Shimano Alfine internal gear hub

It weighs quite a bit more than my old XT/XTR setup. But so long as it continues to be as good as the first ride I wouldn’t change it for anything. The bike feels a bit weird at the moment because I’ve now got a strong, solid feeling rear rim and a front rim best described as flimsy that I can see flexing through tight corners. I'm planning on getting a new front wheel soon and some lighter bits to compensate for the weight increase. As others have said, shifting is so slick you hardly notice it, all the gears feel super smooth, the hub is completely silent...which is great. To my surprise the hub spins freely after hardly any use, unlike some gear hubs that need a lot of breaking in. The Alfine shifts when pedalling although it does need the rider to ease off the power a bit. The shifter works in reverse of a normal derailleur type shifter in that you release the smaller lever get into easier gears which I should get used to eventually. The highest gear is just about perfect for the XC riding here but I haven’t had a chance to ride it on steeper terrain to try out the lower gears yet. I’m running a 32T chainring and 18T rear cog, although I also have a 20T rear cog to try out. The two probably aren't all that different out on the trail. I also put a set of Hutchinson Toro 1.85 & 2.15 tires on to improve mud performance over the Michelin dry weather tires. It takes a lot to clog them up, the rear tire really cuts into mud and finds grip that many other tires wouldn’t...they seem pretty fast too.