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Shimano Alfine SG-S7000 8 speed reviews

44K views 43 replies 14 participants last post by  pucko1 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey,

I did not found any thread on this new IGH so I thought I start one...

Did bought this for my 29+ Motobecane SS (see my other posts).

I will skip the building part unless someone has questions about it.

My experience with IGH is a new SA 3 speed and a very used and rusty Nexus 8 speed with coaster brake.

I have around 100 kms on this hub.

It really feel like rolling good from the start, doesn't seem to need any bedding to me. No noise on any gears.

I don't like the new "top down" shifting. It is not natural since most system use the tension to gear up and release to gear down. Also when you stop and leave your bike, you either need to shift to 8th to release coil tension (which I read somewhere is better for durability of the coil). Or leave it as is and keep the coil tensioned.

I also don't like trigger shifter since you are not able to multishift. When you ride in city you need to multishift when you stop quickly and start again. I have grip shift on my old nexus and prefer it for quick gear change and simplicity.

Apart from these 2 things I had very little slipage of misengage of gears. Let say once per 2h00 riding with intense shifting (city use and I always use my gears when starting). I need to lube the shift cable and cut it shorter as I suspect this can cause some actuation problems.

I really feel the difference between my old nexus. The freewheel on this one is totally silent.

I also like the sealing plastic cap on the right (cog) side which is both easy to dismount and seal much better than the clip-on on the old hubs. I added some boat trailer grease to keep the water out as I felt Shimano didn't put enough.

I will update this post when I have more mileage on the hub.

Oh and I am geared 33x20 which I think is below Shimano recommendations but since I'm a light rider (140 lbs) and not a super athlete, it should be ok.

I cut the cable and sleeve to fit my bike. I also put some oil inside the sleeve. Shifting is now easier than before and feel really instant.
 
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#34 ·
Hi guys,

Just to let you know my SG-S7000 still works :)
It's getting around 5000kms and it got through the Montreal winter outside everyday.
Since I installed slick tires for summer I can feel a little grinding in 4th gear.
I'll try to do an oil bath soon to check if it improves anything.

I still don't like the top-down gears and the trigger shifter, this will be something I will check in the future if I'm going to buy a new hub.
Trigger is too slow to change a couple of gear at once.
Top down gears are sticky when I need an easier gear on uphill (not sure if it is top down or the downshifting mechanism).

Also center-lock is not very good if you don't have Shimano gears.
What I mean is a proper center-lock rotor and fixing ring.
It's a shame Shimano don't give center-lock ring with the hub.
I was coming from a six bolt rotor and had to buy an adaptor, I think it was from reverse.
Eventually the lock ring came loose, the six bolt on the adaptor prevented the ring getting screwed all the way. It sheared the lock ring and the rotor was loose (but it still worked as the caliper prevented the rotor from falling off.
I found an used Shimano lock-ring but I didn't had the special tool to screw it.
So I used a wrench and it is still holding after a couple month.

Bottom line, I didn't liked the proprietary design :-/
 
#35 ·
Centerlock on its own is sweet. Centerlock with adapters can be really really bad for a number of reasons -- IF you buy the wrong adapter. Which one did you get? Was it the Problem Solvers adapter? They generally make good products but their Centerlock adapter doesn't embrace the way Centerlock is really designed. Unfortunately this means you should get the more expensive adapter from Shimano. It's supposed to be a flange sort of design, and some of the adapters treat it as a C-clip design, which causes disc rotor warp.
 
#36 ·
As I said I think it's reverse brand.
You are correct about adaptor but the new part I have is Shimano and it's not better (apart from the metal quality).
The problem is the protruding bolts to secure the six bolt rotor.
I think it is flange sort but I'll try to post a picture.

Anyway, it's not critical since I have two brakes, but being forced to use something non standard with no easy replacement feels bad.

