Road Biking.Info

I was busy travelling when this was first announced, so I debated whether to even mention it at this point, but the new 11-speed Shimano Alfine hub is something I am pretty excited to see. Up until now, Rohloff had the market cornered for internally geared hubs with a wide range of gearing. According to the Lazy Randonneur, this new 11-speed Alfine has a gear range of 409%, compared to 307% for the current 8-speed version. The Rohloff still has a greater range, 526%, but when you consider the cost difference, the 11-speed Alfine should give it some serious competition.

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