Alfine Hub Wheel Removal

[Nigel182]

Hi all.
I've used the search on here and found many threads about wheel removal for an Alfine Hubbed Bike.

I've just got my Genesis Day One Alfine 8 today so tonight thought i'd best have a go at rear wheel removal...after reading here and watching the videos on YouTube while at work !!!!

Well had a crack at it tonight and not as easy as it looked....
In the end had to Split the Chaain via the Split Link and then loosen off the Brake Caliper.
Replacing it just about the same....

So was wondering if anyone has any Easy Tips or Wisdom on the matter.

In the meantime I think i'll change the Tyres to Schwalbe Marathon Plus.....
But before that happens i'll just have to make sure of plenty of Offerings to the Puncture Fairies before every ride.

Hope someone has cracked this scenario.... as apart from that it is a Cracking Good Bike.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Nigel182]

Been practicing and now don't split the chain manage to remove it off the Chainring, after undoing Gear Linkage (whilst in 4th Gear) then losening axle bolts wheel has a small about of movement to make the chain slack enough.

Got the Schawble Marathons fitted now so all things crossed shouldn't be doing it for quite sometime...... will probably have forgotten how to remove the wheel by then !!!!

 

[MacB]

I've not used the Alfine but have two lots of hubgears and it's worth learning how to do it, as you've done. Though I also went M+ and neither wheel has ever punctured, I've still had to take them on/off plenty due to my endless tinkering.

I don't understand why Shimano have done all this development to bring out the new Alfine 11 and not had a go at simplifying the cable removal. Either alfine model wins out in weight and shifter options over the SRAM I-9 but for wheel removal the I-9 beats any other hub gear. Especially now I have it in vertical dropouts with an EBB for tension.

If they could make both the axle and the cable simple QR it would be great.

 

[headcoat]

After reading this and being concerned about it myself, I think I had better try and remove mine in the comfort of my house. Can someone post some links with pics or videos showing how to do it, that way at least I will have a sporting chance.

 

[Nigel182]

Headcoat...
Hope this link works

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGEXjpXtw4g


If not Just search Alfine Hub on Youtube and quite a few videos come up.

And it does get easier... i just wanted to have a go as i didn't want to get caught out when it has to be canhged in the real world.....!!!!! Well anywhere other than my Living Room.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

might we consider that it is possible to fix a good proportion of the faeries visitations without removing the wheel from the frame? Especially on a hub geared bike. A useful skill which I had forgotten I had until a riding buddy had forgotten his nut spanner this Sunday.

In the case of the Day One, with the pressures 35's are run at the tubes are perfectly capable of being fixed, as-near-as-damn-it permanently with self adhesive patches.

 

[al78]

might we consider that it is possible to fix a good proportion of the faeries visitations without removing the wheel from the frame? Especially on a hub geared bike. A useful skill which I had forgotten I had until a riding buddy had forgotten his nut spanner this Sunday.

In the case of the Day One, with the pressures 35's are run at the tubes are perfectly capable of being fixed, as-near-as-damn-it permanently with self adhesive patches.

All very well until you get a puncture that you cannot fix with patches.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

All very well until you get a puncture that you cannot fix with patches.

What % of the time is that?

Assuming she ain't listening I'll say 'with fat tyres at the right pressures in my experience as rare as hen's teeth'. But maybe, to date, I've just been lucky. Again in my experience those I can't fix with patches have often trashed the tyre too which is why my pump is wrapped with gaffer tape, and I carry a tyre boot and a knife.

 

[MartinC]

I've not used the Alfine but have two lots of hubgears and it's worth learning how to do it, as you've done. Though I also went M+ and neither wheel has ever punctured, I've still had to take them on/off plenty due to my endless tinkering.

I don't understand why Shimano have done all this development to bring out the new Alfine 11 and not had a go at simplifying the cable removal. Either alfine model wins out in weight and shifter options over the SRAM I-9 but for wheel removal the I-9 beats any other hub gear. Especially now I have it in vertical dropouts with an EBB for tension.

If they could make both the axle and the cable simple QR it would be great.

SRAM hubs have always been easy to remove. The I3 and I9 couldn't be easier and even the S7, P5 and T3 before them were a cinch. I'm really surprised Shimano inherited the cable connection from the Nexus 7 on the 8 let alone the 11.

 

[P.H]

SRAM hubs have always been easy to remove. The I3 and I9 couldn't be easier and even the S7, P5 and T3 before them were a cinch. I'm really surprised Shimano inherited the cable connection from the Nexus 7 on the 8 let alone the 11.

