Rohloff advice please.

[ton]

nearly ready to hit the buy button on a rohloff wheel/set up.

pros and cons would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[Jurassic pusher]

Hi ton, I`ve just built up a Singular Swift with a Rohloff speed hub, it is taking a little time to get used to shifting gears, I feel that I have "plan" a shift when
climbing, too much (read, any) pressure on the pedals results in the gear not being able to change, I`m sure with more practice it will no longer be an issue.
Some reviews that I have read mention the added weight as a problem, but I can Honestly say that the weight seems a non issue.
Do I have any regrets spending over £900 on it? Definitely not, the ratios are lower and higher than I had on a 1x10 set up, I have climbed hills that were previously long walks!
Being able to change right through the range when stationary may not seem like too much of a plus point but it is surprising how handy it is.
See ya.

[AlasdairMc]

I bought one about a week ago on a bike, and I really like it. The main benefit I find is being able to trackstand on a climb, drop two or three gears, and then continue climbing.

It's noisier in gears 1 to 7 (7 mainly) and is a different experience to a derailleur in terms of shifting, but I really like it. Weight isn't an issue on the bike as it's light enough overall.

The only thing I have noticed is that I'm more reluctant to crank up a hill in too high a gear, but I think that's more me just testing my limits than a drawback of the system itself.

Edit: I can see this lasting a very long time. I tend to break Shadow mechs annually so even that makes it better value for money, not counting the fact the chain, sprocket and chainring last basically forever

[BigdummySteve]

I love my rohloff,the pros are shifting is totally unaffected by mud etc, I was out a few weeks ago and it would have destroyed a derailleur. You also get a consistent chain line, I run KMC X-1 chains and my last one went 5500 miles used on the road, it's still on the original rear cog as well. Maintenance is an oil change once a year.
I love being able to change gear at a standstill or being able to dump a load of gears if you bog down
Strong rear wheel build and easy to field change a broken spoke even on drive side.
Mine had covered about 6500 miles now and is very smooth, be prepared for a running in period of 500-1000 miles, the lower 7 gears especially need a bit of time.
I've not regretted mine for a moment, it just works and keeps working even covered in crap.
With the savings in chan wear, broken derailleurs and cost of some 1X wide range cogs even the initial cost makes sense long term. Of course it's no light weight and it's concentrated on the rear wheel but for bikepacking it's not so much of a disadvantage. Wheel changes can be slow and you need very deep pockets if you want a different set of wheels. Gear changes are different than a derailleur, less snicky clicky at the shifter but you get used to it.

If you're at the WRT or near Oxfordshire your welcome to a spin.

[PJG]

Hi ton,

15 years ago, I ran a Rohloff for a few years. I loved the maintenance free aspect, and ease of shifting gears, but went back to a regular transmission based on efficiency.
I loaned my bike to a friend who was interested in trying a full susser, and I borrowed his hardtail.
I went from being the fat bloke at the back, to being the whippet at the front.

It's not a scientific test, but it was good enough for me, and I've been regular transmission ever since.

I'd consider a Rohloff for a "depths of winter" bike, but not for anything else.

Cheers,
Pete

[Justchris]

Oil change once a year.

Can a home a mechanic or regular bike shop so this? Or does it have to be sent somewhere particular.

Thanks.

[PJG]

Oil change once a year.

Can a home a mechanic or regular bike shop so this? Or does it have to be sent somewhere particular.

Thanks.

You can do it at home - buy the kit off the t'interweb.
SJS do them I think.

[BigdummySteve]

Easy job, remove drain plug, drain oil, add flushing oil, ride around block, drain and add new oil...10 min job

[AlasdairMc]

Oil change once a year.

Can a home a mechanic or regular bike shop so this? Or does it have to be sent somewhere particular.

Thanks.

I got an oil change kit from Bicycle Works last week. It just needs a 3mm allen key to open the drain port, and seems very straightforward. You should come and have a shot of mine sometime to get a feel for it.

[ton]

thanks for all the advice gents. all noted and taken onboard.

[HopeValleyPaul]

I've done about 2000km now on my krampus and Rohloff. Absolutely love it,
Pros

-Idiot proof drivetrain, it just works.
-Quiet (no chain noise )
-had no issues at all with it (so far)
-oil changes is easy


Cons

-It's a lot of weight out back. My back wheel is the best part of 3kg Dually rim and chronicle.
- feels draggy but no worse than a standard drivetrain covered in mud.
-anything but grip shift is expensive.

Definitely worth trying one before you buy. There is a learning curve to them in terms of you can't change gear easily under heavy pedal load, but you get used to backing off slightly very quickly.

[bearlymoving]

What are you hoping to get out of it ton? I think context is key with questions like this.

I'll try and explain my thoughts on them and give you enough context for you to understand why I think what I think (which is probably more useful than what I think).

I owned one for about 4 years, on a Thorn "off road" tourer. When I was riding around on my own, I thought it was great. After a while I started going on rides with other people (mainly touring on road), and I had a hell of a time. I had to work really hard to keep up, and that does matter if you're riding in groups (speed when I'm on my own isn't very important to me at all). People who sell Rohloff's say there's only a small percentage of extra drag over and above a derailleur, but in practice I found it significant.

I sold the Thorn + Rohloff early in 2016 and bought a Singular Swift, which was a much better fit for what I wanted to do (which was bikepacking).

