My Helios came with the Alfine 8 and I was completely underwhelmed by the range and actual usefulness of the gears. To be honest, I thought it was complete crap, as it was no use for climbing anything more than a small gentle slope and rapidly ran out of oomph going downhill.
I obtained a second hand Dahon wheel for less than £100 (same size - 20 inches) which had a SRAM dual drive and fitted that on instead. With 24 gears, and having a much wider range, top and bottom, it's made a massive improvement to the bike's climbing and descending abilities, both solo in cargo bike mode and on the rare occasions it's used as a tandem. And as stated above, it's very handy to be able to switch gears when stopped. I do remember having a brief look at the gear range of the 11 speed Alfine unit, but I wanted more!
I've been very impressed with the standard rim brakes, or rather the actual original brake blocks, as they perform better then salmon Koolstops, but I must admit having had discs on the commuter bike, it's tempting to look for an upgrade for the Helios.
