cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/334731
This video does a good job of visualizing the intricate mechanisms inside an internally-geared bicycle hub.
I have an Alfine 11 and 8 still mount in wheelsets for my folding bike and I think I have another Alfine 11 in parts. The Alfine 8 is bomb proof; the 11 much less so. If you religiously keep them in alignment they will last. If you ride on them while misaligned, you will wear down the pawls and start loosing gears. After that you need to do a rebuild and very few places do that.
Also, avoid using them in 29"wheels. It is too much torque for them, and the pawls will wear down within a year or two.
They are stupid fast for up shifting as you can do it under some load and the shifting is instant. The other nice perk is that you can downshift while stopped. No need to lift the back wheel and let it spin.
Winter commuting is where they shine. I have to replace my whole drivetrain every winter on my cassette bikes. The IGHs are completely unaffected by the abuse. The grease/oil lubricant used inside does start to thicken up and add some resistance starting out, but that only happens below about -7c.
If you need the gear range of the Alfine 11 I would suggest considering a Rohloff speedhub instead, but they are 3 times the price.
I’m an IGH convert who I think has just flipped back to the derailleur camp again. I have a 2013-ish Montague with a Nexus 8 that I love, but it lacks the gear range for the steep hills here. So I’ve been looking at more performant ones, but I want to be able to lock up the bike, which rules out Rohloff. I also want drop bars, which rules out the Enviolo (which at 380% gear range is still kinda at the edge of what I’d like for the hills here). So the Alfine 11 is the only candidate, but word-of-mouth is that they’re less reliable than I’d like…
I also just got a rear flat the other day, which reminded me how it is more of a pain with an IGH. I was able to slide the tube in without detaching (or even misadjusting) the shifter cable, but… still. It also makes keeping multiple wheelsets much less feasible, which I’d like to do as a compromise to avoid needing to have more than one bike to do both roads and gravel.
I guess what I’m coming around to is the difference between “low maintenance” and “serviceability”. An IGH (particularly with belt drive) needs no routine maintenance, but servicing it is a big hassle. A derailleur needs regular cleaning/lubing, but, any part that wears out or breaks is one I can easily replace myself. Now that I don’t commute and I live somewhere it’s trivial to hose down a dirty bike before putting it away, the routine maintenance seems fine, and I’d rather have a bike I can fix myself no matter what happens. If I weren’t intending to sometimes (and super securely) lock up the bike in public, the alternative of saving up for a Rohloff would probably have me undecided again.
That said, I have an Enviolo and Gates belt on our family e-trike and it is fantastic there.
Thanks for the write up, pretty interesting. What is required for the alignment process and how often?
Aligning the Alfines involves putting them into 4th gear and turning the fine adjustment on the shift until the yellow lines on the hub line up. It can easily be done every time you plan to use the bike. It is just easy to forget to do.
As for dealing with wheel re-installation and shifter cable reattachment , I customized a spanner to perfectly fit between the hub and the dropouts to either hold the hub in place while tightening the axle nuts or loading tension when installing the when reconnecting the shifter cable. I can’t remember which. It might have been both.
After having failure issues using an Alfine 11 with a 29+ MTB (high torque setup), I have used nothing but cassette based drivetrains on everything but my folding bike. Also, my only local hub re-builder has stopped providing that service and Universal Cycles stopped carrying replacement internals, so I will probably not use an Alfine IGH on any new bikes.
