Originally Posted by SlimAgainSoon

Shimano made a number of changes when it redesigned the Alfine 8-speed into an 11-speed hub.

Oil lubrication, instead of grease, is the big one, but the one that mattered most to me (other than the extra gears) is I don't have to jab a spoke in a little hole to get the shift cable loose from the hub (which you have to do to remove the wheel).

With the 11-speed, Shimano added a little lever you grab, instead of creating a lever via the spoke (or small Allen tool).

Thumbs up, Shimano!

They could have, and should have, changed the locking clip so that it could be removed and installed with a circlip tool (as MichaelW and tjspiel suggested). Alas, that didn't happen.

But, the clip isn't hard to work, once you get the hang of it.

As for the comment re chainring change vs. cog change, as I noted earlier, I can't install a smaller chainring on my crankset.

Also, I don't see how changing the chainring is a quicker, simpler swap.

Once you've done it, changing the cog is a fast task.

It may look intimidating, but it is easily accomplished.