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Submitted by
rosscopeco
a Weekend Warrior
from Glasgow, Scotland
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere off road | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Kinetics | | Strengths: | Does what it says on the tin. No hassle, just twist and go. No cleaning required. Fit and forget. Gets better with time and use. | | Weaknesses: | Cost, but that's relative. The bike cost me £2K + so why stop there! None in terms of performance to date. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | Orange 5, Rock Shox Revelation, Fox RP23, Hope | | Bottom Line: | I've now owned this for 13 months and it's used almost everyday (inc winter) for commuting on a 18 mile round trip across a mixture of trails / roads and most weekends for thrashing around local trails.
I’ve now competed in 2 x 50+ mile off road races through some of the worse terrain Scotland has (3G challenge) and it’s great to pass other poor souls who are cursing their fancy XTR / X0 systems that can’t shift properly because of the mud!
For those of you who commute through traffic you'll know that traffic dirt / film is far worse on a bike than good clean mud. With the old XT system, if I didn't give it some TLC every weekend it would jam by day 8 or 9. Now I never have to do anything other than hose down the bike and give the chain a wee wipe with a dry lub once it's dry. It's just something I never have to think or worry about now. Incidentally I swapped out to a single speed chain as it's a bit tougher more durable (and cheaper).
Perceived weaknesses
Noise: Yes, it does make a little whirring noise in gears 5 - 7 but if you compare that to a normal system when you try and change gear quickly or when it's full of mud, there's no comparison!
Weight: It’s a little on the heavy side but lets be honest here, why shave 10g off your bike when we all put on 5lbs over the xmas hols!
Cost: It's expensive and I spent ages making my mind up before I finally took the plunge and saw the light but it's more than paid for itself in terms of ease of use, reliability and peace of mind on the trail.
The more it gets used the smoother and quieter it gets, so in short, I'll never go back to the old way as it’s the best investment I’ve made.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
marek
a Downhiller
from pruszkow,poland
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | szczyrk dh trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | universal cycles | | Strengths: | straight chainline,fast shifting,perfect gear ratio,maintenance free(exept oil changes) | | Weaknesses: | some oil leaking,weight,price | | Similar Products Used: | no simillar...rohloff speedhub rules!it's own class. tried shim. xt,xtr,esp dualdrive.rohloff rules! | | Bike Setup: | rb dragster dh,2xgustav m.,monster,5th element,sunn d.w.24' | | Bottom Line: | sometimes hapens freewheel efect or different (higher)gear changes under power | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terrence McAleer
a Cross Country Rider
from Philthydelphia,PA.,U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | too many to list | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$950.00 | | Purchased At: | Blienky cycle werks | | Strengths: | the shifting is effortless and gets thoughtless too,it gets so easy to be in the correct gear and then just dooing it by instinct. city streets or back trails philly has the best and the worst!. | | Weaknesses: | I can't find one after about 3000 miles and five oil changes it just gets better and better. | | Similar Products Used: | stumy-archer 3 speed. | | Bike Setup: | hybred 29er w/eccentric bottom bracket for easy adjustment of the chain which is a heavy BMX chain,avid jucy rear disc setup w/magura hydro/front rimbrake. pedals,seatpost,stem and bars are truvativ group and the seat is a specialized 155 milano.front hub is diore genny and both front/rear rims are velosity dyads w/maxxis crossmark 29s | | Bottom Line: | This is the best thing since sliced toast no...this IS THE diffrence from manuel to AUTOMATIC shift that the bike world will see til this get's IMPROVED! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Les van der Roest
a Weekend Warrior
from British Columbia
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Saturday night loop | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | It is rock Soid and works in all temperatures up to -30C. Single chain line. Shift anytime anywhere. Better clearance. Beter chain line. More even gearing and smoother transactions as you shift up and down through the gears. | | Weaknesses: | Heavy!! Leaks oil. It is NOT as efficient as XT/XO set-ups. It seems to get worse in the really low gears under tough climbing conditions. My Hub leaks a little and now my DB are hooped. I have had trouble with spokes breaking but I think that is the wheel builders fault not the hubs. I am about to lace on a lighter x/c rim with new spokes so we'll see. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Kona Dawg Primo - XT/Mavic hubs/Rims, XT disc brakes, FOX Shock and Fork etc... | | Bottom Line: | I like this hub in theory and like some of the aspects in practice but this is definately not a hub if you do lots of big steep technical climbing or if you want to race. I am going to keep this hub on my communter bike where it shines year round. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Pleney (the twisty one), Morzine, France | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay.com.au | | Strengths: | - Speed of shifting (instant!). You end up using all the gears, changing far more often and riding faster as a result.
