Alfine 8 13.000 km dissasembly, inspection and oil
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- UPDATE 2022 - 15.000km:
Recently I have been able to make this hub occasionally skip in the first and second gear by standing on the pedals and pulling hard on my handlebars for maximum torque. While this is not a very common usage case, it does show the limit of what this hub can handle.
Contrary to what seems likely, it's not the gears skipping. The limit is caused by three tiny pawls that are located on the centre axle. (13:00 minute mark) Depending on the selected gear, one pawl will extend and hook into a ring around it. This way the hub changes gears. It's this pawl design that has it's limits when torque becomes very high.
The Alfine 8 speed is still excellent value for money, but I would not recommend to use this hub for climbing steep mountains or any other thing that forces maximum torque in gear 1 or 2.
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I've been running my Alfine 8 speed (SG-S7001) on gearbox oil for the last 13.000km. It's been working great! In this video I show you how to disassemble the Alfine 8 speed yourself and how to add the oil.
And 'for science' I open up the internal gear system to see if any parts or gears have worn out during those 13.000km. I also compare the internals to an as good as new Nexus 8 speed (which has the same gearing system)
At the 10:50 minute mark I mention the internals are interchangeable. This means you can grab the Nexus 8 speed internals and put them into the Alfine 8 speed. I tried this and it works fine.
Lastly, thoroughly clean the the gearing system with brake cleaner so there's no white grease left. You don't want oil and grease to mix together. If you use one of those extension straws it's easier to clean the inside. Don't forget to let all the brake cleaner evaporate before you put everything together again.
Great video. I personally like to clean the wheel on the outside first, just like surgeon would do to a human. This reduces the risk of abrasive particles getting into the internals.
Leif, vet du om det är stor skillnad på dessa nav jämfört med de 8 växlade nav med fotbroms som är vanligare i sverige?
Funderar på att försöka serva ett själv.
Oh yes! I was itching to do some pre-cleaning around 4:13. Such a luxury to see such a take-down without worrying about setting the parts so I can remember how to get it back together!
@@markfisher7962 he is old school mechanic. No ambulance outside waiting, no bulletproof goggles, no chemical resistant apron, no fire extinguisher nearby.
However, people, his demo is 1. class. Right?
Me too, I would have cleaned the hub before opening it....... but still this is a very pleasant and informative video, it'll make me put oil in my alfine 8 too, but instead of gearbox oil I think of the one that shimano puts in the alfine 11.
Changed grease for gear-oil in two 7 speed hubs and my first impression is that the pedals keep in rest when the wheel is running. Our Dahon bicycle that is for months in the car had dried out grease so the pedals immediately were driven by the wheel. Thanks for this tutorial.
---A year later I discovered, that oil was leaking through de dust-rings behind the small sprocket and with some dirt it turned nog longer smoothly. After cleaning I replaced most of the oil by grease. To avoid problems with the dust-rings I cleaned them thoroughly and made the small one 0.5 mm flatter. In another bike everything is still OK, but I think it is no good to use lots of gearbox oil.
Thanks for the video! Great content!
I just bought a bike with an Alfine 8 and it will be a great help for me.
As per comment: I am actively putting old bikes back on the streets, those are usually equipped with old Sachs geared hubs (3, 5 and 7-speed) and the manuals always say the same you did here. Grease the planetary gears with oil (I use automotive engine or gearbox oil) and grease the bearings with machine bearing grease (I use some hi temperature resistant automotive one), the coaster brake should be greased with special grease which actually is a hi temperature resistant one :-). The only difference is that I am completely disassembling the Sachs hubs first and clean up every single part separately.
Greetings from Berlin!
Can I say that this is one of the best tutorials I’ve watched in a while. Superbly filmed, you covered everyone question I would have had! I have the same hub so will be giving this process a follow. Thank-you
Terrific job making this tutorial. Saved a lot of people a lot of headaches. Thank you
Excellent tutorial, thank you.
Sturmy archer, older cyclists will know, have been using oil in their hubs for well over 100 years . Their older models always had a little oil port located on the external hub shell to facilitate adding the oil. You can too----- an old woods valve can be converted into an oil port ; 5 mm metric thread on it plus corresponding hole and threading in your nexus/ alfine hub shell. However, it isn't necessary, you can just add the oil as per this tutorial, but it's much easier to have the oil port access.
