# Alfine 8 slipping in 5th



## manida (Feb 5, 2008)

so bummed. Anyone have this problem? Slipping in 5th, primarly on climbs. Misses about half a pedal stroke...

...came on a used bike so I guess I cant be too pissed. No warranty.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Start by checking to see if the cassette joint is installed properly. Go to the Alfine page on si.shimano.com. Open the Dealer manual (the red 'DM' icon) and check how to properly install/adjust the hub hardware. Depending on the series of hub, the distance between the end of the housing and the cable anchor is either 101mm (500 series) or 145mm (7000 series). All the other information is still pertinent, it is just far easier to read in the complete dealer manual than the individual documents. This would also be a good time to pull the ferrules off the housing, checking for uneven/protruding housing ends, check the cable for kinks, etc, as IGHs are finicky about cable tension.

Assume the previous owner did nothing right, as far as maintenance/setup, etc...

If you are getting consistent slips, it may already be too late to fix the hub, but if after you try the above, it still continues, you will have to open the hub to check on it. If it is used, you should be opening it to clean/lubricate it anyway, as small shavings of metal do occasionally come off and cause poor operation.

The hubstripping wordpress is a good place to start for collected information, but some articles may require you to either read German/use a translating feature.


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## John Serkaian (Oct 11, 2013)

There is much written about this issue and I had the same problem last year on a Nexus version with the same internals as the Alfine. I strongly suspect Shimano's has a design issue with these hubs in getting the one-way roller clutches to properly engage. I had perfectly aligned the yellow lines for proper cable adjustment and I adjusted the chain tension so there was just a hint of slack when unloaded and mine would still "slip" in 5th about once every five to ten miles. I was about ready to give up on Shimano until I pulled the guts out and soaked it in a jar of ATF (not a single shop in the Detroit area had any of the magic overpriced Shimano oil I could soak it in so the ATF worked fine. I pulled mine apart after approximately 700 miles and it was clean and greasy so maybe the wash of ATF for the gear/clutch unit and re-greasing the bearings is the correct combination? One thing I can't figure out is what Shimano means by claiming the hub is protected form too much input torque. Do the one way clutches function as a "fuse" and let go? Check out all the great information in the Hubstripping articles and on the web and good luck.


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## Andy R (Nov 26, 2008)

wschruba said:


> Start by checking to see if the cassette joint is installed properly. Go to the Alfine page on si.shimano.com. Open the Dealer manual (the red 'DM' icon) and check how to properly install/adjust the hub hardware. Depending on the series of hub, the distance between the end of the housing and the cable anchor is either 101mm (500 series) or 145mm (7000 series).


Or just check that the yellow index marks are aligned in 4th gear - I've never measured cable lengths on any of mine and surely that dimension is only given as an aid to initial set-up? Aligning the marks is the way to do final calibration.


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## John Serkaian (Oct 11, 2013)

Update: I've traveled 1000 easy miles after a thorough cleaning and re-lube with greased bearings and "oiled" internals and the shifting and response couldn't be smoother. However, the 1/2 pedal skip sill occurs in 5th and I doubt there is anything that can resolve this annoying condition other than replacing the unit. I suspect Shimano is well aware of this design/quality issue affecting roller clutch engagement but it's not a common enough or dangerous enough defect to warrant further attention from them? The Shimano Customer Service person I spoke with didn't even understand what an internal geared hub was and refused to consider a warantee exchange so shame on Shimano for not caring and not standing behind their products when there are problems.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

John Serkaian said:


> Update: I've traveled 1000 easy miles after a thorough cleaning and re-lube with greased bearings and "oiled" internals and the shifting and response couldn't be smoother. However, the 1/2 pedal skip sill occurs in 5th...


Last resort (you probably done this)

Try changing the gear cable and make sure it has clean easy runs, no tight bends.

