Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Opinions on "On-One Pompetamine Alfine 11 Speed" please.

  • 26-05-2011 7:45pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,190 ✭✭✭


    Anyone care to offer an opinion on this On-One Pompetamine Alfine 11 Speed as a commuter bike. I know nothing of on-one so any advice appreciated, I like the idea of the Alfine 11 hub gears but have never actually tried one!


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    The 11sp Alfine is supposedly a more refined, better engineered product than the cheaper 8sp. The gearing gaps are much the same (so it's still quite gappy) but the range is wider - probably unnecessarily wide unless you have a very hilly commute.

    I am considering the Versa version with drop bars, but it's not yet available with the 11sp hub (although 11sp Versa shifters are now available). There's a similar offering from Genesis - the Day 01 Alfine.

    The Avid BB7 are a well regarded mechanical disc brake. They're apparently fairly straightforward to set up although heavier than rim brakes.

    IMO the main advantage of discs on a drop bar road bike is that you can run big tyres with drop bar shifters without the compromises of v-brakes or cantis. The same advantages don't apply if you're using flat bars, as flat bar brake levers work fine with rim brakes.

    Hub gears will tend to be lower maintainance (until they go wrong), and if you can live with the gappiness and the small extra drivetrain resistance. They do make the wheel part of your drivetrain though, so if you have a problem with your wheel you're a bit screwed - you're unlikely to have a spare hub geared wheel lying around, and they're not cheap.

    The other advantage of a hub gear is that you can fit a chain guard and cycle without trouser clips (if you're a trousery sort of cyclist) and without the risk of frediculous chainring tattoos.

    Ideally I'd spec the bike with mudguards, a front dynamo hub and dynamo-driven LED lights. It should then be completely fuss-free all year round.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 426 ✭✭High Nellie


    That hub looks great. I want one - but it looks around 500E.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,190 ✭✭✭quenching


    Lumen wrote: »
    The 11sp Alfine is supposedly a more refined, better engineered product than the cheaper 8sp. The gearing gaps are much the same (so it's still quite gappy) but the range is wider - probably unnecessarily wide unless you have a very hilly commute.

    I am considering the Versa version with drop bars, but it's not yet available with the 11sp hub (although 11sp Versa shifters are now available). There's a similar offering from Genesis - the Day 01 Alfine.

    The Avid BB7 are a well regarded mechanical disc brake. They're apparently fairly straightforward to set up although heavier than rim brakes.

    IMO the main advantage of discs on a drop bar road bike is that you can run big tyres with drop bar shifters without the compromises of v-brakes or cantis. The same advantages don't apply if you're using flat bars, as flat bar brake levers work fine with rim brakes.

    Hub gears will tend to be lower maintainance (until they go wrong), and if you can live with the gappiness and the small extra drivetrain resistance. They do make the wheel part of your drivetrain though, so if you have a problem with your wheel you're a bit screwed - you're unlikely to have a spare hub geared wheel lying around, and they're not cheap.

    The other advantage of a hub gear is that you can fit a chain guard and cycle without trouser clips (if you're a trousery sort of cyclist) and without the risk of frediculous chainring tattoos.

    Ideally I'd spec the bike with mudguards, a front dynamo hub and dynamo-driven LED lights. It should then be completely fuss-free all year round.

    Thanks for the reply Lumen, can I assume from the fact that you're considering an On-One bike at all that they're a decent brand? The Genesis bike looks good too but I'm not keen on drop bars and they don't seem to do a flat bar version. I'm quite happy with the V brakes on my current Giant CRS Alliance so can do without discs, in fact I think I'd prefer NOT to have them, I have a Giant Terrago Disc mountain bike and I'm not that impressed with the brakes at all. My commute is uphill all the way home, the last bit up Stocking Lane which is hilly enough for me at the end of the day, so the wide range of the 11sp appeals, I'd have a Rohloff hub if paying the price would let me sleep at night afterwards!

    Have to say the "glow in the dark" paint option on the Pompetamine sounds a bit odd though.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 3,907 Mod ✭✭✭✭Planet X


    I've got a Charge Mixer, 8 speed Alfine, discs etc. for commuting and love it. Wiggle last Jan. for about €650.
    32mm tyres, straight bar.

    http://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/charge-mixer-10-zoom.jpg


    Put mudguards and a Tubus Cosmo rack on mine.

    It's a sweet rack! SS.


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    Some time ago I decided I wanted a disc braked, hub geared, drop bar, dynamo lit road bike with clearance for big tyres and mudguards, to use as my main all-season commuter and non-racing bike.