Choice of oil. Semi synthetic magnetic oil is v. good, and the 10w/ 40 lawn mower type rating is about right. The quantity is spot on ; even Rohloff say 12 mls. is enough to be adequate for their hubs . Too much is unnecessary and risks spillage. Also, be aware when you park your bike it's not angled too steeply as oil may leak then too. Oil in your hubs will make them last indefinitely and keep them and you happy! Ride on for thousands of miles...🚴🙏
Don't put oil in SA hubs with drumbrake aside it ; it will also grease your brake after a while!!
@@jed954 I had that with my sturmey archer. I put in a bit too much oil and it lubricated the brakes. Not what I really wanted.
Possibly wouldnt notice any difference anyway
Guess the hub needs to be disassembled to drill for wood valve...?
Are you recommending 10W30 mower oil? Non- detergent? All we have here is 30 wt. Any multi wt oil is rated at the lowest number as the base oil. Therefore 10W30 would be 10 wt oil. Multi wt oils for automotive use have many additives a particular one is polymer. These polymer additives begin to thicken with heat to arrive at the highest rated number 10W to 30 wt.
Have to ask the question if the hub generates oil temps high enough to make the molecular shift from 10 to 30 wt. If not then it remains 10 Wt oil.
Also the detergent active is not a slick component it is's a chemical that keeps dirt and debris dispersed/ floating within solution so an oil filter can filter them out. Otherwise these contaminates would collect in the lowest area in the mechanism. Am thinking for a bike hub a detergent oil would be detrimental to bearing life.
Hope this helps... excellent tutorial....
Watched the whole thing, super crisp and clear! I don't even have an internal gear hub 😄
👍 no doubt you'll have one soon !🙂
_Fantastic video, I have never thought of 'my Shimano Alfine 8' being such a mechanical wonder-piece...Thank you very much indeed for revealing this!_
Excellent video, I ve followed your tutorial step by step and now my unit is working great. I can't thank you enough
Love the comparison w.r.t. the internal gears Nexus and Alfine.
Thank you for the high quality video. Concise instructions and incredible image quality.
I bought a used bike with an IGH that was overtorqued, loosened the cone and it still didn't spin smoothly. I followed all the instructions, opened it up, cleaned it and gave it a good oil bath. The oil was practically shiny with all the metal shavings inside...
I went from the wheel spinning 3 revolutions when spun at highest gear for 1 pedal rotation, to 10+ or uncountable. It doesn't spin as freely as a regular bike hub but a huge improvement though it does have clicking noises. I'm sure the bearings are shot but at least I salvaged whatever life is left in them... Very big thank you.
If you are worried about plastic and rubber parts perishing in the oil use "detergent free oil". This is what we use in old motorcycle gearboxes due to the fragile rubber seals.
FYI Almost all lawnmower oil is detergent free.
Thats not why bike oil is detergent free. The clutch is bathed in oil and detergents will make your clutch slip.
The detergent additives are not slick. These are chemicals that disperse contaminates in the oil keeping them in a floating state in solution so a filter can do its job effectively. Normally in non-detergent oil the debris precipitates out of solution collecting in the lowest area within the mechanism. Modern oils can contain an additive which affects the flexible seals found on rotating shafts. These additives bond to the seals. Renews them... to remain flexible and swell enough to do there job better after high mileage. These oils usually are denoted as high mileage oils. The old transmission tune up in a can popular many years ago was basically a solvent that swelled the seals so the clutch packs would not slip. After prolonged use the seals became to soft and would fail. Hope this helps..
Good video. I have a 10 year old Nexus 8 speed with 20,000 miles, I only use oil and it still works like a champ.
That's impressive miles. What do you do? 👍💯🇬🇧✔
Thank you for this great video. I have Nexus hub on Kalkhoff Ebike but the wheel does not spin freely, so I will now follow your clear guidance and service the hub.
I have just purchased my first hub drive bicycle and I cannot thankyou enough for such a clear and detailed video of the workings of the hub. I now feel confident enough to remove, strip and oil my hub. Thank you.
