Looking at building up a hardtail. Will be for endurance events (Mayhem / SITS etc) for solo participation, and for riding in the depths of winter in da Peaks etc.

Just looking at different ideas and was wondering what people thought to Rohloff hubs? Questions:

1. Are they max 14 speed? If so, what's the range like? Can you alter this?

2. Are they reliable? I know if you smash the rear mech you're stuffed but you can do fixes if you're miles from anywhere. What happens with this?

3. Is it compatible with a slot drop inbred?

4. What crankset / chainring do you run on the front? Is this fixed or can you alter the range?

5. Are they pretty heavy? Do you feel this more with it being rotational weight?

Thanks In Advance

1) yes can alter slightly with different cogs.
2) yes, although sfb left his underwater for 6 months and found it leaked. fixes are return to base
3) possibly but you'd need to check. brant may have done some rohloff dropouts at one point..
4) there's a max teeth at the front to try and limit torque – not sure what it is (36 teeth?)
5) quite heavy and all at the back wheel – won't be an issue if you use panniers might be if you're used to a derailleur setup.

The spread of ratios is fine.

They are incredibly reliable.

Dunno.

Dunno.

Very heavy and cause a massive rear end bias in the bikes weight.

Sheldon is your friend!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff-impressions.html

1) the gear ratios in the hub are fixed, but you can choose different front and rear sprockets, though Rohloff mandate a minimum overall ratio
2) Reliable so long as you don't ride through water. Even brief immersion seems to be harmful. I trashed mine twice (10 months and 14 months with more frequent oil changes)
4) I just used the middle ring position on my normal chainset. There's a minimum of 36 teeth on the front with a 15 tooth rear (or 38/16, 40/17)
5) heavier to pick up, otherwise unnoticeable

simonfbarnes

heavier to pick up, otherwise unnoticeable

Except when you get the bike airbourne.

Except when you get the bike airbourne.

given a 70kg rider I don't think an extra kg at the back makes much odds.

"I don't think an extra kg at the back makes much odds"

and you've got the photo's to prove it 😉

Just checked the cost. Are they really £500+?

Jees, wasn't expecting them to be that much.

Where's the best place to get them from in the UK? Any deals?

Thanks

Just checked the cost. Are they really £500+?

duuuh yeah!

First off I have a Rohloff and I love it. It does the job I want it to do perfectly. That is, a completely dependable and weather proof bike (hardtail with EBB) that needs very little maintenance and is always ready and waiting in the garage ready for a ride. The bike is very rarely cleaned and goes straight back in the garage after rides. Steel chainring and steel cog last an age even in the worst of conditions and chains have a longer working life as well.

If you ride a lot, or ride in crappy conditions, then I would highly recommend one.

1) 14 gear max which you can adjust within certain ranges depending upon wheel size by changing the rear cog or chainring. Rohloff have recommended ranges which are advisable to stick to, although plenty of people seem to not and get away with it. The hub has an inbuilt failsafe to protect it from high torque, there are nylon pins that are designed to shear if the torque is too high. If this happens then you lose drive completely, akin to a freehub failing with 'normal' gears – this is the only way that the hub will be unridable. In reality though this will never actually happen unless you completely disregard Rohloff's advice and configure the chainring/cog a long way outside of their recommendations.

Don't forget that all 14 of those gears are different and usable, how may of the 27/24/18 etc gears on your MTB are different and actually usable?? Within Rohloff's recommendations you can achieve a 22-34 bottom gear if you wish.

2) As above the loss of drive due to the pins shearing with unacceptable torque is the worst thing that can happen. Otherwise any failure mode will leave you with something that you can ride home. Cable snaps/shift box ripped off…. then change gear at the hub with an 8 mm spanner. Even if the internal-gear mechanism breaks completely then you will be left with a fixed wheel to ride home.

In terms of options then if something goes wrong (unlikely) you have considerably more chance of being able to complete your ride with a Rohloff than a normal drivetrain.

3) I'm pretty sure it is compatible with a slot dropout Inbred. I have a frame with an EBB which I find pretty convenient for wheel removal, chain tensioning etc and all without the need for moving the the brake caliper around as well. If you're buying new it might be worth looking at a frame with one.

4) As above, single ring. Chainring size determined by the lowest gear you want, wheel size (29er or 26er), the cog size the Rohloff has and Rohloff's Torq limits. I run a 38 for example. Best chainline on most HTII cranks is in the middle ring position.

5) Yes it is heavier. Yes it is noticeable when you first pick up the bike, something my friends who don't ride one comment on. In practice though I don't notice the weight is there. If anything it feel a bit more balanced with the weight of the suspension fork on the front.

Also to give some balance to my response I have two geared bikes as well which I also like. Even though they get ridden a lot less they have considerably longer time and money spent on their upkeep than the Rohloff!

not many deals about. people who want them are prepared to pay.

you coudl looka t a shimano alfine – 8 speed though – £200, not the same history of reliability from what I've seen.

