the gods have spoken.

Shimano, go fuck yourselves.

Three week ago, I bought an Alfine 8speed internal hub with high hopes of bikepacking with multiple pedaling ratios. Something that runs a clean chainline without easy to rip off shifty bits, for when the path is one that is less travelled. My local shop ordered the hub direct from you assholes. You motherfuckers didn't have the sense to tell the shop that when ordering the hub, that's all you get, the hub. That's it, nothing else, just the plain, bare bones hub. I knew the cog was extra, I knew I'd need the shifter, I had them order those parts also. The shop & I figured that you would at least include the fucking axle nuts with the hub, you know, those shiny threaded objects that hold the hub in the frame. I also figured that you would include the cable hanger part with the hub, since you know, IT'S FUCKING SPECIFIC TO THIS GODDAMN HUB! I don't just happen to have these parts laying around, these aren't common parts for the local shop to have on the shelf. Why the fuck don't you just include everything with the fucking hub???

assholes.

So, the shop ordered the sold separately parts kit. This kit supposedly comes with all of the bits to make this fucking thing work. That was the impression the shop was left with, it's the impression I had. Except it doesn't. After I got home from yet another two hour round trip to pick up the little box that was filled with even more little baggies of misc parts, I discover that you assholes don't include the fucking snap ring to hold the cog in place on the hub. So, I have to go thru even more back n forth bullshit of trying to track down a 5 cent snap ring that fucking retails for $2. I was told that when the shop put in the order for the small parts, that your fucking ignorant mother fucking order taker was apologetic, "Oh, I shoulda pointed out that you'd need those parts...."

yeah, no shit moron.

And it gets better. After tracking down the missing snap ring, which required another trip to yet another shop, and after installing the cog tonight, I was in a decent mood. Progress, seeing the proverbial lighted tunnel. I roll the bike down the stairs, throw it in the stand, pull out the ss wheel and lean it against the bench for what I assume will be a while, I'm gonna be riding gears! I work thru the instructions for the hub, I line up the red dots, I line up the yellow dots, the hanger is in place, the cog is flipped to match my chainline after cutting off that ghey fucking chain guard. I take off the grip, slide off the brake lever, install the shifter on the bars. Everything is peachy and going smooth, even looks like the housing is a decent enough length, probably won't have to trim it. Measure the 101mm length from the cable to the housing end, rough in the cable run and read and reread the instructions. 60 degrees, cable slack, catch the nut in the slotted hole, slip the cable thru the slot of the hanger, let the housing nestle into place.

But wait, why doesn't this look right? Why doesn't the stop on the hanger actually stop the housing, it's wayyyyyyy oversized. Read and reread the instructions again, says nothing about having to crimp the stop, nothing about having to form it by hand so that it does its stopping thing. Even if I do smash it, there's no lip to catch the end of the housing...again, WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?! Look at the instructions yet again, gotta be missing something, 'Take cable hanger, er I mean, the Cassette Joint CJ-8S20..." CJ-8S20? hmmmm, is that what I'm working with here? Can't quite see the stamping in this light, drop the wheel out of the frame...

CJ-8S40

GODDAMNITYOUFUCKINGIGNORANTMOTHERFUCKINGASSHOLES!!!!

I've been thru too much bullshit with this already, and now it turns out you sold the wrong fucking parts to the shop for the hub. Your retarded asshole of an order taker apparently doesn't know what the fuck he's doing, cuz he sold the wrong fucking parts to the shop for this hub. What kind of show are you assholes running? That your douchebag mouthbreather on the other end of the phone can't even punch up the right numbers in his little computer to ensure that I'm not getting dicked around even more? I mean, how fucking hard is it? I shouldn't have to double check every little part to make sure ya'll are doing your job, you assholes should get it right, you fucking make this shit! We are ordering it direct! You are the fucking experts, you should know to ask that when the shop orders this hub, do you have all these little tidbits? Well, here's what you'll need....

And when you sell the shop the parts that they & I will need to make this thing work, they better god damn well be the RIGHT FUCKING PARTS!!! This isn't rocket science.

so,

FUCK YOU SHIMANO!


Tomi's geared experiment is now officially on hold until warmer weather arrives, who knows, there might be a freshly built, never ridden, internally geared wheel going up sale...

and again, FUCK YOU SHIMANO!