Rohloff uses experience with using one "Thinking about buying one

[Mac_user82]

Hi

Last week I had the experience of using a Rohloff hub and there seems to be a problem with when you are in gear 7 & 8 the internal gear keeps slipping this Rohloff is about 8 years old roughly and it has only had one oil change I'm in two minds of purchasing one because I don't want this problem to occur in my bike because this bike is used daily to go to the shops and I do intend to go traveling with it too.

I have been told by someone about 8 years ago that Rohloff did have a problem with there springs and this is what caused this problem in Rohloff because they were buying springs from another manufacturer and it wasn't up to the Rohloff trade name and caused this problem several Rohloffs have been sent back and rectified within in a couple of days

i would just like to hear some experiences or any problems you have come across since owning one so i would be able to make my mind up in purchasing one

 

[Gubbins]

Hopefully, my next bike will have a rohloff hub so I too am interested in any users thoughts...
Looking around I found the article below, but whilst the report is of interest the gear charts are beyond me so is there anyone would translate in understandable terms how a rohloff would compare to my 17t/11-42t particularly in the lowest gear? I intend to use "my next bike" mostly on road and light trails but I do regularly navigate up to 20% gradients on road and don't want to buy another bike that doesn't really suit my needs..
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff-impressions.html

 

[anotherkiwi]

Hopefully, my next bike will have a rohloff hub so I too am interested in any users thoughts...
Looking around I found the article below, but whilst the report is of interest the gear charts are beyond me so is there anyone would translate in understandable terms how a rohloff would compare to my 17t/11-42t particularly in the lowest gear? I intend to use "my next bike" mostly on road and light trails but I do regularly navigate up to 20% gradients on road and don't want to buy another bike that doesn't really suit my needs..
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff-impressions.html

Your what? 17t/11-42t I get the cassette bit but you have to give us non Bosch riders an equivalent for a normal size chainwheel...

OK I went and looked it up that is a 42 tooth chainwheel equivalent so look at the row 42 x 16 and you will see that the Rohloff will give you a much lower first gear and the same top gear if you put a 16t on the Rohloff.

 

[Rohloffboy]

Yep Mac, I did read about that problem, but thankfully my Rohloff which I got new back in 2004 has never suffered such an issue.

Although when I first got my Rohloff I stocked the workshop up with 1lt of SpeedHub Oil and 2lt's of Rohloff Cleaning Oil, the Oil came in a cylindrical tin back then, and that's enough to keep be going for 40 years!, which kinda works out at £1.75 per annual Oil change.

I have perfected my own annual SpeedHub Oil change over the years, which goes somewhat beyond the instruction given by Rohloff and SJS Cycles, I don't think my Oil change regime has played a part in keeping my Rohloff trouble free, it's more likley to have caused me to use more SpeedHub Cleaning Oil than was really nessacery, who knows!

In fact my Rohloff just runs sweeter as each year passes, quite somthing as it is now 14 years old.

When I eventually get an ebike, the Rohloff will be making the transition, ebike's on my radar are the Halfords Crossfuse and Cube Acid, although I would have to dig out my Rohloff Chain Tensioner if going for either of those ebike's.

The ideal scenario for me would be a CD ebike be it Bosch or Bafang, and the frame having Sliding Drop-Out's, although using a Chain Tensioner is by no means a deal breaker, especialy for an ebike.

 

[Gubbins]

Your what? 17t/11-42t I get the cassette bit but you have to give us non Bosch riders an equivalent for a normal size chainwheel...

OK I went and looked it up that is a 42 tooth chainwheel equivalent so look at the row 42 x 16 and you will see that the Rohloff will give you a much lower first gear and the same top gear if you put a 16t on the Rohloff.

Its just numbers and coloured boxes, so thanks for the info..

 

[RobF]

Coming up to 3,000 miles on my Charger/Rohloff.

Fully reliable so far, which is usually the case.

The range is famously wide, unlike other gear hubs which can be a bit limited.

Obviously, it depends on the cogs, but on the Charger first is a good crawler gear and top would give 30+mph if I could be bothered to pedal that hard.

Evenly spaced gears are a treat to use, unlike Shimano hubs which have uneven jumps.

Cable disconnection in the event of a puncture is straightforward, unlike Shimano hubs which are fiddly to disconnect/reconnect.

Rohloffs are internally indexed, so there's no pratting around with cable tension and setting which you get with Shimano hubs and derailers.

The only thing against the Rohloff is the cost.

Ignore/accept that, and all other transmissions appear poor in comparison.

 

[Gubbins]

Coming up to 3,000 miles on my Charger/Rohloff.

Fully reliable so far, which is usually the case.

The range is famously wide, unlike other gear hubs which can be a bit limited.

Obviously, it depends on the cogs, but on the Charger first is a good crawler gear and top would give 30+mph if I could be bothered to pedal that hard.