    Disc brakes can in principle provide good braking performance without any rim clearance issues, so you can run big tyres and still have good braking. Additionally, with the braking moved to the wheel centres there should be no issues with wet weather performance and winter grit/slime.

    With the rim freed of braking duties, you can use a nice light 29er rim, which should compensate a little for the rotating mass of the larger tyres.

    For the drivetrain, a hub gear provides several advantages: the drivetrain can be better enclosed because there is no derailleur, and there no jockey wheels to get fouled up. I did a lot of reading on hub gears, and liked what I read about the Shimano Alfine 11. It has good range, nice gaps (11%) and better operating characteristics than the 8sp version.

    Drop bars and integrated brakes/shifters are ergonomically superior to flat bars, so that's a given. Eventually Versa released an 11sp version of their drop bar shifters, which I believe are a modified version of a Microshift shifter design. Game on.

    I wanted to buy a complete bike, but none of the usual suspects (Genesis and On One, specifically) were saying when they'd have an 11sp version out, so I decided to build my own based on an On One Pompetamine frameset.

    The build has taken me so long that On One have now released a complete build very like mine, the On-One Pompetamine Versa 11 Speed Pro.

    http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPOMPETVERSA11/on-one-pompetamine-versa-11-speed-pro

    Mine is better.

    Part of the delay in my build was down to problems with the disc brakes. I ordered 140mm/160mm rotors, but I just couldn't get the 140 to fit at the rear, and I also had problems getting the brakes working well. I fixed this by moving to 180mm rotors front and rear and using non-compressible brake housing. Cable operated disc brakes need extremely careful setup, particularly with drop bar shifters.

    Anyway, the result is quite pleasing.

    The only downsides over my summer commuter (7.3kg titanium racer) are:

    - It weighs 13.6kg :eek:. This is precisely double the UCI minimum weight (ironically).
    - There is a lot of toe overlap.

    ...and that's it. There is no feeling of drag from the hub gear or dynamo (on or off), the shifting works surprisingly well (although upshifting in the drops is difficult due to the small lever and my short fingers). The brakes work very well now that I've set them up and bedded them in properly.

    I've done one commute on it so far. The ride quality is excellent and the drivetrain is exceptionally smooth and quiet. The weight made it harder work and a little less accelerative than a 7kg race bike, but I'm happy enough with the result.

    I have a lot of room to play with on the steerer. The head tube is short, and I could achieve the same position as my road bike, but it's currently set up with an accessory bar, maybe for more lights.

    It's very heavy. Did I mention that? The wheels alone are something like 3.5kg, without tyres and tubes, and the frameset is 3.2kg claimed. I could probably drop 2.5kg with a custom frame and different finishing kit, but I'm not sure there's much point since the result would be more fragile and nickable.

    There is still some work to do. I want to double wrap the bars, as the bars are quite thin, the Brooks tape is quite hard and I ride without gloves. And I need to secure the wheels (with Pitlocks, probably) since they're the most expensive bits.

    Build list:

    Frame: OnOne Pompetamine Urban Frame 2011
    Fork: OnOne Pompetamine Steel Fork
    Shifters: Versa VRS11 STI
    Brakes: Avid BB7 Road Disc, Shimano Deore RT62 Centrelock 180mm Rotor
    Front hub: Shimano LX T665 6v 30w Dynamo Front Disc
    Rear hub: Shimano Alfine 11
    Rims: Stans ZTR Crest 32h
    Spokes: DT Competition 290mm/288mm, silver brass nips
    Tyres: Schwalbe Kojak Asphalt 35mm
    Tubes: Schwalbe Extralight Tube SV18
    Front light: Busch + Müller Lumotec IQ Cyo Senso Plus
    Rear light: Busch & Muller 4D-Lite Plus
    Chain guard: SKS Chainboard
    Mud buards: SKS Chromoplastics
    Chainset: Shimano FC-S500 Alfine 2-Piece Chainset 170mm
    Chain: KMC S1 Singlespeed Chain
    Headset: FSA Orbit Xtreme, Hope Head Doctor
    Seatpost: Brand-X Alloy Micro Adjust, Thomson Seat Collar
    Bars: 3TTT Ergo Power MEX, plus Thorn accessory bar
    Stem: 3TTT Forge Ahead Stem
    Saddle: Charge Spoon
    Bar tape: Brooks leather
    Pedals: Speedplay FROG Chromoly

    Many thanks to Keep_Her_Lit for the drilling/tapping kit I used to fit the front light to the fork, and Holyboy at Bee Cycles for the excellent wheel build.

