Alfine internal gear hub change the cog to move the gears lower
#26
contiuniously variable
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.
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.
- Andy
#27
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Youtube is your friend. I watched a 10 minute video on tearing down the hub, went to the garage and took it right apart. Without it I'd have been clueless. I use Youtube as a tutor for almost everything.
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#28
contiuniously variable
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By the 4th? 5th? We did it in a lazy afternoon in our apartment parking lot.
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Here's the solution
two or three front cogs
1 rear internal Alfine 8 or 11
with the three front cogs, you have as much range as you want. I'm trying to go *down* as far as I can (to 14 or 15 on the Alfine), so that I can go *fast* on hills using the large front cogwheel. The small front cogwheel lets me go up walls, if I want.
24 speeds. No chain angle problems. Why isn't this done more often? It works *really well*.
1 rear internal Alfine 8 or 11
with the three front cogs, you have as much range as you want. I'm trying to go *down* as far as I can (to 14 or 15 on the Alfine), so that I can go *fast* on hills using the large front cogwheel. The small front cogwheel lets me go up walls, if I want.
24 speeds. No chain angle problems. Why isn't this done more often? It works *really well*.
#31
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Shimano made a number of changes when it redesigned the Alfine 8-speed into an 11-speed hub...but the one that mattered most to me... 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).
To the original question, increasing the cog from 16 teeth ("standard", I think) to 18 teeth gives a nice shift toward lower gears. I have made this switch on my "winter" bike, a Dahon Mu XL that has a Nexus-8 hub. The lower gearing is helpful riding through deeper snow.
Steve
#32
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Yup. That's a ten percent difference.
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Word of caution. I just reduced the gearing on my wifes bike that has a Alfine 11. Because she does loaded touring. When I contacted Shimmio about any restrictions. They told me not to exceed a 1/1.9 Ratio. Meaning dont have a chain ring smaller then 1.9 times the size of the rear cog.
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The right size retaining ring is available at Home Depot and Lowes in the USA.
retaining ring.jpg
No idea if this will work with Shimano 8 & 11 speed IGHs.
retaining ring.jpg
No idea if this will work with Shimano 8 & 11 speed IGHs.
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Word of caution. I just reduced the gearing on my wifes bike that has a Alfine 11. Because she does loaded touring. When I contacted Shimmio about any restrictions. They told me not to exceed a 1/1.9 Ratio. Meaning dont have a chain ring smaller then 1.9 times the size of the rear cog.
That's the weakness of internal gear hubs. You can go low but they want you to stay around 30 inches. Most touring bikes can go much lower than this. However, I've heard other gear their 8 speed bikes below 30 inches and all went well.
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two or three front cogs
1 rear internal Alfine 8 or 11
with the three front cogs, you have as much range as you want. I'm trying to go *down* as far as I can (to 14 or 15 on the Alfine), so that I can go *fast* on hills using the large front cogwheel. The small front cogwheel lets me go up walls, if I want.
24 speeds. No chain angle problems. Why isn't this done more often? It works *really well*.
1 rear internal Alfine 8 or 11
with the three front cogs, you have as much range as you want. I'm trying to go *down* as far as I can (to 14 or 15 on the Alfine), so that I can go *fast* on hills using the large front cogwheel. The small front cogwheel lets me go up walls, if I want.
24 speeds. No chain angle problems. Why isn't this done more often? It works *really well*.
If you add a front derailleur, then you need a rear one as well, or at least a chain tensioner. At that point, the benefit of an IGH becomes a wash, and you might as well go to an all-derailleur system, which is also cheaper.
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Highly recommended, for folks needing to tweak the gearing. Straightforward change.
#38
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Look Good, You need snap ring pliers rather than just a screwdriver.. if the others used a spring tempered wire ring
you need the right diameter, and if not as wide as the wire ring, may have a tiny bit of cog side play..
...
Look Good, You need snap ring pliers rather than just a screwdriver.. if the others used a spring tempered wire ring
you need the right diameter, and if not as wide as the wire ring, may have a tiny bit of cog side play..
...
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I would take the warnings on how low you can go with a grain of salt. i use an old sturmey archer aw hub that was rated for 2/1 as the lowest chainring to cog ratio. with my triple chainring it works fine at 24/18. i can pull hills no sweat and the old 3 speed hub just keeps going.
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#40
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As far as over torquing by under gearing ..BSR/AW3 Brompton running a 2 speed geared crank,
top gear 54:15, reduction gear acts like a 21.6t .. crank arms thru gear box, turn faster than the chainring..
one thing.. unlike the Alfine, AW3 is simple, easy to replace the planet gears , at low cost.. they really dont disengage.
clutch reverses driven and drive input.. so 3/4 low becomes 4/3 high..
I get a big benefit from the wheels being small too. for climbing..
....
top gear 54:15, reduction gear acts like a 21.6t .. crank arms thru gear box, turn faster than the chainring..
one thing.. unlike the Alfine, AW3 is simple, easy to replace the planet gears , at low cost.. they really dont disengage.
clutch reverses driven and drive input.. so 3/4 low becomes 4/3 high..
I get a big benefit from the wheels being small too. for climbing..
....
Last edited by fietsbob; 12-30-17 at 04:47 PM.
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My gearing for the Alfine 11 speed is a 20t rear and a 39t chainring. This is with 700c rims. I can get up all hills with that gearing. I have the same set up with an Alfine 8 speed, the difference is that I lose the top three gears that the 11 speed has. To remove the rear sprocket I use a flat bladed screwdriver to lever the open end of the clip at one of the recesses and then prise out the clip (using a good quality steel pick such as the one from Park Tools) into the back of the clip at the next available recess.
Last edited by lesoudeur; 02-27-21 at 12:03 PM. Reason: More information
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