The Alfine is Back

Freshly built on a new rim and ready to devourer some sweet single track. That is after staying up till 2 am to get the wheel put together and made tubeless. Electrical tape and a Mavic stem work wonders....after two trips to the convenient store air compressor.



I got a sweet little ride in yesterday evening including the Lower Traverse of Green Mtn, Zorro, Dakota Ridge, Box O Rox and the Green Mtn Trail and I believe my legs are still suffering from the lingering effects of Tuesdays ride. I'm also thinking I may of broke myself this week as during yesterday's ride my chest would feel "achy" on the extended climbs of Box o Rox and Zorro. During Tuesday nights ride I was putting out such an effort to stay at the front of the pack that my heart literally felt as though it would explode and I'm sure this is where the pain is coming from. So today was just a nice slow recovery spin on the singletrack of Bear Creek Lake Park.



Bad Andy will probably be happy since we're meeting at 5am to get a ride in before family duties kick in for Saturday. He is always happy and willing to kick a guy when he's down. Especially since he has been pretending not to ride when we all know those commuting hours to and from work are training hours for the Old Codger.



Back on the Alfine latest and greatest news...Looks like Shimano is releasing an 11 speed version that has a 409% range with gears changing at 17% for the two highest and 13% for the remaining compared to the current 306% range of the 8 speed version and 526% range of the Rohloff Speedhub. Other interesting improvements include oil bath lubrication, and a claimed lower weight then the current 8 speed version. Price point is looking to be around $400 US. The US may have to wait though since Shimano has only announced this in Europe and as usual, it already has its skeptics about durability.