposed to reduce significantly once bedded in (c.200 miles).

Don't know about the tensioner.

NB: this is all based on research not personal experience, the damn thing is on back order 😉

Anyone planning to get the Alfine 11 when it comes out?

What's your thinking on gearing? run it to match the low end of a 3x9 or thr high end of 3x9 or lose a bit each end?

I'm Alfine-curious...

Want 11 speed alfine!!! I am so often biking out back and dont ride stuff because of projecting derailleur grabbers. Having an alfine and no derailleur would be fantastic!! I even bought me a transition TransAM frame a couple of weeks back in anticipation!!

or maybe I would just put it on the 5 Spot with a tensioner, coz that is what I use for most of the outback missions!!

cheeky monkey - its exactly the range as a 1x9. altering the overall ratios alters the gear range same as doing so in a 1x9 by altering the chainring - its just you can alter the overall ratio by changing the rear sprocket as well as the chainring.

I run mine 32x16 this gives the same overall rations as a 1x9 with a 36 chainring

In your example 12/38 is the same ratio spread as 11/34 ( more or less) just the overall ration is raised

PeterPoddy - Member
'Why would I buy an Alfine Hub?'
Because your boat needs an anchor?

Ever weighed all the constituent parts of a derailleur setup? Not really that much in it.

I ran a Rohloff on a full sus with a tensioner and needed a guide at the front to keep the chain on.
On a hardtail with EBB or slot dropouts, no, you don't need one.

Ratio wise I will go for a 1:1 low gear to start off with if it is permissable.

Bloody hell. It has gone from a silly idea to a very serious one. Such is usually the case when my Son is amusing himself, my wife is at work and my bike is as clean as it is going to be.Last time this happened I ordered 2 sets of flat pedals and some shoes...

Ever weighed all the constituent parts of a derailleur setup? Not really that much in it

Ever strapped all that weight into the middle of your back wheel? 😉

Just joking mate, I think they're a great idea truth be told. 🙂

Go for a 32:20 on it - that's what I have (and I'm a lardy bollocks), works out to about 2nd/3rd in a normal set up at the bottom. You'll top out on roads and some downhill stuff but for an all round set up it's fine. Any lower and you must be either savagely unfit or climbing stuff mountains goats can't be bothered with.

As an aside, I went for 819rims with gunk in the tyres, the hubs can be a pain to remove and I went for the belt and braces approach as it's my winter mud plugger.

Have a look through my post history for piccies.

Alfine hub: 1590g (without sprocket?)

1x9 SLX setup
SLX hub: 384g
SLX cassette (11-34): 315g
SLX mech: 280g
extra chain ~70g (assuming about 25% of 9speed chain is now removed)
total: 1049.

So thats essentially 500g of extra hub! (and you still need a sprocket, and all the tensioning doodahhs on a normal bike, or a new singlespeed frame (which are rarely as light as more mainstreem frames).

PeterPoddy - Member
'Ever weighed all the constituent parts of a derailleur setup? Not really that much in it'
Ever strapped all that weight into the middle of your back wheel?

Yes. So I went singlespeed 🙂

Cool. A plan is hatched. Wont bother with gunk, but I use dual ply minions which seem pretty puncture resistant at the mo....

I am a lardy arse too, so Ill take your advice...

They certainly aren't zero maintenance, mine is knacked after a year! Quite liked it while it was working though.

servicing isn't too stressful though:

open up.
pour oil down drain.
flush with more oil (pour down drain).
Top up with fresh oil.

Although it's expensive to buy the new internals, your only the 2nd person I've read about that had probelms though.

I've had one puncture on the UST's - pumped it up a bit, twirled the wheel around and it's still grand 3-4 months later (although bike is in summer hibernation atm, forks are in yorkshire somewhere getting serviced).

nb - I was joking about pouring oil down the drain.

what are they like for serious mtbing though? i mean i can see they'd be great for local midweek loops and general xc-ing about the place, but if you were encountering rocks, drops, jumps and all that how will they fare to such abuse?

I though Alfine was the perfect solution for my winter bike, and this is what I learned during the first (and last) winter:

1. Alfine is not intended for mountain biking, it is intended for city bikes; it broke after 4 months of sedate XC riding (shimano replaced it under warranty, but that is besides the point),

2. The gear range is too limited; you will either get decent low gears with 23/32 setup, in which case you will outpedal it at about 16mph, or you get decent high gears, in which case it will climb like a single-speed.

3. It is heavy; it works out about 1.5 pounds extra compared to conventional geared set up that would cost you equivalent amount of money (and give you bigger gear range).

4. Putting a 1.6kg hub into the back of the bike completely screws up the way the bike handles; I do not really mind (3), I could live with (2), and get over (1), but this is the reason why I have a whole new alfine sitting in the garage doing nothing.

tf - what broke on your alfine?

I agree the gear range is a bit limited but the alfine is supposed to be MTB capable - the nexus is the city bike hub

Mine is in a genesis IOID - you can feel the weight when you lift the bike but I don't notice it riding - but its mainly a commuter for mebut it has been round GT a few times and the puffer

[i]"Putting a 1.6kg hub into the back of the bike completely screws up the way the bike handles"[/i]

No it doesn't.

> what broke on your alfine?

