Originally Posted by
JackieO
...You can put too much torque thru the hub. Alfine hubs are purported to be bulletproof, but I have destroyed the freewheel mechanism of mine (Shimano replacing under warranty). Don't know what to think about this situation yet. The hub has 2,000 miles on it.
-Michelin City tires failed me. Both had sidewall blowouts. One was dramatic, like a gun shot, on a curb crossing. The other was slow. Replaced both with Bontrager Race Lite Hardcases. They have much lower rolling resistance but less traction...
Curious on a couple of points: What exactly do you mean by "freewheel mechanism"? Was the hub itself rendered inoperable? I am asking because I have a Gates belt drive/Alfine setup on my Norco Ceres and I managed to shear off the tangs that allow the rear cog to interface with the hub. Norco replaced the part under warranty, but it's made from aluminum so may fail again under stress. Gates now makes a steel cog but all of the current parts are earmarked for production bikes and there is no stock of replacement parts as of yet. I have been in contact with Gates and they assured me that they will replace any aluminum cogs that I manage to destroy before the steel ones become available. So far the second cog is holding up fine.
Secondly, what model of Michelin tires were you using? I have a set of Pilot Citys on another bike and I had a couple of blowouts, but I had been running them at the max pressure of 85 psi. I now run them at 65F/75R with no problems. They are very sticky and flat-resistant; no puncture-related flats since purchase.