spectastic

I cannot find enough information on alfine. shimano does a pretty poor job with their catalog on IGH. I think s500 and s501 are pretty much the same, right?

how does the newer s7000 alfine 8 compare to the s500 series? I've read that the newer model uses oil bath instead of factory grease, which makes the gears roll smoother and reducing the drag in the gear box. the other difference is the shifting mechanism is reversed, like a slacker tension is a higher gear, which is opposite of the s500 models. the gear shifting is supposedly smoother too.

does anyone have information or experience on the new s7000 alfine? it says the s7000 is designed for oil bath, but I've heard people using oil baths on s500 hubs, although I did see a video of a guy who claims the oil leaks out of the non drive washer and screws up the disc rotors.

Dan Burkhart 

Well, the biggest difference right off the top is the 700 series has 11 speeds vs 8 for the 500/501. It is designed as an oil lubed hub with appropriate seals and a fill port.
Shimano came out with an oil dunk kit for the Nexus/Alfine hubs a number of years ago, but complaints about the high cost of the kits prompted me to try running one on ATF. This test went well for several years with annual services. I did not experience the leakage reported in that video you talked about.(I've seen it too.)
Unfortunately, I could never break the hub's owner of the habit of shifting it under power, and the shift pawls eventually wore down to the point they no longer engaged properly.
I wanted to just put new pawls in it for him, but he opted instead for a new set of internals.
I still have his old internals, and I will at some point resurrect it with new pawls. The rest of it looks great.
Oh, and as I found out doing the swap, 501 internals work in a 500 shell.
Edit: It appears I'm a bit behind the times. There is indeed a 7000 series 8 speed. Have not come across one yet.

hartsu

I think that only significant difference between 501 and 7000 is top normal” shifting logic.
SG-S7000 is not designed for oil bath, but "oil dipping" is recommended.

SG-S7000 dealers manual https://si.shimano.com/php/download.p...004-00-ENG.pdf

spectastic

I called shimano, but they had no info... what a load of suck.

so are there any physical changes to the hub shell or lock nut to the s7000 model that enables it to handle oil as opposed to grease? Can I dip the s500 in ATF and not have it leak?

is the improved efficiency on the s7000 sole attributed to the use of oil instead of grease, or are there internal differences with the gears?

mebiker12

Can you please confirm that the 7000 uses the "normal" logic that we would be used to when using typical shimano/sram mountain shifters?

Thanks,

J

fietsbob

There is a Flow chart upstream from Dealers . Not surprised Shimano USA was not communicating

after skipping all the intermediate supply chain people ..

RTFM First?

mebiker12

Shift Action:
I just found the thread below which implies that:

• s501 hub (old) = reverse from mountain rapidfire shifters
• s7000 hub (new) = same as mountain rapidfire shifters

Post: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...-answered.html

Grip Shift Compatibility:
In addition, my research indicates that the nexus grip-shifters are listed as only working with the old (reversed) type of hub. I have ordered the Shimano Nexus SL-8S31 8-Speed Revo Shifter, which I will be installing on my s501 system. I'll report back on the results.

Thanks!

BoulderDay

So... can you use a S7000-8 body in a S500 Shell?

Thanks

jsallen

Both kinds of shifters will probably work with Nexus and Alfine hubs that have high-gear slack (older) or low gear slack (newer). The cable pull from step to step is mirrored. If the shifter has an indication of the gear number, it will be reversed. Sheldon Brown cribsheet on IG hub cable pull shows this. Please report if this does not work for you!