The Alfine 8 uses grease not oil. The point of the oil bath conversion is to make the Alfine smoother, shift better and (probably) last longer. It is a very noticeable conversion once done.
The Zerode thread
- Thread starter EVRAC
- Start date
Let him buy a tensioner. You should get one too incase you've cursed yourself now. The tensioner spring is the weakest part on the Zerode. If he's riding rocky tracks, it may well snap after a year or two. Any piece of metal that small can only handle so much flex. It may not happen, but considering it's pretty much the only thing that could wreck a weekend away riding, I pack one in my tool box.
And your original Zerode is full of grease in the Alfine if you've never serviced it. The seal on one side of the Aline can let water in if harassed repetitively with a jet wash. This will help the bearing grease on that side wear out, and grit get in. Only ever seen this happen to one well used Zerode. Bearings replaced, carry on. This is the only one of the 20 original Zerodes in Oz getting an Alfine serviced I've heard of, everyone seems to neglect it as they run so well and nothing seems to go wrong.
Oil bathing them does make them run more efficiently, and assist with gear changes.
The anodized G1s and the G2s now have an oil port on them that you can just remove a little bolt, and squirt 30ml of oil in when bothered). This mod is easy to do to the older G1s if you can drill and tap a hole. The seals may weep a touch if you use thin oil, but it's not really a concern.
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It's good to hear both sides. It's a fine line between low maintenance and neglect I suppose, I'm usually on the neglect side. Since this is the newest toy in the garage it's getting quite a bit of attention lately.
It looks like my g1 (anodized) does have the grease port so it should be fairly easy for me to squirt some fresh grease in there.
It looks like my g1 (anodized) does have the grease port so it should be fairly easy for me to squirt some fresh grease in there.
Ha ha. Just because they keep going without maintenance, doesn't mean one shouldn't every now and then.
Oil Port
grease would do though, just won't be as efficient/smooth.
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Now I'm jealous I don't have an oil port. Trust me I don't neglect my bikes. Grew up in shops and keep my bikes as good as I can. Hell my stress relief is stripping them back to frame and build back up fresh with grease and oil.
With how much an SRAM or Saint derailure are running you can probably get a brand new ALFINE with the port for close.......
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EASY! man in the grand scheme of things the alfine is a mega cheap alternative to a high end drive train (for the Zerode Please dont think I said its as good as xx1 or x0 or saint on other bikes)
haha! Ill get Marshy to do it in morzine when/If I get there this summer. If I have to leave England Ill get my self a g2 for sure.
Finally got her built up. Still have to dial the rear suspension...but overall was a lot better than I expected. This thing is FAST!!! Big THANKS to Ian for his your help and support!
Couple of questions for G1 owners...
-Using the angle headset cups provided and the Cane Creek headset, did anyone run into a tight steering issue? I have since loosened the amount of torque on the headset bolt/cap but have a bit of concern.
-For pedaling when i gain speed and start to crank it almost feels like a have a oval chain ring where its easy to pedal 1/2 a stroke than it gets tight on the other 1/2. Im guessing the leveling of the Afline hub???
Thanks in advance!
Couple of questions for G1 owners...
-Using the angle headset cups provided and the Cane Creek headset, did anyone run into a tight steering issue? I have since loosened the amount of torque on the headset bolt/cap but have a bit of concern.
-For pedaling when i gain speed and start to crank it almost feels like a have a oval chain ring where its easy to pedal 1/2 a stroke than it gets tight on the other 1/2. Im guessing the leveling of the Afline hub???
Thanks in advance!
For the oval chainring feeling, it is often because the chainring is not properly centered. Check the primary chain tension with the cranks at various positions and it should be always the same, and not too tight or loose.
Tight steering could be the top cap rubbing on the cup, mine did it, i had to add a spacer UNDER the top cap of the headset. (since the whole headset is now angled, but the headtube is NOT)
^ give it a try where i left it. That is what our team ran all year. (give or take a click or two) We needed about 25% of the avail LSC and i think it was 2-3 turns of HSC. Its very linear so you want a decent amount of compression to keep it riding high. (so it doesnt hit)-rebound is all preference.
RE headset. Don't run the dust cover on top, just run a spacer. The dust cover might be touching at the back. A spacer is smaller. and check correct race is at each end. Obvious I know, but I've seen one with it wrong.
For getting chainring even, you can back of chain ring bolts just a bit and gentle ride it. Should center it. The nip them back up. Sort of works. and/or just do it by feeling tension as mentioned.
Love the blue.
For getting chainring even, you can back of chain ring bolts just a bit and gentle ride it. Should center it. The nip them back up. Sort of works. and/or just do it by feeling tension as mentioned.
Love the blue.
Can you post a pic of the G1 and G2 side by side?
Also, can you weigh them and see what the exact difference in weight is?
Yeah I still have Taylors SM here I am shooting studio images of the G2 tonight and buying a Park Scale to do the weigh jobs!
Okay here she is a 1 off color....the new is a LG and the old a SM/MD both have same 400LB spring the new was 1.08 LBS lighter
Its the tensioner. The new ones are black instead of the white plastic!
droolin...
how much extra for the custom color?
I think it is about $300 or so to do a custom color....this was a blem with the Blue he wanted.
That's a G1 in the pic...
Few pics of mine fully built up! Pretty happy, getting new lighter wheels which should make it sick.
Some snaps of my G1
That color looks amazing.
2nd bike may be custom. May try a KTMish Orange......
What width rear hub is necessary for this frame? Does the alfine ratchet and the rear hub is fixed? How's that work? I googled this but couldn't find an answer. Nothing was on their website either
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150mm x 12mm.
They both spin so when coasting the Alfine doesn't move it just sits in the frame. The video below may give a better idea...
That sounds unusual. The only thing I can think of is that the barrel is not locked into the hook correctly, or the cable is not in the correct path. Here are the shimano instructions:
http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/SI/Alfine/SL-S500/SI-6M20A-001-ENG_v1_m56577569830657998.pdf
Note at the bottom-right it mentions the cable routing, and shows an OK / Not OK diagram.
Also, the six-sided nut is to the outside, but I don't think it will go the other way.
Let us know if you sort it out.
http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/SI/Alfine/SL-S500/SI-6M20A-001-ENG_v1_m56577569830657998.pdf
Note at the bottom-right it mentions the cable routing, and shows an OK / Not OK diagram.
Also, the six-sided nut is to the outside, but I don't think it will go the other way.
Let us know if you sort it out.