Running Alfine 11 without oil - rethink new setup?

[93KgBike]

I have been running Alfine 11 hydraulic on a cargo bike since 2013. And it has been great. Amazing really.

Our average load is about 230kg and there is north of 6k miles on it (a lot of non-logged ride data).

Because of some bad shifting lately, I was thinking of switching to a 1xRD setup but thought I should finally get around to the oil change first...

Using the Rohloff kit I put 25ml of thinning oil in, road the hub for a couple of miles, and then drained exactly 25ml of oil in total. How long it had been since going dry is an open question.

But wow! Hats off to the Shimano engineers! Since completing the overdue oil replacement the hub rides infinitely better. Like a well-oiled machine, exactly.

I have been thinking about trying MicroShift drop shifters and a bigger chainring, instead of going 1x. Anyone used them?

11 Speed MicroShift Inter11 STI Levers for Shimano Internal Gear Hubs (https://www.joe-bike.com/product/microshift-inter11-alfine-11-sti-style-integrated-shifter-levers-for-drop-bars-2296.htm)

https://www.sefiles.net/merchant/3293/images/zoom/inter11.jpg

[donevwil]

Yep, following the Shimano servicing schedule on the Alfine 11 is important. I had a similar experience with my wife's commuter, let the mileage get ahead of me before doing the first service. She's running a mechanical Alfine 11 with Versa VRS-11 drop bar shifters, although they don't appear as solid as something Shimano would make they've stood up to everything my wife can dish out for the last 7 years.

[93KgBike]

Yep, following the Shimano servicing schedule on the Alfine 11 is important. I had a similar experience with my wife's commuter, let the mileage get ahead of me before doing the first service. She's running a mechanical Alfine 11 with Versa VRS-11 drop bar shifters, although they don't appear as solid as something Shimano would make they've stood up to everything my wife can dish out for the last 7 years.

That's good to know, thanks. MicroShift claims to have improved the design since Versa discontinued their line.

I am starting to wonder about the Di2 setup, which does have a drop set. It may be possible to use the hub I've got......... ? But there are issues with the RD servo bracket, or something like that.

I don't disagree that maintenance schedules are important, but I bought the IGH so that I could shift while stopped, and so I could forget about the rear mech., which is exactly what I did lol.

Shimano recommends: To maintain product performance, oil should be changed after the rst 1,000 km from start of use of the product, and once every 2 years thereafter (after every 5,000 km if bicycle is ridden frequently).

So I missed the 1st change for sure, but definitely got either the 2nd or maybe the 3rd one done!