I joined this forum just to say Thank You "JonCox" for the first completely honest post in the history of the Internet.

pickupel: The anecdote about the two hubs failing in Kenya doesn't necessarily suggest that all Alfine 11 hubs are ticking time bombs set with fuses of very similar lengths; it may suggest that the two people riding together in Kenya did the same wrong things to their respective hubs and destroyed them at roughly the same rate.

RossC: I don't think accumulated sand could possibly remove the cog from an Alfine hub or indeed a Nexus 3-speed or a Joytech single-speed coaster brake hub if the cog and lock ring were installed correctly. Have you ever installed and removed those things? If three hubs failed in the same local area, I wonder if they were all set up by the same mechanic or if they were all subjected to the same harsh conditions?