Excellent video! Thank you very much! This must have been quite the work to produce.
Fabulous vid !!! I've had dozens and dozens of Sturmey Archer and Shimano 3 speed IG hubs apart over the years.......but I have always been intimidated by the Nexus/Alfine IG hubs with their much greater complexity. I currently have a 1997 Specialized bike with a Nexus 7 speed IG hub that will not shift properly. I will now be able to dismantle, clean and lubricate it properly with axle lube as you show instead of the ridiculously expensive Shimano greases that are recommended. Many many thanks to you for your very simple explanatipn.
When countering the bearing cone, note that this will reduce play since the cone will sit on the other flank of the axle thread afterwards. So you should adjust a little more play initially than intended, when tightening the cone.
Zojuist zelf uitgevoerd met behulp van deze video, bedankt!
Really clear explanation. No details missing, especially the "zéro-clearance" setting on the "ball-bearing" nut (the one you tight by hand until the main shaft doesn't play and then hold it in position while you tight the final nut over it) which is very important. I keep this video for my next maintenance. Thank you.
Great video quality. Also you might have saved my day - depending of wether I can put together the inner part that you left intact but I needed to disassamble due to rust ;-)
Super helpful video. I watched the video a couple of times to buy the stuff and tools I need and then follow it during the process. I am fixing a Nexus 7 and water seems to have flown in and lots of dirty stuff inside. Also, for nexus 7 the special thin wrench is size 14 instead of 15. Glad I found a painter tool that has a similar size to save my day.
Day late and a dollar short. Many thanks for the walkthrough. This is my first Alfine 8, SG-S501. It just had the white lithium grease but was super clean--no oil from the factory. I used AMSOIL Dominator Synthetic Racing Grease plus 10cc of AMSOIL Severe Gear 75W-90.
Thank you. I am running a nexus c6001 and successfully changed to oil following this video. One different is that the c6001 does not have that giant nut under the plastic cover (drive side). One just need to loosen the nuts on the other side (brake side) and the whole gear box can be taken out from the other side.
Is there any oil leakage?
Thank you brother as this video is a life saver. I own an avanti inc 2 that uses the alfine 8 speed. Just love it. Cheers👍😊.
Great video, thanks! Really well made and very helpful.
I have a Rohloff, bought 2nd hand, and I had to take it apart because the rim fell apart on me (2nd hand with the hub obviously), and part of it got wrapped around the hub/axle spacing and jammed the hub.
Didn't work well after that, so I had a go at opening it up.
Hmmmm.....TRICKY little bugger to put back together, but there are a couple of descriptions on the web, and I VERY carefully watched the Rohloff factory assembly videos as a help.
So I managed.
As far as advantages of oil vs grease, I think a big advantage is with oil you can replace the old oil regularily, including a "rinse", which will remove any wear particles.
I've been looking at the lowest gearing you can put on the Alfine and Rohloff, more from curiousity, really.
I cannot see any real reason why you can't go to lower gears than Shimabno recommends on the Alfine.
Is obviously not an issue for you riding it in Netherlands...:-}, but for touring it's an issue.
I don't think the issue is with actual overloading the internal hub gears, at least not from a short session of higher loads by exceeding their recommended gearing ratio.
But rather over a longer period it tends to put more wear & tear on the gears, and you would tend to wear it out faster.
So I think Shimano is really just trying to keep these hubs out of heavily loaded/long distance touring use by discouraging the more extreme gears.
The reason would be that group is a very small fraction of their total intended market (commuters etc), and they don't want any failures talked up on the various forums etc by their use by tourers.
Whereas Rohloff is more sturdily built, and can take a bit more punishment.
Much more $$$ though.
Yeah Shimano 8 speed hubs can take alot more torque then they recommend as they are very well maintained. Thousands of them on cargo bikes and electronic bikes. Mine was used with an electric bike pulling a trailer up to 100kg up 1/6 hills, still fine. I like to use a X2 front derailleur gives 16 gears. As standard 8 speed hub is geared too high for hills about 6mph and about 20mph downhill, that solves the problem. Rolhoff is too expensive, I don't want to park a rolhoff at the supermarket 😂.
