Rob NJ
Active Member
My Views on my New Allant 9.9 S, moving from SuperCommuter 8+
OK, first a few disclaimers... I am not an avid cyclist, and ride 1,500 to 2,000 miles per year. The bikes are used on 20 to 70 mile rides, and I have only done one 5 day bike tour trip with them. So view all these comments as coming from a recreational biker, not a hardcore cyclist that knows every term.
I received my Allant 9.9S just after Thanksgiving. My SuperCommuter was stolen and instead of buying another, I decided to upgrade the bike. I live in New Jersey, and the weather was not exactly perfect for cycling. As Murphy’s law would have it, just as I got the bike the weather turned cold, and I could not ride it. So, my wife and I decided to take a road trip to Florida for a few weeks so that I could test out my new purchase.
I have been reading all the posts about hard shifting, weird noises, and clunks on shifting with the Allant. Since my wife still has her SuperCommuter (must have been only one thief since they did not take hers), I can directly compare the two bikes. So here is my non-technical view on things.
Firstly, the bike is awesome. It handles well (for me), it takes any road surface fantastically (pavement, gravel, potholes) and is super secure to ride. I call it the SUV of bikes. Fantastic, great machine.
Now some of the complaints that you have seen and my (and Shimano’s) take on them.
Battery - there have been some concerns with the battery popping out. On mine, you turn the key fully clockwise, and the battery comes out. You must turn the key fully counter-clockwise to remove the key. To put the pack back in, it just snaps in. Similar to the older PowerPack 500’s. I have played quite a bit with it, and it seems to work well and solidly. Perhaps the other owners had something mis-adjusted, but mine seems quite fine.
Hub Noise - there has been some comment about a swarm of buzzing bees. I concur about how loud the sound is, and I find it a bit irritating. My wife is riding next to me with the SuperCommuter, so I can confirm the hub on the SuperCommuter is quieter. But - I had a long discussion with Jordan at Shimano and he filled me in on a few things. Firstly, the hub has more “notches” for the pawls to grab onto when you pedal. The advantage is the pedals need less rotation to grab, so that is why you hear a more rapid set of clicks. This is by design. He also explained that it cannot be quieted, although some people stuff them full of grease. He advised against that, as the grease will eventually gum up the pawls and it will be a big mess. His advice was to enjoy the swarm of bees, knowing that it is a much more finely machined hub that grabs with less of a rotation.
Stiff Shifter - others have also complained about a much stiff shifter than the SuperCommuter. Again, I concur, especially since I can put the two bikes side by side and feel the difference. The first thing my LBS did what pull the cable out, put a new polished cable in, and we checked to see if there were any kinks or such in the cable sleeve. The cable slid effortlessly through the sleeve, so the stiffness was clearly coming from the shifter or derailleur. He set everything properly, and made sure that everything was well lubricated. Still quite stiff. So, I put the question to Jordan Shimano if I could perhaps change the thumb shifter or spring to make it shift easier. His basic answer was no. But that perhaps the next level up, the 9100 would shift with less force, but he could not be specific. So if I want to spend $130 to test his theory, I can, but no promises. So basically stuck with the shifting force. Something in me feels there is more to this, so probably will keep working on this item.
Clunking on shifting - So I have about 150 miles on this bike now. I agree again with others that there is more “clunking” on shifting sometimes. Other times, it shifts very sweetly, and just as well, if not better than my SuperCommuter. Again, have one right next to the Allant to try. Most of the time, we are riding in Eco or Tour mode. After all, we just brought the bikes to Florida to escape NJ winter for a few weeks, and it is flat as a pancake here. When we wanted to get quickly across a busy causeway, we popped both bikes up into Turbo, and I really think the Allant has more go than the SuperCommuter. All of a sudden, in Turbo I notice that the clunking is much worse. So after a bit of playing, I realize that the clunking gets worse in Sport and then really in Turbo mode. By my reckoning, it is the extra torque on the motor, just grabbing the chain harder after the motor pauses during the shift. Seems on my bike to be totally correlated with assist levels. More to do on this as well.
So those are my thoughts. Non-scientific, still some things I have to research more (like the shifter). But from my view, and discussions with Shimano there are no defects, but a purposeful approach. I may not like the loud sounds, but they are not product defects. Honestly, a really amazing bike that I am thrilled to have. I do think I like it better overall versus my SuperCommuter. Stronger motor, easier to pedal without power, longer range, a bit lighter, very tight and clean look. Excellent ride.
