Upgrade to Alfine hub

MrChuck

The drivetrain on my commuter will need replacing soon and I've been idly wondering about an Alfine or Nexus hub. Apart from a new wheel (are there any factory ones around?) and shifters what would I need to change, and would it just end up costing silly money? It's a Trek hybrid and at the moment I've got the standard Deore triple setup.

laughingboy

I'm really interested in the newer top-of-the-line hub gears, too. The SRAM i-Motion 9-speed, the Sunrace Sturmey Archer 8-speed, and the Alfine all sound good. The Nexus sounds perfectly adequate, and the NuVinci hub sounds like a great hub as long as excessive weight is not an issue, too.

This thread on the CTC forum might help.

Here is my - admittedly limited - understanding:

You can get Alfine-compatible shifters for drop bar bikes, but they are not yet made by Shimano.

You might need to change your chainwheel or bottom bracket so that the chain line is correct, too. And you need to buy the right hub for the size of the gap between your rear dropouts. It could get pretty complicated unless you do your research.

In practical terms, the exchange rate is working against you at the moment, so you might want to get your skates on - it may end up costing you more, the longer you wait. Some of last year's commuter bikes, including the folding Dahon Cadenza 8, the Trek Soho 4, , the Bianchi Camaleonte III, and Specialized's Globe Centrum Comp, had an Alfine Hub. So if you are lucky you might be able to pick up a bargain bike as the easiest option.

MrChuck

Hmm, sounds like it's barely worth doing as an upgrade- I think I'd quickly get up to almost what the bike cost to begin with! Think I'll stick with derailleurs for a while yet.

mtbhenry888

you can get alfines built into wheels with the shifter for around the £200 i think (dont quote me on it) just do a google search and they come up.

you will need a chain tensioner though as you will have vertical dropouts and theres no easy way getting chain tension without a tensioner shimnano do make a specific tensioner for the alfine though, about £20?