- Reliability - 2 years and it's been the most reliable part on the whole bike, over about 4000 km of snow, London salty roads, downhilling in France, touring with trailer.
- Having a good gear ratio always available makes you a faster rider, especially off the line and in technical situations.
- Toughness - In that 2 years it's taken some beatings including downhilling and been given very little love or attention (I weigh 92 kg too!). It's a great hub design in its own right even ignoring the gears, as it runs on a train of big sealed bearing units inside a sealed hub, in an oil bath!
- Shifting without pedalling - changes the way you ride, both in technical mountain biking and in commuting in towns. You can go from gear 14 back down to 1 in two twists during a split second while not even riding.
- The gear cables (being dual pull-pull rather than single pull-push) work fine even when gunked up - I'm on the same set after 2 years but had to replace deurallier cables every 3-4 months back in the old days.
- The chain lasts longer and run smoother as it's kept straight instead of being dragged around gears and pulled at an angle. You can also use a 7 speed one instead of a weak 9 speed of course.
- As you can reverse both the front and rear cogs for twice the life, it's ages between cog replacements. I've had the same set on for 2 years with one chain replacement, and it's about ready to replace now.
- Works well with my Formula disc brakes (Needs a custom Rohloff disc, but these seem high quality)
- Mine's a 2003 asssembly that's never really leaked oil like some people talk about, though it does get moist with oil at the cog end seal on a hot day.
- Keeps on working fine even in rain, snow, mud, and sand!
- The weight thing is okay!! I'm sold on that one until someone shows me a solution with the same benefits that's any lighter. It wasn't any heavier than my initial Deore kit either and it's just so worth it.
-The lower stress spoking means that you break less spokes - none with the DT spokes from my second wheel build even on heavy downhill use. | | Weaknesses: | - High cost but it will pay you back!!!
- Takes a while to bed in and quiet down (about 1 year / 2500km for me), though it's been very nice the last year and getting better. Show me another mountain bike part that gets better with age!!!
- Limited options for ideal mounting on a full suspension bike (without a chain guide / tensioner). I wrote asking Cove if they could make a G-Spot with a Rohloff/Single speed rear mount and they told me to get rid of the hub!!! I'd love to get a full suss setup without a speedbone or chain tensioner for ultimate mechanical purity.
- I had the cable adjusters (Aluminium) seize in a London winter on salty roads. I turned up some Stainless ones to replace them on a lathe.
- In the first few weeks it was new and when the temperature dropped below 0 Celcius, it used to freewheel slightly between occasional gear changes, before I gave it it's first oil change. It has never done it since though (it had been on a shelf in Australia for 2 years before I bought it on eBay, so no wonder the first oil round wasn't too flash).
- I had to make my own 60cm long chain whip to remove the first rear cog in 2006 as it had jammed on - make sure you put lots of thread grease on the cog's thread when you replace it so it comes off easier! New cogs are pre-coated since about 07 anyway apparently, so the guys at Rohloff told me. | | Similar Products Used: | - Sturmey-Archer 3 speed (this is in a different league!) | | Bike Setup: | GT I-Drive 5 (old school design), Tora 130mm shocks, Fox rear coil shock, Shimano LX HTII crankset, Rohloff with Mavic 317 rear rim & DT spokes, WTB headset. | | Bottom Line: | This is the only bike item I've ever bought that I'm glad I have every time I ride! It's kind of expensive but I think it's already saved me money after 2 years and made my one bike a nicer place to be, every day.
