# Alfine 11 Gearing for 29er Hardtail MTB...



## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Just thought I would share my experiences so far with the gearing of my 29er MTB and Alfine 11.

https://forums.mtbr.com/one/viks-scandal-29er-build-763089.html

My initial gearing was 32T x 21T. I ride steep techy trails with lots of roots/rocks and loose dirt. Lots of short accelerations up steep sections... Zero rolling buff singletrack...:madman:

I'm running a 2.35" Racing Ralphs.










The 21T cog gave me a low enough bottom gear for most of my riding. I figured I would try a slightly bigger cog to see how I liked it, but if you told me 32T x 21T was the smallest I could have I'd be able to live with it. If you ride more rolling terrain or your steep climbs aren't techy than you'll probably be happy with this ratio.

I got my hands on a 23T cog and I'm going to try that out next. For our local riding the only time we get rolling fast is a steep downhill and generally I'm just hanging on for dear life so I don't need a tall top gear.

On One Scandal 29er - a set on Flickr

It's too early to talk about durability. The shifting action is light and smooth. I'm used to IGHs so I haven't had any issues with shifting while pedaling. So far so good!...:thumbsup:

I'll report back after some riding with the 23T cog.


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

I run 32/21 on my alfine 8 26er. The gear ratios are virtually identical for gears 1-5, so my low and your low are the same. Of course, my 26 wheel size gives me a bit more low end than your 29. I'm happy with the range I get. I can sit and spin up the really steep stuff and never spin out the top gear on the trails I ride.

I have a 20T and a 22T also and that one tooth either direction doesn't seem to make much of a noticeable difference in gearing at the low end. Its more noticeable at the top end, but I only really experience that riding on the street when I head out to pick up some beer at the local deli. LOL


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

The great thing is the Alfine cogs are cheap so it's easy to experiment. In the lowest gear you are at around 50% reduction so any changes you make to the primary gearing are reduced by half and at the top end any changes are doubled.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Rode some very techy rocky/rooty/muddy trails today with the lower 32T x 23T gearing.....much better and I'll probably keep it setup like this...:thumbsup:










It was a little juicy out, but with an IGH I just rode hard and then hosed the bike clean at the end of the ride...


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## Dummyrunner (May 25, 2011)

Really good to see this kind of info coming through. Am interested to see how it holds up as am thinking of doing the same sort of thing a little down the line. How would you compare the ratio spread as compared with a stardand 9x3? Guessing it would be similar to maybe having just the two smaller chainrings. Keep the updates coming. Cheers.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Dummyrunner said:


> Really good to see this kind of info coming through. Am interested to see how it holds up as am thinking of doing the same sort of thing a little down the line. How would you compare the ratio spread as compared with a stardand 9x3? Guessing it would be similar to maybe having just the two smaller chainrings. Keep the updates coming. Cheers.


My other MTB is running a 2 x 9. Low gear is comparable. I don't use the top end of either bike as our trails are uber techy twisty woods riding here on the South Shore of Vancouver Island BC.

The Alfine 11 is more than enough gear range for my riding. The question is whether or not it holds up...**fingers crossed**...:skep:


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Got out for an overnight bikepacking trip. The 32T x 23T gearing on the Alfine 11 was great for that mission and works for techy MTBing so I think it's a keeper.


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