Alfine 8spd internal hub

I have a bike that I've been developing. The 28er. It is meant to be the fictional 'one bike'. A bike that can be used on road, off road, commute, full dirt. It will never exist as everyone should know, but a real bike geek will always dream of attainment.

The rise of the Alfine

Alfine is Shimano's high end cruiser parts group. 2009 brings this group to the USA. Along with it a nice internal 8spd disc hub.

Parts and Cost

Alfine SGS501 32h Disc brake 8-spd Internal hub Black, QBP# HU7887, $275.00 (MSRP)
Alfine SL-S500 8spd Shift lever Black, QBP# LD5705, $50.00 (MSRP)
Alfine SG-S501 small parts kit, QBP# HU7889, $15.00 (MSRP)
Nexus 16 tooth cog, black, QBP# FW7016

The good

The hub itself is fantastic. It works impressively well. shifting under power, while coasting, while pedaling with only minor blips. I'm hoping figuring out the cable finesse will eliminate all of those.

The bad

Almost everything about the shifter sucks. You can't remove the display, it's low normal, it doesn't have 2 way triggers, the look is just gross. Most noticable is that you are only able to shift one gear at a time. Skipping a few sometimes would make a big difference.

A drop bar hydro STI lever would rule, I'd also like to know if other 8spd STI levers will work with the system.

The hub is heavy. It's weigh in the rear is odd since I am not used to this.

I will be doing more testing to see about seals and offroad performance.

Weight

The Alfine system added 3.5 lbs to the single speed bike weight. While a bit much for pure perfomance, it is in range for someone looking for a bombproof clean drivetrain with good performance.

Gear Reduction

Gear Ratio Total Difference 3.07

Gear Ratio 1 0.527

Gear Ratio 2 0.644

Gear Ratio 3 0.748

Gear Ratio 4 0.851

Gear Ratio 5 1.0

Gear Ratio 6 1.223

Gear Ratio 7 1.419

Gear Ratio 8 1.615

Chainring & Sprocket Choice

I did my first ride as a commute to work. Golden Gate Bridge to Daly City. A perfect sample of San Francisco riding.

I had 32/16 primary gearing with the absolute worst tires for this test, 700x45c knobbies.

The gearing range was near perfect. For street use, I suspect that 34/16 will be really nice with 700x38 slicks, possibly taller.

I will test the 32/16 offroad this weekend.

Cable and Housing

I noticed that the stock cable housing was totally dry out of the box. I lubed the cable with Shimano Special Grease for SP41. That should help from the get go. I also used a sealed end with a grommet at the hub end. I do this on all my cable runs. Makes a huge difference in the life of the housing.

http://img1.qbp.com/6SPsvm45/prodl/LU8403.jpg Shimano SIS SP41 Grease, 50g, Y04180000

http://img1.qbp.com/6SPsvm45/prodl/CA1067.jpg Shimano 4mm sealed end caps, Y6AM98080