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

Lumen · 14-09-2011 11:56am

Idleater wrote: »

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?

I can fit a rack but I only need to carry stuff when commuting and I can't use a pannier for fear of destroying my laptop.

I used to hate carrying weight on my back but it's a necessary "skill" for club racing season so I decided this year to HTFU and get used to it.

Idleater · 14-09-2011 12:39pm

erm, your first reason I can understand, but as for the "skill" of carrying weight on your back for club racing???

Wasn't it Antequil that removed the bottles from the cages and put them in his pockets to lighten the bike for the Alps. Yes the total weight is the same, but the bike is lighter.

I'm going to go for the "bricks in the pannier" to HTFU.

Lumen · 14-09-2011 12:44pm

Idleater wrote: »

erm, your first reason I can understand, but as for the "skill" of carrying weight on your back for club racing???

The weight is only on my back getting to the race, because my race bike has no rack. Then it goes in someone's car.

If I'm not used to the weight I arrive at the race hurty and grouchy.

DePurpereWolf · 14-09-2011 3:45pm

That's a lovely bike Lumen.

I have a Cube Hooper for 1.5 year now and I'm very happy with it. For commuting the 8-speed Alfine is perfect. I do take it on longer runs involving some steep hills sometimes. Going up the hill, the 1st gear is just barely enough. Going down hill at high speed, the 8th gear is not enough, you would want a 9th or 10th. That said, in the 8th gear flat out you would probably already go 50 to 60 km/h.

I would expect the 11-speed to be almost on par with normal gearing. You get very used to the gappyness. Who really needs 27 intervals anyway.

The beauty is that it hardly needs any maintenance and always shifts good.

I find it very enjoyable accelarating at the traffic lights. I normally start at gear 3 and go right up to gear 7 without any pause in my cadence.

AstraMonti · 14-09-2011 4:01pm

You gave me an idea with that rear hub now. Would a wheel built on it fit the Tricross singlecross or it needs normal clearance in the rear triangle?

Lumen · 14-09-2011 4:10pm

AstraMonti wrote: »

You gave me an idea with that rear hub now. Would a wheel built on it fit the Tricross singlecross or it needs normal clearance in the rear triangle?

My Alfine hub is the disc brake version. I'm not sure how it would work without a rotor attached. Also, the frame spacing is 135mm, which is unusual for a cross bike.

You'd also need to look at the chainline.

rogue.goofball · 14-09-2011 4:30pm

DePurpereWolf wrote: »

...
I have a Cube Hooper for 1.5 year now and I'm very happy with it. For commuting the 8-speed Alfine is perfect.
...

Do you know if the brakes on the CUBE Hooper have stayed the same all the way through production?
The one I tested the other day (may be a bit wrecked as a shop tester) seemed a bit 'rubbery' when I pulled the brakes, there was a definite lag from pullling them (the lever had to travel a fair distance) to the bike really slowing, so I didn't get that wow factor I had been expecting (I never used disk brakes before).

Other minor question, how do you find the handlebar grips, again they seemed a bit loose on the one I was on.

Now back on topic, does anyone stock ON-ONE in Ireland, or does it have to come from the UK?

Lumen · 14-09-2011 4:38pm

rogue.goofball wrote: »

Do you know if the brakes on the CUBE Hooper have stayed the same all the way through production?
The one I tested the other day (may be a bit wrecked as a shop tester) seemed a bit 'rubbery' when I pulled the brakes, there was a definite lag from pullling them (the lever had to travel a fair distance) to the bike really slowing, so I didn't get that wow factor I had been expecting (I never used disk brakes before).

Disc brakes set up properly, with flat bar levers, should throw you over the handlebars easily.

Cable-actuated (as opposed to hydraulic) disc brakes need compressionless cable housing to work really well, otherwise flex in the cable outer robs some of the effective lever travel.

I've seen a Cube with Alfine 11 in Cyclesuperstore (I assumed it was a Hyde rather than a Hooper, not sure what the difference is) and it looked fantastic. It had hydraulic brakes and a very trick looking eccentric bottom bracket, which should make brake setup much easier.

Ryath · 14-09-2011 4:42pm

rogue.goofball wrote: »

Now back on topic, does anyone stock ON-ONE in Ireland, or does it have to come from the UK?

