The info on the Origin-8's website haven't changed:
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011 Origin-8 CX700 Follow Up
Happy New Year! We've been waiting and waiting for the 2011 black version of CX700 frameset, but it never happened. Well, hopefully 2011 will be available in 2012, long wait, but... she's monster... beautiful monster... I don't mind.
The info on the Origin-8's website haven't changed:
And it seems like the 2011 version will be available Dedham Bike soon:
The info on the Origin-8's website haven't changed:
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Perfect Alfine-11 Bikes
Merry Christmas! Like Santa, bike manufacturers are secretly listening to what we want. Today, the Alfine-8's are beginning to get phased out, and we are seeing more and more Alfine-11. In the US, the 11-speed hub itself was initially $600-700. But now, from Google shopping:
From the list above, we have 1/3 of the Alfine-11 Speed hubs at around $500, which is more "affordable" than when it first came out I guess. Did I mentioned the required cog, small part kit, and the $70+ shifter (assuming you are not getting the Versa brifter)? Ok... so the point is unless you are planning to upgrade your bike, or you can't tell what's the difference between $100 and $1000, it's probably not a good idea to buy a hub and build from scratch. Now, at least online and shippable to US, we are finally able to get a hold of these bikes that come with Alfine-11 and quality steel frame... all stock and in black. So far, here are the top three of our perfect and obtainable bikes:
1. On-One Pompetamine Versa 11 Speed Pro - $1,646.63 (+ ~$100 shipping)
2. Fahrrad Manufaktur T-600 Alfine 11-Gang - $1525.58 (OMG! Look at those lights and tires! Shipping is $282.33!)
Where to buy one? xxcycle.com
3. Charge Mixer City - $1299.99 (Tax of $118 for California residence in addition to $48.00 shipping)
Where to buy one? Performance Bicycle
Merry Christmas and have fun shopping.
| Shimano Alfine-11 | Condition | Total price | Base price |
| Bikes Online | New | $492.09 | $492.09 |
| eBikeStop.com | New | $501.95 | $489.95 |
| Remember Delaware | New | $522.32 | $522.32 |
| BikePartsExpress.com | New | $548.99 | $548.99 |
| eBay - dana67301 | New | $576.64 | $568.99 |
| eBay | New | $593.00 | $593.00 |
| Joyride Cycles | New | $607.49 | $607.49 |
| eBay - cycleclubsports | New | $619.81 | $612.31 |
| Bike.com | New | $663.88 | $657.89 |
| Tree Fort Bikes | New | $674.99 | $674.99 |
From the list above, we have 1/3 of the Alfine-11 Speed hubs at around $500, which is more "affordable" than when it first came out I guess. Did I mentioned the required cog, small part kit, and the $70+ shifter (assuming you are not getting the Versa brifter)? Ok... so the point is unless you are planning to upgrade your bike, or you can't tell what's the difference between $100 and $1000, it's probably not a good idea to buy a hub and build from scratch. Now, at least online and shippable to US, we are finally able to get a hold of these bikes that come with Alfine-11 and quality steel frame... all stock and in black. So far, here are the top three of our perfect and obtainable bikes:
1. On-One Pompetamine Versa 11 Speed Pro - $1,646.63 (+ ~$100 shipping)
Where to buy one? xxcycle.com
3. Charge Mixer City - $1299.99 (Tax of $118 for California residence in addition to $48.00 shipping)
Merry Christmas and have fun shopping.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Black Soma Double Cross DC Frame
Any customer can have a bike painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black. I really think Soma Fabrication is listening to ... me. The new Soma Double Cross DC finally comes in sexy "Slick" black color. Frame materials is the same as before, Tange Prestige. The matching fork for the Double Cross costed about $120.00. But the downside is at $449.99 for the frame only, there are definitely other alternatives.
The other one I can think of right now is UK's On-One Pompetamine, which cost $274.67 (frame itself) + $62.62 (shipping to the US) = $337.30. Including a matching fork? Total for the frameset comes to about $415.85 shipping included to US. The whole frameset is still cheaper than the Double Cross frame itself. Although I have the admit the Soma looks nicer, but I could go with a little less, IMHO, for the price.