@@nickwf70 If you don't mind sharing, what chainrings did you use (number of teeth)?
@@elMapache77 at the moment I'm using an old Shimano hollowtec mountain bike not sure which maybe deore 44 32 22 chainset. Only using the 44 and 32 as bottom bracket is too short 😄.. And a 19tooth nexus rear sprocket gives nice low gear. I think for mountains I would use to 22t as well, no need around here. So I can climb at 5 mph, downhill at about 28.
@@nickwf70 thanks!
I did look into the max torque thingy for the Alfine 8. Reason was I did manage to get the hub to skip on very high torque situations after around 15.000km . The cause? Is not the gears skipping. There are little pawls that extend from the centre axle to select the correct gear. These tiny pawls lock into a ribbed ring that surrounds them. During very high torque, these pawls can skip a bit inside that ring. Again, this only happens in really high torque situations and only in gear 1 or 2. I'ts pretty far from regular commuting use, yet it shows the limits of this hub. Meanwhile I also have a Rohloff and like you say: more sturdy and can take more punishment. Haven't been able to make it skip ever. I really did try. Pricey though :)
Back in the 60’s my friend had an English 3-speed with a Sturmey Archer hub. I remember him having a little tube of sewing machine oil, and every so often he was suppose to put 2-3 drops of oil in the hub.
Yes, those were the days. A little capped hole on the hub body. Did 1000's on two old S.A',s. Super reliable. 👍💯🇬🇧✔😉
Great video, man, i didn't expect i would find it this deep in details. Thanks!
what a great video for users of this nice hub gear - thanks !
Great video, thank you! Had a couple stumbles with my 11-speed coming apart when I took it off the spindle, and putting it back together. If you hit this, I recommend downloading the SG-S7001 INTER service manual from Shimano, it'll show you how it comes apart and goes back together.
Thanks for the manual reference
I have a Gazelle bike with a SRAM S7 gear hub. Since I injected some 85W90 gearbox oil, it rides smooth and soft like a dream.
Absolutely loved this video! Thank you for the detailed instructions!
Wow, great video, I´ve watched it through 😁
Fantastic workmanship, really showing how to do it in "easy" steps 👍
thank you. this is my first deconstruct demo of the Shimano Nexus 8. I am sure to replace the white grease with gear oil. very surprizing, how little wear there is after 15,000K
Great video. To Those people with a CDX gates carbon drive. The sprocket needs a little help to come back on. There are three levers to lift the sprocket back upon the furthest ledge using a screwdriver before clamping back the springring. 👍
There is a difference between the nexus and the alfine. The gears of the planetary gear have needle bearings, thats why they have that groove, its not only because of the weight.
in the video is shown that the planetary gears have the same type of bearings ?
I think the Nexus 7 I have has needle rollers, the Nexus and Alfine 8 use ball/race. The major difference with the Alfine 8 and Nexus 8 is the Alfine is for disc brakes, the Nexus was roller or band brake only. 👍💯🇬🇧✔
To remove the cable there’s a small hole in the gear shifter. Just use a small allen key or old spoke to rotate the shifter and it comes out really easily.
Great tip!
Thanks ! (Dankje !) Just service my new (I think older stock) Alfine 8 and used a can of brake cleaner to wash out the hardened grease. Dunked it in oil (75W90 gear oil) and let it drip out for a while and reassembled with some extra oil in the hub. Designed and 3D printed a tool for the dustcap, perfect ! Now need to take out the Nexus 7 and respoke the wheel with the Alfine.
Good to hear and I love 3D printers too!
Nice video, however, I would have cleaned the outer parts first... and when re-mounting also replacing the sort of worn-out pinion.
Thank you. Great video. Clear and good quality. Thank you.
Nicely done sir. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Just bought a new bicycle with this gearhub.