OK, first a few disclaimers... I am not an avid cyclist, and ride 1,500 to 2,000 miles per year. The bikes are used on 20 to 70 mile rides, and I have only done one 5 day bike tour trip with them. So view all these comments as coming from a recreational biker, not a hardcore cyclist that knows every term.
I received my Allant 9.9S just after Thanksgiving. My SuperCommuter was stolen and instead of buying another, I decided to upgrade the bike. I live in New Jersey, and the weather was not exactly perfect for cycling. As Murphy’s law would have it, just as I got the bike the weather turned cold, and I could not ride it. So, my wife and I decided to take a road trip to Florida for a few weeks so that I could test out my new purchase.
I have been reading all the posts about hard shifting, weird noises, and clunks on shifting with the Allant. Since my wife still has her SuperCommuter (must have been only one thief since they did not take hers), I can directly compare the two bikes. So here is my non-technical view on things.
Firstly, the bike is awesome. It handles well (for me), it takes any road surface fantastically (pavement, gravel, potholes) and is super secure to ride. I call it the SUV of bikes. Fantastic, great machine.
Now some of the complaints that you have seen and my (and Shimano’s) take on them.
Battery - there have been some concerns with the battery popping out. On mine, you turn the key fully clockwise, and the battery comes out. You must turn the key fully counter-clockwise to remove the key. To put the pack back in, it just snaps in. Similar to the older PowerPack 500’s. I have played quite a bit with it, and it seems to work well and solidly. Perhaps the other owners had something mis-adjusted, but mine seems quite fine.
Hub Noise - there has been some comment about a swarm of buzzing bees. I concur about how loud the sound is, and I find it a bit irritating. My wife is riding next to me with the SuperCommuter, so I can confirm the hub on the SuperCommuter is quieter. But - I had a long discussion with Jordan at Shimano and he filled me in on a few things. Firstly, the hub has more “notches” for the pawls to grab onto when you pedal. The advantage is the pedals need less rotation to grab, so that is why you hear a more rapid set of clicks. This is by design. He also explained that it cannot be quieted, although some people stuff them full of grease. He advised against that, as the grease will eventually gum up the pawls and it will be a big mess. His advice was to enjoy the swarm of bees, knowing that it is a much more finely machined hub that grabs with less of a rotation.
Stiff Shifter - others have also complained about a much stiff shifter than the SuperCommuter. Again, I concur, especially since I can put the two bikes side by side and feel the difference. The first thing my LBS did what pull the cable out, put a new polished cable in, and we checked to see if there were any kinks or such in the cable sleeve. The cable slid effortlessly through the sleeve, so the stiffness was clearly coming from the shifter or derailleur. He set everything properly, and made sure that everything was well lubricated. Still quite stiff. So, I put the question to Jordan Shimano if I could perhaps change the thumb shifter or spring to make it shift easier. His basic answer was no. But that perhaps the next level up, the 9100 would shift with less force, but he could not be specific. So if I want to spend $130 to test his theory, I can, but no promises. So basically stuck with the shifting force. Something in me feels there is more to this, so probably will keep working on this item.
Clunking on shifting - So I have about 150 miles on this bike now. I agree again with others that there is more “clunking” on shifting sometimes. Other times, it shifts very sweetly, and just as well, if not better than my SuperCommuter. Again, have one right next to the Allant to try. Most of the time, we are riding in Eco or Tour mode. After all, we just brought the bikes to Florida to escape NJ winter for a few weeks, and it is flat as a pancake here. When we wanted to get quickly across a busy causeway, we popped both bikes up into Turbo, and I really think the Allant has more go than the SuperCommuter. All of a sudden, in Turbo I notice that the clunking is much worse. So after a bit of playing, I realize that the clunking gets worse in Sport and then really in Turbo mode. By my reckoning, it is the extra torque on the motor, just grabbing the chain harder after the motor pauses during the shift. Seems on my bike to be totally correlated with assist levels. More to do on this as well.
So those are my thoughts. Non-scientific, still some things I have to research more (like the shifter). But from my view, and discussions with Shimano there are no defects, but a purposeful approach. I may not like the loud sounds, but they are not product defects. Honestly, a really amazing bike that I am thrilled to have. I do think I like it better overall versus my SuperCommuter. Stronger motor, easier to pedal without power, longer range, a bit lighter, very tight and clean look. Excellent ride.
