On the Surly Long Haul Trucker message boards, a fellow brought up that the internally geared Alfine group from Shimano is coming out with an 11-speed version.
From the fellow, Vik’s, blog :
Shimano has shaken up their internal geared hub lineup with a new 11 speed Alfine hub. I’m super stoked to see the gear range gap close with the Rohloff. I’ve really enjoyed the Alfine in my Pugsley and the Nexus 8 hubs in my Bike Fridays. They shift great, are reasonably priced and offer a really low maintenance drivetrain for your bike. The one downside is their gear range was too narrow for some riders. With the new 11 speed Alfine many more riders will be able to use one of these IGHs.
11 Speed Alfine IGH Specs:
- gear range 409% vs. 307% for the 8 speed Alfine and 526% for the Rohloff
- jumps: 2 x 17% and 8 x 13%
- weight 1.6kg
- oil bath lubrication
- trigger shifter
- only available in silver initially
- $419USD
So far I haven’t seen a firm release date for this IGH, but it is supposed to be a 2010 product so let’s keep our fingers crossed that we see them in North America in the not too distant future.