Double Cross or Pompetamine, I am really tempted to do a frame swap since I haven't been making any progress on my Soma Juice - Alfine project, which I've been saving for my 2012 New Year Resolution. BTW, didn't Origin-8 is also coming with a black 2011 version of their CX700. December 2011 is almost over, and I haven't seen any updates yet. Hm...
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Uh oh. Where is my bike?
You know what's the scariest part about bike commuting? It's not getting hit by a Double Decker because we don't have those here. Well, a mid-size sedan can be just as bad, but most of the time it can be avoided by being super careful, using your common sense, and giving up your cyclist pride and walking/biking slowly on the sidewalk. After a long day of hard work or multiple 3-hours lectures, you get off the train, getting ready to unlock your bike, and planning to relax and have a little fun biking home. Then, guess what happen next? I am pretty sure I parked my bike right at this spot (locked), or I am positive that I didn't take the rear wheel this morning, and of course, I didn't left it in the cube. Initial frustration quickly turns into worries, which is quickly followed by we have to face the reality that we will never get a chance to see that missing item ever again. The stolen bike or component is gone... forever, period.
I couldn't tell you how many times it had happened to me. That's why I get extremely paranoid while my vintage Fuji Del Rey is locked outside the a sandwich place when my friend and I are having lunch there. Not kidding, I have a bad habit of taking a quick glance outside once every minute. My friend kept telling me to calm down and the bicycle doesn't cost that much, which is true. I got the Del Rey for free from another friend and it does looks somewhat crappy, but it is exactly designed for this type of environment; you don't want a Cervelo as your commuter here. Even if it's a Walmart Mongoose, I still thank God that it's still here with me.
My sister has been commuting with my Fuji Del Rey for about a year. She actually enjoys the car-free life. Anyways, one of the recent incidents happened to her a month ago is when she locked the front wheel and the frame to the rack but didn't lock the rear. As a result, after she came back from work, the rear wheel was gone (in less than 24 hours). This is actually the second time this has happened to her. Few years ago, she parked her Magna in the same station and locked her frame only with a wire-lock. As a result, both wheels are gone. Come on, the Magna bike as a whole only cost $60 plus tax, and the wheels don't even have quick-release. Lesson learned, if you want keep something, lock them.
At first, I wanted rebuild the rear wheel because I was planning to learn how to build a wheel, but I really don't have time at this time of the year. I have the tube, tires, hubs (f+r), new 27"/iso-630 rims here, and the screw-on gears; all I need is the spokes. So, I brought the parts to Missing Link in Berkeley and figure it would be cheaper to have them build a wheel for me, instead of buying a new wheel. Wrong! The labor cost for building a wheel is $75, which is the same almost everywhere in the Bay Area. Stainless steel spokes is $0.75 per spoke. I need 36 spokes for the rear, which the total cost is $27. Labor, parts, and tax is a little over $100 plus the money I already spent on getting the hubs, rims, and freewheel. Missing Link does have a new rear wheel with a quandro hub for $60, which I think makes more sense, so I decided to get the new rear wheel instead.
Installing the wheel took hours because I tried putting a Shimano Megarange 7-speed freewheel to replace the Suntour 6-speed. The rear wheel didn't turn at all. So I brought my bike to Pioneer Bicycles in Oakland. Highly recommended. I really liked this place. This place is filled with bikes waiting to be repaired. I believed the guy I talked to is the owner; he's able to figure out immediately that the Megarange 7 is too wide, and it needs to be replaced with a Shimano (or Suntour) 6-speed. Well, it could be a simple problem, but he was able to get my Fuji back to life in less than 10 minutes. The cost is very reasonable too. Although it might sound like another Yelp review, but really, I couldn't be happier.
So, change the front tire from Conti Ultra Sports to Schwalbe Marathons match the rear, and now the Fuji Del Rey is ready to go. I gotta say the whole bike theft experience is wasting my time and money.
