Nothing about a shifter for drop-bars then?

+1 for drop bar lever. Something else for J-Tek to develop!

I like it, I'll be very interested to see if they've maintained / improved on the mechanical efficiency and flat out silence of the 8sp one. Still not really sure about using one on an MTB though as they don't really shift under load but perhaps just learning a bit of new technique would be enough

I wonder if the '11 8sp alfine (assuming they're not dropping it...?) will be even lighter still ... now that would be news....

What, like these?

http://www.sidewayscycles.com/products/index.php?id=964&clid=26

Imagine that on the back with a Hammerschmidt on the front...

Looks like a singlespeed, but wait...

Shaggy Dog

Imagine the resistance and losses of trying to pedal through two gear-boxes...!

I rode a diamondback bike equipped with the cheaper nexus hubs and that wasn't half bad that little gearbox, however the alfine's catch my attention purely because i reckon that bolted to the back of a freeride rig they'd really shine. The nexus had a solid feel once in gear that nothing i'd rode with conventional gears could compare to, never any issues with chain skipping and more durable with less to get damaged in a crash (always a bugger when you bend a derallier and it won't shift right again) If this is in my price bracket i'll be reserving mine and shall find out myself if it's freeride friendly

Anybody know where I could find load/torque/speed specifications for hub gearboxes of any brand/model? (Shimano/SRAM, Alfine/i9)

All I've been able to find is generic descriptions suggesting they're only suitable for flat-rolling terrain and NOT suitable for load carrying, e.g., taller/heavier riders, shopping/touring.

Based on that I've had thought using them for mtb would be outside their design brief. Could/would the manufacturer reject warranty claims on that basis?

Or are we perhaps seeing hub gearboxes become more consumable items the way derailleur drivetrains already are?

andrewc, try

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/alfine-shimano

or here:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html

Please, please, pretty please, start making this gear hub stuff compatible with regular shifters....

Why would they make it compatible with ordinary shifters?

They would then be constrained by the amount of gears and cable pull that a normal shifter can achieve.

They wouldn't (for instance) be able to tweak the amount of pull to adjust leverage.

"The internals have been revamped with the introduction of helical cogs, as found in car gearboxes, which have angled rather than straight-cut teeth for a more gradual engagement"

The author is talking bull.... epicyclic gearboxes always have the gears engaged. They use a clutch or ratchet mechanism to lock various ratios to transmit the drive.

fastbike25 Posted Sat 26 Jun, 12:07 pm BST

'"The internals have been revamped with the introduction of helical cogs, as found in car gearboxes, which have angled rather than straight-cut teeth for a more gradual engagement"

The author is talking bull.... epicyclic gearboxes always have the gears engaged. They use a clutch or ratchet mechanism to lock various ratios to transmit the drive.'

The author is not talking bull.

You are confusing tooth engagement with gear engagement. Car/motorcycle gearboxes are no different from epicyclic gearboxes; they are all constant-mesh. Car/motorcycle gearboxes do indeed have angled/helical gears/cogs. The design engineers specify helical cogs because helical teeth engage more gradually and so are both quieter and smoother.

So why would Shimano, or anyone else for that matter, have ever bothered with straight-cut cogs? Because straight-cut cogs are slightly more efficient at transmitting power. Why is also why all racing cars/motorcycles have straight-cut boxes. After all, who cares about a bit ofgearbox whine if you can go faster?

I am guessing that Shimano is moving to helical gears for smoothness/quietness, and is offsetting the power loss by moving to oil bath lubrication. And has presumably overcome the oil sealing problems that accompany the shift to oil bath.

I see the "author", whoever he was, seems to have deleted his post. Shame, he should have stuck to his guns.

Delete last sentence; the author is not a poster he is the author of the original article.

I've just completed a road bike build using a Raleigh Reynolds 531c steel road frame, 700c wheels with tubs, drops etc and a new all Alfine 8 spd drive train. Early days but it seems really great to me, silent smooth and quick shifting. For road work the overall range is more than enough and my only slight criticism would be the slightly wide steps between ratios. The 11 speed increases the overall range which in my view isnot needed for road work, but a version of the 11 speed with similar overall range to the 8 spd but closer steps would to my mind be perfect - please produce one Shimano, but preferably at a more affordable price too! I don't understand why the 11 spd needs to be more than double the cost of an 8 spd hub.

There are 11 speed Alfines for sale on Ebay at the moment

Can i use the Alfine 11 with two speed up front, like slx for instance??. And what would i need as a chain tensioner?

anyone know of any other companies using the alfine 11 hub besides brodie?

http://www.brodiebikes.com/2011/bikes/once.php