I think you and Mac may have misunderstood the problem. It's not the difficulty in disconnecting the hub, it's in removing it from that specific frame. You need to be able to move the wheel forward enough to unship the chain to pull the wheel back and out. This would be a problem for any hub in that frame.

The solution is to never run the axel at the front of the dropout, if this isn't possible at the moment, get a half link.

http://www.sjscycles...-each-prod6982/

I have an Alfine in a folder with a tensioner and although the removal isn't as easy as the SRAM or Rohloff it's no big deal.

 

[MacB]

I think you and Mac may have misunderstood the problem. It's not the difficulty in disconnecting the hub, it's in removing it from that specific frame. You need to be able to move the wheel forward enough to unship the chain to pull the wheel back and out. This would be a problem for any hub in that frame.

The solution is to never run the axel at the front of the dropout, if this isn't possible at the moment, get a half link.

http://www.sjscycles...-each-prod6982/

I have an Alfine in a folder with a tensioner and although the removal isn't as easy as the SRAM or Rohloff it's no big deal.

Ah, no, I did get it, that's one of the main reasons I switched from the Pompetamine to the Vaya and using the mini EBB. I just didn't like the track ends, I did take the time to sort a halflink and to make sure the mudguard stays were long enough for removal. But, after my dry runs in the garage, I just wasn't happy and that was with the SRAM hub. Add in a bit more complexity with the Alfine and, for me, it would be too much of a pain, though I appreciate plenty of others manage just fine on this setup.

I was more making a general point at being a bit surprised about the Shimano approach. Looking at the new Alfine 11, which I'm finding very hard to resist, I just don't get some of the opportunities they've ignored. Unless there's a plan to drip feed for future upgrades/models or to avoid being too attractive to existing derailler customers. For example:-

the SRAM cable mechanism looks like you've just got a sealed/rigid unit around a sturmey style toggle chain, brought inboard of the dropouts and held in place - it's a design that could be done in several ways and should be easy for Shimano to match or improve upon.

then they're recommending you don't go below a ratio of approx 1.9:1, which would be a 38/20 using one of the official Alfine cogs. I've already seen postings in the US indicating people will need to run it at 1.5 to 1.7:1 to give them the sort of spread they need.

finally there are the shifter options - I know they're streets ahead of SRAM/Rohloff in this area but how hard would it be to offer the trigger shifter with a larger diameter clamp(preferably open hinged) that could go on the top of drop bars? If they offered this for both 8 and 11 speed I think they'd sell a ton.

 

[al78]

What % of the time is that?

Assuming she ain't listening I'll say 'with fat tyres at the right pressures in my experience as rare as hen's teeth'. But maybe, to date, I've just been lucky. Again in my experience those I can't fix with patches have often trashed the tyre too which is why my pump is wrapped with gaffer tape, and I carry a tyre boot and a knife.

It has happened twice to me, once when I tried to apply a patch in the rain and it wouldn't stick - fortunately was able to walk to a railway station and get a train home, and secondly when I had a four mile walk home, again because I couldn't get the patches to stick. That was enough to motivate me to learn how to get the wheel off.

 

[John_S]

Hello,

My apologies because I appreciate that this resurrects a very old thread. However this is relevant to a problem that I had yesterday and when searching for a solutions a link to this post came up.

Basically I've recently got a 2014 Genesis Day One Alfine 8 and having never had an Internal Gear Hub bike before yesterday I thought that I should practise getting the rear wheel out so that I've at least done it before for when I have a puncture out on the road.

I followed the video link above and having done this I wonder if anybody else has struggled at the point whereby you're meant to remove the bolt which is holding the gear cable in place?

I only have two pliers and one pair was way too big and the others were smaller but didn't grip the bolt at all and so just slipped off whenever I tried to get a hold of it for removal. This meant that getting the bolt off took a very long and frustrating amount of time although I did eventually manage to get it.

I just wondered if anybody else has had a similar problem and could recommend some pliers to get hold of the bolt because for example I don't fancy having the same problems when out in the dark and pouring rain when I get a puncture.

Thanks for any help and advice that anyone can give.

John

 

[Pale Rider]

No pliers needed for the Alfine 11 on my Rose trekking bike.

Unshipping the cable from the groove in which it wraps around the hub allows you to turn the 'flattened oval' nipple which then comes out of its housing.

I always do it with the cable at its slackest - top gear.

More faff than a quick release/derailleur wheel, but a reasonably elegant design.

 

[Tim Hall]

Same procedure for the eight speed too. You can get a bit more fiddling room by poking a spoke or a 2mm allen key in the hole in the curved cable holder on the hub and rotating it so the cable slackens even more. Then pop the nut out of its recess.