# Alfine 8 Shifter Indicator Broken



## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Hi all. Last night I changed the cog on my Alfine 8 and when I put the wheel back on the bike and connected the cable, somehow the shifter indicator skipped 2 positions down. 1st gear is lower than the first gear line (partially hidden beneath the housing) and 8th gear lands somewhere below the 7 indicator line. 

The actual shifting works fine. Nothing wrong with the hub or the cable at all. Its just the indicator on the shifter somehow moved to the left and doesn't indicate the actual gear its in anymore. Has anyone ever run into this?


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Never mind. I figured it out. I just disassembled the indicator. The whole indicator assembly is the top cover of the shifter, held in by 2 screws. Inside, there's a small white plastic wheel with 2 guide prongs that push the actual indicator left and right. The prong for the indicator guide is tiny and jumped out of the guide.

Now here's the reason why - the clear plastic cover with the gear markings on it is glued on to the top of the indicator housing. When I flipped the bike over to remove the wheel, the clear cover came unglued and got pushed in causing the indicator to get stuck so when I shifted, the prong jumped out of the indicator guide.

This is such a horrible design. Doesn't shimano know that people turn their bikes upside down for maintenance? The clear cover is already scratched up and that's bad enough, but now the entire indicator is broken. I can fix the cover with some superglue, but I'm sure it will not hold and it certainly will not prevent more scratches. Why didn't they put the indicator so its on the bottom of the handle bar instead of the top? So stupid.


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## Andy R (Nov 26, 2008)

It's not the most robust of designs admittedly, but I don't get this whole turning the bike upside down to remove a wheel thing - it's far easier to do with the bike the right way up, plus you don't damage brake levers, shifters, saddles on stony ground.

You do see a lot of people doing this though and it's one of my pet hates (oh, you guessed?). From when I first started to ride a bike my father told me never to do it and, 55 years later, it's something that I never have.


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Well, I don't know about the easier part, but doing it right side up certainly saves the saddle and stuff on your bars. The indicator on my shifter is all scratched up at this point and I do have some foam exposed at the rear of my saddle. Maybe someone should invent some kind of bar/saddle attachment that keeps your stuff clean when the bike is upside down. 

How do you keep the bike upright on the trail if you have to change a tube?


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## pursuiter (May 28, 2008)

Andy R said:


> ...I don't get this whole turning the bike upside down to remove a wheel thing...it's one of my pet hates...55 years later...


Sheesh, I though I was a grouch, who has time for hating at your age?


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## Andy R (Nov 26, 2008)

Corporal Punishment said:


> Well, I don't know about the easier part, but doing it right side up certainly saves the saddle and stuff on your bars. The indicator on my shifter is all scratched up at this point and I do have some foam exposed at the rear of my saddle. Maybe someone should invent some kind of bar/saddle attachment that keeps your stuff clean when the bike is upside down.
> 
> How do you keep the bike upright on the trail if you have to change a tube?


Once I have the wheel out I just lay it (the bike, that is) on the ground.


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## Andy R (Nov 26, 2008)

pursuiter said:


> Sheesh, I though I was a grouch, who has time for hating at your age?


What's the point of being nearly 60 if you can't be an old curmudgeon?rft:


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

many a time I have hung it from a branch by the nose of the saddle... but I will turn in over if it's in a field or something.. If I do I always have rags or Paper towel in my Pack I use to protect stuff...



Andy R said:


> What's the point of being nearly 60 if you can't be an old curmudgeon?rft:


sit at home yelling at the kids to "get off my lawn!!" a lot?


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Andy R said:


> What's the point of being nearly 60 if you can't be an old curmudgeon?rft:


LOL. But seriously, if my bike can't take the beating I'm putting on it, then I don't want to ride it. I want my bike to be military grade, USMC approved, bombproof reliable. I don't care about a few paint scratches. I want it to get me out of the woods no matter how deep I put myself in there. If I could only buy a run-flat tire, I think I would just about be there.  Putting an IGH on was a big step forward on the no-maintenance / no-breakdown front. I hope it proves to be as reliable as I think it will be.


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

Corporal Punishment said:


> ........... If I could only buy a run-flat tire, I think I would just about be there. ..................


:idea: could always.......









always kinda wanted to try just filling a tire with this crap and seeing how it rides... never have flats again!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

LOL that's great! Fill the tire with foam. Never flat! I should try that sometime just for S's and giggles... 

By the way, I took a step backward on my bombproof project. Broke a spoke at CHP on the little jump playground or on the way back to the trailhead - not sure which (I know you're a C.L.I.M.B.er, TL  ).

Anyway, that might be due to my first time wheel building skillz or possibly partially due to the double butted spokes I used. According to Sheldon Brown, the double butted ones are supposed to stretch a bit causing the moment force to shift to the other spokes around it forming an arch effect on the rim. I don't know how they make them double butted, but if they're made from 3 pieces then maybe it was a bad "joint". Or maybe its my wheel building skillz that don't illz. Rim looks OK.