I couldn't tell you how many times it had happened to me. That's why I get extremely paranoid while my vintage Fuji Del Rey is locked outside the a sandwich place when my friend and I are having lunch there. Not kidding, I have a bad habit of taking a quick glance outside once every minute. My friend kept telling me to calm down and the bicycle doesn't cost that much, which is true. I got the Del Rey for free from another friend and it does looks somewhat crappy, but it is exactly designed for this type of environment; you don't want a Cervelo as your commuter here. Even if it's a Walmart Mongoose, I still thank God that it's still here with me.
My sister has been commuting with my Fuji Del Rey for about a year. She actually enjoys the car-free life. Anyways, one of the recent incidents happened to her a month ago is when she locked the front wheel and the frame to the rack but didn't lock the rear. As a result, after she came back from work, the rear wheel was gone (in less than 24 hours). This is actually the second time this has happened to her. Few years ago, she parked her Magna in the same station and locked her frame only with a wire-lock. As a result, both wheels are gone. Come on, the Magna bike as a whole only cost $60 plus tax, and the wheels don't even have quick-release. Lesson learned, if you want keep something, lock them.
At first, I wanted rebuild the rear wheel because I was planning to learn how to build a wheel, but I really don't have time at this time of the year. I have the tube, tires, hubs (f+r), new 27"/iso-630 rims here, and the screw-on gears; all I need is the spokes. So, I brought the parts to Missing Link in Berkeley and figure it would be cheaper to have them build a wheel for me, instead of buying a new wheel. Wrong! The labor cost for building a wheel is $75, which is the same almost everywhere in the Bay Area. Stainless steel spokes is $0.75 per spoke. I need 36 spokes for the rear, which the total cost is $27. Labor, parts, and tax is a little over $100 plus the money I already spent on getting the hubs, rims, and freewheel. Missing Link does have a new rear wheel with a quandro hub for $60, which I think makes more sense, so I decided to get the new rear wheel instead.
Installing the wheel took hours because I tried putting a Shimano Megarange 7-speed freewheel to replace the Suntour 6-speed. The rear wheel didn't turn at all. So I brought my bike to Pioneer Bicycles in Oakland. Highly recommended. I really liked this place. This place is filled with bikes waiting to be repaired. I believed the guy I talked to is the owner; he's able to figure out immediately that the Megarange 7 is too wide, and it needs to be replaced with a Shimano (or Suntour) 6-speed. Well, it could be a simple problem, but he was able to get my Fuji back to life in less than 10 minutes. The cost is very reasonable too. Although it might sound like another Yelp review, but really, I couldn't be happier.
So, change the front tire from Conti Ultra Sports to Schwalbe Marathons match the rear, and now the Fuji Del Rey is ready to go. I gotta say the whole bike theft experience is wasting my time and money.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Bikes Direct - GT Peace 9r Multi and Dawes BullsEye
I always wanted to add more bikes with different configurations to my collection, even though I don't know what exactly I am going to do with them. If you are like me and you live in the US, there's no way you haven't heard or been to www.bikesdirect.com. In a nutshell, they sell bikes at a very reasonable price; I believed you can only find a comparable used model at a lower cost from Craigslist or Ebay. There's a lot of debate online about how they can get the price so low, but I am totally cool with it as long as they are not selling stolen bikes. If the brand is not that important to you, check this out... huge selections of 29er's... aluminum ss, aluminum multi-speed, cromoly ss, etc. You name it. As a steel person, these are two 29er models I have my eyes on:
1. GT Peace 9r Multi (not exclusive to bikesdirect.com) - 9spd steel rigid 29er w/ decent components for - $649
2. Dawes BullsEye - SS rigid steel 29er for $349! (Better than getting just the Origin-8 CX700 frame itself if cost is a concern)
There's also Dawes RedEye for $319, which is identical to the BullsEye but without disc wheels and brakes; the frame is compatible with disc though.
