I've analyzed many of the top tier bicycle
gearboxes on this channel, but have spent little time discussing the Shimano internal gear hubs
that offer almost unbelievable value for money. So, just how good is a $200 Shimano hub? And should you switch from your derailleur
gear system to an internal gear hub? I will answer all of this and much more
in this in-depth Shimano Alfine video. I've actually spent many years using and
abusing Alfine hubs, including on a mountain bike that I built specifically for wet and
muddy conditions. But over the last decade, I've been riding around the world on expensive
Rohloff 14-speed hubs. With a good handle on both gear systems, I'll be drawing comparisons
between these hubs throughout this presentation. But first, what is an internal gear
hub? And what are the advantages? Internal gear hubs replace the derailleur
gears on a bicycle, and you can actually remove the derailleur drivetrain from your bike
and fit one up. Internal gear hubs usually offer between 3 and 14 different gear ratios that
are hidden inside a weather sealed hub shell. As a result, you get a significant
reduction in drivetrain maintenance, and with fewer components exposed to the
elements - a reduction in running costs too. For example, I've known shimano hubs to work
well for around 90,000km. Add in the nine chains, six rear sprockets, and three front sprockets
that your drivetrain will wear through over that distance, and you're looking at under $350 to
ride more than twice the circumference of Earth! Additionally, should you crash or drop your bike, there is no rear derailleur or hanger to
put out of alignment, or worse, destroy. Other nice features include the ability to
shift gears while stationary, and the rear wheel can also be built stronger thanks to
the shorter spokes and even spoke tension. To cut down on drivetrain
maintenance even further, you can pair internal gear hubs with belt
drivetrains. These drivetrains are cleaner, quieter, and longer-lasting. In fact,
they can last upwards of 30,000km. I've been riding belt drivetrains across
multiple continents for over a decade now, and have worn through just
four belts in that time. In terms of gear hub manufacturers, Rohloff
and Kindernay make very expensive hubs that in many circumstances can outperform derailleurs.
Sturmy Archer has manufactured internal gear hubs for over a century. And Shimano is easily the
biggest manufacturer of gear hubs on the planet. Let's now take a closer look at
the Shimano Alfine hubs. But first, if you haven't seen my Bikepacking and Touring
Bicycle Buyer's Guides - check them out. They are updated yearly for free and will teach you
everything you need to know about the bikes before allowing you to compare over
270 different bikes at the back of the books. I've even included all
the gearbox bike options too. Shimano released their first internal gear hub in
1957 and has slowly built on their multi-speed hub designs ever since. The Alfine series components
come under the urban umbrella in Shimano's product range, and they're the highest quality
internal gear hubs that Shimano manufactures. You can get Alfine hubs with either 8 or 11 gears.
These hubs offer unparalleled value for money. You can find the eight-speed hubs for less than
$200 and the eleven-speed hubs for under $400. That's orders of magnitude cheaper
than a Rohloff 14-speed hub. The low cost of the Alfine products also
translates into complete bikes that are very well priced. For about $1000 or €1000, you can
get an eight-speed bike with a belt drivetrain, that's fully decked out and ready to go. Keep an eye out for bikes with Shimano Nexus
8 speed hubs too, as these hubs are virtually identical to the Alfine 8 speed with the
exception of the brake types available. Also note, that Alfine hubs are only
compatible with regular 135mm dropouts. Let's now take a look at the
differences between the 8 and 11-speed models. First
up, it's the gear range. The gear range of the 8-speed hub is 306% and
the 11-speed hub is 409%. This simply means that the biggest gear ratio is three times
bigger than the smallest ratio on the Alfine 8, and it's four times bigger on the Alfine 11. With bigger gear ranges, we can pedal our
bikes across a broader range of speeds, which is especially handy for pedalling
downhill or with a stiff tail wind. To understand this concept a bit better, let's
set the lowest Alfine gears so that they have you spinning the cranks at 60 rpm at 8.4kph. The
wider gear range of the 11-speed hub will allow you to pedal up to 56kph in the top gear, while
the 8-speed hub will only take you up to 43kph. Next, we're comparing the gear steps. Gear steps
are the percentage difference in gear ratio when you change your gears. A bike with smaller
gear steps is particularly nice at higher speeds, as you can better fine-tune your gears to achieve
the cadence you're most comfortable riding. The Shimano Alfine 8-speed averages 17% gear steps
across its gear range. To give you a sense of how this compares to a derailleur drivetrain, it's a
bit higher than a 1X mountain bike drivetrain. In comparison, with the exception of the first gear
(which is an unusually large gear step of 29%), the Alfine 11 averages a much smaller 13.5%. This is more like a 1X gravel
bike cassette with 11-42T sprockets. It's worth noting that the
11-speed hub offers consistent and predictable gear steps throughout its range.