Evenly spaced gears are a treat to use, unlike Shimano hubs which have uneven jumps.

Cable disconnection in the event of a puncture is straightforward, unlike Shimano hubs which are fiddly to disconnect/reconnect.

Rohloffs are internally indexed, so there's no pratting around with cable tension and setting which you get with Shimano hubs and derailers.

The only thing against the Rohloff is the cost.

Ignore/accept that, and all other transmissions appear poor in comparison.

Do you have chain or belt? I am hoping to buy one later this year by which time the E-14 should have worked its way through.

 

[RobF]

Do you have chain or belt? I am hoping to buy one later this year by which time the E-14 should have worked its way through.

Chain enclosed by a Chainglider.

All hub gears are very kind to chains because the chain is always in perfect alignment, is not scraped across a cassette, and the high line keeps the chain cleaner.

Things for and against a belt, but given I get thousands of miles out of a £10 chain, a belt doesn't seen worthwhile.

 

[Rohloffboy]

Yep, I would keep with a chain, in fact back in 2004 I bought 4 of the Rohloff SLT-99 Chains, and I am still on my first one.

Sadly the Rohloff SLT-99 Chain is no longer made, as the machine that made the chains had come to the end of it's servicible life.

And to be fair the SLT-99 was never a Chain specifically designed for a Single Speed, in fact it is a 8 Speed Chain, although does the job perfectly.

No SpeedLink with the Rohloff SLT-99, old Skool joining using the a Rohloff Chain tool, you can of course use a 8 SpeedLink, and I keep one for back up, should I ever suffer a chain break, although that has never happend.

Gates Belt Drive, does look the business, but does present some frame build challenges.

 

[Gubbins]

Not planning on building.. the bike I am looking at comes with a choice of.. derailleur, nivinci or rohloff (chain or belt) so bike frame must have the belt option built in.

 

[Mac_user82]

The idea of getting a belt bike sounds like a good idea at one stage I didn't get one due to that fact they are expensive to replace

It is a nice idea not have to worry about decreasing a chain and checking it for wear when you are doing maintenance but its all part of cycling to maintain your bike to be able to get the most miles out of the chain.

People have told me if you do get a belt quite dirty it can start slipping
and cause problems when you are pedaling a least with a chain it will keep turned around and shouldn't really get any problems

Thing that puts me off about a belt if it snaps there is no way of repairing it on the side of the road least with a chain it snaps you can just use a quick link to get you going again and if need be you could carry a spare chain with you

A chain is easy to get hold of belts I believe a harder to source which to me doesn't give me an incentive to swap to a belt nothing worse then struggling to get hold of something well if you are like me and depend on a bike to get you around as your form of transport then the last thing you want is finding it hard to source parts for it

 

[Gubbins]

In trying to get every angle.. It would seem that belt drives require a very high tension and wondered how this might impact on the Bosch main bearings.. them being the subject of numerous failures ..

 

[oyster]

The only thing against the Rohloff is the cost.

I appreciate that Rohloff are expensive, but is that because they are made in relatively small numbers by a company that puts a lot into making them to a high standard. Or could they be manufactured in vast numbers at a lower cost by a true volume factory - and still be decent quality? (Obviously ignoring issues like patents, registered designs and licences.)

 

[wheeliepete]

From what I have read on Bosch CX bearing failure, most have occurred on MTB from water ingress. As I would think that belt drive is more suited to road use, you are far less lightly to suffer this.

 

[anotherkiwi]

In trying to get every angle.. It would seem that belt drives require a very high tension and wondered how this might impact on the Bosch main bearings.. them being the subject of numerous failures ..

Complicated but seductive is my take on belt drive. I prefer having a normal frame and a chain tensioner with the chain tucked away (for the most part) in a Hebie chainglider.

I appreciate that Rohloff are expensive, but is that because they are made in relatively small numbers by a company that puts a lot into making them to a high standard. Or could they be manufactured in vast numbers at a lower cost by a true volume factory - and still be decent quality? (Obviously ignoring issues like patents, registered designs and licences.)

http://www.kindernay.com/

At the bottom: developed in Norway, made in Europe (look east young man...)

If you want/need a hub drive you have pinion which has even more gear range! You just need a frame that will take one, lucky me Azub put both Rohloff and pinion gear boxes on their trikes

 

[wheeliepete]

Or could they be manufactured in vast numbers at a lower cost by a true volume factory - and still be decent quality?

Probably, but then they would not be a Rohloff. I think this is one of those rare over-engineered products that has found a market to match it's production volume.

 

[oyster]

they would not be a Rohloff.

Though a licence agreement could make that a moot point.

http://www.kindernay.com/

At the bottom: developed in Norway, made in Europe (look east young man...)

Only 9090 kr (about £832).

 

[Trevormonty]

Nice hub but reliability is unknown at present. Rohloff is more expensive but is bullet proof.