1. GT Peace 9r Multi (not exclusive to bikesdirect.com) - 9spd steel rigid 29er w/ decent components for - $649
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| GT-Peace 9r Multi |
2. Dawes BullsEye - SS rigid steel 29er for $349! (Better than getting just the Origin-8 CX700 frame itself if cost is a concern)
 | |
| Dawes BullsEye |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Dahon Folding Bike
Dahon (da-hon or day-hon), I believed, is one of the biggest manufacturers of folding bikes. With little practice, you can fold or unfold it in less than 10 secs and bring it on to a train (BART/Caltrain for my case) during rush hours, and put it in the trunk of a even sub-compact car. Another advantage to folding bike in general is you can bring with you everywhere you go, so you don't have to worry about theft. I am sure for a many cities this is not a problem, but seeing the word, "stolen," on the bike listing of Craigslist is not uncommon around my area. I also have many bad experiences with bike theft when I was in college.
My current folder is a 2005 Dahon Helios with 20 in. Schwalbe Marathon Slick tires. It's light enough, 22-23 lb., (can be easily carry it with one hand), and fast... faster than my vintage steel bike. The whole idea of a folding bike is just perfect. Although, I admit I feel a little uncomfortable sometimes because it does look like a grown-up riding a bmx (vs. BMW) whenever I am on one. It somehow makes you feel a little better as you see more and more people riding a Dahon. Whenever you are on a train, people seem to be curious about these kind of bikes and asked lots of questions. I also encountered people with higher end folding bikes such as Birdy, Brompton, Swift, Trek F600, and Bike Friday trying to intimidate my Dahon, but in the end they seem impressed with how it folds.
Cons? Things seem to break faster than any of the bikes I've ridden. If the folding handlebar-post broke, which is what happened to my older Dahon Boardwalk, it's a problem even if you have the cash for the part.
According to Dahon's website, I contacted two bike shops near my area: Bay Area Bikes and Dublin Cyclery. I drove to the bike shop, talk to the mechanic, and gave them my numbers for them to get back to me. It took me three weeks of long wait to finally accomplish nothing.
Luckily there's Gaelan.
By looking at his website, one might think the store has been shut down since the beginning of the world wide web when Gopher and Telnet are the two most common protocols of the internet (sorry, you have to be a techie and older than me at the same time to understand). But, don't be fool, do NOT be fool... this guy eats and drinks folding bike. He's very knowledgeable, calls you several times make sure you get the right part, and he also accepts PayPal. I don't know him personally, but highly recommend talking to him if you have a problem with your Dahon.
My current folder is a 2005 Dahon Helios with 20 in. Schwalbe Marathon Slick tires. It's light enough, 22-23 lb., (can be easily carry it with one hand), and fast... faster than my vintage steel bike. The whole idea of a folding bike is just perfect. Although, I admit I feel a little uncomfortable sometimes because it does look like a grown-up riding a bmx (vs. BMW) whenever I am on one. It somehow makes you feel a little better as you see more and more people riding a Dahon. Whenever you are on a train, people seem to be curious about these kind of bikes and asked lots of questions. I also encountered people with higher end folding bikes such as Birdy, Brompton, Swift, Trek F600, and Bike Friday trying to intimidate my Dahon, but in the end they seem impressed with how it folds.
Cons? Things seem to break faster than any of the bikes I've ridden. If the folding handlebar-post broke, which is what happened to my older Dahon Boardwalk, it's a problem even if you have the cash for the part.
According to Dahon's website, I contacted two bike shops near my area: Bay Area Bikes and Dublin Cyclery. I drove to the bike shop, talk to the mechanic, and gave them my numbers for them to get back to me. It took me three weeks of long wait to finally accomplish nothing.
 |
| www.dahon.com/locator |
Luckily there's Gaelan.
