One member of our section (lets call him “G”) is seriously considering buying a Thorn with Rohloff gear-hub in the very near shortly. Also, on the basis that I buy and build up a new frame every ten or twelve years or so, when my next one is due, I anticipate that I may be at the stage when the advertised advantages of a Rohloff hub-gear would be very pertinent to me.
I’m aware that Rohloff hubs have been discussed on the site previously, and all responses that I’ve seen have been full of praise. However a member of our neighbouring section (lets call him “A”) has had his Rohloff for about four years, and I’ve seen him riding it on several of the shorter Audaxes (100 – 200Ks) during that time. “A” has always been full or praise for the Rohloff, until I saw him on the Red Rose 200 last week-end. Apparently, towards the end of last season’s short Audax rides, “A’s” Rohloff developed what we local cyclists call a gobble, which is the looseness in the bearings when the cones need re-adjusting – I’m sure everyone is familiar with this. I don’t know whether Rohloff bearings are adjustable, but “A” returned the cycle, and the hub was sent back to Germany. The first response from whoever “A” was dealing with was that the hub had taken on water, and had “A” been cleaning his bike with a power hose? Well, of course he hadn’t; I don’t know what discussions took place, but the hub was returned, repaired, free of charge, but “A” has not been able to discover what was done to it. The hub is now running as sweetly as ever.
This experience has caused both “G” and myself to think. The advantage of the Rohloff must surely be no maintenance and wondrous reliability, no worries for the future and all that, and all this becomes increasingly relevant as the leading derailleur systems appear to be designed with obsolescence in mind. Does anybody out there want to share their experiences of Rohloff? I don’t know how many miles “A” had done on his Rohloff, but it’s reasonable to assume that even Rohloffs don’t go on forever without attention in excess of an oil change at prescribed intervals.
Anybody?
JohnW
Rohloff
Rohloff
Hello,
I have a Thorn Raven Tour. As far as I am aware this water ingress was on early hubs. The later hubs were upgraded I think to better seals. You should be happy with a Rohloff as even old ones are reliable, fault free and have no maintenance problems. They also will probably last anyones lifetime! Rohloff have a very good after sales record and are known for repairing hubs which have been neglected, free.
John.
I have a Thorn Raven Tour. As far as I am aware this water ingress was on early hubs. The later hubs were upgraded I think to better seals. You should be happy with a Rohloff as even old ones are reliable, fault free and have no maintenance problems. They also will probably last anyones lifetime! Rohloff have a very good after sales record and are known for repairing hubs which have been neglected, free.
John.
I’ve run a Rohloff on a full suspension mountain bike for about two years now, no problems at all apart from the first time out, when the arm that stops the axle rotating came off cos it wasn't strong enough but that was my fault.
Its run through mud sh1t and water of the most abrasively orrible sort without a hitch.
I think the main reason for its success is that it is oil filled as appose to been greased as is the norm with hub gears. This oil washes out any contaminants, can absorb a certain amount of water and most importantly keeps those precious seals well lubricated - stopping them wearing & washing away dirt. This oil can then be flushed out along with all the nasties its collected before they damage the bearings.
Grease on'tother hand only lubricates where its put, and has to be wiped off and cleaned before new grease is re-applied to each item & hopefully not missing any.
I never jet wash it near the seals as thats asking for trouble.
Chains still seem to wear out at the same rate though.
Its run through mud sh1t and water of the most abrasively orrible sort without a hitch.
I think the main reason for its success is that it is oil filled as appose to been greased as is the norm with hub gears. This oil washes out any contaminants, can absorb a certain amount of water and most importantly keeps those precious seals well lubricated - stopping them wearing & washing away dirt. This oil can then be flushed out along with all the nasties its collected before they damage the bearings.
Grease on'tother hand only lubricates where its put, and has to be wiped off and cleaned before new grease is re-applied to each item & hopefully not missing any.
I never jet wash it near the seals as thats asking for trouble.
Chains still seem to wear out at the same rate though.
Cheers
J Bro
J Bro
Thank you for the responses so far.
A matter which I omitted to raise in my initial request is that of removal and re-fitting of the rear wheel out on the road (for example to mend a puncture), and whether it is necessary to re-adjust on re-fitting the wheel.
I personally know only one Rohloff user ("A", referred to in my initial query), and all replies are of interest to me.
JohnW
A matter which I omitted to raise in my initial request is that of removal and re-fitting of the rear wheel out on the road (for example to mend a puncture), and whether it is necessary to re-adjust on re-fitting the wheel.
I personally know only one Rohloff user ("A", referred to in my initial query), and all replies are of interest to me.