Don't know, Shimano did not say; something inside, gears stopped engaging, and it was making terrible racket freewheeling (so bad I was expecting it to jam and turn into a fixie).

> the alfine is supposed to be MTB capable - the nexus is the city bike hub

That's what I thought when I bought it, but according to the Shimano website the Alfine range is a posh version of Nexus, with identical intended use; I could not find anything at all there that mentioned MTBs.

> but I don't notice it riding

Mine was fitted to a Chameleon and I found it very noticeable when needing to hop the bike; when the hub broke and I put on a regular wheel, I just could not believe how much better the bike handled over rough ground.

Although it's expensive to buy the new internals, your only the 2nd person I've read about that had probelms though.

Yeah it doesn't sound common, oh well! Mine is still useable, just has some play in it, will run it until it dies...

i found on an inbred frame i noticed the weight, but then i also have another inbred as a ss, so it's possible that i felt too much at home, and the only thing that was different was the hub, so i noticed!. i now have mine on a P7, with a pike coil up front, and it's ALL a bit heavier, but the bike feels very well balanced. i don't think they're suited to relatively light frames running light(ish) forks. IMO, YMMV.

Although it's expensive to buy the new internals, your only the 2nd person I've read about that had probelms though.

Yeah it doesn't sound common, oh well! Mine is still useable, just has some play in it, will run it until it dies...

Play? Wouldn't that be the cone and cups bit of it?

I've used my Alfine off road for nearly 2 years now - with the last 4 months it being pretty unused. I don't really jump, but I'm 16stone (probably 17 with kit) and I have raced a few times with it - proper mtb with rocks and roots and mountains as well as trail centres and in everything the irish weather can throw at it.

I've washed it once and had to adjust the ebb 3-4 times and had to retune the alfine once because I stuck a trailer hitch on and the drive side bolt came lose.

I can't rate it high enough for a lazy sod like me.

Ive been running an older 500 version of the Alfine for 12 months now on 2 bikes and it was used when i got it. Never serviced it and its been used from xc in the Lakes to uplifts at Innners without missing a beat. Sure there have been broken ones but they are very few and far between and in terms of their suitability for MTB use - well the bikes below arent hardtail whippets really are they and mine is running perfectly for a time period where i would have done at least 2 mechs and 2 hangers as well as spent precious time in the shed fettling cables and indexing.
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If you're the kind of guy that spends more time polishing his bikes, and obsessing about weight, gear ratios, having the right bike for the trail etc. then the Alfine is definitely not for you.

If you're the kind of guy that just likes to get out and ride, often in shitty conditions, and doesn't want to have to spend much time looking after his bike inbetween rides, and isn't bothered about ultimate high performance and lightweight, then the Alfine will appeal very highly.

I've had one for about 8 months now, I do have other bikes but in the time I've had it, it has had more use than the bikes with derrailleur gears have. It's not perfect, but its shortcomings aren't too much of an issue as far as I'm concerned. Got mine setup with a 34/22 gear ratio (on a 29er), would reccomend 32 or 34 with a 20 on a 26" bike personally, and it's superb. Only miss out ever so slightly at the bottom end in terms of gear ratios compared to a granny ring and 9spd cassette, and top end wise, well anything over 20mph and I'm usually no longer pedalling anyway...

I will definitely get an 11spd too when they come out, as to be fair, I think most of the shortcomings of the 8spd will be solved with the 11spd, even if it is more expensive, and I envisage it getting a lot of use!

Oh, and for the "boat anchor" comments... If you're worrying about the weight of the rear hub whilst you're riding your bike, I suggest you're not riding hard enough. Only time I notice the weight of mine is lifting the bike over a gate, when the bike does feel very slightly rear end heavy.

And as far as drag goes... Well they're slightly draggy from new, but this is just good sealing to be fair. They do ease up with use, mine is now about the free-est rolling hub I've ever owned, I can put in a pedal stroke and let it freewheel for ages!

echoing mBoy - only time i run out of ratios now is on very steep climbs that are border line unridable. Top end ok on a fast road or fire road im coasting at 20ish mph. Uplifts i just bang on a 16t instead of a 20t sprocket (single c clip and job done). Weight wise - if the rear end feels heavy you could always adopt my policy and swap out your light air forks for big heavy coils to balance it up!

I have a brand new in box alfine 8 shifter and fitting kit if anyone is interested?

Bought it when hub was on back order, then cancelled hub order as prices went up hugely due to weak pound etc.

if they stand up to beach riding and the odd dip in sea water then they will last anywhere!,
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11 speed going on my xc hardtail when they arrive... will never have derailiers again on a hardtail...useless in long grass in summer,clogged and jumping in winter...
but i dont race and im not wieght concious with builds, 😆

Tf - are you l;ooking to get rid of your alfine then?

Loving mine. I thought I was building it into winter bike but I can't stop riding it! Having said that I'm going to swap mine out into a bike for my wife and buy the new version for me - not cheap though £375 + shifter and fitting kit.

The shifting takes a bit of getting used to. Having to ease back slightly to make the shift is a pain sometimes on big push hills but being able to shift down on the freewheel going into corners or prepping the right gear prior to getting going is a big bonus. So quiet as well. I used mine at set2rise and it was great in the mud. could be fantastic on a muddy mayhem.