Originally Posted by
'72 superbe
What is the pricing going to be in the states for the Alfine hub? With the Alfine coming soon I would think the Nexus models will be costing less and less to reduce stock and gear up for the Alfine intro??
Wadaya mean, reduce stock? The nexus is still not readily available from our distributors. You gotta get em early in the season, cause the few that are made available get snapped up quick.
Shimano tells me that Alfine will be on the aftermarket in Canada next year, although they did let a few out this year, I was not able to get any. The ones I have came on new bikes.
I'm having the same issues with Sram and their i motion 9 speed. I can get all the S7 hubs I want, but there isn't much call for those any more.
Bottom line is, Sram and Shimano both do not take the North American market seriously when it comes to getting their gearhubs out there. If you don't believe me, just place a phone call to the customer support number of either company and try to engage someone in a conversation about gearhubs. You won't get more than two questions out before you will be asked what your objection to derailleur systems is.
Last winter, I attended the Sram technical training at their product development centre in Colorado Springs, and around there, the mere mention of gearhubs will make you personna non grata.