Rohloff Speedhub

On 06/21/2005 00:42:32 'Jeff Grippe' jeff@door7 said:

I'm sure that I've mentioned this in this group before but it was probably
a long time ago and so I bring it up again.

Quoted message said:

Could you folks share your experiences with the Rohloff Speed Hub. I'm
considering replacing my 3x7 gears on my trike with a Rohloff and two
chain rings. The two chain rings would be the upper and lower limits that
the Speedhub can accomodate.

Quoted message said:

Has anyone ridden with a speed hub for a long time (over 2 years or over
1000 miles)?

Quoted message said:

Please share your experiences with it.

Quoted message said:

Failing anyone with real experience I'd also be curious to know what
people have heard.

Quoted message said:

Thanks,

Quoted message said:

Jeff

I have heard and experienced only good things about them, but consider
them too expensive, I prefer to use a Schlumpf at the other end.

--

Buck

I would rather be out on my Catrike

http://www.catrike.co.uk

Jeff Grippe said:

Could you folks share your experiences with the Rohloff Speed Hub. I'm
considering replacing my 3x7 gears on my trike with a Rohloff and two chain
rings. The two chain rings would be the upper and lower limits that the
Speedhub can accomodate.

Quoted message said:

Failing anyone with real experience I'd also be curious to know what people
have heard.

I've not had hundreds of miles experience with them, but I've ridden a
couple of Rohloff-d bikes on test rides (a Birdy Grey and a custom
build, both uprights).

First observation of the unit in action, you have to like twist grip
shifting. I prefer bar ends and triggers but twisters are okay by me,
but my Other Half ruled out a Rohloff primarily on not liking the twist
grip as much as anything else.

Second observation, the jumping Gotcha between 7 and 8 under heavy load
is not really a great problem, and not any worse than I've had on the
Sachs 3 speed on the Brompton. As long as you're aware of it it
shouldn't be a limitation in action, I'd think.

Third observation, if you like the silent gliding of a well tuned fixie
then the various ticks you get from different gears may drive you up the
wall. It isn't completely silent. Not a major problem in terms of
mechanics, but the sort of thing that if it annoys you it will annoy you
and after paying a big price too.

The shifting does pretty much what it says on the tin. It works, and
works well. From what I hear from the Ben at Kinetics who deals with
them, maintenance is basically a non-issue beyond a periodic oil change.

Ben's custom uber-commuter used a Schlumpf rather than a second chain
ring. This makes more sense to me, as part of the reason to get a
Rohloff is get rid of all that nasty chain-line changing and the basic
mess and fuss of derailleurs. Beyond that, the Rohloff gives you a big
range anyway, and you may well be fine with it just on a single
chainwheel. I'm considering one for the Streetmachine, and it should
give me the 19" to 100" gears that should do me for everything I need.

Very, very expensive though, which is why I don't have one, and if I do
get one it'll be a present to myself sort of purchase (the big four oh
in 15 months, possibly...)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

If you decide to replace the Sachs hub, I may be interested in buying
it and the associated hardware from you...

email: rehorstmark at netscape dot net

I've used Rohloff hubs on a variety of recumbent bikes and trikes since
2000. My most used Rohloff hub has about 5000 km on it. They have
overall worked well though I find the noise in certain gears
irritating, particularly on a low trike with a hardshell seat which
amplifies the noise and places the rider's ears close to the hub.
Personally on side stick steering I prefer the ergonomics of bar-end
shifters and the Rohloff is available only with a twist shifter. The
weight and friction losses would keep it off any of my performance
oriented recumbents. For a rough weather commuting or touring recumbent
it is a great system.

Zach

"Zach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've used Rohloff hubs on a variety of recumbent bikes and trikes since
2000. My most used Rohloff hub has about 5000 km on it. They have
overall worked well though I find the noise in certain gears
irritating, particularly on a low trike with a hardshell seat which
amplifies the noise and places the rider's ears close to the hub.
Personally on side stick steering I prefer the ergonomics of bar-end
shifters and the Rohloff is available only with a twist shifter. The
weight and friction losses would keep it off any of my performance
oriented recumbents. For a rough weather commuting or touring recumbent
it is a great system.

My side stick steering trike already has twist shifters which I don't mind.
It is very high off the ground and I'm not that close to the rear wheel so
the noise may be a non-issue unless it is really bad. The thing about the
twist shifters that I have now vs what I would have with the Rohloff is that
now I have 7 and with the Rohloff I would have 15. How often do you actually
find yourself having to go from 1 to 15? Unless I suddenly hit a steep hill
(which is rare) I'm usually not shifting all that dramatically.

Does it take any special skill to build a wheel around the Rohloff or could
any wheel builder do it?

Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff Grippe said:

I'm sure that I've mentioned this in this group before but it was probably a
long time ago and so I bring it up again.

Could you folks share your experiences with the Rohloff Speed Hub. I'm
considering replacing my 3x7 gears on my trike with a Rohloff and two chain
rings. The two chain rings would be the upper and lower limits that the
Speedhub can accomodate.

Has anyone ridden with a speed hub for a long time (over 2 years or over
1000 miles)?

Please share your experiences with it.

Failing anyone with real experience I'd also be curious to know what people
have heard.

Thanks,

Jeff

I found this..it's pretty in depth. See what you think.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff-impressions.html

Jeff Grippe said:

My side stick steering trike already has twist shifters which I don't mind.
It is very high off the ground and I'm not that close to the rear wheel so
the noise may be a non-issue unless it is really bad. The thing about the
twist shifters that I have now vs what I would have with the Rohloff is that
now I have 7 and with the Rohloff I would have 15. How often do you actually
find yourself having to go from 1 to 15? Unless I suddenly hit a steep hill
(which is rare) I'm usually not shifting all that dramatically.

The Rohloff Speedhub has 14 ratios, not 15. In some situations such as
accelerating hard on a slight downgrade I find myself shifting a few
gears at a time but not more than that. Normally I shift the Rohloff
one gear at a time. Each ratio is an even 13.6% apart.

Quoted message said:

Does it take any special skill to build a wheel around the Rohloff or could
any wheel builder do it?

Any wheelbuilder could build a wheel around a Rohloff if they read the
intructions and warnings on spoke lacing in the owners manual. The
Rohloff hub flange is about twice the diameter of a conventional hub
and it builds into a dishless wheel, both of which make the resulting
wheel stronger than a wheel on a conventional hub. The Rohloff hub is
only available with 32-holes but this has resulted in very durable
wheels even on tandems.

Zach

Jeff Grippe said:

Does it take any special skill to build a wheel around the Rohloff or could
any wheel builder do it?

No. The only issue might be that the Rohloff hub is only available with
32 spoke holes, which might limit your choice of rims. Any competent
wheelbuilder should be able to create a wheel around it.

Other Jeff