I got the Alfine 11 hub on Friday, as well as the rest of the parts I was waiting on. Of course I installed everything right away and I took the new Troll on a 25 mile r/t ride from Hollywood to Marine Del Rey yesterday. Overall everything is great. I probably need to adjust the cable on the Alfine hub a little- it had a few hiccups like I've gotten on my Nexus 8 when the cable wasn't properly adjusted. I really like the nice linear gear spacing though- click click click- up and down as I stopped and started in traffic. The bike is certainly heavier now, but still feels about the same as my LHT that has a conventional drivetrain.

I'm doing a 20 mile loop up the hill in Griffith Park this afternoon, that should test the low end a little better. Currently I have a 36 front 18 rear gear setup with the Alfine- it might be top heavy for hill climbing. I could swap out the chainring for something a little smaller if it needs a little more low end grunt, maybe a 33 or 34. We'll see. I'm still considering getting a 2nd smaller chainring up front to swap down to if I really have a lot of hill climbing that day.

I used a Problem Solver Shimano Centerlock to 6 hole disk adaptor, but it doesn't stay true and the rear disk has a little wobble- more annoying than anything. So I ordered a proper Shimano brand adapter that attaches differently, hopefully that will be better. The fenders need to be sorted out too- they rattle too much. I was carrying all my sailing gear down to the marina in my Ortleib panniers and no heel strike at all- I think this is going to be a fine adventure touring bike!

Here are some pix of the first Troll in LA with an Alfine 11 (as far as I know!)