In comparison, the 8-speed hub has 14% to 22% steps between the gears, which means that
gear changes won't feel quite as predictable. The lubrication system is another
difference between the hubs. The Alfine 11-speed hub operates inside an
oil bath. The big advantage of this design is that it is hard for water and debris to move
their way inside the hub shell. The downside is that oil slowly leaks out the side, so you
will need to wipe everything down regularly. In comparison, the Alfine 8-speed rolls
on thicker greases and oils. This is a pretty fuss-free design, although if it's not
grease-packed appropriately for wet environments, water can and will work its way into the hub. We can also compare the drive efficiency of these
hubs. Interestingly, both Shimano Alfine hubs average around 90% drive efficiency, although
the eight-speed hub has gears that are both more and less efficient than the 11 speed.
This is approximately 5 to 7% less efficient than a clean and well-lubricated derailleur
drivetrain, but note that this doesn't mean you'll be 5 to 7% slower on an Alfine bike.
When you do the maths, it's closer to 2% or a minute per hour slower when compared
to a well-lubricated derailleur drivetrain. That said, in poor weather conditions it's
not unfeasible for the Alfine hubs to work out more efficient, as there are fewer places in
the drivetrain for mud and debris to get caught. The weight of both Shimano Alfine hubs is about
1.7KG. To give you a frame of reference normal rear hubs are often under 500G. It might sound
like an Alfine hub will add a significant amount of weight to a bike, but when we peg Alfine bikes
against derailleur bikes at similar price points, we often end up with a weight
penalty of less than half a kilogram. And the lightest Alfine bike
I've ever seen was just 7.6KG! Let's now compare the cheap Shimano
Alfine hubs to expensive Rohloff hubs. Rohloff hubs are generally considered
the gold standard of internal gear hubs as they are built incredibly well and experience
very few failures. They also offer 14 gears across a 526% gear range, which is about the
same as a modern mountain bike drivetrain. In addition, they've been tested to be
around 4% more efficient than the Alfine hubs across the gear range. There is even
a guy out there who has cycled 430,000KM on a Rohloff hub, which is about five
times the life expectancy of an Alfine hub. These are all great characteristics, but the Shimano hubs are actually better than
a Rohloff hub in a number of ways! In fact, on balance, I think the Alfine hub
is the best hub for most people. So, what is better about the Shimano Alfine hubs? The biggest reason for me is that they
run significantly quieter, especially in the lower gear ratios. The Rohloff hub is
particularly noisy in gears five, six and seven. The price of an Alfine hub is more than $1000 less than a Rohloff setup, resulting in
a great price-to-performance ratio. Alfine hubs are built around a trigger shifter, which many people prefer over
Rohloff's twist shifter design. You can use some Alfine hubs with electronic
shifters that will complete perfect shifts every time, as there is no cable housing
that can be affected by mud or grit. Alfine hubs also tend to be better for
drop bar bikes as they're compatible with various aftermarket shifters, or even
the Shimano Di2 electronic shift levers. I've just mentioned that Alfine hubs are excellent
thanks to their electronic shifting, so let's take a closer look at those components. You might be
thinking that electronic shifting is a bit of a gimmick, but when you understand how Alfine hubs
shift - it can be worthwhile. This is because it's the shifter that controls the alignment
of the planetary gears in an Alfine hub. That means that improper cable adjustment and
dirty or damaged cables can prevent the hubs internal components from engaging properly, which
can result in gear slipping, grinding, or worse - internal components breaking inside
the hub and making a mess of things. Electronic shifters make perfect shifts every time,
ensuring you do not damage anything inside the hub from improper cable maintenance. Out of the two