Another good point for Sturmey Archer / Rohloff :)
 
#37 ·
Update: now more than 14000km on this hub. 4000km on a loaded bike trip on the trans Canada trail which can be quite rough in some provinces. I am now using it for mountain biking in British Columbia. I would welcome more low gear for climbing but only for the steepest hills.
Recently bought an old Nexus SG8R31 and now I can feel the difference in drag while pedaling (SG-S7000 better).
Engineering Gas Circle Machine Automotive engine part
 
#38 ·
Hey Gorman,
I'm MTBing a 7001-8 on Vancouver Island. Your hub internals look really really clean. I had mine serviced, then I pulled mine apart after 2 rides on some local singletrack and the drive side bearing cage grease was turning brown. I did clean it out and regrease the hub. I'm wondering if the guy I paid to service the hub did a crap job. The hub seems to make a little more noise than it should when it freewheels. It's also below zero so I'm wondering if it's the grease getting solid and the roller clutch doesn't like that . I was thinking of putting some kind ATF or alfine 11 oil in it next time I service it.
 
#39 ·
Hey Nube,
Nice to know you're using that hub too !
It's hard to know what happened since it's not rocket science, I do know that i take my time putting grease in every spot I think water may enter.
Shops have to be profitable so they can't take as much time to service everything.
Also the air might be more salty on the Island than on the mainland.

I thought the same about grease in winter although I never heard any difference.
Maybe using some winter grease ? Don't know is that even exist.
You don't do an oil bath when you service your hub ?

I plunge mine in ATF and spin it a few time so oil penetrate better. I then let it stay for an hour so heavy particles would go at the bottom.
I then put it on the side for a few hours so the excess oil sips out.
Last step is putting a bit of grease on cogs on putting everything back together with grease on threads and contact areas.
 
#40 ·
Well, this was the first time it was serviced and the shop that serviced it had told me that they had dipped it. So I didn't bother with it. I did clean and grease it up really well, especially around the external bearings as I don't like the idea of water getting in. It's just dumped a ton of snow here so I don't think I'll be riding it for a while so I might just pull it apart again and give it another dip. The other problem I had was trying to separate the planetary carrier from the axle. The 7001 is in 8th gear with no cable tension so I'm assuming the 3rd planetary pauls were extended and catching on the carrier. I did get some extra grease inside the planetary cage though, just for good measure.
 
#41 ·
Chiming in to say my Alfine 8 Speed (SG-7001-8 Disc) is still going strong after 10.000+ km's. It's on a touring/city bike that originally came with a Nexus 8-speed from 2017, but that one would sometimes slip half a pedal turn. I was never able to pinpoint the cause and the third time I opened it up I went to far with disassembly and un-seated the return-gear spring. This is kinda impossible to put back without specific knowledge/tools, so I ended up deciding to install the Alfine 8 speed and keep the Nexus 8 for spare parts. The Alfine has been in this same bike since and working great.

After 1000km I decided to remove all the Shimano grease and add Dexron VI ATF (automatic transmission fluid). Amount about 15ml, so there's always a little pool inside the hub. Switching gears became even quicker, but the hub also became a tiny bit noisier. My guess is the ATF was a bit on the thin side. After another 1000km I switched to Gearbox Oil Type: MPM Gearbox Oil Semi Synthetic API GL4/5 75W90. Amount also 15ml. This made the hub even quieter and gear change is still lightning quick. I think this is the better choice.

Note: From what I've read elsewhere: Avoid gearbox oil with a single GL5 type indication since that has supposedly additives that might react with certain metal parts. Another source argued however it only causes slight discoloration and only with high temperatures. Anyway, the mentioned oil should be safe for metal and for plastic as its been in my hub for 8.000km and counting.

Last week I opened the hub for inspection and everything looked absolutely pristine. Planetary gears, roller clutches, plastic ball bearing holders, the inside of the shell.. all looked like new. I even did a side by side comparison with some of the old Nexus 8 parts (with had less then 1000km) and I could not see or feel any difference! Picture shows left Alfine internal and right Nexus.

p.s
These parts are interchangeable, tried it.

The one thing to double check when re-assembling these hubs is to NOT over-tighten the nut that holds/clamps the internals into the hub shell. If you do, it will have a lot of drag because of extra pressure on the ball bearings and your back wheel will maybe only spin for a rotation or 2 when you give it a swing with your hand. Getting it just right is not hard though. Tighten the nut with your hand only and feel there's no wiggle/play in the axle. If done correctly your wheel will still free-spin at least 15 rotations.

I also put some ball bearing grease on the ball bearings left and right to stop any oil from leaking out. Also added some grease tot he big round plastic screw-on cap for anti-leak. And as others have mentioned: Gear shift cable calibration is critical. Get the marks aligned in 4th gear and re-check once in a while.