This is the best gearing system for commuting bicycle ever, period. 😎
Yes, considering the price, which is about 7 times cheaper compared to a Rohloff 14 speed, it surely is. The Rohloff is still king when it comes to built quality, sturdiness and gear range though. I own one too since a year or so and the difference is very noticeable. Where the Alfine 8 speed has a bit of give when you stand on the pedals, the Rohloff is rock solid. Never managed to get the Rohloff to skip in extreme condictions which is something I can't say of the Alfine. But like you say, commuting isn't extreme and that's where the Alfine shines. Cheers!
@@multireel7590Did you ever consider the Alfine 11? Yes, Rohloff is very pricey. 👍💯🇬🇧✔
Today I learned from this video that I don’t really want to open my Alfine 8 up.
The Shimano Nexus 7 and 8 and the Alfine 8 are not running on grease only. They also use oil. You can even buy special Shimano oil for it. But its insanely priced. 44€ for 1 liter!
No they do not. It's the Alfine 11 speed that runs on oil.
@@multireel7590 You are wrong. Nexus7, 8 and Alfine 8 is a combination of oil and grease. I had a 7 and opened it up also there is a special hub maintanance oil from Shimano that even say that its NOT for the Alfine 11.
@@Gieszkanne The Nexus 7/8 and Alfine 8 speed come by default from the factory with grease. Alfine 11 comes with oil.
Check Sheldons Brown's website if you don't want to believe me: www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus-mech.html
@@multireel7590 I dont have to look at anybodys website for it. I had a bike with a nexus 7 that was new and I was the first owner and it had oil and grease in it. Also Shimano offer a special maintenance oil for their 7and 8 gear hub which is not for the Alfine 11.
Thank you for the detailed work, the video is clear and very easy to follow.
Nice video. Hard to find one in such detail and in English. I have a Nexus 8 that needs this soon.
Thank you for this video. I’ve had resistance from the hub for the last year. I’ll strip everything out and see how it goes.
An absolutely top-class video! Even though English is obviously not your first language, the instructions and comments are spot-on and very easy to follow. Thank you so very much - I will be referring to your video when I clean and re-grease my Nexus 8-speed hub (bike is 14 years old and the hub has had NO maintenance at all in that period - although mileage is low).
Glad you find the video helpful!
Just make sure you clean your hubs BEFORE you dismantle them and DON'T use mole grips or monkey wrench like this guy does. He is not a good example of a thorough clean technician.
@@alexmorgan3435 Thanks for the feedback! I've got a Rohloff system also, and you're absolutely right. That's a better system and more suitable for steep hills. However, it's also 8 times more expensive, so the Alfine is still great value for what a lot of people use it for. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this information
After watching this video, I did maintenance on my Alfine 8, with oil of course, and I will never get back to grease !!🙂
I have a steep downhill section on my commute where I can get up to a bit more than 70 km/h on with a sudden downhill stop at the end.
I noticed I had grease all over my brake rotor after a few rides down that hill last year. I don't know if it was flung out due the the speed or melted from heat from braking and got flung out after that but I'm careful not to use too much grease on the non-drive side bearing after that (I grease the bearing but not that whole cavity outboard of it). The drive side bearing needs more grease to keep the lube in as it's out near the area where the oil will pool when sitting as opposed to the smaller diameter bearings that are closer to the axle on the brake side.
Other than that the oil does make a small but noticeable difference in smoothness. It's a worthwhile upgrade. I use ATF, not gear oil but i doubt there's much difference in this situation.
Большое спасибо. В Вашем видео много ответов на вопросы об обслуживании в домашних условиях.
Great video and explanation. Thanks a lot for your effort. ❤️
my argument for oil began in Chicago. I left my commuter outside one night and had no forward in the morning. it freewheeled forward. froze the pawls closed. I use refrigerator oil since.
Excellent video explanation.
Great video and nice to hear from another cyclist say they got a lot of Km in on one if these hubs. I'm looking into getting a touring bike with a Rolhoff gearhub and belt drive.
Excellent instructional video.
Interessant filmpje! Ik heb vorige week voor het eerst eens een oliewissel op mijn Rohloff naaf uitgevoerd, liet het daarvoor de FM doen. Toch wel blij dat 't daarop gewoon via een nippeltje gaat. Er gaat trouwens ook iets meer olie in (50ml) maar het vet langs de zijkanten op een Alfine naaf neemt natuurlijk ook wat plek in.