Alfine hubs, electronic shifters make the most sense on the 11 speed model, as the cable adjustment
is especially sensitive. It's worth noting that you cannot upgrade Alfine hubs from a
mechanical shifter to an electronic shifter. The Di2 hub design is different. Electronic
shifters are also nice on dropbar bikes as you can easily pair them with Shimano hydraulic
brakes for an ultra-low maintenance brake setup. Additionally, the Di2 dropper levers can be
programmed in a number of ways. You can change the buttons so that your left hand shifts down, and
your right hand shifts up. And you can hold the buttons and shift multiple gears at once. Let's now
discuss how Alfine hubs feel to ride in comparison to Rohloff hubs. In terms of ride feel, the Alfine
hubs are 'spongy' compared to Rohloff hubs due to the use of roller clutches inside the hub. You
can actually see how much forward movement there is in the hub when you step on the pedals from
stationary. When riding, this is only noticeable if you mash your pedals at a slow cadence. It's not at
all noticeable at higher cadences. The gear steps are actually quite similar between the Rohloff and
Alfine 11 for the most part. The thing you might miss is the extra wide gear range of the Rohloff.
The shifting on the Alfine hub is incredibly fast when the shift cable and cassette joint are
running perfectly. But when either of these components get muddy or gritty, shifting is not
as instantaneous as a Rohloff hub. The Rohloff holds the advantage here, as the gear indexing
is inside the hub rather than from the shifter. My focus on this channel is bike travel. So, can
you use Alfine hubs for touring and bikepacking? You will find lots of people who have successfully
completed bike trips on Shimano Alfine hubs. In fact, the around the world record was
once set on a Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub. But there are two things that prevent
me from recommending Alfine hubs to all bike travellers. Please note, that these issues
do not apply to everybody in every situation. Firstly, Shimano Alfine hubs have a lack of
low climbing gears. Low climbing gears are important for bicycle touring as they allow
you to ride up hills at a sustainable effort with all of your luggage. When your climbing gear
is too high, you'll be working much harder than necessary, which results in more muscle fatigue,
and frankly, makes hills much less enjoyable. Ultimately, the Alfine hubs are optimized for
urban use, which usually means getting around town on flatter terrain. Shimano's lowest recommended
gear ratio on the alfine hubs is 1.8:1 and 2:1. When we calculate the climbing gear that this
yields in gear inches - it's simply not low enough for most bike travel. And it's not by a little
bit either. The first gear on the Alfine is about the same as the fifth gear on my Rohloff bike!
Riding up steep hills with an Alfine hub either requires more power output, or a lower pedalling
cadence, both of which will tire you out faster. And secondly, I have concerns about reliability,
repairability, and spare parts. For touring an internal gear hub needs to be super reliable.
This is absolutely paramount. Getting an Alfine hub fixed can waste a lot of time, potentially ruining
a trip. Now, Alfine hubs are often very reliable, especially the 8-speed model. But it's still not
uncommon to hear of people having problems with them. I wouldn't be too concerned about
servicing and spare parts in the UK or Europe, as internal gear hubs are common, and you
are often close to a bike shop that can help. In the USA, it's probably okay too as long as you're
happy to ship your wheel to a gear hub specialist. But in the more remote parts of the world,
you should be prepared to ship your wheel internationally for a repair. You could say
the same thing about a Rohloff hub, but with their track record for reliability - it's a very
safe bet. Let's now talk about maintenance and damage prevention of your Alfine hub. Shimano
Alfine hubs are low maintenance, but they are not zero maintenance. Here are three things you can do
to keep your Alfine hub reliable for many years to come. Number one: shift cable maintenance.