The guys who do Planet X's in Athlone can get them
http://planetxireland.com/

DePurpereWolf · 14-09-2011 5:04pm

rogue.goofball wrote: »

Do you know if the brakes on the CUBE Hooper have stayed the same all the way through production?
The one I tested the other day (may be a bit wrecked as a shop tester) seemed a bit 'rubbery' when I pulled the brakes, there was a definite lag from pullling them (the lever had to travel a fair distance) to the bike really slowing, so I didn't get that wow factor I had been expecting (I never used disk brakes before).

Other minor question, how do you find the handlebar grips, again they seemed a bit loose on the one I was on.

Now back on topic, does anyone stock ON-ONE in Ireland, or does it have to come from the UK?

The brakes work fine and are just your average shimano hydraulic disc brakes. As of the 'wow' factor. You do have to squeeze it but that's a feature rather than a short coming, this way you can dose your braking. I've never had a situation in which I needed better brakes, The tyres will slip before the disc will.
After 1,5 years I now start to feel a tiny bit of wiggle with the handle bar grips. So I would say very good for standard grips, you can always replace them with better ones.

The Cube hyde is with V-brakes and nexus hub I believe but it varies by year.
They would all have eccentric BB's and setting up the brakes is really easy, they self level and you just have to adjust the lever a bit.
If there is grease on the brake pads it would feel rubbery I think, that might be the problem with the bike in the shop.

bobinski · 16-09-2011 8:03pm

Hya,
lovely build!

i have the pompi versa pro 11 speed and the same dynamo light. How did you attach yours? did you have to drill the front fork?
cheers
Bob

CramCycle · 16-09-2011 11:43pm

Not to worry you in any way Lumen but someone, possibly using an online monicker like "CramCycle", is going to steal that bike, he will leave you a ****ty 2nd hand bike but one way or the other, I he will have that bike :pac:

canhascheez · 17-09-2011 3:04pm

AstraMonti wrote: »

You gave me an idea with that rear hub now. Would a wheel built on it fit the Tricross singlecross or it needs normal clearance in the rear triangle?

Same idea in mind here, same frame infact. Check out the sturmey archer hubs, they seem better suited to 120mm spacing.

Lumen · 17-09-2011 6:20pm

bobinski wrote: »

i have the pompi versa pro 11 speed and the same dynamo light. How did you attach yours? did you have to drill the front fork?

Yes, I drilled and tapped it. It was very difficult. The drilling was taking ages even with a titanium somethingorother coated bit. Then in frustration I snapped the drill bit, and that worked much better.

Tapping was fine except that I hadn't drilled it straight, so I had to re-drill it and tap at 6mm.

With a 6mm thread the M6 bolt is a bit wobbly, no idea why, but once it's all bolted together it's fine.

I probably should have listened to Holyboy and bought an under-crown clamp, like this or this or this.

rp · 17-09-2011 6:44pm

Lumen wrote: »

I probably should have listened to Holyboy and bought an under-crown clamp, like this or this or this.

I use a Hope mounting bracket, that replaces the stem face-plate, as a tidy solution. Another option is a bar mount, from, e.g., Reise & Mueller

Keep_Her_Lit · 17-09-2011 11:47pm

Lumen wrote: »

Tank bike

That's a really superb build and a very distinctive result. Looks like an absolute Rolls Royce for the winter commute. Well wear!

- It weighs 13.6kg :eek:. This is precisely double the UCI minimum weight (ironically).

That made me wonder what my own monstrosity weighs. I checked and it's a mere whippet at 13.1kg! [incl. rack, mudguards & lights]

The weight made it harder work and a little less accelerative than a 7kg race bike, but I'm happy enough with the result.

Seems like a reasonable trade-off, considering all that extra weight is pure quality. Once you've got used to it, unless you're really hammering along or tackling a proper climb, I think you won't even notice its portliness. That said, it will be a very pleasant surprise to hop back onto a 7.3kg racer come springtime. Until then, enjoy the creamy smooth, maintenance-free ride!

droidus · 23-09-2011 10:09am

Lumen wrote: »

Currently hosting a bell (see below).

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.

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.

Beautiful work. Looks like the perfect commuter.

droidus · 04-10-2011 12:17pm

Sorry to bump this agin, but this is my new dream bike.

