# Alfine love..



## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

Loving the A8 and the A11 on our 907 fatbikes. 
Not liking the Surly singulator as a tensioner. Sounds like a front derailer that is out of tune.magic gear doesn't seem to exist.
Looking at e.thirteen or MRP bottom brackett chain retension device.

Did I forget to say we love the Alfine?


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Do you have the singulator pushing up or pushing down? I had one on a touring bike pushing up with a Nexus 8 IGH and it was quiet. You can adjust them side to side as well to match your chainline.

Maybe post a pic of your setup?

I have had goodluck with the Rohloff dual pulley tensioner on a couple bikes, but it doesn't have the ground clearance of the singlulator.


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## Drew Diller (Jan 4, 2010)

I've also had problems with loud Singleators, up or down mode. I set up one dinglespeed bike with a Singleator and it was fine, and the same concept should apply equally between those two types of drivetrains... I was puzzled.

I had good luck with the Shimano tensioner which sounds like it was similar to the tensioner vikb mentioned, but it took away my appreciation for the what was supposed to be the general sparseness of the drivetrain.

Are mini-eccentric bottom brackets for fat bikes getting to be any more affordable or available?


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## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

Both pull up. New drive train. Well oiled chain. I went from silent igh gear on the Pugs to noisy on the 907. The wife went from stick attracting derailers to noisy singulator. I am trying to eliminate dangling, stick prone things on her bike. Looked at shimano, Pauls and others. Surlys up-pull was what attracted me to it. 
Gonna try a BB based chain guide next...


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## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

Mech at the LBS said the chainline distance from the center of the dropout to the center of the chain is far enough to "tilt" the pully wheel, causing the noise.

Having said all that...last nite's ride resulted in a bang and a pop. The hub went into rattle can mode. Headed back to the LBS today. The last time I had that noise, we took it apart and found nothing.Put it back together and , viola! No noise.

I still love the hub.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

1spd1way said:


> Mech at the LBS said the chainline distance from the center of the dropout to the center of the chain is far enough to "tilt" the pully wheel, causing the noise.


Can you adjust the chainline of the singulator to match the Pugs?


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## Drew Diller (Jan 4, 2010)

1spd1way, have you gone ahead and tried a BB mounted tensioner just yet? A memory jogged for me, I've tried one. Yo... they're not quiet either. The one I tested was a Yess ETR-B.

(Incidentally their ETR-V is very strong.)

It now occurs to me that the drivetrain I set up where a Singleator *was* quiet had a rear cog that was horizontally very near the dropout. An Alfine kinda has a hard time with that given the space taken up by the shifter mech.

If only there was a way to twist the Singleator so that its own natural twist under tension would even out and put the jockey wheel in an in-line path with the rear cog...

This situation is stupid enough I thought about some mid-chainstay tensioner. I'll have to look for what people have come up with regarding that idea.


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## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

Late breaking news! 

I brought it in yesterday and the Mech disassembled and greased the singulator. Re-alligned it and it is now very quiet.
The rattle can sound was from the top of the chain hitting the cable-stop for the shift cable. 
Hammered the bugger on the ride last nite. Quiet, consistent shifting. 

I am going to look at my old Yeti dh frame. It had a mid-stay tensioner. May be able to adapt or re-engineer something.


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## Drew Diller (Jan 4, 2010)

Nice!


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