I can honestly say that for most riding it will make you go faster. This is because in both commuting and mountain biking, regular acceleration is required. In commuting because of red lights, intersections and hazards, and in mountain biking due to changing gradient and obstacles. Humans aren't very powerful machines and it's a huge help to be in the most efficient RPM range as much as possible, which means grinding in the right gear. It's so damn quick to change gears with a Speedhub that you end up using all of them, and being always in the right one. (This is also because it's always in full working order too, unlike a deurallier bike).
It takes about a month to master the shift technique (it's best to change at the top of a pedal stroke where power and torque are about zero for a split second). Once I did, I was finding myself in the busy London commute doing four gear changes before even crossing an intersection from a standing start, smoking 2 or 3 lycra wearing roadies in the process.
In mountain biking, especially technical stuff it's equally brilliant, as you can always be in the right gear leaving your mates behind especially on demanding up-down technical stuff. On downhilling of the sort found in Alpes and Les Portes du Soleil (Morzine), it ran perfectly and stayed tight over 11 days of black runs and extended missions to Switzerland and other nice places. To put this in perspective, in that trip I cooked 2 discs, 4 sets of brake pads, broke my crankset, dented and warped both rims, had spokes coming loose every day, wore out my rear shock bushings and wore the headset loose twice. It was a centre of attention too, people on V10s and Demo 9's coming up to ask how it is to own one which seemed ironic! Back in the UK it's also proved a weapon in muddy or rainy conditions as it will keep working perfectly and make you more likely to go out in the cold and enjoy a ride.
I've also taken it touring round Normandy with my Bob trailer. Once again it's great when taking off with a lot of weight, when you need the gears more than ever and Speedhubs are just as happy with a heavy load. More than anything though it's the reliability which sets it apart in touring. I did have the bob trailer arm initially grinding against the Speedbone - I had to file down the Speedbone to make some clearance but that was straightforward. I also pulled a shifter cable out en route and had to hunt down a Torx screw driver with very limited French - I've since replaced all the external screws with stainless hex head screws as they generally don't take any load anyway.
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the factory in Kassel, Germany in July 07 while van-touring Europe. Mr Rohloff and his wife Barbara, who live on-site, were both very friendly. The factory is a cool place, with even pool out front. They raise crows (like the Rohloff logo!) which hang out in a cage out the front. Inside, the Speedhub assembly room is clean and well organised. Every stage for every hub build seems to involve sophisticated checks with machines that double check things like spacing, gear tolerance, gear sequence, and overall running of the hub. Seeing the actual assembly process, it only makes the product seem doubly amazing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frankie Warnock
a Cross Country Rider
from Ogletown, DE, USA
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | York Heritage Trail, PA | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | Wooden Wheels, Newark, Delaware | | Strengths: | Incredibly smooth shifting, non-dished wheel, very little maintenance, rarely needs adjustment, staight chain line, no more derailleurs, 14 discrete gears all in one twist grip, enclosed/protected from the elements, shifts under load unlike other internals, bike as a whole is far easier to clean/keep clean. | | Weaknesses: | Bike gains an additional 1-1.5 lbs, binding of seals, leakage. | | Similar Products Used: | None comparable. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Cannondale Scalpel, mainly used for rail trails, light mountain biking, and commuting. | | Bottom Line: | A mechanical engineer's dream, this gear box is nothing short of revolutionary. After 4 years and 23,000 miles, I am getting ready to send it in for new seals. It does leak, but I can still drain at least 10 ml with every 5,000 mile oil change. I do not notice the drag in certain gears nearly as much as others have. It feels efficient - even more so than a derailleur system - in all 14 ratios. It may just be me, or due to the high mileage break-in.
I also built a touring bike 1 year later (2003) with the non-disk brake model, and after 17,000 miles, that hub is still not as efficient or smooth. There continues to be significant drag while freewheeling (the Scalpel is almost cassette smooth by comparison) and the leaking is worse, almost running out between oil changes. Enough drops will form a small puddle on the ground if I lean the bike over too far. The usual loud gears are still just that, and on a rare occasion it slips as though a pawl didn't fully engage before load. But I hope to see an improvement after I send it in over the winter for new seals and a checkup.