 |
| www.gaerlan.com |
By looking at his website, one might think the store has been shut down since the beginning of the world wide web when Gopher and Telnet are the two most common protocols of the internet (sorry, you have to be a techie and older than me at the same time to understand). But, don't be fool, do NOT be fool... this guy eats and drinks folding bike. He's very knowledgeable, calls you several times make sure you get the right part, and he also accepts PayPal. I don't know him personally, but highly recommend talking to him if you have a problem with your Dahon.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A little about my up coming wheel building project
Oh no, more work! To be honest, my vintage Fuji Del Rey is the bike I use the most. It's a great all-round bike. But what's up with, "vintage." When it comes to the wheels, a very old road bike usually, but not always, means having a 27" (ISO 630) wheelsets. Unfortunately, for some reason, 27" was no longer the norm ever since a very very long time ago. Not only does finding replacement wheels can be difficult, but looking for reliable and quality matching tires can also be a challenge. It's a good thing we have Performance Bike, Mike's Bikes, REI, and my LBS (Local Bike Shop) carrying 27" tires:
Nowadays, road cycling is all about the 700c (ISO 622), which has the same diameter as the 29ers. There are huge tire selections for 700c for road applications. I love the feel of narrowly tires that is exclusive to 700c size. All modern road frame usually have a drop out of 130mm instead of 120mm found on mine and 126mm found in many vintage road bikes. So you need matching hubs for the frame dropout if you decided to replace them. Summarizing the points, here's the reason why I should ditch this bike and get a new one instead:
Back in 2006, a good friend of mine gave this Del Rey to me free of charge. But at that time, the bike was very different from what it is right now. By different, I didn't mean in a good way. It used to be like the tires and tubes were long gone, cables rusted, cloth tape torn, inaccurate shifting, theft-proof look of the frame... long story short it was messed up. I spent a lot of time and money working on this bike. There were times that I was tempt to sell it because of the high maintenance cost and the incompatibility with modern bike parts. In the end, I decided to keep it, because the bike is super reliable, can go up any hills without problems, unattractive appearance which makes it a very good SF Bay city-bike, and it just works perfectly as a beater.
One last upgrade I wanted is to replace the two wheels. Since day one, the rear wheel creaks after each rotation. I am suspecting it has something to do with the rust inside rim, and I happened to have a pair of new rims hiding at the corner of my room for a while:
Not the best, but certainly something that should give my Fuji a new life, and a chance for me to build my first wheel. Anyways, I will start this project as soon as I got all the other parts.
| Bike Shop | Tires |
| Peformance Bike | Forté Strada K Road Tire |
| Peformance Bike | Forté Strada Road Tire |
| Mike's Bikes | Kenda Street K35 Road Tire |
| Mike's Bikes | Specialized Tri-Sport Tire |
| Mike's Bikes | Specialized All-Condition Armadillo Tire |
| REI | Serfas Seca Road Utility Tire |
| REI | Vittoria Zaffiro II Tire |
| REI | Panaracer Tourguard Pasela Bike Tire |
| REI | Continental Continental Ultra Sport Tire |
| Robinson Wheelworks | Panaracer Tourguard Pasela Bike Tire |
Nowadays, road cycling is all about the 700c (ISO 622), which has the same diameter as the 29ers. There are huge tire selections for 700c for road applications. I love the feel of narrowly tires that is exclusive to 700c size. All modern road frame usually have a drop out of 130mm instead of 120mm found on mine and 126mm found in many vintage road bikes. So you need matching hubs for the frame dropout if you decided to replace them. Summarizing the points, here's the reason why I should ditch this bike and get a new one instead:
- Obsolete 27" wheels and tires
- Obsolete drop out width of 120mm (for 5/6 spd) vs. modern width of 130mm
- The width of the tires are usually (27 x) 1 1/4"
- Fewer tire selections
- Obsolete threaded on freewheel, which I didn't mention above
Back in 2006, a good friend of mine gave this Del Rey to me free of charge. But at that time, the bike was very different from what it is right now. By different, I didn't mean in a good way. It used to be like the tires and tubes were long gone, cables rusted, cloth tape torn, inaccurate shifting, theft-proof look of the frame... long story short it was messed up. I spent a lot of time and money working on this bike. There were times that I was tempt to sell it because of the high maintenance cost and the incompatibility with modern bike parts. In the end, I decided to keep it, because the bike is super reliable, can go up any hills without problems, unattractive appearance which makes it a very good SF Bay city-bike, and it just works perfectly as a beater.