JohnW
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reohn2
JohnW
I've never owned a Rolhoff but I would say "A"s experience is a good advert for Rolhoff if after four years they are willing to repair "A"s hub for free,it would suggest that they don't get many back needing repairs as they i'm sure couldn't sustane that kind of free treatment and remain profitable.
I've never owned a Rolhoff but I would say "A"s experience is a good advert for Rolhoff if after four years they are willing to repair "A"s hub for free,it would suggest that they don't get many back needing repairs as they i'm sure couldn't sustane that kind of free treatment and remain profitable.
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Bob H
Hello John,
Your last query ref rear wheel removal/refitting. It is so easy!! The gear indexing is all inside the hub. Just unclip the cables, reclip when puncture sorted. No adjustments required. Straight chain line, no horrible derailleur and generally so clean. I have ridden about 5K miles since last March on my Cannondale Street Rohloff. It's a dream! Technically this hub is way ahead of the opposition, but it is pricey. In my opinion well worth it. Go for it and you will not regret it, furthermore you will never go back to derailleur.
Cheers .......... Bob.
Your last query ref rear wheel removal/refitting. It is so easy!! The gear indexing is all inside the hub. Just unclip the cables, reclip when puncture sorted. No adjustments required. Straight chain line, no horrible derailleur and generally so clean. I have ridden about 5K miles since last March on my Cannondale Street Rohloff. It's a dream! Technically this hub is way ahead of the opposition, but it is pricey. In my opinion well worth it. Go for it and you will not regret it, furthermore you will never go back to derailleur.
Cheers .......... Bob.
Removing a wheel to repair a puncture is a doddle with the rohloff. On my Thorn I simply disconnect two bayonet links on the gear cables and lift the wheel out. Really no more difficult than unravelling the chain from a derailleur system. The chain tension doesn't need adjusting as a result of moving the wheel as it has a vertical dropout.
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daveawood
I've been a Rohloff owner on a Bob Jackson for two years now and apart from the yearly oil changes it's been totally reliable, the sprocket was turned round at about 4000 to 5000 miles but otherwise i haven't even adjusted a cable.
I was on the Red Rose too (not on my Rohloff) and saw the bike at Glasson Dock but didn't know who the rider was.
Dave
I was on the Red Rose too (not on my Rohloff) and saw the bike at Glasson Dock but didn't know who the rider was.
Dave
Hello daveawood
You probably saw me at Glasson as well, I was also there at the same time as the Rohloff - I arrived a bit before and left before. The Rohloff rider's name is Adrian. I was on a black Pennine with orange and black handlebar tape - that frame dates from 1979!
I was a bit disappointed that they'd run out of fish at the cafe - their fish is usually wonderful. I just had to make do with egg and chips (that's my nickname in our section on account of my prediliction for egg and chips).
We had a fine day, and I was pleased to find that the wind coming back from Glasson wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be whilst on the way out.
JohnW.
You probably saw me at Glasson as well, I was also there at the same time as the Rohloff - I arrived a bit before and left before. The Rohloff rider's name is Adrian. I was on a black Pennine with orange and black handlebar tape - that frame dates from 1979!
I was a bit disappointed that they'd run out of fish at the cafe - their fish is usually wonderful. I just had to make do with egg and chips (that's my nickname in our section on account of my prediliction for egg and chips).
We had a fine day, and I was pleased to find that the wind coming back from Glasson wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be whilst on the way out.
JohnW.
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daveawood
Hi JohnW
I guess we must have passed at Glasson then, i'm sorry you didn't get your fish but the beans on toast were very nice! I was with Gordon from Leeds CTC and riding a new blue Ribble. It was my first 200 and i was gratefull for the lack of a strong headwind on the way back too, in fact we were lucky with the weather all day really.
Dave
I guess we must have passed at Glasson then, i'm sorry you didn't get your fish but the beans on toast were very nice! I was with Gordon from Leeds CTC and riding a new blue Ribble. It was my first 200 and i was gratefull for the lack of a strong headwind on the way back too, in fact we were lucky with the weather all day really.
Dave
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daveawood
Woody wrote:Why do Rohloff hubs have only 32 spoke holes on their hubs unlike other manufacturers who equip their hubs with the standard 36 which makes for a much stronger rear wheel?
Rohloff 32h wheels are considerably stronger than normal 36h wheels, because there's no dish. There are 32 spokes all doing their share at holding the wheel in shape. In a 36h wheel, most of the load is shared between the 18 gearside spokes.
The reason for 32h is that there are 8 bolts holding on the hub end-plate, so 2 spokes between each pair of bolts.