Alfine 11

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tomlhoward

New Member
Hi All

I currently have a nexus 8 speed and am looking to upgrade to the alfine 11 – both for the extra gears as well as the drop bar shifter options. Is there a stand out choice between the mechanical alfine 11 and the electric alfine 11 Di2? The electrical version comes with nicer drop bar shifters but you also have to buy a lot of extra kit (battery, charger, rear derailler...etc) which by the time you’ve bought it all is easily £600+. Whereas with the mechanical version you can get a hub and microshift/versa drop bar shifters all in for £300-£400, so the question is if the extra money is worth it or not?

Thanks!
 
I've sold it but I ran a mechanical Alfine 8 bike for a couple years, I had micro shift leaver on the handlebar.

As an alternative to changing the whole thing have you considered just changing the front/rear cog? I changed my rear to a 23T and found the ratios to be much better.

Edit.

This what I had - https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/withdrawn-ridgeback-flight-04-2016-shimano-alfine.284269/
 
OP
OP
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tomlhoward

New Member
Hey wiggydiggy, thanks for the info. Good point about changing the cog, I think the main issue for me at the moment however is that with the nexus you can only use a bar end Jtek shifter for drop bars which I’m not really getting on with at the moment and would much prefer a brifter…
 

JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
I fitted Alfine 11 Di2 to my project Brompton, it shifted really nicely but I don't have any experience with the mechanical version to compare with. I sold the Brompton a while ago but there was something fun about the Di2 internal gear setup which I still miss.
 

JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
Have you got your pricing right? I'm not familiar with the Nexus/Alfine hubs but assuming they are internal geared systems surely you won't be needing a Di2 rear mech?

It's not a regular mech but he's right, the powered shifting unit is external to the hub and bought separately. The differences inside the hub between the mechanical and electronic versions are minimal; the spring return is missing on the Di2 version as the shifting is powered in both directions unlike a cable operated system which can only pull in one direction.
 
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