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Hellios with Alfine hub gears

Chris Peachey2025-12-04 09:07:17

We are about to buy a Circe Helios.

Not sure if the 11speed Di2 would be a good choice.

What are riders experiences please?

Martin Thompson2025-12-04 10:54:17
Suggest you contact Circe Cycles in Longstanton, Cambridge who make the tandem. We have the Helios electric version with Shimano 11 speed hub and it seems a perfect combination. I recommend a freewheel for the stoker. 
Neville Andrews2025-12-04 11:18:07

We had the Helios with 11 speed Alfine a few years ago.  It failed after 700 miles and we were told Shimano didn't recommend the 11 speed on a Tandem.  The replacement also failed and we ended up with a 5 speed hub.  We have since shifted to Bosch on our JD Tandems Lightning - all good.  However, there is nothing wrong with the Helios itself, a great bike and very versatile.  It's possible that the Shimano drive train has improved since we had ours but see what others think

John Little2025-12-04 11:49:31
Our affine hub on our Helios triplet has worked fine over a good number of years - It's not getting any use now  - I just need to get round to selling it,,,
Simon Geikie2025-12-04 17:03:46
I suspect it all comes down to usage and if you are a heavy or alight team and if you use high or low cadences. That said If you are intending to do big heavily loaded tours or live in Devon it will ask a lot of any drive chain. Our 12 speed electric Orbit eats chains and and cassettes every 1500 miles but we carry a lot of weight up, and down, big hills. Although Helios's don't have low enough gears as they are normally set up for loaded touring in hilly country IMO. If you live in Lincolnshire and holiday in the Loire then it will be absolutely fine. Alfines are generally very reliable but do need servicing if used heavily so worth getting that done. The 11 speed may well be a bit more fragile but Helios must trust them if they fit them. Particularly if, as Martin says, they fit them to e-tandems. That's a good bit of power going through them on a hill. 
Giles Orton2025-12-04 18:03:15
I have a Helios with the Rohloff gears, bought second hand and have subsequently had it electrified by Circe (Pendix system). I have found Circe more than helpful to deal with and would expect them to be readily able to guide you. I am sure they would not offer the Alfine gears if they did not believe them to be up to the job.
Simon Geikie2025-12-04 20:58:22
The dream combination! If a Rohloff would fit on our bike I would fit one tomorrow! I've fitted Pendix drives to a number of bikes. I love how quiet and natural they are to ride with although they do have a few quirks. 
Chris Peachey2025-12-04 22:12:45
Is the Rolhoff gear changer easy to rotate?...especially with a bit of arthriticus in my hands? 
Tony houlihan2025-12-04 22:34:08
The Rohloff gear changer isn't much of a problem when it's new. I've just replaced the one on our Orbit, it's done around 10,000 miles in all weathers. The rubber grip had worn smooth. Changing gear in rain was becoming very difficult. Having said that, you do need a reasonable strength of grip. I'd try one first before committing to having one. 
With ref to fitting a Pendix drive: I've just visited their website. After going through the questionnaire to determine what you need, I discovered I need €2,000!
Simon Geikie2025-12-05 08:26:19
True. They are a bit of a different beast to most retrofit kits however so not a straightforward comparison say to a bafang or switch. You pays your money ...
Simon Geikie2025-12-05 08:23:50
There is a wireless Rohloff changer setup as well. One of the many benefits is you can change gear when stationary. 
Stephen Todd2025-12-05 09:40:01

Just a thought (sadly without actual knowledge of the Rohloff).

You might be able to arrange a protuberance to the shifter that would make it easier to operate with arthritic hands.

Lawrence McPhillips2025-12-05 09:53:37

A lot of good advice in the comments above.

I also have some arthritis - mostly affecting my right thumb.  Although they are my preferred shifter type, I can't really use Rapidfire shifters any more.

We have an Orbit which had Rapidfire shifters and a normal derailleur system.  I then tried it with a SRAM Gripshift gear change.  That was OK for a while, but then it too became a bit much for my dodgy right hand, so I switched to a wireless system.  Gently pressing buttons is a lot easier than pushing mechanical linkages!

We also have a Thorn with a Rohloff speedhub.  The comment above about the effort needed to turn the Rohloff shifter is worth keeping in mind.  If you can, try one before buying.  The effort needed is perfectly acceptable, but probably a bit more than you might think.  SRAM Gripshift takes less effort.  In my case, I swapped the Rohloff shifter over from the right hand side to the left as my left hand is still fine and I have no problems shifting gear.  Rohloff make RHS / LHS versions of the rubber shifter cover to fit either side so swapping over is simple.  The actual shifter pod / mechanism is exactly the same but you need to change the cables over too to retain the same 'clockwise for up' / 'anti-clockwise for down' rotational shifting sense.

The biggest plus for the derailleur system is that you can shift under full load - that may not be ideal, but if you do get caught out on a hill the system will cope.

The Rohloff lets you change gear when stationary which can be really useful, but it doesn't like changing under load.  You do get used to it and can adapt your shifting technique but it is different to a derailleur.

I don't know for sure, but I'd suspect the Alfine would share the same advantages / disadvantages as the Rohloff.   To the best of my knowledge, the Rohloff (which is approved for tandem use) wins hands down when it come to reliability / durability - as it should given the huge cost differential.

I help out doing cycle maintenance work for a local charity group which has a couple of Circe tandems on the 'fleet' - one is fitted with Di2 the other has ordinary shifters.  Both are 8 speed and seem to work fine.  Anecdotally, I believe the 8 speed Alfine hub is a bit more robust than the 11 speed.

Given the choice, an electronically shifted Rohloff is probably the dream ticket, but you'd pay a hefty premium for that configuration.  If you go with Alfine, I'd pick the Di2 option to make life easier for any arthritic digits.

Neil Plant2025-12-05 10:06:29

We have the Co-Motion shifter on drop bars and, being larger diameter, it rotates more easily than the Rohloff but is still not a light shift.  The Co-Motion also has a textured metal grip that can be a bit harsh, so wearing a glove or bar tape on the shifter prevents chafing  The friction on the cables seems to be the main factor.

I believe Rohloff E-14 electronic shifting (wired) is only available for Bosch e-bikes at the moment.  There is an aftermarket version (Sternshift) but it is a bit Heath-Robinson (in my opinion).