Alfine 11 robust enough for a 36v Panasonic 250w Mid Motor?

[fire_strom]

Hi All:

I am brand new to this forum and to eBikes. I come from a solid cycling and motorcycling back ground and love how the eBike fits into the continuum.

I, by chance, happened into a long tail cargo bike (Surly Big Dummy) with a very nice retro fitted Panasonic Mid motor system. It is great. I haven't driven my truck much at all since getting this thing sorted out.

It currently has a 9 speed w/ a rear mech but I am very partial to hub gears.

Can the Alfine 11 stand up to eBike use? I searched the forum and there is chatter about it but no clear indication whether it is is good kit.

Are there success stories? It seems like as most things on the internet it is easier to find the horror stories than the quiet satisfied users.

There is also a wide ratio 8 speed Sturmey-Archer X-RK8 hubthat is very interesting but I can't find any reviews, good or bad, of that one.

Thanks,
-G

 

[trex]

hub gears are not right for cargo bikes.

 

[oldtom]

Can the Alfine 11 stand up to eBike use? I searched the forum and there is chatter about it but no clear indication whether it is is good kit.

Hi firestorm and welcome.

From memory, I seem to recall a few posts quite some time ago where users extolled the virtues of the Alfine units as being almost Rolls Royce quality compared to all the Shimano stuff that went before.

Again, although my memory is a bit flaky these days, I'm pretty sure that the Panasonic crank-drive with its moderate, (by today's standards), power output was deemed to be the perfect combination with the Alfine unit.

I'm pretty sure there are still some users who read these pages so someone may pop up with proper user feedback for you.

Tom

 

[flecc]

The 11 speed did suffer more dissatisfation than the 8 speed Alfine. I'm also a hub gear fan, but agree with Trex that they are not tough enough for cargo bikes, especially with added e-power going through them.

As for the only modern Sunrace Sturmey 8 speed I know of, it has the oddity of the straight through drive being on bottom gear and the other seven gear ratios up from that. In turn that means a small chainwheel and large rear sprocket to achieve a low enough gear range, which on a cargo bike needing low gears can present even bigger problems.

There were some reviews of it, none of which could be described as favourable. Basically the rising inefficiency with rising gear ratios was disliked.

One review I remember was from Chris Juden, technical advisor to the CTC until recently being made redundant. In fact he handed most of the review riding of this hub gear to his wife who really disliked it, finding the higher gears difficult to pedal at all.
.

 

[RobF]

The Alfine 11 on my Rose/Bosch bike failed which I suspect had something to do with the crank drive.

When my bike was built, Bosch limited the maximum assist on the motor to 200 per cent - derailleur bikes had 250 per cent.

That tells you something.

I've had no problems since the hub was changed under warranty, despite being more than 18 months old.

It may be the later Alfine 11s have been re-engineered in some way.

I don't think Bosch limit the power output for current Alfine 11 bikes.

Seems to me the eight speed hub is sturdier.

 

[tillson]

My 8 speed Alfine has been very reliable, but it's coupled to a 2008 and more recently, a 2011 Panasonic motor. What was 250 Watts back in 2011 doesn't seem to have harmed it, but I don't know how it would last if subjected to 2015's version of 250 Watts.

 

[fire_strom]

Thanks All!
I do keep hearing the 8 speed is stronger but I one of the reasons I like the 11 is the higher gain. I don't actually haul much in the way of heavy loads. With the current gearing I spend most of my time in the hardest (41 front and 11 rear) The 11 speed with an 18t sprocket would give more high gears than my current 41/11-32 set up.
-G