Alfine 8 slipping

So I'm just wondering if anyone here has experience with Alfine 8 hubs slipping. Mine is a new alfine 8 sg-s501 from Planet X paired with shimano rapid fire shifter, running a 18T alfine cog and a FSA Gimondi chainset with 39T FSA chainring.

The problem is whenever I get out of the saddle the drivetrain would often "slip", as if the somewhere along the drivetrain is disengaged for a split second and before re-engaging. It happens with at least the middle gears (4, 5, 6), while I haven't tested others. As far as I can tell it stays on the same gear after skipping. Shifting has been smooth.

I made sure the yellow marks were aligned. I also tried to move the indexing both ways, turning the cable shell 2 notches each way but the slipping worsened though just slightly.

Sometimes there is clicking noise when the bike is pushed backwards, if that helps. Otherwise the gear runs smooth.

Is there anything I have missed? As everybody says hub gears including alfine are reliable and hussle-free, it seems unlikely that it is a defective item that is problematic even when new? Thanks for any thoughts!

Right chain width, length and tension?

Had this on the girlfirends bike

solved it by being really anal about lining up the yellow marks - generally I align, shift up a couple of gears, back down and realign and then repeat the process again, this time shifting down and then back to fourth gear.

Its particularly irksome with a new shifter cable as the cable stretching will very quickly throw out the alignment.

There is talk of needing to 'break in' new internal hubs. I know my nexus 8 speed started to shift better after a couple of hundred kms. Other than that I think the most likely fault would be somewhere in the shifter cable. This would explain the yellow marks lining up in 4th gear but slipping with others. Maybe check for compression occurring somewhere in the housing?

Had this on the girlfirends bike

solved it by being really anal about lining up the yellow marks - generally I align, shift up a couple of gears, back down and realign and then repeat the process again, this time shifting down and then back to fourth gear.

Its particularly irksome with a new shifter cable as the cable stretching will very quickly throw out the alignment.

+1

Agreed. Get really anal with realigning those marks. Check routing for any kinks or places that might make the cable stick momentarily. Had the same problem with a Nexus 7 setup.

Thanks all for the input, i will just be very anal then. At least its good to know theres no report of the internal gear failing.
Just to be sure, the cog is installed dished inward, right? The other way round and it interferes with the "derailleur".

The chain is a 3/32" at similar tension to my fixed.

One last reminder is that when you shift, you reduced the pressure on the pedals before shifting, otherwise it won't engaged until you stop pedalling for a second.

Much like pushing a clutch in a car.

So I have been adjusting the gear cable. It seems impossible to align both the 4 and 5 gears at the same time.
So now I am using 4 as a starting gear and gentle upshift to 5, much like pushing a clutch in an underpowered car...

Are you sure teh shifter is compatible? I thought Alfine 8 had to have its own propriatry shifter or am I talking crap?

I've found with setting up Alfine 8's in the past they are not that sensitive to being either side of the mark a little (+/- about half the width of the mark), HOWEVER, the mark is often not painted on in the right place!
Seen this on 2 hubs where the mark was a good 2-2.5mm away from where the 'ideal' shift point was.
Lastly, remove the cable from the hub end and thoroughly check the cable to make sure its smooth and not snagging as this could be causing your issue.

Are you sure teh shifter is compatible? I thought Alfine 8 had to have its own propriatry shifter or am I talking crap?

I've found with setting up Alfine 8's in the past they are not that sensitive to being either side of the mark a little (+/- about half the width of the mark), HOWEVER, the mark is often not painted on in the right place!
Seen this on 2 hubs where the mark was a good 2-2.5mm away from where the 'ideal' shift point was.
Lastly, remove the cable from the hub end and thoroughly check the cable to make sure its smooth and not snagging as this could be causing your issue.

This is how it is with mine. If I adjust per instructions then I get slippage. If I have slightly more cable tension so that the yellow lines don't line up then it is fine.

ElliptiGO Elliptical BIke Support Video #15 - Adjusting the Shimano Alfine 8-speed Hub - YouTube
This video explains it easily enough. Change up to 5th, down to 4th and check the yellow lines. Adjust tension with barrel adjuster as necessary.

Thanks for the detailed advice, will check that today.

a silly question - is the cog supposed to be dished outward or inward?

it doesn't matter if you don't use a chain tensioner.
default is inwards, I think, but you can flip it if it gets worn out.

it doesn't matter if you don't use a chain tensioner.
default is inwards, I think, but you can flip it if it gets worn out.

thanks, coz in the video it is outwards, and it tends to interfere with the "derailleur" and cable end that way.

I had Alfine 8 from Planet X which I had on a Surly Disc Trucker and I had exactly the same problem, I lost all confidence in getting out of the saddle as I felt I would either end up with a mouthful of bars or tarmac. I had several attempts at getting a setup that worked but I never managed it. It then started getting very rough on any gear change and could feel a grinding sensation through the cranks. So took it to bits and was horrified to find a lot of rust coloured watery grease inside. There is a large bearing that was completely covered in rust. I bought a new bearing but when re-assembled it was fucked...it made the same bad gear changes and could feel a grinding sensation through the cranks. The hub had lasted 6 months and 1500 miles. I'd always wanted a Rohloff but couldn't really justify the expense so I got an Alfine 11 because that runs in an oil bath like the Rohloff and assumed it would run much better also the extra gears would give a better spread of ratios as I always thought the 8's ratios were a bit mad. I got the 11 and first few miles were great nice and smooth and better ratios...then fuck me what happened...the cranks slipped just like the 8. I'd spent so much care in setting it up that I knew there was no point in me trying to get it working right...I now had absolutely no faith in Alfine whatsoever. I got rid of it on ebay and a bought a Rohloff, just wished I'd done so earlier. I've been running it now for 2 yrs done 6k miles on it and haven't had to touch it apart from the routine oil changes. Maybe it was me? but I adjusted it according to the tech docs....and there's obviously thousands of them out there, but I wouldn't have one again. A main point of the Rohloff is that the gear indexing is done within the hub and not by the shifter, so the gear changes are always spot on.

Usually people pedal through the gear change which often give that grinding feel.

How do you change cable inner on Alfine? There doesn't seem to be much adjustment available, so how do you know where to bolt the little clamp on?

You measure the length of the cable from the clamp to the end of the barrier adjuster on the hubs, it usually like 45mm, 95mm etc.

Look at the Alfine instruction from Shimano.

What he said.

I think it's 95mm or at least in that ball park rather than 45mm but could be wrong.

Usually 95mm, there's a handful of different measurement for different arm that attach to the hubs (from the short arse one to the Scandinavian version).

Just after posting this I UTFS and found it. Thanks though. Was being lazy. Is there anything more satisfying than a freshly-serviced bike?

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Every single days, I love my job for that reason.

Give me a job?

You'd be earning a lots less, and take a long time to be a mechanic, especially the first few years consist of building bicycles before you crack on repair.