In summery, with about 40,000 miles between 2 Speedhubs, I am very satisfied and will never go back to the stone age with even the most modern derailleur system. Despite these flaws, I have ridden these miles (including a number of loaded tours) with total comfort, confidence, and no concern about failure. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kent
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, CA
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | No derailleurs. No bending of deraileurs or hangers when you are between a rock and a hard spot. No debris in cassette (there is no cassette). Little to no maintenance. I can shift gears at any time. I run an 8-spd chain and it is very durable and less chain stretch with time. Has paid for itself (cassettes, chainrings, chains) over 5000+ miles. | | Weaknesses: | weight, about a pound heavier than conventional derailleur drivetrain. Initial cost is a tough hurdle. | | Similar Products Used: | Derailleurs which are not as durable. | | Bike Setup: | Maverick, Rohloff hub, Rohloff tensioner, Fox Vanilla 140mm, Kenda tires. | | Bottom Line: | Update: I had a lot of friction and some oil leakage issues, you can read back through the posts below. In August i sent the hub to Rohloff in California. And they were very nice about it. They replaced the internals of my hub, and the results were immediately noticable, even for a new hub. There was drag on the new wheel but much less than i ever had with the previous internals. And now that i have 300+ miles on it, it is getting better, less drag. The Rohloff is the only way to go for mountain biking. The race/weight weenies won't like it. But you can't beat simplicity and durability. It works everytime, everyday, every ride. No adjusting, just go pedal. I have a Maverick full sus and use the Rohloff tensioner, and i just oil the chain, wipe, and then ride. I would recommend replacing the oil in the hub every 4-6 months if you ride a lot. It gets 5 chili's for value. I'm going to still give it 4 hot chili's for overall. If they get the weight down, it'll get 5. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kent
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, California
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Flawless operation on the trail. Works every day. Has paid for itself in cassettes, chainrings, and deraileurs. | | Weaknesses: | Rotational drag on wheel. Rotational drag seems to very. Mine is the worst of all those that i have met. Might need to change oil in hub more often than the annual suggestion. Grip shift takes some getting use to. | | Bike Setup: | Maverick | | Bottom Line: | I purchased the hub 1.5 years ago, i probably have 3500-4500 miles on it. Before i go into describing my problems, i should say that the internal gear hub is the best way to go for mountain biking, and Rohloff is the only game in town. Rohloff makes an excellent product, but i have had some problems. Just before the 1 year mark i was noticing a great deal of drag on rotational spin, i then did the oil change and found no oil in the hub. After the oil change the oil just dripped/poured out of the hub. The seals must have dried up, i sent it to the California rep and after a period of time he replaced the seals. That was in March/April. And i still have quite notice-able drag on rotational spin. More than two guys that i know, and one guy's hub is brand new. I'm not happy about that. And then come to replace my oil last week and i only have 5ml (supposed to have 25ml) of oil in the hub after 3 months. What the hell? I'm not very happy about Rohloff customer care. But the hub does work. It works every day and shifts without problem. It takes a beating and requires no maintenance (other than increased oil changes, quarterly). I would recommend the hub, but i advise you to change the oil every 6 months or if you notice the rotational friction increasing. No more derraileur issues (adjusting or debris impact), no more drive chain issues. Just go ride. Because of the oil leakage problems and the poor customer support, i'll give 4 out 5, it's still the best drivetrain deal around for mountain biking. If Rohloff made a lighter hub that would fit a road bike, i'd buy one. If you race and are a gram weenie then this is not for you, but if you want a drivetrain that will take abuse and bring you home, this is the only way to go. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil Slack
a Weekend Warrior
from Palos Park, IL, USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | A - Line @ Whistler, Porcupine Rim | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | R-bikes | | Strengths: | Very little maintenance once set up, perfect chainline, set it up and go. I have had this thing forever it seems like and have only sent it in once for new seals after they started to leak. It is now migrating onto my third bike. The chain tensioner is relatively compact and as such is much safer in a crash than a derailer. Add a chain guide to the front and you will never swear at your chain as long as you keep the tensioner cleaned. The 14 gears are equivalent to a standard 27 speed. The oversized housing makes for a strong wheel. | | Weaknesses: | It's a bit heavy, which you get used to. There is a bit of internal drag that is most noticable in lower gears. Running a smaller front chainring seems to help this. Unfortunately they don't recommend going too small as this increases the leverage on the hub, making it more likely to fail. I weigh about 210 and haven't broke it yet. It's a bit more work to remove the wheel. Not too bad with the newer style dogbone attachment. | | Similar Products Used: | There really are none to compare. | | Bike Setup: | Intense Socom, Manitou fork, Truvativ cranks, Thompson stem and seatpost, E13 guide, Chris King front hub, Hayes brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Get this hub if you don't like to deal with adjusting your gears all the time. I spend enough time fixing my friends bikes. It takes a bit of work to set up the first time with the chainline and the shifter. The extra drag will give you a bit more of a workout on the uphills, but means nothing when you are headed downhill. I just wish it was a little cheaper so I could set up a spare wheel with a different tire. They said that they were working on lightening up the hub a bit, which would be great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Les van