    10z7kvm.jpg

    More photos (with an without chainguard) here:

    http://s856.photobucket.com/albums/ab129/lumen_boards_ie/On%20One%20Pompetamine%20Alfine%2011/


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 7,276 ✭✭✭kenmc


    Looks great Lumen. I presume the rear wheel is non-q/r? Bit of a pita in the event of a puncture, what do you use to remove it?
    K
    edit:nice job wrapping the front fork - I presumed it was some sort of shrink wrap till I looked closely!


  • Registered Users Posts: 926 ✭✭✭G rock


    looks great.

    i have a plain pompino. jealous now...


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,735 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Looks really fine. (Though perhaps coming from me, that might give you pause.)
    Lumen wrote: »
    it's currently set up with an accessory bar, maybe for more lights

    That's the T-bar extending forward from the steering tube?


  • Registered Users Posts: 585 ✭✭✭enas


    Wow, that's pretty much my dream bike. Except I would be unable, both technically and from a time availability point of view, to build the same.

    One question, how happy are you with the light setup? In particular, the amount of light you're getting with the front one? Apologies if you've already answered this in another thread, I haven't been very regular lately.


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    kenmc wrote: »
    I presume the rear wheel is non-q/r? Bit of a pita in the event of a puncture, what do you use to remove it?

    Normal track nuts, just the same as a fixer/singlespeed. For now I carry a cone spanner. When I get a chance I'll order a little track nut spanner. The cable nut just pops out from the gear housing. HolyBoy reckons those Kojaks are puncture magnets, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.
    kenmc wrote: »
    nice job wrapping the front fork - I presumed it was some sort of shrink wrap till I looked closely!

    Thanks, it's plain black electrical tape. I used heatshrink on the dynamo cable crimps - the wiring was one of the least frustrating parts of the build.
    tomasrojo wrote:
    Looks really fine. (Though perhaps coming from me, that might give you pause.)

    Thanks, it's the closest I can bring myself to a utility bike. I even thought of putting a rack and flat pedals on it, but that was a step too far.
    tomasrojo wrote: »
    That's the T-bar extending forward from the steering tube?

    Yes. I might replace it with a steeper angled one to get more clearance so I can drop the bars further down the stack.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    enas wrote: »
    Wow, that's pretty much my dream bike. Except I would be unable, both technically and from a time availability point of view, to build the same.

    It did take a very, very long time to build, though much of that was due to ordering the wrong parts, getting the wheels together, and drilling/tapping the fork. Shimano aren't great with publishing hub dimensions.
    enas wrote: »
    One question, how happy are you with the light setup? In particular, the amount of light you're getting with the front one? Apologies if you've already answered this in another thread, I haven't been very regular lately.

    I haven't been out at night, but the front light is specced at 60 lux @ 10m, which is only 20 lux less than the twin B&M battery lights I used last winter. I can light up my dark kitchen by spinning the front wheel, and the standlight function seems to work well.


  • Registered Users Posts: 585 ✭✭✭enas


    Lumen wrote: »
    the standlight function seems to work well.

    How much time can you get out of it? I'm getting more and more interested in such a setup (if it wasn't for the custom wheel build...).


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    enas wrote: »
    How much time can you get out of it? I'm getting more and more interested in such a setup (if it wasn't for the custom wheel build...).

    According to this it's four minutes:

    http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/08/16/busch-ller-iq-cyo-r-n-plus/

    It seems to charge up again in a few seconds. The standlight is dimmer than the cycling-along beam, and isn't very bright off-axis.

    I'll probably use a front white blinkie. They don't seem to be available as dynamo lights. Maybe they're illegal.

    You can buy built dynamo wheels.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭c0rk3r


    On-One Pompetamine Alfine 11 Speed

    Is the name some insiders joke ? "1-1 amphetamine all fine speed" was what i thought when i first saw the name.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,276 ✭✭✭kenmc


    Lumen wrote: »
    Yes. I might replace it with a steeper angled one to get more clearance so I can drop the bars further down the stack.
    I have one that mounts on the handlebars rather than being on the steerer tube, it'd give you an even lower stack height. think I got it on wiggle


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    c0rk3r wrote: »
    Is the name some insiders joke ? "1-1 amphetamine all fine speed" was what i thought when i first saw the name.

    I think it sort of means "BJ on speed".


