K2S

I have an Alfine 8 I've been riding since about November of last year. After aligning the yellow marks it was shifting perfectly, up until about a month ago. It started to miss shift whenever I downshift to 4th, then try to upshift to 5th. When I press the up shift lever it just doesn't do anything, it won't engage until I press it again. It's not too big a deal, but it's starting to get annoying that I have to double shift every time I want to go up to 5th gear. I re-aligned the yellow marks by first shifting down to 1st, then shifting up to 5 then down shifting to 4th before making any adjustments. Checked that the length of the cable between the housing and the locking nut is 101mm. It was maybe closer to 100mm so I lengthened it slightly. It seems to be getting worse, it misses shifting to 5th all the time now.

The only other thing that I think could be causing a problem is that the way the cable is routed going into the hub is not quite parallel to the lower chain stay, causing the routing to have a mild soft kink. Since the guide for routing the cable is attached to the hub itself, I can't figure out how to change the angle. It seems to align with the chain stay nuts that slide onto the axle. Since these only go on one way, there's no way to change the angle. Anyone know if there's a way to adjust the angle? Do I need to get different aligning nuts? Right now I have a blue nut on the right side and a green nut on the left side, going into vertical dropouts.

Also, I can't imagine the angle of the cable guide could be the problem, since it was working fine for several months at that angle already. Anyhow, I know this is a pretty specific problem, but I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience. Thanks!

FBinNY 

I'm not tracking thr sequence well so forgive me if this is backward. But if the problem happens when you shift by slackening the cable, and is corrected so you're shifting from the other direction and tightening the cable, my first hunch would be cable friction somewhere along the line.

The hub's spring isn't nearly as strong as your fingers, so sticky cables have a more material effect going to slack than when you're pulling.



I have a quick test for cable friction. Shift in the problem direction, then pluck the bare wire wherever you can like a guitar string. If that addresses the issue, you have cable friction.

Dan Burkhart 

The shift from 4th to fifth is when the driver clutch engages the planetary carrier directly, bypassing the input reduction which gives you gears 1 through 4. It's possible (likely even) that the clutch tabs are hanging up in the ramped rotary mechanism that engages and retracts the clutch.
This could conceivably correct it'self with continued use, or it could be lacking lubrication.

K2S

These are both good tips, thanks. I kind of figured there was something about going from 4th to 5th that was different than the other gears. Makes sense that it's halfway through the whole set of 8. Since it's still relatively new, I'll give it a little more time. It does seem like it's smoother overall compared to when I first got it. And my gf has an older Alfine 8, it seems even smoother than mine. I'll give it another month or two, if it gets worse, I'll look into cleaning and re-lubing it. I did take through some pretty heavy rainstorms here in Seattle.

I imagine it could also be a friction problem, so I'll try thrumming the cable as well. I feel like this is less likely since it wasn't doing it before, but maybe some dirt got in the cable barrel. I already sprayed some oil in there, but if it seems like friction, I'll remove the housing to clean and lube it. Wish I could straighten out that routing though!

FBinNY 

You might be able to straighten out the angle. They offer anti-rotation washers with the fixed stop at various angles. Look at this photo and see if any seem like they'll help. Then search to buy under "nexus anti-rotation washer", then order a pair by number.

K2S

I think you're right, probably the only way to straighten it is with a different anti rotation washer. I'm think the 7R and 7L might do it. Here's a pic of the angle currently, it's not bad, but it's not straight either.

K2S

Think I've narrowed it down. I tried taking tension off the cable by rotating the shifting ring on the hub backwards, then I tested shifter again but it still misses going up to 5th. So I'm pretty sure the shifter itself is the problem. Anyone know how to adjust the shifter or do maintenance on it? Haven't found much doing a Google, plenty of info on how to install it though. Maybe I'll start out by just shooting some lube into it.

K2S

Just an fyi, I tried this fix and it helped at first, so I was stoked, but then I heard something snap and it was time for a new shifter. Everything good now. Seems like the shifter didn't last very long, we'll see if this one lasts longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wtb...sXjmAP&index=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJ3...sXjmAP&index=4