a Weekend Warrior
from Valemount
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | satrday night loop | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Bombproof - road lots of creeks submerging the hub and it did not leak! shifts well - lots of gears at once and while peddaling or not. one chain line - supposed to be super durable. | | Weaknesses: | cost | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Dawg primo - XT hydro brakes, bbracket and holoteck cranks, XT/XTR rims ft hub, TALAS fork, fox shock | | Bottom Line: | Some initial reservation were washed away with the first rinse. This is a great hub but not for racing. There is some resistance in the hub that the rider can feel and will make you slower. It has a long break-in period but it is also supposed to have a long life! Love the chain line and the big clearance after removing the big ring! For an avid rider that wants low maintenance this is the ticket. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Dibley
a Weekend Warrior
from Southampton, UK
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Tunnel Trail - Santa Barbara | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | Hargroves Cycles.co.uk | | Strengths: | Unique! Nobody else I know has one. Everybody runs Sram or Shimano. Reliability, clean looks with zero chain slap. | | Weaknesses: | Weight-ish, cost, bed in time. | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing like this. | | Bike Setup: | Yeti 575 w/DHX air shock. Marzocchi 66 SL1 ATA, Formula Oro Puro discs, Middleburn, Chris King, Brooks. Totally pimp build. | | Bottom Line: | I've only done a few miles on this thing, but already the perfect chain line and no chain slap (even with a chain tensioner) is a big bonus. The gear spacing is quite large, but unless you are an XC racer, the gearing won't bother you. Same goes for the weight. It's odd to have all the weight in one place on the bike, but it only takes one ride to get used to. Doesn't seem to effect speed on the bike a great deal. The trouble free gears are yet to bed in, but i'm hoping this will be a near zero maintenance bike.
The gears are noisey as heck in the lower ranges but should quieten down with time. Also, shifting is difficult when pedalling. Shifting when not pedalling or pedalling back wards is easy, but under pressure is really tough. This should also bed in after the advised 1000km break in period.
The cost is quite huge, but not if you factor in the cost of a Chris King rear hub and a top drawer X.0 drive train. Little more really, plus when your derrailleur drive train wears out, your rohloff would have only just started to bed in. The Rohloff is a Volkswagen and the competition are Peugeot's and Saxo's. Go for German quality. Performance so far is ace, but value can only be a 4, because until it shaves a bit more weight, the cost is very high. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kurt anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from glasgow, UK
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | heide | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Generator Radsport, Dresden | | Strengths: | you will instantly be in the right gear under any circumstance. doesnt care how much mud, grass, sticks, weeds you throw at it. | | Weaknesses: | its heavy. at first there was a mild ticking noise in several gears, but this has become quieter over time. grip shift needs a firm wrist, may take some getting used to | | Similar Products Used: | shimano deore, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Rotor frame with custom tail for Rohloff, Marta SL brakes, manitou skareb fork | | Bottom Line: | the rohloff speedhub totally rocks. it is extremely low maintenance and will definately pay for itself in derailers and chains over time (chains last much longer). no derailer = no chain lash = chain stays on. period. its an all round cleaner, quieter feel. wont mud up, doesnt need cleaning. here's the classic rohloff moment: you fly into a sudden terrain change, could be a gnarly uphill or maybe the ground goes marshy. bang! you instantly downshift and pull away while all around you hear ker-chang -twang (expletetive deleted) as your buddies struggle to find the right gear. yeah, it's heavy, no doubt about it, but in my view the raw, hassle-free performance is well worth the extra weight.
here's a quirky tip: with a normal derailer you have three rings in the front, and the largest one often functions as a pivot point for riding over logs across the path etc. you know, in low gear you hop your front wheel over and then pivot your weight forward on the teeth of the largest chain ring. well, with the rohloff you only have one chain ring on the front, and the chain is always on it. with the chain on the ring it is slippery as snot, you dont have the same toothy grip. the solution is to get a grippy rock-ring on the front. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bruce
a Weekend Warrior
from Eastern U.S.