Brilliant video, thanks...
Thanks a lot from Germany❤
Great video. I just needed it for maintenance.
I aded fresh grease.
Maybe some time i will try oil.
Thanks
Try both. A little thickness of the grease thinned slightly by the added oil, that's all your doing. 👍💯🇬🇧✔😉
The biggest issue with these hubs is how the drive side bearings are difficult to service. Replacing the bearings will often result in a lengthy rebuild.
my sincere thanks for sharing this!
Thank You! I will open my Alfine 8. It seem's to be very loud.
Thank you so much, you’re a hero
very helpful video, many thanks
Very good and interesting video/tutorial.
I do notice at 12:30 there appears quite a bit of play in the Planet gear shafts/bearings of the high mileage hub on the right. not sure how much is considered normal or acceptable or would even be noticeable during normal use.
Would perhaps be nice to put an oil filler cap in the outside of the hub, like those fitted to old Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs. This might be quite difficult to do though especially if the hub case is hard.
Good spot! However the play is by design. I noticed that too and thoroughly checked this and compared to the new one.
@@multireel7590 ok, I guess they rely on the Sun and Ring gears to hold/support the Planet gears. Thanks for getting back to me.
I like the in-depth review after so many kilometers very nice... I found a bike in scrap with a 7-speed Shimano Nexus I'm going to use the Hub transmission on my berg go-kart it's a fun project
and I flushed one mine out with diesel was so dirty
Thank you very much for this video, ist is very useful for me.
Great and useful video. Thank you.
Excellent, just what I needed! 👍
10:41 Looking at the planetary gears, it seems like the Nexus hub has machined/steel planetary gears while the Alfine has sinter steel hardened steel planetary gears (you also mention the rounded edges on the alfine, that is also more common with sinter steel, since it is pressed into a mould). Purely based on judgement by eye, the typical golden color on the Alfine gears and the machine traces from the lathe on the ones in the Nexus hubs. The roller pins on the Alfine seem to be better quality steel as well. I would put my money on the Alfine in terms of durability for sure.
Did you mean to write Nexus in your last sentence (instead of Alfine)? I don't get it, which hub do you think is better?
@@kosztaz87 yes, correct. Thanks for your keen eye. I'll edit it
I appreciate you may have done a few gearboxes but you really have to clean up things a lot better, even the brake disk carrier nut you tightened you could hear the grit between the disk and the nut crunching, also you did not check and clean any oil seals and the spring clips are called one if then is called a "C" clip and the large one is a split circlip. everything i work on is spotless when i re-assemble it and new oil seals fitted if needed. Take it from a mechanic!
That's not grit on the disc brake carrier. It's a special ribbed ring in between which, when tightened, makes that sound. Any other leftover dirt there is, is really only on the outside of the hub.
@@multireel7590 I have checked the video again and there are serrations on the inner circumference of the brake disk but the gritty sounds start well before the special nut comes in to contact with the brake disc, anyway you have made a fair answer if the gritty sounds, now what about cleaning and checking of the oil seals after all it is the oil seals that stop oil coming out not copious amount of grease. the grease will dissolve in the oil also making the oil a higher viscosity (so the next time i need to check a crankshaft i only need to pack the area and oil seal with grease and this will suffice)
This video is superb! Makes me feel guilty for passing on a new bike on sale reduced $730.00 with this hub. It's easier to service than the 3 speed! There's lots of articles on the web with owner complaints about this hub. Kinda turned me off from pulling the trigger. It seemed more expensive to repair than a derailleur when being used by a high strung aggressive rider...
Now....maybe not.....???
BTW The service kit from Shimano for this hub is Expensive!! Ya get oil, grease and a plastic lid container for dip oil bath.
Hello MultiReel, great video - I have a question: what did you take to clear the internal ring gear unit? Is that WD-40? What would you recommend? Thanks and good job
It's brake cleaner. If you use an extension straw it's easier to spray and clean the insides too.
Great video! Helped out a lot!
Awesome! I wouldn't have thought that the Alfine 8 is built to be oil-tight as the Alfine 11 is.