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

Corporal Punishment said:


> LOL that's great! Fill the tire with foam. Never flat! I should try that sometime just for S's and giggles...


ya... I keep thinking that myself... be funny as all hell 



Corporal Punishment said:


> By the way, I took a step backward on my bombproof project. Broke a spoke at CHP on the little jump playground or on the way back to the trailhead - not sure which (I know you're a C.L.I.M.B.er, TL  ).
> 
> Anyway, that might be due to my first time wheel building skillz or possibly partially due to the double butted spokes I used. According to Sheldon Brown, the double butted ones are supposed to stretch a bit causing the moment force to shift to the other spokes around it forming an arch effect on the rim. I don't know how they make them double butted, but if they're made from 3 pieces then maybe it was a bad "joint". Or maybe its my wheel building skillz that don't illz. Rim looks OK.


nope,.. double butted are usually these days "rolled" Dub Butt spokes are actually stronger in the sense that they will stretch a tad where a straight spoke is "stiffer" but has no flex so they will break at the bend in the hub easier as the joint gets more fatigued during use.

where's the spoke break? if it did beak at the hub/bend it could be it was too tight or.. to loose. the hole in the hub will give you a sign of which as if it's too tight the hole will most likely be elongated out, where if it was too loose you'll see a wear mark on the inner side of the hole in the hub..

or ya could have just sucked a trail snake and not known it,....?


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

It broke at the joint where the narrow and normal width come together closest to the rim. So I have 4/5 of a spoke hanging from the flange and 1/5 from the rim. What really sucks is that I borrowed most of the tools I used for my IGH project (spoke wrench, BB tool, etc) so now I have to go out and buy this stuff so I can repair it. My pal that loaned me the tools lives far away and I may not see him for another week.


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

Corporal Punishment said:


> It broke at the joint where the narrow and normal width come together closest to the rim. So I have 4/5 of a spoke hanging from the flange and 1/5 from the rim. What really sucks is that I borrowed most of the tools I used for my IGH project (spoke wrench, BB tool, etc) so now I have to go out and buy this stuff so I can repair it. My pal that loaned me the tools lives far away and I may not see him for another week.


well think positively,... you'll have it now 

kinda a strange place to snap a spoke.. only time I ever broke one there is from a rock rolling out from under the tire and hitting it putting a big old scar mark in it.. broke like 2 weeks later right at the spot.  Ya did get extra spokes when you first built it right?? 

you have a truing stand ? or borrowed it? if you are buying one just make sure you get one that checks both sides as the ones that only hold one one side are OK but you'll often get the wheel slipping to one side and get wrong readings. should still get a a dishing tool too... I don't have one but I just bring it to my local shop and lit them do it, usually only charge me 5-10 bucks as they know it's damn close when I build it and it takes them like 5 mins to do even if it's off a tad..


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

I trued it on the bike. Turned the bike over, put the wheel on and put some masking tape on the chainstay close to the wheel. Then i measured, found the center and marked it with a black marker. When I got to the point where that wasn't accurate enough anymore, I took a postcard out of the junk mail stack and cut a notch into it the width of the rim and centered that. Then I could get really accurate with the truing the same way as a truing stand. If the rim scrapes the postcard on any of the 3 sides of the notch you'll see it and/or hear it.

That worked great. The wheel came out perfectly dished (centered) and round. Now I'm thinking I have a broken spoke because either the spoke was bad or I improperly tensioned it. Pilot error or mechanical failure? Age old question. Either way, I bought a bag of 50 wheelsmith spokes so there are plenty left over. I just need tools and time - neither of which I have at the moment.


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Bought the tools yesterday, Got everything ship shape last night, but once again, the indicator is screwed so I took it off and covered it with a bit of tape. I'll work something better out later. Looks good at least. Hope it lasts a couple of rides.


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

you should get off the Sand Bar, hop the ferry cross the pond and come ride on the main land  that way I can check that thing out..

hey Sept 10th we're having "biketember fest" nice 1-2 hour bike ride with beer tasting after.. you should get a bunch of you sand riders to come over... I know a few who'd do it again..


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

thomllama said:


> you should get off the Sand Bar, hop the ferry cross the pond and come ride on the main land  that way I can check that thing out..
> 
> hey Sept 10th we're having "biketember fest" nice 1-2 hour bike ride with beer tasting after.. you should get a bunch of you sand riders to come over... I know a few who'd do it again..


I'll put it in the calendar. Sounds like a blast.


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## manida (Feb 5, 2008)

piggyback on this thread: 

my shifter indicator is stuck at 8 (although the shifting works just fine) Any idea how I can fix this?


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## Wombat (Jan 25, 2004)

manida said:


> my shifter indicator is stuck at 8 (although the shifting works just fine) Any idea how I can fix this?


I have a (non-alfine) shimano shifter with the same problem. It's caused by a broken spring in the shifter. It's very small and I doubt shimano sells them separately.

Tim


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