electric rohloff hubgear question

[flecc]

Well, I'm somewhat relieved to hear, (from flecc) that the picture regarding Nexus hubs isn't quite as bad as depicted in that article to which Streethawk drew attention.

Peter Eland, editor of VeloVision, long experienced cyclist and hub gear fan, only had trouble with the initial issue 8 speed Nexus. He's reported favourably on all the later versions. There's a preliminary report on the new Alfine 11 speed in the latest issue of VeloVision, but as said there, too early to speak of reliability yet on that.
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[indalo]

Yes flecc, that's good to hear. I seem to recall reading once that the late Sheldon Brown declared himself a big fan of internal gear hubs. I'm sure if they were inherently unfit for purpose or downright unreliable, he might just have mentioned that fact.

Indalo

 

[JamesC]

Nexus and Rohloff hubs with the Panasonic drive

My experience with the Nexus 8 speed hub gear has all been good, but it has all been gained with the final redband version that Shimano developed (SG-8R36), just after the launch of the Alfine 8 speed.

There is very little difference between the Nexus 8R36 and the 8 speed Alfine, other than the Alfine is equipped to take a disk brake.

As Flecc says, a pause on the pedals during the gear change pays dividends in achieving a good life.

The 8R36 was original equipment on the Kalkhoff Tasman which my son and daughter-in-law have used for the past 2 years, usually with a child on board. Still changes beautifully, and has needed no maintenance on the hub.

I used an 8R36 on the Kalkhoff ProConnect for approx 3000 miles with the lever shifter, and have done approx 1000 miles with one on an Agattu, this time with the rotary shifter.

None have been any trouble.

Other members of the forum have reported some shifting difficulty when the ambient temperature reaches -4 degC. I have no experience at these low temperatures at which the Shimano hub gear grease becomes a little sticky.

(The Shimano shifter operates on a single cable, relying on the spring loaded cassette at the hub to pull the cable back when changing down)

Rohloff
Before Shimano announced the 11 speed Alfine, I was interested to try the Rohloff on the ProConnect to take advantage of the wide range.

Uisng the standard Panasonic 41 tooth chainwheel and the 15 tooth Rohloff sprocket (and 700C x 38 tyres), this gives a range in gear inches of 20.8 to 109.5 with the 14 gears.

This range of gearing can only be achieved on the 8 speed nexus by fitting a 23 T sprocket for the low range, or a 16 T sprocket for the high range.


The ProConnect dropout slots are nearly horizontal, so not ideal for a powerful cyclist. I use the "nutted" version of the Rohloff and the long torque arm; I would think that the "quick release" version of the hub would be likely to move in the slots.

An 1/8" chain is required for the Panasonic chainwheel and this has proved to be OK on the narrower Rohloff sprocket, which is designed for 3/32".


I am not a powerful cyclist, but with this wonderful range of gearing and the standard panasonic motor (and original 9T motor sprocket), I can cycle in mountainous areas without ever needing to dismount.

James

 

[Streethawk]

I had wondered is Shimano had replaced the original Nexus 8 with the problems with the "Red Band" premium version reviewed here, which never seemed to suffer the same, but as they seem to look the same and the initially were sold alongside each other i was unsure.

 

[flecc]

I seem to recall reading once that the late Sheldon Brown declared himself a big fan of internal gear hubs. I'm sure if they were inherently unfit for purpose or downright unreliable, he might just have mentioned that fact.

Indalo

True. Another good indicator is that there are a number of cycle couriers using hub gears as a result of being fed up with the level of maintenance that derailleurs need. Thay wouldn't do that if they were very unreliable.

I think the problem is one of perception. Derailleurs don't suddenly fail, thye just make a nuisance of themselves in needing lots of TLC as the problems crop up. Hub gears in contrast carry on ok with much less maintenance but when they do eventually go, they often fail completely with no more transmission possible.

In truth the derailleur has much more trouble, but it just doesn't seem that way when a hub gear fails.
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[overthehill]

Alfine or nexus or sturmey

add a Schlumph Mmountain drive to your Alfine or any other hub and it gives you a complete set of lower gears very cost effective with the Sturmey 8 speed combo im thinking about doing with my brompton.
Alex

 

[cogs]

My Rohloff is in a Thorn Raven sport tour frame. The battery for the bafang sits on the pannier rack, and isn't brilliantly stable. I have some concerns about the strength of the frame considering the weight of the 36v lith, but there has been no frame failure yet, however, the hub did 'turn out' of the Thorn specific forks recently, but that problem has been overcome by use of two torque arms made by an engineer. Ideally the battery would sit low behind the seat post, but there isn't enough room between the rear wheel and the post to allow that, nor can it really be situated in front of the upright to the seat because of the triangular bag that contains the controller..

The Rohloff has performed faultlessly for a decade and is maintainance free (except for the occasional oil change. I've done thousands of miles on it, and its effortless ability to switch gear (or even several gears) according to circumstance is a huge positive considering my knee problem (Ive a hinged crank on the chain side) and necessarily not being a powerful cyclist. There is no way that I would be prepared to lose the Rohloff and go derailer (although I'd maybe consider a different hubgear).

I'm keeping an eye out for a cheepo ebike with a dud batt (fleccs advise), or frame which will enable my batt to be better situated than my current set up.

If the premium bond comes up i might go for a bearprint, which have a very appealing design imv, and apparently they are to begin production of a gearhubbed bike this summer. One such, equipped with a Rohloff would probably be my ideal bike. Go here to see: Sport Tourer » Bearprint Electric Bikes

 

[Streethawk]

The Rohloff has performed faultlessly for a decade and is maintainance free (except for the occasional oil change.

This is why i quite fancy a Rohloff, despite the high cost, the longevity should see it pay for itself in time. I typically go through one set of chainrings/chain/cassette/cables each year, at a cost of about £140 a set on my mountain bike. My longterm plan for it is a front hub motor and a rear Rohloff, possibly with a battery in my backpack.

 

[cogs]

Are there any specific back packs for batteries available Streethawk?

 

[Streethawk]

Not, i dont think so, i have a hard shell backpack from Boblbee, which i think is sturdy and comfortable enough even for quite a big battery. The hard shell could be drilled and mounts put in.

All this said, Wisper's forthcoming DaaHub Extreem may be a better solution with its purpose built backpack.