Are Alfine gears any good?

Our review The Alfine hub gear is the upgraded counterpart to Shimano’s successful Nexus hub. It’s smoother, has a higher-quality feel and looks to be robust enough to go for years. There’s a certain beauty about internally geared hubs; they might be heavier but the bonus is their easy-to-live-with nature.

Are hub gears any good?

Generally, hub gears have a long-life span and are usually maintenance free. The advantage of a hub gear is that you can shift gears when stationary. Hub gears also aren’t as efficient as derailleur gears. However, the efficiency of hub gears tends not to deteriorate, and may even get better as the hub wears in.

How do you change the oil in Alfine hub?

Here is my Alfine 11 oil change process:

clean outside of hub shell.
open hub via oil plug.
inject 25 ml of Rohloff cleaning solution.
pedal hub through all gear combos for 5 mins.
let drain for 30 mins.
suck out any remaining cleaning fluid and old oil with syringe.
inject 25 ml of Rohloff hub oil.
seal up Alfine and ride.

How much does a Rohloff hub cost?

The Price There’s no beating around the bush here – Rohloff hubs are expensive. Expect to pay US $1600 or 1100€ just for the hub and shifter (complete bikes start at 2500€). You’ll need to factor in the cost of a new wheel build too.

Are internal gears better?

With an internally geared hub you can shift gears while stationary. Unlike a traditional derailleur system, you don’t need to be pedaling to change gears. This can be great for riding in stop and go city traffic and can also make it a lot easier to down shift on a steep uphill.

How do you maintain internal hub gears?

Clean the inside of the hub shell. Apply grease to the bearings and clutch rollers. I also inject 3cc or 4cc of the special Shimano oil (ice cream topping) between the gears before putting everything back together. Reinsert the cartridge and wipe off the excess grease.

How do you lubricate a Shimano Nexus hub?

The Shimano Nexus gears cannot be maintained by lubricating with oil as gears with oil drain plugs such as the Shimano Alfine 8. The only way to do this is to dismantle the entire hub and immerse the planetary gear unit in motor oil.

How do you oil a Nexus hub?

Remove sprocket and dust caps before removing from hub shell. Dip the right way up (drive side down) until it stops bubbling. Remove and rest on top of tub until most of the oil has dripped back into tub. Refit to hub shell, remembering to grease bearing race first.

How good is the Alfine wheel hub?

The Rapidfire-inspired lever does one gear at a time, and costs an additional £24.99. This is a bit of a shame because the efficiency of the hub deserves the speed of a multiple gear changer like a twist shifter. On price and performance the Alfine hub is excellent.

Is Alfine better than Shimano Nexus hub?

Shimano’s Nexus hub has always impressed, but Alfine is so much smoother and quieter. Shifting is buttery and it feels like each gear is delivered with a rounded edge rather than a definite clunk. That gives the impression that the shift is soft and would struggle under load, but far from it.

How does the alfine-11 work?

The Alfine-11 is a beautiful piece of engineering. All you have to do is adjust the shifter from gear 1 to gear 11 and it gives you evenly spaced gears. Behind the scenes a lot is going on inside that hub to make the magic happen.

Is the SRAM Alfine Hub worth it?

On price and performance the Alfine hub is excellent. It weighs 1590g and is the only system that comes close to the more expensive SRAM i-Motion 9. No. Of Holes

Are Alfine gears any good?