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Shimano to launch 11-speed Alfine hub gear

A report in Aktiv Radfahren has revealed that Shimano will be adding to their hub gear range with a new Alfine model:



The report says that the internal mechanism is completely new, and helical toothed gears instead of straight spur gears are used for quieter running.

The hub is to be available in silver only initially, with black to follow if there is sufficient demand. Disk brake mounts are standard. The only shifter announced so far is a 'Rapid Fire' trigger type unit.:



Price is said to be around 300 Euros (roughly £260 currently) and weight around 1600g (vs 1590g quoted for the existing 8-speed Alfine). Gaps between gears are said to be 13% between nine of the gears, with the remaining two reached via larger gaps of 17%. It's not clear whether those larger gaps are at each end of the range, rather like the pattern used by the Sturmey 8-speed hub.

The September 2010 date is when the German importer expects to receive first stocks: it will clearly vary for other countries. I'd expect to see the first bikes equipped with this as original equipment at Eurobike next year, for the 2011 model year. When (and if) it's easily available as a separate item in the UK for fitting to existing bikes is hard to say... I'll certainly try to get one in for review.

****
Further thoughts:
- No word yet as to whether it'll be 'off road rated' let alone rated for workbikes or tandems... or what the lowest permissible ratio or max permissible input torque might be. So hard riders and fans of extreme low gears will have to wait and see.
- 409% is a welcome increase over e.g. the Sram iMotion9 at 340%, but it's not yet challenging the full range of a wide range derailleur setup or Rohloff hub gear (both > 500%).
- But it is a LOT cheaper than a Rohloff, and you could easily enough use double chainrings to extend the range...

Posted on 4 February 2010
 

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