£500?? You'd be lucky to get one for that price, second-hand maybe!!

To further SFB's post then they are not completely indestructable, like any MTB part subjected to a hard working life. Mine developed bearing play after 18 months of fairly solid use and was returned to Germany free of charge to have them replaced. They also completed a full service and replaced all bolts/seals and oil at the time. The work was completed within a few day turnaround as well. Now that is customer service! Standard practice for Rohloff as well, high initial cost but no other costs for the forseeable future apart from the odd cog which are reversible of course for a longer life span…

Alfine is ok but restricted gear range, fine for some but would annoy me. Very good for the price though nonetheless.

search on here for my alfine thoughts. comments about weight distribution and how it affects the bike are there and applicable to the 'hoff too. i don't think there's much difference in having 8 or 14 gears, but then i normally ride a ss through choice 🙂

Hi,

I've run one for 4 years, in a 26" and now 29er wheel bike.

1. yes they are 14 speed – basically 7 speeds with a reducer on the bottom 7 gears to double this up. About 500% range, with equal steps between each gear. Same range as 27 speed conventional system, with no repeated gears or unusable gears due to big chanin crossover.

2. Reliability – yes very, no issues in 4 years. Just change the oil once per year. There isn't anything really to smash off unless you run a chain tensioner (not needed with slot dropouts or eccentric BB). The model with the external shifter box is most popular on MTBs. There is an 8mm nut inside which interfaces with the shifter box driven by the twin cabled grip shift. If the cables should fail, you can manually select a gear with a 8mm spanner, which is handy.

3. I would highly recommend a frame with EBB if you don't already have one. This weeks the rear wheel in the same place so there is no fiddling with brake calipers every time you have to tension the chain.

4. There are some Rohloff recommended limits on this – i think the the minimum gear is 38 chainring to 16 hub sprocket, which I have. Gearing lower than this invalidates the warranty. This combo produces a very low 1st gear in a 26" wheel bike.

5. Yes they are heavier, and weight is biased towards the back. I have noticed this less since moving the hub to a 29er though.

for the 2 years I ran the Rohloff I never had to buy a chain, I just used old ones too worn to shift with a derailleur 🙂 They would run fine for 6 months at which point I'd have to flip over the drive sprocket.

Thanks everyone, Will in particular.

My shock at the price only comes from a mate who told me he was building a budget 29er. When it was finished it had a rohloff on so I presumed they were quite cheap – £200 would have been my guess. They don't sell them in CRC or Merlin etc so never see the price.

I must admit I'm pretty sold on the idea. Particularly that I can have a 22-34 gear ratio 🙂

Where's the best place to purchase? How much are they new?

Any recommended rim combinations?

Do you use special chains? Do you replace these regularly or just run the chainrings / chain etc into the ground?

Any recommended frames with EBB's?

I have a Singular Swift, a steel 29er. I like it but it is not the lightest frame out there. Rides well and is fairly comfortable.

A frame without an EBB is likely to be lighter if your'e looking for the most racy option. However as I and several other people have said above having an EBB involves a lot less faff IMO. Probably the most cost effective + light frame is an On-One Scandal with slotted dropouts. Plenty of EBB frames out there though!!

If you're feeling flush Nicolai do some nice Rohloff compatible ones, albeit maybe a bit stiff for a endurance racing bike.

Just bear in mind I don't think you can quite get a 22-34 if you are going for a 29er as the bigger wheel creates more torque than a 26er for the same cog/chainring set-up.

I'm still waiting for a particular crap weather event to wheel the Rohloff out at. It would really come into it's own in that situation.

I've run one on a full sus. for two years/9000 miles & am so pleased with it I've bought one for my hardtail (done about 1500 miles)
They are bombproof unless you try drowning them! but I'm sure the SFB method would be OK if you could dry out the internals after.
Speaking to other owners, none have heard of Rohloff charging for a repair & one guy rode his to the Bejing olympics & back!
They get better as they wear & if you buy a s/h one you'll probably be able to sell it for what you bought it for even after a few years.
The weight is noticeable but on my 32lb full sus it doesn't slow me down, when I built the bike, I weighed the bits replaced & the Rohloff was less than 0.5kg heavier.
As for price, I take it you're looking at a s/h one for £500 as they are a bit more than that new here: http://justridingalong.com/?product=170
And yes they work well with a slot dropout Inbred.

oh yeah – Brant did do slidey dropouts to suit a 'hoff but they bent under the load. think the guy who had them ended up bending them back and they then welded a brace across the open end to stop it happening again.
i think that's what happened but a bit of digging around might help explain more fully.
in any case o-o don't do sliding dropout frames anymore.

