Hub gear and full sus…

Musing on fitting an Alfine hub gear in a full sus frame. I am correct in thinking I guess that you’d need to fit a loose chain and an idler?
Anyone any experience or thoughts?

If you’ve not got a BB centric suspension design (Kona A, etc) then you’ll need a spring loaded tensioner aka Rohloff, Alfine, etc.

Depends what frame it is. Some frames just won’t work as there’s too much chain growth/shortening, but Nicolai make Rohloff compatible frames, and any BB pivot frame will work (DMR Bolt one of the most current).

Most frames will need a tensioner of some sort. Question is, do you really want all that weight in the wheel on an FS bike? Unsprung mass and all that.

I’m running an Alfine on a Trance using a superstar tensioner.

it took a bit of setting up but generally I forget its there which must be a good sign.

Orange tried it and ditched the idea!adstick pointed out the reason why.

i’ve thought about doing this with a kona bass full sus frame with the pivot on the bb, like the ones on sale on crc at the moment, but unfortunately funds/the mrs won’t allow!

the bass looks like a good frame but if I remember correct its only 100mm and a bit chunky which doesn’t make the best trail bike overall.

you can use a rear mech to tension the chain, lots of people were doing this at the singlespeed world champs on their SS full suss bikes.

half link chains are also your friend as then you can get it as short as possible reducing the amount you need to tension.

Wont concentrating the weight in the hub bugger up the suspension? Or can you compensate somehow?

no, Alfine hubs aren’t as heavy as people pretend. as I mentioned above, I often forget I’m running anything different to anyone else.

I can still out ride everyone that I used to be able to, I can still jump it and ride everything I could with standard gears.

the suspension still performs just as well as it used to, if anything it tracks a bit better now instead of bouncing around

there was a blog post from a guy running one (also on a Trance) who said the only reason he’s not still doing it is that he turned to 29ers and at the time there were no proper trail 29er full suss frames

I would love to try a Rohloff on my Nicolai.

I’m running an aLfine on my hardtail. Yes, the total weight isnt that noticeable but you notice a shift in weight to the end. Always assumed sticking a bit of extra weight at the end would affect suspension performance. (levers and all that). But if real world use says there’s little difference then I’m going to have think about that. (Hmm Cotic Rocket…)

I suspect that there are dh setups that are almost as heavy. if you already have an Alfine then you’d probably take to it much quicker but jumping straight in with an Alfine and a full suss might be a bit much

Cove G spot, no tensioner required as the pivot is centered around the BB
I’ve been to the Alps twice with it & rides great, its about 36lbs

2004 Marin Wolfridge, using Rohloff tesioner – rode it for two years all over the UK including up Snowdon, totally bombproof @ 33lbs

Currently the hub is on my winter (read not cleaned much) bike

1.shame the gspot isn’t available anymore.that one anyway.
2.dobermann LePink
3.yess make a fs tensioner,got one.good,like all their products.coves included.

the Doberman le pink is a beast

I have my eye on a commi absolut but not sure if I can cope with a 40mm shorter top tube.

I was hoping for some pretty Bolt photos…

The alfine tensioner will take up a lot of slack -IIRC the equivalent of 10 links which should be enough for any full sus

It is possible to fit a Rohloff hub to an Orange 5 with a tensioner. I’m not sure how well it works but it seemed to be coping a whole lot better with the deep mud than my rear mech when I was following a rider with that set up recently. I had a brief chat with the owner and he had nothing but praise for it.

you can fit a hub gear to any full suss bike. chain growth is irrelevant. if you can’t find a tensioner that takes in enough chain you can just use a locked out rear mech, they take up more and less slack on a typical heard setup.

however I’m not sure how the Rohloff fitting (dog bone?) would work with all frames. the Alfine is dead easy to fit.

The alfine tensioner will take up a lot of slack -IIRC the equivalent of 10 links which should be enough for any full sus

The Alfine tensioner isn’t sprung is it? Just relies on a bolt so it comes undone over time (and whilst fine with a hardtail won’t deal with the variable length on a sus bike).

Rohloff tensioner plus Rohloff front chainguide works very reliably and lasts well. It’s very rare to suffer a dropped chain on my Helius Rohloff. I’d be interested to have a look at one of these ‘clutch’ed rear mechs – there could be some tech for an even better tensioner there.

It apears there are more than one alfine tensioner

This is the one I was thinking of which appears to be sprung and have a lot of capacity

TJ beat me to it!

The Alfine tensioner isn’t sprung is it? Just relies on a bolt so it comes undone over time (and whilst fine with a hardtail won’t deal with the variable length on a sus bike).

Depends which one as there two styles – the older type with two wheels takes up lots of slack and works like a derailleur cage – the newer type with one wheel can not take up as much slack and is less springy.

Second one is not springy at all. Complete POS. Not helped by the fact that it’s designed to go under the axle nut rather than onto the mech hanger. Older one looks better.

Rohloff one is simple and solid and very springy (see obvious, large, spring below). I’m going to swap the Alfine out for an old Rohloff when i get round to it.

I see they also do a DH one that’s extra short ‘for extreme DH use’. Anyone ever tried one of those? I’m trying to work out what the disadvantages would be (harder to get the wheel out?) and why you’d not use one of those by default if it’s more secure.

the rohloff DH tensioner works nice
I had one on my keewee DH bike (8″ rear travel)
did a season in the alps guiding on it
riding 6 days a week for 3 months it was bombproof
whole setup was a beast, v heavy but at speed the weight of the hub allowed the shock to be more active I thought.
I reckon its about matching the weight/settings with the front of the bike, usually the fork weight (so a heavier fork)… and setting the compression circuit to sag a bit lower (changing the oil weight did the trick for me)
but its a bit different for a dh bike init

thepodge

the suspension still performs just as well as it used to, if anything it tracks a bit better now instead of bouncing around

That’s not how suspension works… 🙂

I’ve been running an Alfine 8 on an Orange 5 for about 3 years with no issues, the rear end is a bit heavier but you soon get use to this.

As you can see I have a chain tentioner and chain stay fitted, I tried to run without the chain tentioner which did not work. Apart from cleaning I have performed no maintance on the gears.

Dean.