# Alfine vs Speedhub



## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Bought a new bike a month ago , came with the Alfine S-7001-8 , I thought I'd give it a try , haven't tried a Shimano IGH for a while.

Decided to change for a Speedhub. 

So , since I had the two kits , weighted them for one on one comparaison , maybe some of you might find this data interesting.

So , here's the weight of the Alfine


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Here's the Shifter and bits


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Here's the Speehub w oil and PM bone and quick release.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Here's the Shifter , gear box and bits


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

100 grams difference ...... that's pretty close.



That's the only thing that's comparable between these two.


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## MrBadger (Apr 4, 2010)

Thanks for the info, fokof, very interesting.
I've had a few A8 hubs and still have one built into a 29er rim but it sits very lonely in the shed. The one thing going for the Alfine is the trigger but even that feels pretty cheap/nasty.
Once you've gone Rohloff i cant see any way of going back to other gear hubs or derailleurs. I wouldn't mind trying a Pinion gearbox but my fear with that is that if it does fail my bike has failed. If i do ever have a problem with my Rohloff I can just swap out the wheel and ride.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

MrBadger said:


> The one thing going for the Alfine is the trigger but even that feels pretty cheap/nasty.


That's the main point that got on my nerves , you can't multi-shift like other Shimano triggers , only one speed at a time , up or down.
So you get to a stop , you have to click click click click click click instead of multi-shift like with the Rohloff.

The only thing that went for the Alfine in my eyes is the noise , or absence of it compared to the Rohloff.

About the Pinion, I was interested too until I read that:
What's The Difference In Speed Between Gearbox Systems? Rohloff, Pinion, Shimano - CyclingAbout.com


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

fokof said:


> That's the main point that got on my nerves , you can't multi-shift like other Shimano triggers , only one speed at a time , up or down.
> So you get to a stop , you have to click click click click click click instead of multi-shift like with the Rohloff.
> 
> The only thing that went for the Alfine in my eyes is the noise , or absence of it compared to the Rohloff.
> ...


Shimano says this is to prevent damage to the internals, since it can only shift one gear at a time, anyway. My experience with the A11 changed drastically (for the better) when I installed a J-tek shifter. 1.5 years of use, and while the actual unit was always finicky (cable op A11), the thumby/bar end shifter was flawless in use.

After reading the above link, I didn't really get the impression that it was dumping on the Pinion...just that it had a slightly lower efficiency than a Rohloff. I've watched people put Gator Hardshells on 10k USD racing bikes, so I'm keenly aware (as the author appears to be) that tire choice has a huge impact.

(I don't know about anyone else, but I have a hard time not capitalizing all of my nouns after reading something in German  )


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

wschruba said:


> After reading the above link, I didn't really get the impression that it was dumping on the Pinion...just that it had a slightly lower efficiency than a Rohloff. I've watched people put Gator Hardshells on 10k USD racing bikes, so I'm keenly aware (as the author appears to be) that tire choice has a huge impact.


I know the numbers are not extreme but I considered a Pinion to try something new , but I already had the Rohloff so reading this just convinced me to stay with my old trusted friend.
Maybe one day.....


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

I like the Alfine 8 for its quietness, and the shift is perfectly ok too if you route the cable properly.

Today I finally got round to putting a Rohloff wheel I'd built up a year ago onto my bike. The hub was a secondhand purchase. 

I found it to be much quieter than my previous Rohloff, which fits in with what everyone says, give it a few thousand miles before it's run in.

The bike is one I usually run singlespeed, but with the forthcoming WEMBO 24 Hour, I thought maybe I should use gears this time (getting old  ). 

I took it out to our local track and it felt great. Seemed to whistle up all the climbs effortlessly and I was able to get far more speed on the descents - no running out of rpm. So when I got to the top of the long climb with a few ups and downs (1,500'), I was a wee bit surprised to find it had taken 2 minutes longer than it takes when the bike is singlespeed. I was surprised because I felt like I had gone much faster. 

I'll have to try it again with the exact same setup but as a singlespeed in the next few days - it could be because I also put new tyres on it.


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