My experience of hub gears is that faults that don't involve crunchy noises usually can be traced back to one of two things: cable adjustment or cables sticking. You would have the adjustment sorted I suspect, but maybe you have a bit of sticky cable.

I once had a cable that looked fine, felt free etc but I got similar occasional slips. I replaced the cable (which had had a bit of use) and the problem ceased. Although it felt free, it didn't feel as free as its replacement, so I could only conclude it was sometimes binding.

It's about time hubgear manufacturers put the indexing in the hub like Rohloff, it is the biggest cause of problems with hubs.


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## moonwatcher (Aug 31, 2017)

I know this is an old thread but I have been banging my head against this for a month. Its not the oil or the grease, the bearings, the cable or the cassette joint (all of which I replaced). its the stupid return spring on the small clutch.

https://backwardincompatible.com/post/186916671580/shimano-alfine-sg-s7000-8-loose-spring-on-the

credit to Andrew Kashutin for identifying it


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## SlipperyToad (Aug 18, 2010)

*Thank you!*

Thanks for posting this up... my Alfine 8 just started having this exact problem. It's due for a re-lube anyway, so I'll check the spring and hopefully fix this truly annoying issue.



moonwatcher said:


> I know this is an old thread but I have been banging my head against this for a month. Its not the oil or the grease, the bearings, the cable or the cassette joint (all of which I replaced). its the stupid return spring on the small clutch.
> 
> https://backwardincompatible.com/post/186916671580/shimano-alfine-sg-s7000-8-loose-spring-on-the
> 
> credit to Andrew Kashutin for identifying it


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## moonwatcher (Aug 31, 2017)

You need to remove a circlip of some sort to remove the cover and expose it but you can feel it popped since the ratchet doesn’t spring back


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## SlipperyToad (Aug 18, 2010)

Those stupid clips suck (the one to get the belt pully off isn't my favorite thing either), but I'll make sure to check that the clutch isn't springing back before I remove the clip. No reason to be frustrated by it if the spring is still attached. Thanks for the heads-up.


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## Wherever (Sep 4, 2020)

I have Shimano Nexus SG-C6011-8V hub, same internal mechanism as Alfine 8 speed hubs. My hub only has 500 km and I did find slipping in 5th gear is quite common.

I think the issue is switching from 4th to 5th is where switching from LOW to HIGH range occur. The Clutch Unit gets pushed into the Carrier Unit, bypassing the low range reduction unit, the splines on the outside of the Clutch Unit engages with the planetary gear carrier cage. Notice that the cable pull from 4th to 5th gear is longer than that of any other two gears. This is because you need extra cable pull to engage the Clutch Unit.

When shifting under even quite light load, the splines on Clutch Unit will only partially engage with planetary gear carrier cage. With that, if you start to pedal hard, the Clutch Unit spline may "slip off" from the gear carrier cage. This causes the power flow to break. The Clutch Unit return spring will then push the Clutch Unit back into the gear carrier cage, hence re-connecting the power train. Due to this reason, you will experience slip on 5th gear. 

My solution was to completely stop pedaling when shifting from 4th to 5th. Resume pedaling once you feel a very slight click from the hub. This allows the Clutch Unit to fully engage. 

By doing that, I noticed that slipping in gear 5 has reduced.


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## oar8 (May 1, 2006)

Wherever said:


> I have Shimano Nexus SG-C6011-8V hub, same internal mechanism as Alfine 8 speed hubs. My hub only has 500 km and I did find slipping in 5th gear is quite common.
> 
> I think the issue is switching from 4th to 5th is where switching from LOW to HIGH range occur. The Clutch Unit gets pushed into the Carrier Unit, bypassing the low range reduction unit, the splines on the outside of the Clutch Unit engages with the planetary gear carrier cage. Notice that the cable pull from 4th to 5th gear is longer than that of any other two gears. This is because you need extra cable pull to engage the Clutch Unit.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your comments. My is a Di2 so cable is not an issue and the hub is new. I will try this stop pedaling technique.


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