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Spring Heights Education Center's trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | Bulletproof hub. Grabbing as many gears as you need to all in one twist, is great. Before riding it, never thought shifting while stopped would be much benefit, but it's good to have the option. | | Weaknesses: | Only thing I would change, given a magic wand, would be the weight. But really, it's good stuff inside, so not sure how it could be made lighter. Any objections to what it weighs, should be outweighed by all the benefits. | | Similar Products Used: | None, and after getting used to this, can't imagine going back to the old derailleur system. | | Bike Setup: | Jericho Goldrush, Marzocchi fork, 8" Avid front disc, 6" Hayes rear hydraulic, Chris King front hub & headset, Mavic disc rims w/ green nipples, Titec Ithys-Gove on Thomson post, Easton bar w/ Yeti grips. | | Bottom Line: | This is an awesome hub, and is the heartbeat of my bike. The only problem, is after having this bike built up, discovered it's too small for me, for cross country trail riding. I'm 6'1", and the frame is more of a medium, might be OK for downhill racing, but I just can't get comfortable negotiating our trails, so am selling it on Ebay, auction ends on May 2, 2007. Very happy with the Rohloff hub, and the bike in general. It has outstanding parts, hand-picked to be just the way I wanted it, no compromises like often come up when buying a complete bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Barry Bradley
a
from Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Ae Line, Ae Forest, Scotland | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Real Cycles in Carryduff, Northern Ireland | | Strengths: | Fit and forget. You only need to change the oil once a year, and clean it now and again, and even that's just to maintain your chain, not the hub. | | Weaknesses: | Initially expensive, and more unsuspended mass. | | Similar Products Used: | Most of Shimano's drive train solutions | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Kona Coiler, Pikes, Juicy 5's, XM321's on Rohloff and Spindoctor | | Bottom Line: | It is the schizzle, frankly.
There's the initial outlay, but that will be recouped well within the 10 year Rohloff warranty period (beat that Shimano) by not having to change front and rear derailleurs, chains, cassettes and rings annually. Then next 10 years are all free. It will last that long. That's why I give it 5 chillies for value.
There's the additional weight, but it's only 1-2 pounds more than a full XT setup. Not a huge amount, no more than a set of DH tubes.
Then there's the benefits. It changes the way you ride, for the better. You can shift at any time, mid climb, mid descent, mid trackstand, mid corner, mid huck and be certain that when you start to pedal, the back wheel will turn, no jumping, no messing.
There's no worrying about crashing dérailleurs off rocks. There's no worrying about matching chains to cassettes. There's no worrying about maintenance... at all.
