The modern gear hub renaissance began with Shimano's Nexus Inter-8. This new 8-speed hub was designed to be sporty, easy to use, durable, low-maintenance - and yet affordable. Three years later, the Japanese company derived a more sophisticated version from this: Appearance Alfine, which was given its own "groupset" for the first time - i.e. gear levers, cranks, later hub dynamo and disc brakes, in a coordinated design and in a comparable performance class. The chic appearance of the Alfine groupset has made a significant contribution to transforming once well-behaved, low-maintenance hub gear bikes into desirable lifestyle objects.
The Alfine 8 uses largely the same gearing as the Nexus, but is packaged in a much more modern way: it is housed in a shiny aluminium casing and has a disc brake mount. The eight runs in an internal grease pack, which should be replaced every one to two years during an inspection and the removed gearbox should be immersed in an oil bath. Its gear jumps are irregular between around 14 and 18 per cent. These gaps are not so annoying, but there is a full 22.2 per cent between the frequently used gears 5 and 6: this is noticeable and can interrupt the "flow". The total gear ratio is 307 per cent. Limits apply to the primary ratio of chainring to sprocket: The ratio of the number of teeth should be between 2 and 2.25. This corresponds to a difference of two to three teeth. This corresponds to a difference of two to three teeth when selecting the sprocket. This is to limit the pedalling force applied and to avoid overloading the gearbox. With only one or a maximum of two uphill gears, the Alfine 8 is not recommended for frequent, steep or long climbs. A luggage load reduces its mountain-compatible gears to just one. On flat terrain, you are usually in gear 6 or 7 when travelling at speed, which is not enough for hilly terrain. For this reason, and probably also to reduce the gap to the more universally geared and extremely durable Rohloff hub, the Shimano engineers designed the larger Alfine11 from scratch.
Chic Alfine design makes bikes with hub gears sexy again
The 11-speed Alfine appeared in 2011 and shifts with a partially helical gearbox - in contrast to the straight-toothed 8-speed gearbox, this apparently increased shifting efficiency, smoothness and durability. Another new feature is that the 11-speed gearbox runs in an oil bath. This means that an initial oil change is necessary after 1000 kilometres, and subsequent changes every 5000 kilometres or two years. The Alfine 11 starts in first gear with the same ratio as the 8-speed. Gear reduction is not possible with either hub. However, the gears of the Alfine 11 follow each other more closely and more regularly than those of its little sister. The range covers 409 per cent and jumps in steps between 13 and 14 per cent, except from gear one to two. The large gear step (29.2 per cent) is not as noticeable there, as you rarely spend much time there. The largest gear of the eight corresponds to gear nine of the eleven. It is followed by two heavy gears on top. So the Alfine 11 is not made for mountain goats either. However, thanks to its narrower gear range, there are about two "mountain gears" with luggage and three without a load, depending on the percentage of incline. On the flat, you pedal in gear 8 as the most frequently used gear.
Here, too, there are limits to the primary gear ratio: to rule out overload, the chainring to sprocket ratio is a factor of 1.8 to 2. Almost all test bikes comply with these limits. The Raleigh is two, the BMC eight hundredths above the limits. This puts more stress on the two gear hubs than desired. The limits always include a certain safety cushion, so we consider these small overruns to be tolerable.
Conclusion test ride: It often doesn't matter whether there are 8 or 11 gears in the hub
The Alfine 11 has a slightly lighter primary gear ratio than the 8, but there are still more heavy gears. In comparison, the 11 allows you to ride uphill in about one gear more varied, with a good two more high gears for bolting downhill. At the same time, its tighter gear sequence does not leave such large gaps in speed, so it is also a little smoother biomechanically because it is more adaptable. For the 8, the main focus is on flat terrain with only small and short climbs, as well as everyday and short journeys without luggage. Its big sister, the Alfine 11, on the other hand, can be rated as suitable for all-round touring and a little more incline-friendly. It would not be ideal for use in the Alps, but you can get by with it even there. It makes it easy to carry luggage, and with an unloaded bike you can even manage tough climbs quite well.
An ideal partner for hub gears is the (almost) maintenance-free belt drive: half of our test bikes do without an oily chain. It is difficult to estimate the additional cost of the belt. Belts and sprocket pulleys cost around 250 euros more, but high costs are also incurred in frame construction: The seat stay must be divisible, the rear triangle must be manufactured more precisely and with greater torsional rigidity. Our cheapest belt-driven bike is the Raleigh at 1399 euros. The cheapest test bike overall comes from Rabeneick, has a chain and costs 1000 euros. The most expensive bike at 3189 euros comes from Utopia: it has a chain! Here, the elaborate frame, low quantities and many customised accessories are the main price drivers.
The article was published in Trekkingbike issue 5/2016.
You can download the individual articles as PDF files here.