If you learn how to tune the Alfine gears and maintain your cables you will likely have
no problems with your hub. In the electronic shifting section I discussed, in detail, why cable
maintenance will prevent gear slipping, grinding, or internal components from breaking inside
the hub and making a mess of things. Keeping your cable adjusted properly will prevent
internal damage. As the 11-speed hubs are much more sensitive to cable adjustments, you will need
to keep a closer eye on its shifting components. Number two: make careful gearshifts. It's best
practice to ease your pedal power momentarily when you change gears. I'm talking just a fraction
of a second here! This is because you can damage your hub by putting high loads into the internal
components before the shift is 100% complete. And number three: check the lubrication. As the oil
slowly seeps out of the 11 speed hubs, you will need to conduct regular oil changes. The first oil
change is the most important one, and it's after just 500km. After that, it's every two
years or 5000km. If you are using the eight-speed hub in wet and gritty conditions,
make sure to get the hub re-greased every year. The grease helps to keep water and grit out of the
hub, and will vastly improve the life of the hub. I'm now going to discuss lowering the recommended
gear ratio. Some Alfine users have reported using ultra-low gear ratios to achieve a
similar climbing gear to my touring bike, and with no problems at all. But I'd be careful
here, especially if you're a heavier and more powerful rider. With an ultra-low gear ratio
a 100kg/220lb rider can stand on the pedals and put 143Nm into an Alfine hub, which
is more than the maximum input torque that even Rohloff allows. And that's a hub rated for tandem
use. Your body weight is critical for minimizing input torque. With a 1.2:1 gear ratio, a 50kg rider only puts 72Nm into the hub when standing on the pedals. But if an
80kg rider did the same thing, they would put 115Nm into the hub, increasing
the chance of internal damage. Here's a table I made that shows the minimum gear ratios one could
use without exceeding 100Nm of torque. But use it at your own risk, and please don't tell
Shimano! Let's now go a little bit deeper into the reliability issues of some Alfine hubs. The name
Alfine is derived from the phrase "always fine", but a quick search online reveals endless forums with
examples of Alfine hubs that didn't do their job. The main culprit is the S700 11-speed hub
that was in production between 2010 and 2017. Oil leaks were aplenty, the cassette joints
sometimes had manufacturing defects, and if the shift cable was not adjusted correctly,
internal damage was much more probable. The latest S7001 11-speed hubs employ six new internal
components that were redesigned to prevent damage, but these hubs do still leak some oil that
periodically needs to be wiped off the hub. Out of the two Alfine hubs, the eight-speed version
is still considered to be the most durable option. I'm now going to discuss pairing
Alfine hubs with e-bike motors. The S7001 series Alfine hubs are rated for e-bike
use, but be careful as the maximum torque of the motor will need to be on the low side. While there
is no official torque rating for the Alfine hubs, the STEPS E6000 internal gear drivetrain comes
with a 50Nm motor, so we can assume it's about that. Speaking of the STEPS internal
gear drivetrains, they're super cool. The Alfine 8 Di2 hub can be set to automatically change gears
for you based on your speed, cadence and torque. In summary, Alfine hubs are excellent, and for
many people out there, I think they're a better option than the Rohloff hub. This is because
they're cheaper, quieter, and employ trigger or neat dropbar shifters. I especially like
the drop bar electronic shifting option. With an Alfine equipped bike, you will enjoy
just how easy, cheap and low maintenance an internal gear drivetrain is. Better
yet, pair an Alfine hub with belt drive, and enjoy a grease-free and long-lasting
drivetrain for years to come. I recommend the 8-speed version for a simple grocery getter, or
for someone who simply wants a bike that works. For someone who rides a bit more seriously, the 11
speed version offers smaller and more predictable gear steps, along with the wider gear range. I don't
usually recommend Alfine hubs for touring and bikepacking, due to the climbing gear ratio that's too
high, and fact that mechanical problems are not completely unheard of. This is where a long-lasting
and robust Rohloff drivetrain clearly wins out. But if you ride flatter trips, and keep on top of
the maintenance, Alfine hubs can work great.