Dont think I could even think to attempt to build one myself - but how difficult would it be to get a 2nd set of break levers fitted for the flats - or is it one or the other?

penexpers · 04-10-2011 12:30pm

droidus wrote: »

Dont think I could even think to attempt to build one myself - but how difficult would it be to get a 2nd set of break levers fitted for the flats - or is it one or the other?

In my (limited) experience, for normal brakes (read: v-brakes or cantis) it's very easy. For road calipers and road disk brakes, I'm not too sure.

Lumen · 04-10-2011 12:31pm

droidus wrote: »

but how difficult would it be to get a 2nd set of break levers fitted for the flats - or is it one or the other?

You can add interruptor levers, but (a) they're not really necessary, and (b) mechanical disc brakes are quite sensitive to compression of the cable outer, so having additional crap (ferrules etc) inline isn't going to make brake setup any easier.

droidus · 04-10-2011 12:35pm

Hmmm Im ready to make the change to drops, but most of my commute is in the city, and I constantly hover over the brakes, so it might be a step too far...

Lumen · 04-10-2011 2:13pm

droidus wrote: »

Hmmm Im ready to make the change to drops, but most of my commute is in the city, and I constantly hover over the brakes, so it might be a step too far...

You can "hover" over the brakes on the hoods. I normally use the hoods in heavy traffic and switch to the drops when it clears.

droidus · 04-10-2011 2:15pm

OK. In for a penny. I guess Ill have to try it out before I cross to the dark side. Shame they havent built a dynamo into their front wheel.

Lumen · 04-10-2011 2:24pm

droidus wrote: »

Shame they haven't built a dynamo into their front wheel.

The On One site says "Shimano Alfine dynamo front wheels are now available on request."

FWIW I'm currently experiencing major problems with slipping gears after my crash a week ago. It's probably a cable issue, but in my research I found this:

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/11-speed-alfine-hub-from-shimano/

Check out the comments.

Some might raise objections to any system of gearing which requires using vernier calipers to set cable length and multi-hundred-euro equipment to do an oil change.

However, please buy an Alfine 11 bike like me so that Holyboy has a business case to buy all this kit.

Dermot Illogical · 04-10-2011 2:34pm

Lumen wrote: »

FWIW I'm currently experiencing major problems with slipping gears after my crash a week ago.

That was you had a fall out of the fast group on the Swords Sportive?

Lumen · 04-10-2011 2:37pm

RT66 wrote: »

That was you had a fall out of the fast group on the Swords Sportive?

Yes. No major damage, just pride and skin.

droidus · 04-10-2011 2:42pm

Lumen wrote: »

The On One site says "Shimano Alfine dynamo front wheels are now available on request."

FWIW I'm currently experiencing major problems with slipping gears after my crash a week ago. It's probably a cable issue, but in my research I found this:

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/11-speed-alfine-hub-from-shimano/

Check out the comments.

Some might raise objections to any system of gearing which requires using vernier calipers to set cable length and multi-hundred-euro equipment to do an oil change.

However, please buy an Alfine 11 bike like me so that Holyboy has a business case to buy all this kit.

Some scary stuff there. How was it running before the crash? Any skipping?

Lumen · 04-10-2011 2:45pm

droidus wrote: »

How was it running before the crash? Any skipping?

The only skipping I remember before the crash was when I changed down without moving the lever to it's full extent. The lever travels quite far on the down change, although the lever action is very light so it's not really a problem.

Dermot Illogical · 04-10-2011 2:54pm

Myself and another guy passed by shortly afterwards. You didn't look comfy in that ditch. Glad to hear you're OK.
I got to admire your bike when you were chatting with Lusk Doyle and cdaly_ at the start. It's a thing of beauty, and I hope you get it back 100%.

Lumen wrote: »

Yes. No major damage, just pride and skin.

Holyboy · 05-10-2011 10:58pm

From Shimano techdocs...

"Failure to use the SG-S700 Oil may cause problems such as oil leakage,
derailleur malfunctions, etc"

I'm not sure I understand the derailleur thing, maybe I'm missing something!

Suppose I shouldn't take the chance, better bite the bullet and buy a liter of their yellow gold. It'll probably last me ten years or so, unless I spill it on the ground:rolleyes:

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

Comments