Back in 2015 when I was nearly killed in a road collision, I got a custom built new bike at the end of the year to replace the one that was hit. I
was aiming for a bike which was low maintenance and could easily
withstand the rigours of commuting in all weathers on anything from main roads to narrow badly surfaced country lanes. I had a Surly frame,
horizontal dropouts, an Alfine 11 DI2, disk brakes, Marathon Plus tyres,
and a hub dynamo with a decent front and rear light (B&M).
The DI2 has been wonderful, when it works. It changes gear very smoothly,
the bike shop routed the cabling inside the frame so very little cabling
on the outside to get snagged on anything. No cables to periodically
adjust. All that is needed is to recharge the battery occasionally and
change the hub oil once every year or two. The other thing I liked was
that getting the rear wheel off is trivial, all that is needed is to
unplug the cable from the motor (just make sure you don't fiddle with the gears when unplugged).
As I say, it works beautifully most of the time. Problems have occurred
with the snap ring which holds the rear sprocket on the hub. That has
come off several times, always when I am a couple of miles from home, and
it is a bastard to get on (it was initially for me anyway). After this happened several times, I did learn a technique for getting it back on,
but sometimes found when everything had been put back the gearing
indexing had gone haywire, and I couldn't get it re-indexed properly, so
had to take it to the bike shop to get it fixed. This got tedious after
the fourth time as the bike shop is nearly four miles away and
necessitates putting the bike in the car and transporting it there (fortunately it will go in without any dismantling with the back seats
down). This problem has ceased now as the bike shop told me the snap ring design has changed, and this has made it more secure on the hub.
This year I have had more drawn out problems. A week after lockdown
started, the electronics completely died. It was still rideable but I was stuck in a too-low gear most of the time. Back to the shop. I didn't see
the bike again for nearly two months. They had to go through all the connections (which are inside the frame) to find where the fault was.
They eventually traced it to the junction box and they ordered in and
fitted a new one and I think a new cable. Electronics back to life, I
took the bike home and found the same old problem with the indexing being out. This obviouisly happened when the electronics died and I was trying
to change gear and it took me a few seconds to realise nothing was
happening. I had to take it back and get them to sort it out.
Another three weeks without the bike, and they couldn't get it working properly, they discovered the motor had failed (worn out they said), so
that was £130 to replace (inc labour). I am disappointed it only lasted
five years given I don't exactly hammer the bike or the gearing when I am riding.
To summarise, it is a double edged sword. Brilliant when it works, but
when it fails, it fails badly to the point where I am unlikely to be able
to fix it myself. If I ever got another bike or converted my folder to
hub gears, I would be hesitant to go for the electronic version again.
Cables do have their disadvantages, but a bit of fine tuning every now
and again isn't that much of a chore, and if a cable gearing system
fails, I can probably work out how to replace the cable if required.
I had a Surly frame, horizontal dropouts, an Alfine 11 DI2, disk brakes, Marathon Plus tyres, and a hub dynamo with a decent front and rear light (B&M).
The DI2 has been wonderful, when it works.
[tale of woe]
In article <79e463f4-a2c9-4095-bbae-c76e581f9d59o@googlegroups.com>,
<asrl07@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
[tale of woe]
Top hit on duckduckgo for `alfine 11 di2' is a video titled
"long term reviee [sic]" whose ddg-cached summary says
Long term review of Shimano's Alfine 11 speed hub with di2
electronic shifting. Performance excellent but reliability problems
with oil leaks and electrical...
In article <79e463f4-a2c9-4095-bbae-c76e581f9d59o@googlegroups.com>,
<asrl07@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
[tale of woe]
Top hit on duckduckgo for `alfine 11 di2' is a video titled
"long term reviee [sic]" whose ddg-cached summary says
Long term review of Shimano's Alfine 11 speed hub with di2
electronic shifting. Performance excellent but reliability problems
with oil leaks and electrical...
--
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk> These opinions are my own.
Pronouns: they/he. If I emailed you from @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk,
that is a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.
I have gone as far as looking into whether a Rohloff could be installed, but I'm not sure about that, as I think there are a limited number of frames comaptible with Rohloff, and I'm not sure if Surly Straggler is one of them.
Every time I think of a Rohloff I remember that it's gripshift. And
while there are hacks available they are just that...
Mind you, no idea how a 14 speed barend would work!