Alfine 8 is not built to be "oil-tight" (see at 16 minutes in video). If you run oil in your Alfine 8, you'll be wise to keep the wheel "vertical" as much as possible. If you lay it down sideways, say in your car for transporting it, the oil will eventually flow out.
When I upgraded my Bullitt cargo bike to a mid-drive motor, I made the move to running automatic transmission fluid in my Alfine 8 hub. Instead of adding 10ml of oil into the hub body, I simply dipped/submerged the entire planetary gear assembly into a bath of ATF. After an hour or so - to really let the oil soak into it - I took it out, let it drain for a few moments until the oil wasn’t “pouring” off of it, and then installed it in the hub body.
It was a good decision to “convert” to trans. oil - shifting was improved, and it slipped/skipped out of gear less frequently. Now some five years after I made that change, I’ve taken the assembly out again for “maintenance” (really just curious - it’s been working fine). I observed zero wear and tear (though admittedly, I doubt I’ve put more than 3 or 4 thousand miles on it), and the oil that remained and dripped out looked basically still clean. I re-dipped/soaked the transmission assembly in new ATF, and re-installed it. I doubt that I’ll ever need to bother with it again.
@@borisstarosta7823 Interesting. Shows again what a (low cost) engineering marvel Shimano IG hubs are.
@@borisstarosta7823Top comment. The cleanliness you found shows that it has sealed up pretty effectively. The Nexus 7 I have is known for its week sealing after a service. 7000+ is miles has been good for me though. 👍💯🇬🇧✔
I thought of another reason my Alfine-8 came out so clean when I serviced it with new ATF about a year ago. After I added that mid-drive motor, I realized I could just keep it in 5th gear most of the time. In 5th gear, the hub is a "direct drive," meaning that no power at all goes through the planetary gears; instead the hub acts more like a simple single-speed hub. Thus, with the mid-drive motor, the planetary gears get used only 10% to 15% of the time, as almost all riding can be done in 5th gear (about 12MPH at a comfortable cadence with my stock chainring), including fairly good grades uphill. It's funny that at first I thought putting that motor on would reduce the life-span of the hub, because undoubtedly I put more power through it more of the time. But because I now run in 5th gear 85% of the time, wear and tear on the hub is actually reduced.
Excellent! Thank you!!!
Alfine 8コンポーネントで自転車を組み立てる計画をしています。
日本だと使っている人が少ないのでとても参考になりました。
ギアセレクターのカム部品耐久性を気にしていたのでとても参考になりました。
ありがとう。
You can add an oil draining tap. So you can easily change oil and wash it. Shimano isnt even using full synthetic oil in their alfine 11
Maybe I will!
@@multireel7590 you have to drill the hole in the right place though and be careful about the length of the oil plug. Automotive gear oil has pressure additives that are unnecessary, toxic. Its probably best practice to use a thin fully synthetic oil. You'll probably end up with better frictiononal performance. More environmentally friendly too. You can use rohloff oil. It's fully synthetic and bio degradable.
very helpful !!!!!!! thank you. informative too. very well done. very clear.
awesome video
Great video good explanation so you recommend the Alfine 8? Its reliable and does not slip unlike the Nuvinci?
The tiny gear selector pawls on the axle as shown at the 13:00 minute mark have to withstand high torque. They can go a long way, but the design wasn't meant to withstand extreme situations.
I've had the Alfine 8 incidentally skipping in first/second/third gear when standing on the pedals and pulling my steering for maximum power when the green light hits. This happened at around 15.000km. Regular use was fine though and I could stand on the pedals in the other gears without a problem.
I've opened the Alfine hub again since that skipping happened and switched some of the tiny pawls around with the ones from the Nexus. Not that I could see anything wrong with them, but after that there was no more skipping. Not sure how long this fix will hold.
My takeaway is that for regular use, the Alfine 8 is still great value for money and works fine. However it's designed to be just enough and it's possible to exceed its limits if you're going for maximum torque in the first few gears.
Since this video I also own a Rohloff bike and that hub is clearly a step up from the Alfine and hasn't skipped or slipped at all no matter what I do with it. It's 8 times more expensive though.