One last upgrade I wanted is to replace the two wheels. Since day one, the rear wheel creaks after each rotation. I am suspecting it has something to do with the rust inside rim, and I happened to have a pair of new rims hiding at the corner of my room for a while:
 |
| Sun Rims AT18 27" 36h |
Not the best, but certainly something that should give my Fuji a new life, and a chance for me to build my first wheel. Anyways, I will start this project as soon as I got all the other parts.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Origin-8 CX700 Frameset
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| Source: http://www.cxmagazine.com/interbike-2009-revisited-monster-cross-alive |
 |
| Source: http://www.cxmagazine.com/interbike-2009-revisited-monster-cross-alive |
The CX700 was one of the frames I considered getting but ended up with a SOMA Juice mainly because of the company's reputation and good things I heard from various bike forums. However, every time I see a picture of this frame, I always asked myself, "Did I make a mistake?" To make matter worse, I came across this:
 |
| Source: http://team-bicycle.webstorepowered.com |
I don't understand the benefits of a machined head tube, but the lighter weight (200g heh...) and black frame do sound like something I want to get. Maybe it's time to turn my SOMA into something else, and swap all the component to this frame. Excuse to spend more money? Not at all...
Look what I got!
I haven't touch my Alfine commuter building project in awhile since, I hate to say this but I have to be honest, there are much more important things in my life. Being said that, bicycling is still an essential part of my life. Everyday, whenever I am in front of my computer, I have a very bad habit of checking out the bike section of Craigslist and cycling part of Ebay's website. A lot of the time you can find some very decent deals, but let's just hope they are not stolen stuff. Few weeks ago, I got a used FSA Metropolis City handlebar for $15, which I think was an awesome deal. I really liked my modified Origin-8 Spacebar OS, but I am very tempted to replace it. The diameter of Metropolis City is 31.8mm vs. 26.0mm for the Spacebar OS. Guess I have to keep an eye on those two websites for a matching stem. Any suggestion?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Rear Wheel and Alfine's Small Parts
I bought the Handspun Pavement Series 2, which is a hand-built rear wheel that consist of black Velocity Dyad rim, black spokes, and the Shimano Alfine 8 (SG-S501) IGH. Just a reminder, I got this rear wheel from AEBike.com, and the price was $240.99. Before you can integrate the wheel to the bike, you are required to buy both the Shimano SG-S501 Alfine/Nexus small parts kit and a cog (18t/20t), which cost another $17.00 and $8.00-$10.00, respectively. You don't really have to small parts kit as a package; you can actually purchase each part individually, but they will end up costing more than the kit itself (at least where I am from).
Putting the small parts on the has been pretty straight forward, except for the c-ring. Unless you are an experienced mechanic, if you think you put the c-ring in the right location the first time, you are not placing it in the right spot. I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out if I was doing it correctly and forcing that mofo to go in. Well, I found this video very helpful, and hope you'll find it helpful too:
Last but not least, let me give you the link of the instruction manual for the Alfine-8 hub/small parts/cogs, so you don't have to google for it:
1. Small parts installation instructions
2. Alfine gruppo in general
Putting the small parts on the has been pretty straight forward, except for the c-ring. Unless you are an experienced mechanic, if you think you put the c-ring in the right location the first time, you are not placing it in the right spot. I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out if I was doing it correctly and forcing that mofo to go in. Well, I found this video very helpful, and hope you'll find it helpful too:
Last but not least, let me give you the link of the instruction manual for the Alfine-8 hub/small parts/cogs, so you don't have to google for it:
1. Small parts installation instructions
2. Alfine gruppo in general
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Internal-Gear Hub
I wanted to build a bike with internal-gear hub because I test rode the Swobo Dixon from a nearby bike shop and immediately fall in love with it. It has the style and geometry of a classic ride and the gear range that will take you to the top of Mt. Himalayas, at least that's what it leads me to believe at first. However, I don't want to rely too much on my initial impression, so I began googling to see what are the available options, other than the SRAM i-Motion. After spending some time researching, I found four major manufacturers:
1. Rohloff Speedhub - Most expensive for a reason, of course
2. Shimano Alfine 8 or 11 - Offers a reliable package, yet not too unaffordable
3. SRAM i-Motion 9 - Direct competitor to the Shimano's offerings
4. Sturmey Archer XRF8 or S80 - Cheaper alternative to the previous three
The Rohloff Speedhub at $1000+ per hub, let's just I am not that much of a gear-hub enthusiast to invest so much dollars on. So that leaves me with the other three options. Shimano Alfine Gruppo is an update to its previous generation, the Shimano Nexus. From what I've heard, the Nexus and Alfine are very similar with the exception to the additional of centerlock disc brake mount for the Alfine; both offered similar gear ratio, if not the same (see graph below), the size of the hub is just as big, and shifting is exceptionally smooth.
