Carbon Alfine 650B Gravel/Road Thing

So I’ve just picked up a cheap-as-chips Carbon cross frame on AliExpress for 120 quid. The plan is to build it up with an Alfine 8 rear hub, fat tyres and mudguards. It’s got a BB30 Shell and I’ll be using an EBB for the chain tension.

The parts I already have are as follows;
Hylix gravel fork
650b Hope/Pacenti wheelset
Alfine 8 hub
Spyre calipers
SRAM crankset

The frame and EBB have been ordered and are on the way.

I haven’t got much experience with Alfine hubs. What would people suggest chainring size wise?

I’ll post updates as they happen.

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Home-brew paint job out of the question?!

Definitely not out of the question. I’ve got a load of dark grey spray paint and lacquer in the garage that didn’t get used from a previous project. So I was potentially going to use that.

So I’ve got 95% of the parts ordered now.

The frame has been dispatched from China so should be in the U.K. soon.

The EBB is coming from the USA and hasn’t been dispatched yet :-(

I went into the garage and raided the parts bin. I found some carbon one piece bars, some alloy bottle cages, a stripped SLR which need re-covered and a rack.

Last night I picked up a set of TRP RRL levers on Planet X for 35 quid. Much cheapness.

I plan to use the Microshift BS-No8 bar end shifter when I get the Alfine hub built into a wheel. The only issue at the moment is finding a 36h 650b rim :-(

I’d quite like a fluro fade paint job now. Has anyone got experience of using paint.bike spray paint?

I’m currently running a 42t praxis chainring on the SRAM cranks. I do t know if this is potentially too small for the Alfine? I like a pushing big gear. I was considering a 46t or 48t chainring. Can any Alfine Gurus let me know what the best balance is?

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Excited to see how this turns out, been contemplating a single speed version of what you're planning! Also been biding my time until the Christmas break to paint my bikes up! @MechaMorgan has done a great job and was a source of information for me

Great project! Link to frame and EBB?

Try to figure out what ratio of cog and chainring keeps you in 6th or 7th most of the time. 3,4, and 5 feel spongy. Like you're not getting all the power down.

I’ll be running the bike single speed initially until I get the Alfine hub built into a wheel.

I’ve painted a bike or two in the past with decent results but I’ll check Mechamorgan’s post for some tips. Thanks for the heads up!

Here’s the link to the frame. Price has went up a little since I purchased. Plus I had a voucher towards the cost.

http://s.aliexpress.com/IzMnmMfM

The EBB was an Origin8 one purchased on eBay.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F152672747577

Thanks for the advice.

I’ve been playing about with a gear calculator and running 46/18 will give me a similar gear range to my road bike setup of 11-27 & 52-36

So it looks like I’ll run with that in the meantime.

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A few more parts have arrived now. The Origin8 EBB, the TRP levers and a cheap Pro alloy seatpost.

I also started sanding the fork in preparation for the paint

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So today I stripped down the Alfine hub and it’s now bathing in some auto transmission fluid.

I also go the fork primered. Now all that remains is deciding what colour to do it.

See the photo below for the colours of paint I have. Any photoshop gurus fancy knocking me up a design???

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I'd love to know more about servicing that Alfine. What fluid did you use? Been meaning to try similar for ages. I've got 6,300 miles on mine now, in all weathers.

my vote goes for pink!

duck fat

This site (http://www.muddymoles.org.uk/reviews/stripping-and-an-oil-bath) was mentioned a fair bit when I did mine. Pretty straight forward all told, if a bit messy so plenty of space and a towel didn’t go amiss!!

@blacklisted as you've not built your hub into a wheel might be worth adding an oil port
http://www.astounding.org.uk/ian/hubgear/oilport.html
keep it topped easily.
Nice project BTW

Depends how old the hub is. Shimano have had a lot of time to get it right.

But the rusty colour of the innards of the picture above suggests that this might be an old one...

@edscoble reckoned that unless you're having issues, they're best left alone.

If it sound like it’s dry, shifting feel a bit stiff etc, then an oil bath is needed.

Just check the cable first before restoring to an oil bath, you will need a specific tool to take it apart.

@Sparky I'd say bite the bullet and learn to open it up and check it over. Ive not had an A11 but the A8 is easy to get in to.
In my experience by the time it's starting to feel rough it's too late, get it open at least to check the oil or grease on a regular basis.

learn to open it up and check it over.

@Sparky This. Not too hard and plenty of online guides, Sheldon Brown has links to manuals for various IGH models. As for which oil to use, any auto transmission fluid should be ok.

Yeah I’d agree with what @TheShipwright says and just bite the bullet and learn to strip the hub. It’s actully not that hard. There is plenty instructional videos on YouTube but once you’ve done it a couple times it should be a straight forward 30-45 minute job.

In other news. The frame is in the U.K. I’m assuming I’ll need to pay a customs charge as it’s been in the national hub for a few days. I’ve also now painted the forks and applied some decals. I wanted to go with something striking that would look cool! I think I’ve achieved that look. I just need to lacquer the fork but I’ll let the decals set for 5 days first.

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If you're stuck for the Alfine wheel you could do what Rob English did here and use a 24h rim (if you trust your wheelbuilding enough).

Thanks for the tip!

I’ve found a couple of 36h rims. Mavic do a couple of variants and there is a brand called Mach on eBay. Not heard much about them so I’ll probably I with Mavic