Rohloff Advice

[Crossy2]

I've just bought a bike with a Rohloff. The question I have is it seems a bit stiff in 1 - 7 but a lot smoother 8 - 14 is this normal. The bike has done between 6000 - 7000 miles its just had an oil change. Will it get easier.

[PH]

I would have thought with that sort of mileage it would have been well run in, mine was well before that.
Feeling stiff is subjective, but yes there is some loss of efficiency in the lower range. My opinion is it feels a lot worse than it is. As you may know the system works by using the same 7 gears with a reduction gear for the lower range, so that small loss is inevitable. I bought mine to replace a derailleur bike for 150 miles a week commuting with a few of them in the bottom range, I used it for that till the job ended three years later. It always felt slower, yet I always arrived at work and home again at the same time, with the computer confirming it was if anything a little faster.
I think you need to find a way to quantify if the feeling of being stiff is actually causing resistance, or if it's just the noise and different feeling giving that impression. Ideally ride another Rohloff bike and compare. If you have significant stiffness it's not normal and you should consult Rohloff.

[Richard]

My wife's bike has a rolhoff hub. I changed the gear cables and adjusted the inners properly for length and it made a huge difference. It might be worth inspecting the cables to see if this is the cause of the stiffness.

[geocycle]

I think Richard's right. Stiffness as opposed to noise is most likely due to the cables being sticky or the outer frayed. Slacken, lube and check for damage to the outer at the places it bends. However I would expect this to affect all gear changes. There is also the possibility that the internal cable has frayed but again this shouldn't just affect one range. As PH says, if the problem continues contact Rohloff.

[Gearoidmuar]

I've done more than 4000 miles since I got mine. There is noise in 1-7, but 1-4 are now very quiet, 5,6 and 7 being noisy.
I've no doubt from a long hilly tour with a companion who's my exact equal athletically, that the perceived increase in friction is a function of your mind. You do not feel this at all if there's traffic or wind and you cannot hear it, and there was no effect on my climbing speed vis a vis my pal, in fact I was climbing better than him. This I attribute to the fact that it's so easy to get the gear you want, compared to a derailleur, that you are more often in an optimal gear. Now the noise doesn't bother me in the least.
Since I got the Rohloff, the chain has never come off, never jammed, never broken. I've never had to adjust a rear spoke (this is a big bonus for me because I'm fit at about 14.12 and with luggage, this is hard on back wheels.

[Insect]

I bought a Rohloff last year and have used it a lot since, on and off road. I suspect that what you call 'stiffness' is the working of the extra gear train required to step down the normal gear range (7 gears, numbers 8-14) in order to provide the low range of gears (nos 1-7). Using this low range (especially gears 5 and 7) is noisier than using the top 7 gears (which are completely silent), and its possible to imagine the meshing of fast-moving gear teeth within the hub. I find that the noise gets louder when I put in extra exertion (e.g. by climbing a hill in a relatively high gear), and when out with the local friday night group they will often take the mick about my 'coffee grinder'. I don't think that the extra noise and the whirring of the gear train actually causes a noticeable drop in performance, however - and I haven't had to stop to replace the chain or clear undergrowth out of the chain tensioner, either!
The noise/whirring is supposed to gradually subside as the gears 'run in', and oil changes are supposed to help too, though my hub is not due for one yet so I can't confirm.

[Crossy2]

Prehaps it is just the noise of it (like a coffee ginder) that is playing on my mind. I still get up all the hills I did previously. I think I will have to make the most of the weather and practise with it more (thats what i'll tell SWMBO).

[Gearoidmuar]

Prehaps it is just the noise of it (like a coffee ginder) that is playing on my mind. I still get up all the hills I did previously. I think I will have to make the most of the weather and practise with it more (thats what i'll tell SWMBO).

Everyone gets that feeling at first. People even get rid of them, thinking that this indicates a severe degree of friction. Try riding up a hill in 7th gear with a walkman and see if you get this sensation. You won't!!

You'll get totally over it.

[hultmark]

My experience is that drag is noticeably more in gears 4-7 (increasing towards 7). This from what I understand is perfectly normal. Mine's done perhaps 4000 miles now with one oil-change. I'm not sure that the drag has changed much since new. However, I don't personally find it a problem. Drag seems to matter less at that ratio. I really love the Rohloff gears and wouldn't want to change back for anything.

[swansonj]

My experience is that drag is noticeably more in gears 4-7 (increasing towards 7).

Without meaning to be critical or unpleasant, but how do you know drag is more in those gears, as opposed to having an impression that it is?

[Crossy2]

I carried out a very scientific experiment on the Rohloff. I rode my Dawes Galaxy to work 11 miles last week. It took an hour to get there not fast but that is the engine peddaling not the bike. Took the Rohloff today same route same time so that makes feel a lot better.

[Crossy2]

I carried out a very scientific experiment on the Rohloff. I rode my Dawes Galaxy to work 11 miles last week. It took an hour to get there not fast but that is the engine peddaling not the bike. Took the Rohloff today same route same time so that makes feel a lot better.

[BTP]

Feeling stiff is subjective, but yes there is some loss of efficiency in the lower range. My opinion is it feels a lot worse than it is.

I think that is about right although after 10,000 kms I can stiull hear my 7th. By the laws of physics hub gears will always be less efficient (as defined by the useable work out/work in equation) simply due to the fact that, in addition to a chainring and a sprocket, you have one or more sets of planetary gears plus oil seals etc in the powertrain. It is bound to be less efficient.

However, if you happen to pedal uphill in gear 7 surrounded by noisy traffic, it is not so obvious, sometimes, that you are in gear 7!

As a matter of interest, does anyone know why gear 7 is noisier? After all, according to the Rohloff website, only gears 3 and 5 use all three planetary sets. Like gear 7, gears 1,2,6,10 and 12 all use 2 planetary sets, but 10 and 12 particularly, are quiet and less lossy.

On my Rohloff, given that the rear wheel stops spinning alot quicker than an equivalent derailleur, I estimate a power loss of approx 1W due to oil seals etc.

Cheers,

[squeaker]

By the laws of physics hub gears will always be less efficient (as defined by the useable work out/work in equation) simply due to the fact that, in addition to a chainring and a sprocket, you have one or more sets of planetary gears plus oil seals etc in the powertrain. It is bound to be less efficient.

Than a system with a chain that has to go around 2 more sprockets, and mostly run not in a straight line? Bound to

[PH]

By the laws of physics hub gears will always be less efficient (as defined by the useable work out/work in equation) simply due to the fact that, in addition to a chainring and a sprocket, you have one or more sets of planetary gears plus oil seals etc in the powertrain. It is bound to be less efficient.

Than a system with a chain that has to go around 2 more sprockets, and mostly run not in a straight line? Bound to

Here's the figures;
http://www.ihpva.org/HParchive/PDF/hp52-2001.pdf