Few pieces of food-for-thought.
-Twister shifters and wide bars suck in combination. Even good, positive feeling, twisters like SRAM's latest generation. Not saying there aren't other issues with Rohloff, but the Alfine shifts are way more positive and "normal" feeling. That said, under load it simply doesn't shift so again, not claiming it's close to perfect but gear range aside I prefer Alfine over Rohloff. Also, WAY cheaper.
-There are all sorts of challenges to introducing a gearbox system (whether derailleur-in-a-box style or Pinion style) on a commercial level. The real appeal of the Alfine-in-frame model (simply as a discussion point) is the ease of mass adoption and the lower price to get involved. I don't actually think any of this will happen, it's a conversation starter.
-On an individual level, I wasted 10-minutes trying to find a picture of Alex Morgan's BCD Racing bike with the derailleur mounted in the frame. I have more than once dreamed of having Walt or Daam build my next bike with around a wide-range cassette and off the shelf derailleur inside the front triangle being driven by a shaft with a floating cog for perfect chainlines. It's completely do-able with the right manufacturing partner and it would be SUPER COOL.
Take it a step farther, use a track hub outback and move the freewheel to crank with the [**clutch off Rocky's e-bikes**](https://nsmb.com/articles/reinventing-and-moving-freewheel/) and the reduction in drivetrain wear and unsprung weight would easily make up for the complexity.
March 18, 2020, 11:29 a.m. - Andrew Major
Few pieces of food-for-thought. -Twister shifters and wide bars suck in combination. Even good, positive feeling, twisters like SRAM's latest generation. Not saying there aren't other issues with Rohloff, but the Alfine shifts are way more positive and "normal" feeling. That said, under load it simply doesn't shift so again, not claiming it's close to perfect but gear range aside I prefer Alfine over Rohloff. Also, WAY cheaper. -There are all sorts of challenges to introducing a gearbox system (whether derailleur-in-a-box style or Pinion style) on a commercial level. The real appeal of the Alfine-in-frame model (simply as a discussion point) is the ease of mass adoption and the lower price to get involved. I don't actually think any of this will happen, it's a conversation starter. -On an individual level, I wasted 10-minutes trying to find a picture of Alex Morgan's BCD Racing bike with the derailleur mounted in the frame. I have more than once dreamed of having Walt or Daam build my next bike with around a wide-range cassette and off the shelf derailleur inside the front triangle being driven by a shaft with a floating cog for perfect chainlines. It's completely do-able with the right manufacturing partner and it would be SUPER COOL. Take it a step farther, use a track hub outback and move the freewheel to crank with the [**clutch off Rocky's e-bikes**](https://nsmb.com/articles/reinventing-and-moving-freewheel/) and the reduction in drivetrain wear and unsprung weight would easily make up for the complexity.