To summarise, it is a double edged sword. Brilliant when it works,
but when it fails, it fails badly to the point where I am unlikely to
be able to fix it myself. If I ever got another bike or converted my
folder to hub gears, I would be hesitant to go for the electronic
version again. Cables do have their disadvantages, but a bit of fine
tuning every now and again isn't that much of a chore, and if a cable
gearing system fails, I can probably work out how to replace the
cable if required.
On Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 1:19:53 AM UTC+1, Ian Jackson wrote:
In article
<79e463f4-a2c9-4095-bbae-c76e581f9d59o@googlegroups.com>,
<asrl07@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
[tale of woe]
Top hit on duckduckgo for `alfine 11 di2' is a video titled "long
term reviee [sic]" whose ddg-cached summary says
Long term review of Shimano's Alfine 11 speed hub with di2
electronic shifting. Performance excellent but reliability
problems with oil leaks and electrical...
-- Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk> These opinions
are my own.
Pronouns: they/he. If I emailed you from @fyvzl.net or
@evade.org.uk, that is a private address which bypasses my fierce
spamfilter.
I'd forgotten to add in my review that I did have a problem with an
oil leak (it dripped on the floor when the bike was hung overnight, fortunately I have laminate flooring), that resulted in the hub being replaced under warranty.
I have gone as far as looking into whether a Rohloff could be
installed, but I'm not sure about that, as I think there are a
limited number of frames comaptible with Rohloff, and I'm not sure if
Surly Straggler is one of them.
On 08/08/2020 11:32, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
Every time I think of a Rohloff I remember that it's gripshift.
And while there are hacks available they are just that...
Mind you, no idea how a 14 speed barend would work!
I think the Kindernay approach has promise: Do all the indexing stuff
at the hub end, with the shifters (one for up, one for down) just
toggling it up and down by some number of steps at a time, rather
than covering the whole range of travel. Currently they only have
trigger shifters, but I suppose a bar-end might be practical along
the same lines.
I'm now thinking I should have gone for the cable version, despite
that potentially having its own issues.
It keeps on letting me down. More leakage from the hub. Back to the
LBS who put a new seal on. Got the bike back Christmas eve before
travelling to stay with my father (social bubble) up north over
Christmas. Came back to find a tablespoon of oil on my lounge floor
and the electronics had died. Back to the LBS who have had it for a
week and a half. Here is what they said:
"We have been looking at your bike over the last few days to try and
sort out both the leaking and the Di2 issue.
I believe both issues are connected. The main A seal we changed last
time the bike was in has stopped almost all leaking from the hub but
whilst it was leaking it seems a pretty large amount of oil made its
way into the motor. I think this is the oil that has been dripping
slowly rather than directly from the hub. We have managed to get most
of the oil from the motor using compressed air and now when connected
the electronics seem to be working fine. We have run an error check
using the Shimano software too and all seems fine.
To double check if the hub is leaking we have left it since Saturday
on its side to put as much pressure on the drive side seals as
possible and have now seen some oil coming from the part of the hub
which actuates the gear change. Sadly the seals for this section of
the hub are not available separately, but only as a whole unit. Owing
to the fact it took 3 days for the oil to make its way out with the
hub on its side I don't think this leak is anything like the one you
had before.
Now the electric system is working and with the hub assembled on the
bike with the oil for the most part removed from the motor the
dripping seems to have stopped. The bike is ready to go and I think
we will just have to see how it goes. But if it does start leaking
again it's really a new hub I'm afraid."
I'm now thinking I should have gone for the cable version, despite
that potentially having its own issues.
On Wed, 13 Jan 2021 02:53:02 -0800 (PST)
Adam Lea <asr...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
I'm now thinking I should have gone for the cable version, despiteBut if you can figure out the storage orientation best suited to
that potentially having its own issues.
minimising seepage, and attack it with an air gun occasionally, you have
a fully functional hub. This clever technology makes our lives better,
thank you Shimano.
On Wed, 13 Jan 2021 02:53:02 -0800 (PST)
Adam Lea <asrl07@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
I'm now thinking I should have gone for the cable version, despite
that potentially having its own issues.
But if you can figure out the storage orientation best suited to
minimising seepage, and attack it with an air gun occasionally, you have
a fully functional hub. This clever technology makes our lives better,
thank you Shimano.
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