Shimano Alfine 8
- Shimano SG-S7000-8, centre lock for disc brakes
- 8 gears
- 306% Total gear ratio
- Straight-toothed planetary gearbox, needle/ball bearings
- 1670 grammes
- Rapidfire Plus thumb throttle, upper button can be pressed forwards or backwards (2-way release), one gear per shifting operation
- Annual inspection, immerse gear unit in oil bath, replace grease
- recommended chainring/sprocket factor: 2-2.25
Shimano Alfine 11
- Shimano SG-S700, centre lock for disc brakes
- 11 gears
- 409% Total gear ratio
- Helical gearbox, needle bearing mounted
- 1665 grammes
- Rapidfire Plus thumb trigger, upper button can be pressed forwards or backwards (2-way release), up to 2 gears per shift (multi-release)
- First oil change after 1000 km; then every 5000 km or 2 years
- Recommended chainring/sprocket factor: 1.8-2
Comment: It's all a matter of attitude
Both Alfine gears can be shifted crisply and precisely and can be ridden silently if you set them up correctly and occasionally readjust the cable length. The setting works like this: In the reference gear (No.4/Alfine 8, No. 6/Alfine 11), the yellow markings on the hub must match exactly. Then gently shift through all gears once and check the markings again. Then shift through the gears again with a swing. Check the parallelism again and retighten the adjusting screw on the gear lever if necessary. The gear hubs react sensitively to dropouts that are not exactly parallel, unevenly tightened axle bolts, cables that are too long or too tight and worn or dirty shift cables. Shimano recommends the sealed, coated SP-41 cable housing with grease reservoir. Jochen Donner, Test Manager
