Shimano Alfine 11spd Di2?
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Shimano Alfine 11spd Di2?
Has anyone seen or had experience with this system? It looks pretty bulletproof, and the Di2 shifting and display eliminate the issues of cable stretch in mechanically shifted internal gear hubs. I'm thinking about possibly building up another Chinese carbon frame bike, something a bit different.
First Look: Shimano Alfine Di2 Internal Electronic Shifting System | WIRED
First Look: Shimano Alfine Di2 Internal Electronic Shifting System | WIRED
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Has anyone seen or had experience with this system? It looks pretty bulletproof, and the Di2 shifting and display eliminate the issues of cable stretch in mechanically shifted internal gear hubs. I'm thinking about possibly building up another Chinese carbon frame bike, something a bit different.
Cheers from Poland
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The AWOL that the bike's own designer built up had Alfine Di2. Kinda cool.
https://theradavist.com/beautiful-bi...cialized-awol/
https://theradavist.com/beautiful-bi...cialized-awol/
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The AWOL's long discontinued and they all cracked in the chainstays anyway. But carbon's cool. What brand are you looking at, though? I hear Elves is okay and on the whole I think Chinese carbon frames are improving, but it is still a bit of a crapshoot.
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I wouldn't demoize Chinese products - after all, apple also produces there
My bike has a carbon frame made in Taiwan so I'm not worried about the quality.
Taiwan, on the other hand, is like China
My bike has a carbon frame made in Taiwan so I'm not worried about the quality.
Taiwan, on the other hand, is like China
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Taiwan produces all the good bike stuff with the two biggest bike companies in the world, Giant and Merida, being based there. Merida owns 49% of Specialized and makes their carbon frames. Taiwanese carbon frames made by Giant and others like Merida are great, laid by hand by skilled workers in modern factories using state of the art machinery and production techniques. You pay lots of money for them, because they're real good. Merida gives you a lifetime warranty on their frames, and Giant also really stands behind their product.
China produces all the wacky open mold carbon stuff you see on Aliexpress. Open mold means an unlicensed design, so any old Tom, Dick or Harry (Junfeng, Haitao or Shuchang?) can take the design and use it in their factory. The resin they used to use was easily broken down by UV, so if you took your unpainted bike out in the sun, its frame would be degraded until it eventually delaminated, which was slightly problematic. They mostly fixed that problem, but the vacuum machines they use to remove all air bubbles from the resin containing the carbon fiber cloth sometimes aren't up to scratch, leaving air bubbles trapped in the hardened frame, a void which is a potential weak point. Oh, and those skilled workers in Taiwan who get paid proper wages and get to do decadent western-style things like vote in free and fair elections? They're not really around to lay the fibers properly on the mainland, so the orientation of the carbon fiber cloth in the resin, which is crucial for strength, can be poorly done, to say the least. Factories there in China are the ones that make fake versions of the recognized brand frames like yours, made in Taiwan, cutting corners and generally doing a sub-par job. That is changing, with the emergence of brands like Elves, Hongfu and Winspace, but Aliexpress is still filled to the brim with cheap open mold frames. If you think cheap, durable and light and then choose two, those Chinese open mold frames are cheap and light.
There's a difference between the two and it's significant, especially in terms of quality. That is narrowing, but Taiwan still leads the PR China in that regard and will for the forseeable future.
Last edited by PDKL45; 04-13-23 at 03:39 AM.
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That's why I wrote that I'm not worried about the quality of my frame.
P.S.
I know what Taiwan is all about, but thanks for the lecture
P.S.
I know what Taiwan is all about, but thanks for the lecture
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Having a product being made in China by say a large company like Apple is different from a random manufacturer in China. However both could be fine or both could be terrible (though usually not as much with Apple though I did prefer their older stuff better but I have been using apple products since the early 1990s so I don't know but I am currently on a new MBP and it is a fine computer. Great battery life on it I played 2.5 hours of Diablo III and an hour later I still haven't gone below 15%.
Going back to Di2 Alfine, it is good stuff. I would rather have Rohloff E-14 but not possible on a non-electric bike and generally only for Bosch unless they have finally changed things. You can run some pretty interesting set ups with it the biggest thing though is System 2 vs new System 3 the cables are different so just make sure you get the right stuff the new stuff is not really backwards compatible and the old stuff can kinda sorta be made forwards compatible-ish.
Going back to Di2 Alfine, it is good stuff. I would rather have Rohloff E-14 but not possible on a non-electric bike and generally only for Bosch unless they have finally changed things. You can run some pretty interesting set ups with it the biggest thing though is System 2 vs new System 3 the cables are different so just make sure you get the right stuff the new stuff is not really backwards compatible and the old stuff can kinda sorta be made forwards compatible-ish.
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Having a product being made in China by say a large company like Apple is different from a random manufacturer in China. However both could be fine or both could be terrible (though usually not as much with Apple though I did prefer their older stuff better but I have been using apple products since the early 1990s so I don't know but I am currently on a new MBP and it is a fine computer. Great battery life on it I played 2.5 hours of Diablo III and an hour later I still haven't gone below 15%.
Going back to Di2 Alfine, it is good stuff. I would rather have Rohloff E-14 but not possible on a non-electric bike and generally only for Bosch unless they have finally changed things. You can run some pretty interesting set ups with it the biggest thing though is System 2 vs new System 3 the cables are different so just make sure you get the right stuff the new stuff is not really backwards compatible and the old stuff can kinda sorta be made forwards compatible-ish.
Going back to Di2 Alfine, it is good stuff. I would rather have Rohloff E-14 but not possible on a non-electric bike and generally only for Bosch unless they have finally changed things. You can run some pretty interesting set ups with it the biggest thing though is System 2 vs new System 3 the cables are different so just make sure you get the right stuff the new stuff is not really backwards compatible and the old stuff can kinda sorta be made forwards compatible-ish.
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I didn't even know there was such a shifter for Rolhof. But I couldn't mount it to my vanhawsks anyway - Rolhoff has a mounting mechanism from the side of the brake disc, which is different from Alfine - I wouldn't mount it. However, it is a pity that rolhoff does not notice the needs of enthusiasts and did not anticipate the control in the standalone version