I'm sure these hubs will run great on oil versus grease. Grease adds more friction. But I could't help noticing the extreme amount of dirt on the outside of the hub. I'm guessing this is the drawback of running them oiled.
Good eye, yes it's dirty. Doesn't have anything to do with the oil inside the hub though. It's the chain lube spray I used a bit to generously.
But the gaskets at the ends are grease proof but not oil proof of wil leak out thanks to the centrifugal forces sling it onto your rear disc brakes which makes them ineffective
No, that doesn't happen. There has been no oil leaking the past 13.000km.
You mention cleaning things... But you did not bother cleaning the outside first. Better first clean the whole assembly before taking it apart. Then clean ALL parts.
Proper cleaning prevents dirt from entering the mechanism.
But nice video!
Will do next video :)
there was a school outside Chicago for bike techs called Vance Bloom. I was the regional tech and presented the argument for oil then to the instructor. it is agreed grease is better for the occasional rider. as a commuter and tech...it's a simple task for someone set up for the work. the Nexus 7 was before this and terrific with oil also. like butter. butta.
Good advice. I've just bought a nearly new Alfine 8 SG-5001 disc lock type and laced it into a 700 rim. This is replacing my older, 11,000km+ Nexus 7, which is still in perfect working order. The 7 has had only had one oil service in that time, and only slightly oozes oil from the axles, a known issue. But the 8's gear ratios are far more user friendly than the 7, its very noticeable.
I too run a chain tensioner. My gearing is 38t front 21t rear. Can you tell me your cog sizes?
I will also note the issue of slippage under high torque and try to avoid it. My 7 never gave any issues with slippage. 👍💯✔🇬🇧😉
Is it just me, or others also can't see the extra 12.5K km wear&tear? The new and the old internal look identical to me.
BTW that C shaped "ring" you mentioned is called a C-clip.
Very helpful! Am I the only one that suspects the domed nuts on either end are made of chocolate? I keep stripping the threads on these! BTW when new, they put a pitiful amount of grease in these. It's well worth servicing after a few months.
Yes they are! Good thing is you can't really strip the axle itself because of it and the domed nuts are relatively cheap.
Yes. They strip easily I found too. 🙄
Just did this 3 days ago......nice video thanks
great video
thanks
Great video but next time clean the wheel and hub before disassembly. I would personally clean all the parts better than you did and dip the complete gear assy in a can with gearoil and let it stay overnight, but that is just mho.
Yes, it's my dirty always go everywhere bike. The dirt didnt bother me, but that's because I've opened up the hub a lot of times.. If you're new, I'd indeed recommend working on a bit cleaner hub. The oil change really doesn't require you do dip it overnight though. I found it more efficient to use brake cleaner with the extension straw to spray away all old grease and just fill the hub with oil. Pedalling will distribute the oil, a bit like a car engine
You don’t need to dip it over night , just clean really good and oil appropriately , oil distribution will happen.
A good comparison video, but you need a third mechanism/gear to be complete. I.e., a Nexus/Alfine with 13,000 kms that had the factory white grease (but understand thats hard to do as a private buyer). Still, thank you so much for the video.
Greate video!!!! thank you!!!
Why would Shimano instruct to only use grease while using oil gives better results? (gearbox oil is never mentioned as an alternative in the 8-speed manuals) Are there any risks (apart from leaks when it is not good sealed). Nice tutorial!
Excellent video!
I have 2 bikes with Nexus 8 (c6000 & c6001) hubs and one with a Nexus 4 Coaster. Are the seals on these hubs sufficient to go "oily only".
Thanks again for your clear instructions.
how often does complete disassembly needs to be done? is changing oil at regular intervals enough?
What do you see as "complete" disassembly?
For the oil maintenance; mManual says; first time after 1000 km, then yearly or every 2000 km (whichever comes first), more under harsh conditions.
Which is a pipe dream, mine is over 20.000 km and I only did it once. I ride every day regardless of weather.
@@jcvjcvjcvjcv no doubt, taking the internal hub apart is the best; I'll be happy with drains & refills ^^
Unless you think maybe water has entered the hub or the oil has leaked out for some reason, a complete disassembly isn't needed for a very long time. I would happily drive it for years to come.