[Closed] Alifine drop bar commuter options?

I got a Genesis Day One Alfine bike back in 2011. I've since done just under 30,000 miles on it.

It's heavy, but I like it .. I did convert to a lighter derailleur commuter bike for a while (I was involved in a RTA and the main commuter was off the road, so I just bought a whole new bike) which shaved a few minutes off my 1hr commute, but it was like constantly breaking, ghost shifting etc. Basically wasn't up to the task and I got totally fed up with it.

The downside was the cable brakes on the day one. For the first 6-12 months they seemed passable but then they deteriorated gradually to the point they were pretty much unusable. There was no way to get them to not rub when not braking, and actually stop you when braking. I thought that a change of calipers to TRP spyres would help, but nope, so I ended up sticking a pair of TRP Hylex on them with a microshift bar end shifter - should have done this years ago it's bloody awesome. I've now had a complete winter out of the brakes with no maintenance required and they are crazy powerful - yay!

I like the Pinnacle Arkose as it's a bit lighter and it has hydraulic brakes. I don't like the EBB though (I've had a bike with an EBB before and you had to be pretty careful with it). I don't like the gear cable routing on the stock bike (it goes via the BB, which IME will mean it fills with water and freeze in winter meaning you can't shift gears / your hub will break). That's easy fixed routing the gear cable via the top tube and getting the correct axle nuts.

I like the Genesis Day One as it has horizontal dropouts.

So, if it were me, I'd probably go with the Pinnacle due to the much better brakes. I'd be prepared to change the gear cable routing as soon as justifiable (and be careful on freezing days - tip the bike up when storing for the water to run out to try and avoid issues). I'd also be really careful with the EBB. I'd be taking it all to bits at least once a year and giving it all a good clean and re-grease. HTH.

I picked up a third hand pompetamine two years ago and commute 20miles each way once or twice a week.

No maintainence on the gear hub. You don’t notice the weight when you are rolling, it works out about 1-2mph average slower than my summer road bike but who cares when you are riding alone for most of the trips

two new tyres and a chain is all I’ve spent in 5000miles.

Keep an eye out on the eBay for one.

I would go for the pinnacle if not. I was Tempted by the frameset deals for 300 that Evans had on their eBay shop....

Cheers guys. I just missed a pompetamine with versa shifters on ebay last week. Only went for £350 & it was mint condition too.

I really struggled to find a way of getting drop bar STIs, hyrldro discs and a hub gear onto my bike, pick any two...

Ended up having to go for Alfine 8 Di2, which to be fair has been very good, very reliable on next to no maintenance which is what you are after, would recommend in that respect. Only downside is the price, to upgrade current bike I got a hub and shifters cheap off fleabay then still spent over £600 on the other bits! That really surprised me but I had kind of passed the point of no return by then.

I had/have* an On-One Pompetamine with Alfine 11spd hub. The hub was very temperamental and needed regular adjustment, this was with the recommended servicing. Small amounts of dirt in the bend of the actuator arm would cause the indexing to go out. Others with the 11spd have been fine and the 8spd is said to be much more reliable. The hub died after about 10,000km of touring and commuting. I'd have another (8spd) IGH as they are, or should be, ideal for commuting. I think mine was just an edge case.

There's a review of the Pinnacle Arkose Alfine on the grit.cx "channel" on here if you've not seen it.

*The reason I say "have" is that I ditched the Alfine and converted the bike to single speed.

My Alfine 8 is fine, hasn't dies yet (I'm the second owner and ridden it about 5 years).

Drop bar STI shifters and disk brakes with the Versa 8 shifters and BB7's. OK, the BB7's aren't as good as my shimano hydros, but are good enough, just. I don't know anything about the TRPs.

I'm not sure I'd like the bar end shifters, maybe plan to upgrade those if you can find any Versa 8s.

Have a look at building up your own setup using a suitable frame or standard frame and tensioner too.

I've had a Day One Alfine 11 for a few years now for commuting duties. I have a love/hate ralationship with it TBH, when its running well its great low maintenance if a bit heavy. The cable discs have been OK though are a pain to adjust which is especially problematiac as if you need to remove  the rear wheel to change a puncture for example you have to move the brake caliper out the way before the wheel can come out the sliding drop outs. The hub itself has always been a bit crunchy even with annual oil changes, I can never get the shifting quite right, it always seems to slip out of a ger a some point, its an 11 though which are notorious for being a bit unreliable. Its a bit of a black box as far as I'm concearned and im always a bit scared that it might just fail and crap a load of cogs and springs on the side of the road leaving me stranded! Its also taken a hammering rust wise this winter, not sure I'd use such a nice a steel bike for winter commuting again.

I'm getting a bit fed up of it to be honest, its the only drop bar bike I've ever ridden so might switch to a normal cross style bike.

In the true STW spirit of #reccomendwhatyouhave ...

I got the Arkose Alfine last year on C2W, the intention being to see what it's like for road-bw-road rides from home, and then stick mudguards/rack on it for commuting duties if the novelty wore off. I enjoy riding for fun too much to turn it into a full-time commuter, but I it would be great. The bar end shifter isn't too bad; I had reservations about it not being STI. I like the brakes, the hoods are more substantial compared to my other drop bar bikes and very comfortable. There's also plenty of leverage to apply the brakes without having to get to the drops, so it's great in stop/start traffic or for avoiding the odd selfie-ing tourists with a death wish (lots of them where I live). I've got my eye on another alfine commuter with hydraulics and a belt drive that just slips under the £1k C2W threshold. Should be virtually zero maintenance. Flat bar though, so no good for op.

[B]mos[/B],

If you want a flat bar pompetamine to convert, I’ve one that I’ve been meaning to sell. Has hub dynamo & lights to enhance commuting duties. I’m in Zummerset, Ilminster but travel in SW on business.

My mate has the 853 version of the day one, with alfine 11.

it came with versa shifters, and like some others on here, he found that it needed extremely regular cable adjustment to stay in gear.

eventually, he decided he couldn’t get on with drop bars, so ditched them, along with the versa shifter, and cable discs.

he went with DH carbon bars, shimano trigger shifter and zee brakes.

sounds like a right mongrel, but all works brilliantly.

it tends to pretty much always be loaded up, so the fact that it’s a little heavy doesn’t matter that much.

i reckon shimano missed a trick by not making a drop bar shifter tbh, the versa one isn’t in the same league as (for example) 105.

Mos - what size is your Pompetamine ?