Considering adding an IGH to my Shimano E6100... upgrade or not?

[antboy]

Looking for advice/experiences adding an IGH to my bike.

The bike is an OHM Cruise with the Shimano E6100, and the drivetrain is a 10 speed Deore (11-36 tooth), with 42 tooth chainring. The display is the larger SC-E6100 so all kinds of cockpit info there, including gearing info.

I don't NEED an IGH. I'm happy with the derailleur setup. I just don't have a ton of space for maintenance/repairs in the condo. Streamlining drivetrain maintenance would be a good thing, since it's the one aspect of maintenance that's a real hassle in my space.

I also have a bad case of "upgrade-itis", I'm thinking that I could avoid the N+1 rule for a while if I instead do N++

After doing a lot of reading/searching, I THINK it makes the most sense to stick with Shimano and get an Alfine 8 (If I get Shimano, I'd probably go all in with DI2, wireless shifting etc).

I'm also considering the Alfine 11, and it's gearing between 5th and 9th (majority of my riding), more closely aligns to my Deore setup, whereas the Alfine 8 has one less gear in that range. The thing is, I've read about reliability problems with the Alfine 11 leaking oil, and slipping gears, though these date back a few years. Any feedback on current reliability?

Just for reference, I did my estimates based on this gear calculator (comparing Deore to Alfine 8)...

Ritzelrechner - Graphical Gear Calculator for Bicycles

The bicycle gear calculator displays graphically the gearing of derailleur gears and gear hubs. It can be used to compare different setups to find the optimal gearing for all kinds of bicycles.

www.gear-calculator.com

I'd be getting the work done at my LBS. The mechanic there has experience with Shimano motors, and IGHs. He personally rides both (E8000 on his eMTB, and Alfine 8 on his non-electric commuter/city bike), has done the derailleur to IGH conversion before, and asked the right questions about the bike... some which I'll have to get answered by the manufacturer before proceeding.

Non-Shimano options? I've looked at other IGH options, like Rohloff and Kindernay. I think they'd be overkill for this particular bike. I also looked at Enviolo but as far as I can tell, they only have twist-shifters... blech.

Shimano from bow to stern SEEMS to be the way to go, but that's why I'm asking here...

 

[indianajo]

Over at mtbr.com forum, they have an IGH section where they talk about these. Bottom line of what I read, allfine8 and Nuvinci are reliable, others not so much. Leaks & skips.
I'd worry about sprockets available for alfine being wide for 8 speed chain, at least the ones for sale on modernbike.com and thebikeshopstore.com are. However, your bike shop may have a professional source of the 11 speed chain width sprocket.
I personally like twist shifters. The 7 speed shimano thumb shifter on my Pacific Quantum, it caused a 10 cm dia x 1 thick cyst to grow over my thumb joint. Painful, too. About a year after I went to twist shifter, and Sturmey Archer S80 IGH, the cyst was down to 4 cm. But I was age 62 when that happened. Young people may be able to stress the thumb joint without pain. BTW the S80 was unreliable, the shifter pawl started popping off the ring every mile at ~500 mlles. Couldn't fix it, went back to 7 spd Shimano then shortly on to 8 speed SRAM derailleur which I'm still using.

 

[antboy]

Over at mtbr.com forum, they have an IGH section where they talk about these. Bottom line of what I read, allfine8 and Nuvinci are reliable, others not so much. Leaks & skips.
I'd worry about sprockets available for alfine being wide for 8 speed chain, at least the ones for sale on modernbike.com and thebikeshopstore.com are. However, your bike shop may have a professional source of the 11 speed chain width sprocket.

Thanks, I did see some threads from the mtbr forums. My understanding is that the Alfine 8 uses grease, whereas the 11 uses oil, so it's more prone to leaking.

I was going to ask about sprocket and chainring, but figured that once I decide on a path forward, the mechanic would probably steer me right.

 

[antboy]

Revisiting this, and I've decided to stick with the derailleur.

I can handle the maintenance. Still debating Di2 possibly down the road.

 

[ruffruff]

Revisiting this, and I've decided to stick with the derailleur.

I can handle the maintenance. Still debating Di2 possibly down the road.

I personally think you made the right decision.