quote='Jack Russell'Nick Payne said:Rohloff hub and limited funds are mutually exclusive. Such bikes exist - eg
http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/ravenenduro.html, which got a good
writeup in Cycling Plus some while back.
Nick
Also apparently St kilda cycles will make one.
Just toured in Switzerland in company with an SJS Raven, not mountain
biking but very impressive. I do not see why it would make a good MTB!
Quoted message said:
"Euan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:A colleague is trying to get me in to mountain biking (like 300kms
Mon-Fri isn't enough ;-) )
All well and good but I'm a man of limited funds. I've really set my
heart on a Rholoff because I got a bit sick of the amount of maintenance
required on a derailleur setup this winter.
So the can I have my cake and eat it too question: Rohloff equipped MTB
a good idea or a real lame duck?
[/quote]
Yes, St Kilda Cycles made up one that was reviewed in the latest BV mag. Also Baum, Thylacine would make up a custom Rohloff equipped bike to your specs, maybe cheaper than one of the Thorns. See the Cheeky Monkey website for some pics of some Rohloff equipped bikes including a dreamy Baum (jbcycles)
You could look at getting a single speed frame such as a Surly or On One especially if it has an eccentric bottom bracket so that you don't need the chain tensioner. Or a Surly Karate Monkey which has horizontal dropouts, though there are issues setting up the brakes (disks or Vs) when you adjust the chain length. It's a 29er frame so you could run 700c wheels/tyres or fatter 29" mtb tyres (if you can get them).
From what I've heard that people who try Rohloffs out for mtb riding, touring, commuting or whatever, rarely go back to derailleur systems. For a straight out MTB, without issues of racks, you could use any frame. If the frame has disk mounts, then you don't need the ugly torque arm. If you have a custom frame, then you don't need disk mounts or the UTA. For racks, there are racks that work with disk brakes, so that shouldn't really be an issue.
I'm at the early stages of contemplating a Rohloff setup to replace my tourer/commuter. If money was no object, I'd go the custom made route given that there are at least 3 to choose from right here in Melbourne, but that would probably be of the order of $1500 to $2000 for the frame alone. The St Kilda Cycles bike in the BV mag is over $5500 complete.
There's a guy in Perth selling off a stack of Rohloff hubs off ebay.