Contrary to my previous post, I am actually relieved to be dumping the Alfine. Who knows if I’ll ever wind up selling the thing—there seems to be a glut of under-priced (gray market?) hubs out there– but at least I now have a high confidence path forward. Here is that path, with very few question marks remaining.
True to its word, Shimano resolved the issues with my Alfine-11 hub in 3-5 days. Yesterday I received an entirely different hub by return mail. I suppose it’s possible that this is a refurbished hub but by all outward appearances it’s brand new. By most any measure, Shimano’s response was beyond reproach. So why am I not smiling?
According to the postal service my Alfine hub has been received by Shimano. According to Shimano they’ll look at it within three to five days. So I should have some sort of resolution soon. Meanwhile I’m back using my old drivetrain, and it sucks.
A Seasonal Commute 