Although I don't climb up big mountains or do wild off-road MTB, I do stand on the pedals and even pull my steering for extra force when the green light shows and I generally go 30km/h and up. But with the proper attention I think this hub will do another 10.000km easily.

 

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#42 ·
This is one thread I'm glad to see getting resurrected from time to time. Good to see how these hubs hold up. My original hub is not in service, but not because of any problems with the hub. That bike died a literal, fiery death. The hub never stood a chance, but it worked flawlessly for the 6 or 7 months I had it. Built up a 2nd wheel at the end of 2015. After 3.5 years with that as part of my main wheelset on my main bike (probably around 10K miles), I finally decided I better do the "annual" service. I can't remember if there was an issue with the hub that made me think it was time. Possibly there was, or possibly I messed up reassembling the hub after giving a dunk in the Shimano hub fluid and lubricating it with the Shimano bearing grease, but around a month after finally servicing it, it froze up. I tried figuring out what was frozen and if it was fixable, but I had so many pieces out, wasn't sure I could remember how to put them back properly, and still hadn't unfrozen whatever had gotten stuck, so I gave up. I picked up a replacement on eBay, pulled the guts out, and replaced the guts of my hub. That was last September, and it's been running fine since then. Probably another 3000 miles at least.

Meanwhile, towards the end of 2016 I built up a secondary wheelset with the same model hub. Those wheels get used often enough, but not as much as my other set. I serviced them last summer as well. That hub has been trouble-free for going on 4 years, and I really don't know how many thousand miles.

Also, kind of related, got a bike with Nexus 8 in the summer of 2016. It's my back-up bike, so it doesn't get a lot of miles, but it's also a folding bike, so it's the preferred bike if I'm traveling but not touring, so it does get some miles in. It also hasn't given me any trouble, but I do want to swap it for an Alfine because it's always an adjustment with the "backward" shifting.

So, so far, 5 years on 3 different Alfine 8 hubs. Only one failure, that may have been my own fault, and along the way I've commuted 5 days a week on them, run errands and goofed around on the weekends on them, toured on them, etc. I rarely drive, so the bikes are my primary means of transportation. I'm still very happy with the hub, and the fact that I was able to swap the internals of my broken hub without even needing to rebuild the wheel is also a plus. I probably need to do another servicing some time this summer, but I have no qualms about using this hub for just about anything. Also, while I wouldn't mind a larger gear range, I've been pretty happy with that aspect, too. I think I have them geared close to the ratio that gives me the lowest gear within the recommended specs, and that's low enough to get me up most of the hills I have to deal with, and high enough that by the time in top gear, I'm happy with my speed. I'm not a fast rider, though, and don't mind coasting on the downhills, so I can see where someone looking to push themselves might want more range. It's been working great for me, though.
 
#43 ·
Short update: Now at 12.500km, still on gearbox oil. No problems whatsoever. Very quiet and very quick shifting.

From all the years now with this hub and disassembling it multiple times I did learn that:

A) It's important to tighten the 2 axle nuts very securely. If you don't, the Alfine might rotate back and forth a tiny bit while pedaling. This will mess up the shifting alignment. The axle nuts are made of a softer metal compared to the axle itself, so don't worry too much about ruining the Alfine axle by overtightening the nuts. I used thread lock generously to make sure everything is as secure as possible.

B)
The nut that is holding the Alfine internals together should only be hand-tightened. Anything more that that will cause a lot of drag because of too much push force on the ball bearings. If your wheel isn't free-spinning smoothly (and it's not the brakes) it's probably this.

This hub is still a great value to me, but I do think the way it's mounted is a bit 'under designed'. The amount of rotating force on the axle can be very high. A torque arm (like on a Rohloff) to mitigate this force would be the prettier option instead of those anti rotation washers that always seem to have a tiny bit of play.
 
#44 ·
Thank's a lot for this interesting article. I will certainly save it for future reading.

I've now travelled some ten years on my Alfine 8 touring bike, and it's beginning to "slip" a little (about half-a-turn), so I guess it's on it's last legs.

I'll order a new one from Bike-Discount in Germany, and have an experienced mechanic in Ho Chi Minh build a new wheel for me (Mr Van, at "Saigon Bikeshop").

He's a total Alfine IGH professional, and they are not easy to find in SE Asia!
 
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