I remember thinking (at the time) that I'd probably buy another Rohloff in a year or two, after giving derailleurs a proper go on the Swift. I had this idea (even though I'd experienced the extra drag) that they were probably really good off road – no derailleur to knock off, or fill up with mud.

Now that I've had some experience of off road riding, I've no intention of looking at a Rohloff again. The derailleur transmission on my Swift is fantastic.

Sure, if I fill it up with mud my derailleur might not be very slick until I clean it, but I clean my bikes when I get home, so in practice I don't find myself riding around on inefficient transmissions.

The other big benefit of a derailleur system for me is that the cost of multiple wheelsets isn't prohibitive, and I often switch between 29er and 650+, to suit where I'm riding.

They are fantastic pieces of engineering though, and I can imagine that for people with different circumstances/preferences to me, they'll be an ideal setup.

[pistonbroke]

I have virtually every combination of transmission from 2x11,singlespeed,alfine11, 3x9, and Rohloff. The Rohloff is the only one I'd set off around the world on.

[JohnClimber]

I agree with all of the above.
6000 miles on mine and I'm very happy.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Only done 2000km so just about run-in. Agree with all the pros & cons mentioned earlier, having tried most transmission options. It's a pity the technology has not progressed over the last 2 decades, but with no serious competition (Alfine sucked), there is no incentive. If you want to race, don't bother, but if you want the ultimate long distance tourer that won't foul up when the mud is horrid, it's worth a punt. Must be a real downer when it does crap out somewhere remote though!

If you do go for it, get an expert to set it up; my impatience doing it myself has led to some trouble accessing all the gears; often I lose the top or bottom gear (not so bad if it's the big gear).

[DoctorRad]

Or... https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hubs-intern ... 135mm-36h/

[pistonbroke]

Don't go the Alfine 11 route, I'm on my 3rd on a fairly lightly used bike. The jumping and crunching of gears means you don't have confidence in giving it the beans for fear of it exploding in the middle of nowhere. Someone with Ton's power will knacker it in no time.

[DoctorRad]

Don't go the Alfine 11 route, I'm on my 3rd on a fairly lightly used bike.

What sort of mileage do you do though? Regular oil changes? And have you had jumping and crunching on all three?

Bought mine used from NorwayCalling, and haven't had any more jumping or crunching than I'd expect from moderately well set-up derailleur kit.

[pistonbroke]

Not done a massive amount on any of them, I'm fastidious about cleaning and maintaining. 1st one lost 2nd and 3rd gear, went back to Madison and was replaced under warranty. Second went the same way but I had then moved to Spain so sending back was difficult but I dropped lucky and was able to pick the hub only up from PX when they were having a jumble sale. £100 still in the box. This one has done about 500km and is ok so far, that said it's been sat in the shed for 3 months as I'm using my Rohloff prior to the Spanish C2C ride I'm organising. Btw I worked as a bike mechanic for 4 years and have Cytech 2 qualification so have seen the number that have failed generally. They are very sensitive to cable setting, 1/2 a turn on the adjuster can mean the difference between it working and not.

[DoctorRad]

Btw I worked as a bike mechanic for 4 years and have Cytech 2 qualification so have seen the number that have failed generally. They are very sensitive to cable setting, 1/2 a turn on the adjuster can mean the difference between it working and not.

Wasn't doubting you'd had problems, just interested to find out how others were getting on with them. I've now got 1,400+km on a used hub, and the only major issues I've had with it are that the gear cable seems to need tightening to keep the yellow markers in line about once every two weeks, and the bellows getting jammed in the cable groove means I almost always have a mis-shift going from 9th to 10th. I don't find mine is as sensitive to cable tension as your experience.

Maybe I've been lucky, or others have been unlucky. Of course, working in a shop, you see the ones that come back and not the ones which carry one working... same with reading 'it's broken' threads on forums. Perhaps they are or were simply inconsistent.

[mikehowarth]

Like others have said its all about context of where and when you plan to ride your bike.

I've ridden in excess of 15,000kms on a Rohloff hub, in fact I currently own two of them, so I guess I must like them and am fairly well placed to understand their pros and cons.

If you want a fast light bike, then I'd stick with standard mech, the Rohloff puts a huge amount of weight at the back of the bike which makes it unwieldy for prolonged hike a bikes.

As for the Rohloff being draggy there is a bit of that but the more the hub is ridden the better it seems to get over time.

Where the Rohloff excels is for virtual maintenance free operation day after day, and particularly in remoter parts of the world where bike shops are not easy to come by things like a perfect chain line, strong symmetrical wheel build and lack of mech hanger to snap all come in to consideration. I've toured in India, Nepal and subsequently rode the length of South America in some very remote areas where all that was required was an oil change and a swap over of the cog every 5000kms.

[ton]

life turns out funny sometimes.

placed a order for a rohloff wheel/set up last week. a shop I do not use, but they were cheap and promised it would be no problem.

went for a 20 mile ride on a rohloff equipped Spa cycles tourer on sunday. it was dreadful. shifts were clunky and noisy. it felt very indirect. when stood up riding it felt like the whole thing was going to go pop. didn't notice the weight when riding. noticed the drag and noise more than anything. was not impressed.
left me think that I may have done the wrong thing ordering a set up.

about 2pm today, I got a email from the bike shop saying that the whole set up was was no longer going to be the promised week, but it was going to be a month because the rims I want are not available. so I phoned another shop, and they have plenty of the rims.

so the whole thing is now cancelled. and I feel quite relieved to be honest. not because of the price, just unsure I would have got on with it.

thanks for all the advice.