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,038 ✭✭✭penexpers


    Lumen wrote: »
    I'll probably use a front white blinkie. They don't seem to be available as dynamo lights. Maybe they're illegal.

    Blinkies are illegal in Germany and most (all?) dynamo lights come from Germany.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,981 ✭✭✭Diarmuid


    Love it!


  • Registered Users Posts: 869 ✭✭✭Holyboy


    It's like a tank!!!

    But a lovely tank:D

    I'm impressed with the whole build, have been saying to myself I'll build something similar, but if I ever get round to it, it will be a bit more old skool, I probably never will though.

    Congrats though it's an awesome build.


  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭rogue.goofball


    quenching wrote: »
    Anyone care to offer an opinion on this On-One Pompetamine Alfine 11 Speed as a commuter bike.
    ...

    howdy, is this the colour of the 'glow in the dark' white ? It doesnt look very white to me, has anyone seen one in real life (in day time).
    On the website, the normal white one looks pink to me, or maybe it is just very late :)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭rogue.goofball


    Lumen wrote: »
    ...

    ***********************
    03-09-2011 13:41 tomasrojo
    What's the T-bar extending forward from the steering tube?
    ***********************

    Yes. I might replace it with a steeper angled one to get more clearance so I can drop the bars further down the stack.

    Hi Lumen,
    I still don't know what the T-Bar does, could you explain it's purpose?

    Any more feedback on the gear range and the bike in general.
    I tried a CUBE Hooper/Editor the other day, and while I was only on it for a few minutes the steps in gear seemed fine (in fact maybe not enough of a step?).
    I worry that I will get stuck on a decent sized hill, as it would appear that my current bike (which has only 18 gears), and without using the small cog at the front (now down to 12 and only ~9 effective) still has a lower range than the alfine.
    Cheers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,317 ✭✭✭✭Raam


    It's for attaching lights n stuff too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭rogue.goofball


    ta.


  • Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 1,227 ✭✭✭rp


    Holyboy wrote: »
    It's like a tank!!!
    Shouldn't be too tankish : my bike is essentially an ungeared version of that bike, and weighs in at 8.5kg, so with the Alfine11 that should make it about 10kg?
    But a lovely tank:D
    Looks even better in real life (Lumen used those 11 gears to beat me away from the lights - no fair!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    I still don't know what the T-Bar does, could you explain it's purpose?

    Currently hosting a bell (see below).
    Any more feedback on the gear range and the bike in general...I worry that I will get stuck on a decent sized hill, as it would appear that my current bike (which has only 18 gears), and without using the small cog at the front (now down to 12 and only ~9 effective) still has a lower range than the alfine

    The Alfine gears are non-overlapping. The range is 409%. I did read that the gaps were 11%, but I'm questioning that now, maths would suggest an average jump of 15%.

    Anyway, a road triple (30-39-53) with a 12-25 cassette has a range of about 370%, so there ought to be more range than you would ever need.
    rp wrote: »
    Shouldn't be too tankish : my bike is essentially an ungeared version of that bike, and weighs in at 8.5kg, so with the Alfine11 that should make it about 10kg?

    I weighed it at 13.6kg when first built. The Quarg crankset and SRAM Red BB might have shaved off a bit. :pac:

    On that subject, I had to ditch the chainguard when I put on the power meter as the BB mount doesn't work with the SRAM bottom bracket. The chainline is also off a couple of mm so I need to work out a way to offset the chainring.

    21vrds.jpg

    350qmj7.jpg

    zts09.jpg

    2cdyjq0.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 31,001 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    Found a gear chart here...

    You can move the range to the left or right using a different sized chainring.

    Gearing-Ratios1.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,718 ✭✭✭AstraMonti


    It's great Lumen! A job really well done.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,317 ✭✭✭✭Raam


    I wouldn't want to get run over by it, that's for sure.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,604 ✭✭✭petethedrummer


    Is it the first bike with a power meter and a bell?


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 6,236 ✭✭✭Idleater


    Lumen wrote: »
    I even thought of putting a rack ... on it, but that was a step too far.

    Lovely bike, and congrats on persevering getting it built. Just wondering about your consideration for the above. My lovely Soma is now adorned with mudguards etc. so the obvious next step for me was to remove the (albeit light) bag from my back. I only take my lunch and wallet/glasses etc most days, but I still notice the bag on my back.

    I mean, I know they are uncool, but shunned on winter training spins for having a pannier rack? It's not possible right?


Advertisement