A torque arm prevents dropout bending

Del, I think that was the vertical dropout frame that splayed as the torque forces are put into the dropout, if you used a slot model, you'd need a speed bone for the torque forces so the dropout would be fine – thinking about, someone on here has a modded speedbone on a slot drop frame, could be Stoner.
PS you riding with Jim this w/end? I'm staying in Torquay for a stag do & was going to take the bike.

Is it true that you can't change down a gear whilst under full load, say when going uphill?

PP, yes and no. Only happened to me a few times when I first got it. Now never have a problem changing gear uphill, downhill or on the flat…. An internal failsafe sticks it in the hardest gear if you try and change between gears 7 and 8 under high load. If you back off it then goes into the gear you wanted. Sounds a lot worse than it is. I cannot actually remember the last time it happened

Are they reliable? Read the stuff. Mine gets used evey single day and has now done 10000KM, all I've ever done is change the oil once and reverse the sprocket. I ride in gritty Surrey, seen or heard nothing except smoooooth running yet.

3. Is it compatible with a slot drop inbred? I guess so. Youll need a device to take the torque. I ride a Thorn frame so it's all taken care of within the drop out.

4. What crankset / chainring do you run on the front? Is this fixed or can you alter the range? I'm running 38T Alloy RaceFace ring. It seems very hardwearing and has stretched 8 chains into the recycling bin so far, and is still going. I expect to replace it within another 1000KM.

5. Are they pretty heavy? Do you feel this more with it being rotational weight?
This rotational weight thing is total nonsense, and is often flagged up by people who have never ridden a Rohloff or thought about what they are saying!. Remember that "moment of inertia" is proportional to mass and radius^2. The Rohloff weighs 1.7Kg but has it's mass centered probably 4cm from the axle. Say you have a average rim weighing 450g at 30cm. The rim alone has 15 times the moment of inertia than the Rohhloff hub!. In other words adding just 33 grammes to the weight of your rim adds the same rotational moment as a Rohloff hub. Your tyre selection could easily make this difference. The rotational moment is totally dominated by your choice of rim and tyre. So ignore the whole "rotational weight" thing, it's irrellevant.
The absolute mass is a small issue, and as I say I don't notice it on the bike.

Loving mine – no gear slippage issues under load or otherwise. It would appear that it's not for everyone though!

IIRC – the torque flares open inbred track ends!? It would be worth doing a bit or research on that before purchase.

If you get a black one and don't like it I may buy it from you – for my other bike… 😉

As a price guide for you I've just sold mine for £600 with everything needed to bolt it to a bike and ride.

but I'm sure the SFB method would be OK if you could dry out the internals after.

but unless you (a) change the oil or (b) take it to bits
this isn't possible. When I changed the oil there wasn't much water in there – perhaps 10ml – but you don't need much for steel to rust, as it's oxygen that does the damage in the presence of water, and the hub is free to 'breathe' as the temperature changes. Rohloff say in their literature that the "seals" were made less tight to reduce friction, and not to worry if the oil leaks out if the wheel is left on one side. They also told me that if my idea of mountain biking is riding through water then the hub isn't designed for mountain biking.

Lots of money for a different way to change gears on a bike…

I ride mine with a 34 x 16 – invalidates the warranty but I'm not two blokes on a tandem so I doubt I'll over torque the thing.

34×16 is equivalent to a 20×34, and my bike weighs 44lbs.

No issues with my Rohloff in 5-1/2 years – just two oil changes and a shed load of chains.

Note… my Rohloff is not in the rear wheel

I wish i'd spec'd a Rohloff system when I ordered my custom ti frame.

Yes the current Rohloff Speedhub is slightly heavier than standard shimano equipment, but on the plus side you are getting a maintanence free bomb proof system and clean lines.

Rohloff are currently testing a lighter version which when released in 2010 should weigh the same as a conventional xt setup.

Test rode a FS set up – A German marque with very nicely put together frames – and the thing that bugged me was the very slight noise – can't remember if it was the high or low set of gears. Was told you get used to it and that it reduces over time but sounded like a slightly out of adjustment derailleur set up. Still think it's a great idea though. One MTB tourer who went to places like India etc. likes it for the reliability and the fact that it could be thrown on the back of Jeeps or tops of byuses without risking taking the rear mech off.

Looking at your original post my take on 24 solos is to have two bikes – one geared full suss and one SS set up for the mud.

I see you're keeping your options open on that steerer…

Unfortunately thats not my bike.

but on the plus side you are getting a maintanence free bomb proof system

I think SFB's experiences have busted that myth.

Explosion In a Spaghetti Factory – As a price guide for you I've just sold mine for £600 with everything needed to bolt it to a bike and ride.

Where did you sell yours? I have a low mileage one in my garage with all the bits that I would be better off selling.

Hi endlessride,
If you've got a disc specific Rohloff hub you'd consider selling i'd be interested.
Perhaps get in touch tomorrow morning, as it's getting late now and the wine is taking it's toll!
Cheers

endless.

sold on here a few days ago.