It's perfect for almost every biker, whether your a climber or descender, or like me, just ride your bike. The only people it won't suit are racers (either xc or dh) who don't want the extra weight and can afford to go through a couple of drive trains a season. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gert-jan
a Cross Country Rider
from utrecht ,netherlands
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | houffalize,bali | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Strengths: | it runs allways,no chainsuck,no problems in mud,rain,snow etc.perfect for mechanical nono's.shifting while standing stil. | | Weaknesses: | weight,price | | Similar Products Used: | sram x.o,xtr | | Bike Setup: | Id Worx Mountainrohler Hardtail xc.Look Fournales fork. Magura HS33 Firmtech | | Bottom Line: | Can't wait what Rohloff brings next year,half of the weight of the old one's,shifting faster,no noise en competetative to X.0 and XTR. mmm I no what I want for Christmas!Iam a busy man and don't like to clean my bike after a heavy bike ride.So just brush my chain before WD 40 on it and go!10000 miles and stil the same chain . | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kent
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Smooth, easy shifting, reliable, very little maintenance no cassette issues, no derailleur issues, no derailleur hanger issues, no more shifting with the front and rear derailleurs to get the gear i want, just flick the wrist. | | Weaknesses: | weight, initial expense, slight wheel drag | | Similar Products Used: | I tried the NuVinci at interbike. It is over twice as heavy and is difficult to change under load. | | Bike Setup: | Maverick, Fox Talas, Rohloff, XTR brakes, XC bike set-up | | Bottom Line: | I have 2000-2500 miles on the hub. I recently cracked my frame and had to have it repaired, so for a couple of weeks i was back to using my Ellsworth Truth with XT drive train, cassettes and derailleurs. And after several rides on the Truth i was very happy to get back to the Rohloff hub. The Rohloff is just a better gear system. It is smoother, quieter. No chain slap with the Rohloff tensioner. Down-sides are that it is a pound heavier, there is a slight drag on the rotating wheel (noticeable when it is new, and when you spin the wheel by hand, barely noticeable now), it is more expensive (initially). Up-sides are little to no maintenance on the bike drivetrain, i just wipe and lube the chain and ride, less missed shifts than my buddies, i can shift 1 to 14 gears as fast as i can flip my wrist, no problems with cables, or spokes, or dropping the chain, or debris in the gears. The Rohloff works. For mountain biking it is the way to go. It is quiet and smooth. If Rohloff comes out with a lighter version that will fit a road bike i'll buy it. There was a lot of apparent wheel drag at first. And it was noisier, but not more than a cassette system, just a different sound. I replaced the 8-spd chain at the 1800 mile mark, it had stretched a 16th of an inch. The chain ring (38T) and cog (16T) are still fine. The Rohloff hub takes a beating and keeps getting better and smoother and quieter. I will have had the hub for one year this March. I have not changed the oil in it yet. I will in March. Derailluers are dinosaurs, i'm going to mail mine to the Smithsonian. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | $1,000.00 | | Strengths: | Gears Never Skip, No maintenance on the hub except an oil change once per year, No derailleur adjustments, Great Customer Service, Less Gear Shifting while riding, Can shift standing still | | Weaknesses: | Shifting/Cabling System needs to be better sealed to prevent sand/dirt from entering cables | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X.0 and XTR derailleurs, Truvativ and XT Cranks | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Id, Fox Float 140, Fox Float RP3, Hope Mono M4's | | Bottom Line: | This thing is sweet except for the fact that I've had to replace my shifter cables 3 times in one summer. The Bad: My experience has been that when riding in sandier soil/rainy conditions, the sand and water enters the cables fairly easily. This then makes the shifting nearly impossible. I must add that one of the times that my shifting "seized" was during the 2006 24 hours of Moab where the desert was a flood zone. However, I still feel Rohloff needs to find a way to seal the shifting/cabling system better to prevent sand/dirt/etc from entering the cables - the Rohloff shifting system does seem to fail to operate much sooner than a traditional shifter/derailleur system would in similar conditions. The Good: As for the hub and gearing, the Rohloff is great. No skipping gears, no derailleur adjustments and no broken chains (essentially set up like a single speed) EVER. I ride 3-4 times a week so no maintenance is great with me. With a 16 tooth chainring in the rear and a 38 tooth chainring up front, you get all the gears of a traditional derailleur system save the biggest gear. Since you usually don't need your easiest gear, I simply switched to a 42 up front and it's great. The Rohloff is a bit heavier...however, I do not race competitively so it works great for me. Also, I find myself shifting through gears much less to find that perfect gear. Okay... this thing will get 5 stars when the shifting/cabling system is perfected. As for value I will give the Rohloff 5 stars...it really is unbelievable what is packed into the hub to make this thing work. Also, buying top of the line traditional components would cost more and I would be replacing those parts more often. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
all mountain
a Weekend Warrior
from Thunder Bay, Ont, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$910.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | reliability, minimum maintainance (wash, lube & go) | | Weaknesses: | price, weight, friction in lower 7 gears | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | one wheel - many bikes | | Bottom Line: | This hub was purcahsed because I had become tired of the time I would spend maintaining/fixing my bike between rides. I realized that the bulk of the time spent working on the bike was drive-train related. I installed the Rohloff hub, and all that changed.
