Many years ago an American motorycle journalist was interviewing a Japanese engineer from Honda about a then new moped model. The starter was a spring wound up by several strokes on a foot lever, followed by the operator pressing a button to release the spring and spin the engine.
The American journalist asked what seemed obvious to him: why the motorbike didn't just have a kick starter. The Japanese engineer replied what seemed obvious to him: that they didn't want the operator to have to interact directly with the machine! You know, duh, of course.
It's a difference in national psyches and societal paradigms. Shimano hubs are not designed to be particularly serviceable and they don't provide tech manuals because they cannot conceive that the user would want to go into the inner works of the hub. Rolhoff's and SRAM's (Sachs) German hubs ARE designed to be easily serviced and they provide full manuals because they expect the user (or perhaps eventually the original purchaser's grandchild) will service the hub.
Just a theory.
tcs
Inconsistent then as they offer an oiling kit that is designed to be used on a hub that has been removed from the outer shell as well as three special tools for hub disassembly/reassembly. All are listed on the SG-S501 parts list.
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Gear Hubs Owned: Rohloff disc brake, SRAM iM9 disc brake, SRAM P5 freewheel, Sachs Torpedo 3 speed freewheel, NuVinci CVT, Shimano Alfine SG S-501, Sturmey Archer S5-2 Alloy. Other: 83 Colnago Super Record, Univega Via De Oro
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