IGH, Alfine, Rohloff, Sturmey Archer and frames/bikes built for them...

In that case something like the old Soma, Velo Orange porteur etc. will do the jobs.

steel fork + porteur rack should help keep it feeling stable and solid, like a LHT fork.

Cheap porteur rack work fine, but I find them rather flexy due to the construction.

Marvellous.

Cheers Ed.

Ti forks are too flexy so I've been told...

In that case, the ideal would be Ti frame and steel forks?

Yup.

Ti fork is a niche, if you want it, then there's no stopping you, but it's a pretty expensive and won't be as good as a custom steel fork (I'd go for that to gain a lower trail for the porteur rack).

Would depend on how light/expensive the steel ones were.
If you're going custom you can put eyelets wherever you want.
If that's the case, go Dynamo front hub and get the cable routed internally.

Can't beat the Burls/Rohloff combo....

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My next bike will be a Burls.

He's great!

any one had a go with these, or know anyone who has?

http://gevenalle.com/product/ux/

GF is upset with this one that comes stock with her day one.
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/jtek-8-speed-bar-end-shifter-for-shimano-alfine-and-nexus-internal-hubs-prod19504/

it keeps slipping, despite constant adjustment...

any thoughts

Hehe, @cornelius_blackfoot thanks for posting my question! Thought I'd go through the complete thread before asking it

So yes, pulled the trigger on the whole Alfine/belt drive upgrade for my AWOL, with those gevenalle UX1 shifters in mind, but it turned out that there are two types of Alfine 8 hubs - old 500/501 models with low normal shifting and new 7000 ones with top normal shifting... Given that shifters must be compatible with only one of those types I can already feel my disappointment when it's not going to be the one I will get... Asked the question to gevenalle, but still waiting for an answer.

Any thoughts appreciated

Cable housing need looking at.

Is it new?

What happen with the Jtek? need a bit more information than "just slipping".

Is it the cable or is it the lever that not staying put?

Ed thanks. Jtek is Cornelius' question, mine is around shifting patterns of old and new Alfine 8s

Alfine/belt drive upgrade for my AWOL.

Belt drive are great, but not really worth it as it does have a limited lifespan and are very expensive to replace.

AFAIK you can use the same shifter (Alfine/Nexus), it's usually the body that attached to the hubs that need to be right, as I've recently trying to find the right one for a customer's bike due to several variations (including a Scandinavian version).

Not used the Gevanelle shifter but I have a 2015/16 Day One that came with a microshift bar end shifter, a bs-no8. Works pretty well in my view. Might be worth a try as it'd be a straight swap out for the jtek.

The tektro brake leavers that those are based on are pretty dismal tbh, fine for ~£18, but not anything more.
http://road.cc/content/review/56215-retroshift-levers

apologies, my question was a bit muddled, GF is having trouble with the stock bar end microshifter... It needs constant adjustment, as she has trouble engaging it with one gear either above or below the one she likes riding in. No amount of fiddling has solved this.
Not sure if she's got a duff one or not, so looking for alternatives.

This would all be a load easier if Shimano just re engineered the dura ace down shifter that they already make to work with alfine hubs.

For my drop bar Alfine solution I used the regular trigger shifter mounted on one of those extension things. You could reach it from the hoods pretty well so worked a treat.

As I understand it, the cable pull on Alfine is really small so any small error means it will be all over the place. As said upthread, perhaps check the housing too. A sloppy housing end could cause enough flex in the system to prevent decent shifts.

So she has the Microshift or the Jtek bar end shifter?

I've never used the Jtek, but heard it's not great. The Microshift on mine is great, very positive indexing. I've also used an Ultegra bar end shifter (on another bike) and would say shifting feel was similar to that if not better.

I'd say if she's having trouble with the Microshift then somethings wrong, either shifter, cable or hub has a fault.

Stock gear cable routing on mine is under the tape right up to the stem, I'm planning on pulling it out of there sometime soon and bringing it out from under the tape at the end of the flat bit of handlebar, less twists and turns in the cable (plus it'll be a bit shorter) should make shifting feel even better.

it's interesting how you always find great reviews before you order something new, and once you do, it's all downhill from there... I guess I'm going to have to learn and decide for myself firsthand. tbf though, the review you're linking to is 4 years old

still no wisdon shared as to old/new alfine 8 models and their respective shifters... gevenalle have not come back yet either

I was looking on their website, and it seemed the shifters/brake levers were more based on whether you were running canti's/caliper brakes or disc's which seems to be the difference between the ux-1 and ux-2.

I'm not sure what your question is. Is it the direction of shift?

My Alfine is the reverse of standard shifting (finger makes gearing easier rather harder). I'm not aware this changed in future models but could easily be wrong.