There are a couple of things I liked about the SRAM i-Motion. It has 340% gear ratio, which is second to Rohloff. Also, the i-Motion has 9-speed to increase the amount of gear selection for the different type of roads. Another thing I liked about SRAM is its ISO six-bolt disc mounting standard, which something I wasn't aware at first, but I skip this topic for now and will talk about in another post. I really wanted this hub, but ending up not getting it mainly because it's still more expensive compared to the Alfine-8 and the Sturmey Archer.
Come to think of it, I've never seen a production bike with a Sturmey Archer 8-speed, so there's no way I can tell you how I feel about them. From what I've read, (forums, magazine reviews, blogs, online stores, etc.), Sturmey Archer 8 hubs are so so, but not great in terms of its quality and reliability.
And finally, the Shimano Alfine. It has about the same gear ratio as the Sturmey Archer (~305%), but less than SRAM. Alfine also has mechanism that prevent internal components from breaking easily. From what I've read from different forums, shifting mechanism is comparatively smoother than the SRAM i-Motion 9. I was really struggling to decide if I should get the Alfine or the i-Motion 9. After browsing and more browsing, I found a fully hand-built wheel for a little more than the hub itself, ($240.99 at the time I bought it from AEBike.com). Alfine-8 hub itself cost $200+, so a fully custom built wheel should be around $300 not including your own labor; the total cost would be even more if you have someone build it for you. Again, because of the cost restraint and Shimano's reputation, I went with the Alfine.
1. Rohloff Speedhub - Most expensive for a reason, of course
2. Shimano Alfine 8 or 11 - Offers a reliable package, yet not too unaffordable
3. SRAM i-Motion 9 - Direct competitor to the Shimano's offerings
4. Sturmey Archer XRF8 or S80 - Cheaper alternative to the previous three
The Rohloff Speedhub at $1000+ per hub, let's just I am not that much of a gear-hub enthusiast to invest so much dollars on. So that leaves me with the other three options. Shimano Alfine Gruppo is an update to its previous generation, the Shimano Nexus. From what I've heard, the Nexus and Alfine are very similar with the exception to the additional of centerlock disc brake mount for the Alfine; both offered similar gear ratio, if not the same (see graph below), the size of the hub is just as big, and shifting is exceptionally smooth.
 |
| http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/internal-gear-hub-review/ |
There are a couple of things I liked about the SRAM i-Motion. It has 340% gear ratio, which is second to Rohloff. Also, the i-Motion has 9-speed to increase the amount of gear selection for the different type of roads. Another thing I liked about SRAM is its ISO six-bolt disc mounting standard, which something I wasn't aware at first, but I skip this topic for now and will talk about in another post. I really wanted this hub, but ending up not getting it mainly because it's still more expensive compared to the Alfine-8 and the Sturmey Archer.
Come to think of it, I've never seen a production bike with a Sturmey Archer 8-speed, so there's no way I can tell you how I feel about them. From what I've read, (forums, magazine reviews, blogs, online stores, etc.), Sturmey Archer 8 hubs are so so, but not great in terms of its quality and reliability.
And finally, the Shimano Alfine. It has about the same gear ratio as the Sturmey Archer (~305%), but less than SRAM. Alfine also has mechanism that prevent internal components from breaking easily. From what I've read from different forums, shifting mechanism is comparatively smoother than the SRAM i-Motion 9. I was really struggling to decide if I should get the Alfine or the i-Motion 9. After browsing and more browsing, I found a fully hand-built wheel for a little more than the hub itself, ($240.99 at the time I bought it from AEBike.com). Alfine-8 hub itself cost $200+, so a fully custom built wheel should be around $300 not including your own labor; the total cost would be even more if you have someone build it for you. Again, because of the cost restraint and Shimano's reputation, I went with the Alfine.
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