Shifting gears is now more reliable. Chain drop and chain suck are a thing of the past. No gear overlap. No thinking about getting into the granny ring for a big hill - just shift to the next lower gear.
I have noticed that the hub is a little noisy and has more internal friction in the lower 7 gears. I do not have anywhere near 1000 miles on the hub so I will have to re-post to indicate whether it goes away. Even if it does not, I would have a hard time going back to a derailler system.
The price of the hub is a relative drawback. I have spent alot on drivetrain parts on bikes because they don't last. If this hub lasts 3 to 4 years it will have paid for itself. Another way to reduce the initial price per bike that is equipped with a Rohloff hub (if you have several bikes you ride but just can't decide which to put it on) is to by shifter kits for your other bikes and to swap the wheel onto the bike you are riding that day. The price per bike drops dramatically.
Weight? There's no getting around it. On a single-speed, or road bike this may be an issue, maybe even an xc-moutain, but on an all-mountain, freeride or DH bike the weight difference is virtually un-noticable and well worth it even if you do notice.
If there is a place for anything other than a Rohloff drivetrain - it certainly isn't on a bike used off-road. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Local singletracks. | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Fully enclosed 14 speed gearset that runs in an oilbath.
Almost zero maintainence required apart from changing the oil every year.
Shifting gears in all modes, standing still etc...is easy. The ability to go to any gear instantly is priceless. | | Weaknesses: | Weight. Initial cost. Run-in. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Nexus, Sturmey Archer. | | Bike Setup: | Sir 9 and One Nine from Ninerbikes. Various other bikes. | | Bottom Line: | Incredible german engineering in a sealed system that is impervious to conditions that reduce derailler systems to useless junk.
This Rohloff Speedhub is the ultimate set-it-up-and-forget-it gear system.
Change the oil once per year. That's it.
You can change gears anywhere in any conditions whether you are moving forward, backwards, standing still or upside down !
The Rohloff Speedhub is a little tight and a little noisy in some gears when new, but after about a thousand miles have gone under your wheels, this hub is just sweet. It quietens down and gets smoother with age. I have ridden Rohloff hubs with 40000 miles on them and they are as smooth as silk and wonderfully silent. These hubs just keep on getting better with every passing year.
Is there a downside to them?
Yes, there are three, imo.
One is the initial cost. Two is the run-in time. Three is the weight.
The Rohloff Speedhub adds around 5 lbs in weight to my single speed Sir 9.
That includes all cables, speedbone, shifterbox, everything. The majority of that weight is centered over the rear tire.
:Does it make a difference to the ride?
:Only when I want to pick up the bike and carry it.
Under usual/normal riding circumstances, the added weight is not noticeable, and does not affect the handling of the bike nor jumping with it. The bike feels the same, the added weight is barely noticeable.
This hub is absolutely "magic" when it comes to mud, slush, snow, dust dirt and anything else that can wreck normal derailler shifting systems. It is completely unaffected by the outside enviroment, unlike others. Try riding a derailler setup through a few miles of sticky gluey deep mud and you will see what I mean. These sort of conditions do not affect a Rohloff at all.
The ability to shift to any gear ratio instantly under any circumstances is something that has to be experienced to believe just how valuable this feature with the Rohloff is.
There is a small "step" at gear 7 where the hub shifts from low to high range that takes a little pause when pedalling, but apart from this, it is a seamless transition through the gearset from gear 1 to gear 14.
You can select any gear instantly, and *click* .... you are in it. Just like that.
A millisecond pause in pressure on the pedals lets you change to a lower gear whilst pedalling up steep hills almost without thinking about it. You can change from gear 14 to gear one with a flick of your wrist...beautiful.
:Is this the perfect gearset?
:No, it's not ... but it's very close to it.
There are Rohloff hubs spinning across the earth with 20-40 thousand plus miles on them, and still going strong. Reliability is beyond question.
:Is it possible to have this solid reliability with a lighter / cheaper hub?
:I don't believe that it is ... at present. Maybe in the future, it will be.
So, apart from the three mentioned downsides, two of |
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