Shimano Alfine vs mud?

[thegrumpybiker]

Thinking about dusting off an old mtb frame and doing it up as a funtime off roader. Want to keep things minimal but still want a few gears. Are the Shimano Alfine internal gear hubs any good off road? Haven't seen any mtb's using them so I'm guessing not. Would love to have a Rohloff but unfortunately I'm not an RBS manager with a bonus.

 

[Bollo]

Thinking about dusting off an old mtb frame and doing it up as a funtime off roader. Want to keep things minimal but still want a few gears. Are the Shimano Alfine internal gear hubs any good off road? Haven't seen any mtb's using them so I'm guessing not.

I think (and it's only a think) that there may be problems with pairing a hub gear with a low gear-inch chainring/cog combo that you might want offroad. This can put too much force on the hub innards causing the hub to fail, particularly if the rider is powerful. It's not just an Alfine problem. Rohloff specify a minimum chainring/cog ratio below which they won't guarantee the hub. I can't imagine the Alfine is going to be tougther than a Rohloff, even though its probably better value.

 

[dan_bo]

I know a guy that runs an alfine offroad, and it works fine. Pretty hardcore as well. Not sure about the gearing issue though.

 

[zizou]

one of my mates hired one at glentress a while back and it seemed to cope ok.

 

[MacB]

It seems to be very popular on MTB's in the US, certainly no shortage of reviews. The top 3 hubs gears are Rohloff, SRAM I-9 and Alfine, I think we all know the Rohloff is in a class of its own, but so is the price Of the other two I went for the I-9, but it was a close call, better shifting and trigger shifting option make the Alfine attractive. Extra gear and better gear steps make the I-9 attractive. The kicker for me was ease of wheel removal, I went I-9 because it has an easy release and SRAM have a better reliability reputation than Shimano, in hub gears. The amount of 'how to' videos on the net re Alfine wheel removal/installation is an indication of how big a pain it can be. But a few practice runs and it apparently becomes quite straight forward.

After running the I-9 for a while I'm not sure I wouldn't go for an Alfine now I've been very unlucky in having the I-9 seize on me but you really feel the lack of stockists and repair options, in the UK, when this happens. I don't like twist shifters, the main benefit is the ability to change multiple gears in one twist, I can't think of a time I've used this facility. The I-9 is very heavy, probably 1kg more than the Alfine and 0.5kg more than the Rohloff. Riding style matters as well, I tend to rid SS with gears as backup, ie only changing when I really need to. The Alfine gear range would be fine for that style. Running a 20/40 combo gives you 28 to 88 gear inches. This is commuting/ light trail stuff, if you want more serious offroad then you'd need to sacrifice at the top end.

I genuinely don't understand why Shimano don't have an easier release mech for wheel removal. Fix that and I'd definitely have an Alfine.

 

[thegrumpybiker]

Thanks for all the advice people, looks like I'll probably go for an Alfine and just get used to the fiddly changeover. Instead of an old frame may get an On-One 29" Inbred frame, the reviews are all good and they cost a sparrow's fart. Like I said this will be for having a blast on rolling trails not hardcore up and down xcing so gear range isn't really an issue. Like MacB, an 8 or 9 gear "singlespeed" is kind of what I'm after, mainly to keep chainslap/maintenance at a minimum. The Inbred has a horizontal dropout, would this make removal of an Alfine wheel easier?

 

[MacB]

Horizontal droputs face forward track ends face backwards, the former is preferred if you have full mudguards. I'd definitely go for either of these over vertical dropouts for a hub gear. Otherwise you have to run a chain tensioning device. I looked at the Inbred but I want to run v-brakes and it has no bosses, also price is frame only no forks. Otherwise it's very similar to the Surly Karate Monkey frame I went for instead. £300, but this includes forks, seatpost collar and chain tugs. to begin with my KM is going to be running a 3 speed sturmey archer, as that's what I've got. I was thinking of a 1x9 setup but I do like hub gears. So now I'm thinking possibly an Alfine........it's your fault as well

 

[thegrumpybiker]

So now I'm thinking possibly an Alfine........it's your fault as well

My teachers always said I was a bad influence.

The Surly Karate Monkey. I must admit it's definitely a contender, had my eyes on that one first, I was quoted £375 for f&f, which is still a bargain. In the end the Inbred seemed to get slightly better reviews (not much in it though) and it's a Brit company (keep the economy going and all that). I say "in the end" although I haven't bought anything yet and my fickle tastes may change...

 

[MacB]

My teachers always said I was a bad influence.

The Surly Karate Monkey. I must admit it's definitely a contender, had my eyes on that one first, I was quoted £375 for f&f, which is still a bargain. In the end the Inbred seemed to get slightly better reviews (not much in it though) and it's a Brit company (keep the economy going and all that). I say "in the end" although I haven't bought anything yet and my fickle tastes may change...

well I'm biased as I had a Surly Cross Check bike already, yep £375 is full price but I got £330 at Wiggle with my standard discount and then had further vouchers to bring it down to £300. All I can say is there's a lot of surly frames out there and not many come up second hand at present.

But that doesn't really matter for the rest, once you have decided on drivetrain etc, you can always move parts between frames at a later point.

 

[thegrumpybiker]

But that doesn't really matter for the rest, once you have decided on drivetrain etc, you can always move parts between frames at a later point.

Are you suggesting I get the Surly AND the Inbred? Who's being the bad influence now?

Once again cheers for the advice and tech tips.

 

[Piemaster]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Alfine is the first hub Shimano has rated for off-road use (Nexus apparently isn't). Alfine chainsets have 45 or 39t chainwheels. Rear sprockets 20 or 18 teeth, though I have seen sizes up to 23 advertised (possibly Nexus as they apparently fit). So low ratios are possible.
I'd have a look for links but the net connection on the ship is far too slow for graphic heavy pages.