March 25, 20188 yr I had an Alfine 11 on an unpowered MTB and it was useless. The lowest gear was far too high, no way of lowering it enough to make it useable and it was always problematic so why this was sold as an MTB is anybody's guess. I did consider motorising this bike but decided it would only make things worse.. It would seem that the older Alfine 8 is a more robust gearbox.. I've not heard much about the 11 speed hub, but suspected that it might be weaker than the 8 speed.
March 25, 20188 yr This is the bike, which on the surface helped my arthritic left hand problem with just the one gear lever on the right, but I had to push it up any steep inclines and it was always skipping under load however the dots were lined up and at £1500 it wasn't cheap! I vowed never to buy another hub geared bike but the Rohloff seems to be a good box of bits.. https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do;jsessionid=c6e21cda314e30672d7e985c2728?method=view&n=3282&g=244708&p=260627&c=215
March 25, 20188 yr Author I had an Alfine 11 on an unpowered MTB and it was useless. The lowest gear was far too high, no way of lowering it enough to make it useable Similar problem, simple solution, there`s a range of interchangeable cogs, about a fiver a piece for the Alfine, 16-18-20-22 etc, my Alfine8 came with the 20T as standard, it`s now on a 16T as you say the 11 isn`t as robust as the Alfine8
March 25, 20188 yr I had an 18 rear sprocket and changed for a 16t. It was exactly the ticket May have been Tommie who suggested this. An hour or so and a couple of you tube videos to follow.....job done and bike is a different beast . Brilliant , effective cheap solution (mine is an alfine 8). My sprocket came from an lbs for a tenner . Cheaper online. Do note that it is a nexus 16t not alfine but totally interchangeable even if not recommended by shimano. You be searching a long time for a 16t alfine (as I discovered the hard way!) I will be doing the same job again to flip the sprocket 180degrees for a better chain line
March 25, 20188 yr I had an Alfine 11 on an unpowered MTB and it was useless. The lowest gear was far too high, no way of lowering it enough to make it useable and it was always problematic so why this was sold as an MTB is anybody's guess. I did consider motorising this bike but decided it would only make things worse.. It would seem that the older Alfine 8 is a more robust gearbox..The Alfine was designed for road use,never intended for MTBing. I don't think any of the IGH were designed to be driven by electric motor. Because some are more over engineered than others they get away with it.
March 25, 20188 yr The Alfine was designed for road use,never intended for MTBing. I don't think any of the IGH were designed to be driven by electric motor. Because some are more over engineered than others they get away with it. Not designed for, but with it taking 130 nM torque the Rohloff is more than adequate. Quite frankly the Nexus/Alfine 8s don't have enough range to be useful on anything but rolling hills and if you gear them low enough for mountains they are outside the torque limit...
March 25, 20188 yr A hub-motor will sort all that. No need to go for complicated expensive solutions, which will certainly bring new problems. Mine has a hub motor.
March 25, 20188 yr Not designed for, but with it taking 130 nM torque the Rohloff is more than adequate. Quite frankly the Nexus/Alfine 8s don't have enough range to be useful on anything but rolling hills and if you gear them low enough for mountains they are outside the torque limit... My 8 speed works extremely well over very varied terrain and has an ample range of ratios. The problem seems to be with the newer 11 speed hubs and the newer motors.
March 25, 20188 yr Mine has a hub motor. Try doing what I do then. Buy the cheapest chain. Don't clean it, but give it a squirt of gear oil every time it starts making grinding noises. My chains last about 5000 miles. I wore one chainwheel at the same mileage, but it was well-used when I installed it, so it might have done a huge mileage. I've never worn any cassettes yet.
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