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Rohloff Speedhub

 

 

What Is It?

Put simply, rather than your gears being provided by chainrings and sprockets, your gears are all contained inside the rear hub. There are a series of different cogs that engage and disengage as you move your twist shifter through the gears.

 

There are 14 different gears, which roughly equates to the spacing and range that you get with a 'normal' 27 speed derailleur system (this is because there is repetition in gear ratios on a derailleur system - for example middle ring and a small sprocket has the same ratio as a big ring and a middle sprocket)

 

Benefits

Without a doubt, the main reason is having trouble-free riding all year round, particularly when things get a bit muddy. Go out for a winter ride with a Rohloff bike, and whilst your riding buddies are swearing their way around as their chain slips and sucks, and gear changes don't quite work, you'll be getting perfect shifts and a smooth running chain every time all the way round.

 

This is for two reasons; firstly, with the gears sealed inside the hub, the mud can't get to them to stop them working. Secondly, with only a single chainring and sprocket, and no rear mech hanger, the chain is always straight and and always fully tensioned, so it can't slip, slap on the chain stays, fall off or suck into the chainrings - basically all the benefits of a singlespeed, but with gears!

 

Another big plus we've discovered is being able to change gear without pedalling. Not necessarily an immediately obvious benefit, but think of the times you get caught out hitting a climb or technical section that slows you down, and have to try and crunch through the gears into a lower one. With a Rohloff, you simply twist the shifter and the new gear engages, ready for you to pedal on unhindered.

 

A lot is often made about the weight of the hub, and picking it up it obviously does feel pretty hefty. But when you add up everything it's replacing - cassette, two chainrings, front and rear mech and shifters - the weight is about the same. In fact, we think that on a hardtail having all that weight over the rear axle actually provides better weight distribution, keeping the rear wheel planted on descents and balancing the weight of the forks at the front.

 

Finally, and what will feel like the most important benefit when you're tired, cold and wanting to get in the shower after a long winter ride, is minimal cleaning and maintenance. Without fiddly derailleurs, cassettes and chainrings to get the brush into, your cleaning time will be seriously reduced. And there is no maintenance at all on the hub - just a quick oil change once a year.

 

Disadvantages

You'll never find a Rohloff owner with a bad word to say about their hub. That's mainly because they genuinely are fantastic, but also because if you've spent that much money on a hub, you're not going to admit you don't like it!!! There are a few occasions though that it losses out to a derailleur system. There is a little bit more drag in the system, and you do have to back off the pedals slightly (but not completely) when changing gear, which combined with the twist shifter makes changing gear not always as fluid.

 

However, this is compared to a 100% perfectly functioning derailleur system, in perfectly dry conditions - i.e. if you've just changed your drivetrain, it's mid-summer, and it hasn't rained for few days! Throw in a bit of mud, or a bit of wear on your chain, and the Rohloff will come out on top. We've been regularly riding and testing both our Rohloff and 'regular' demo bikes, and would definitely go for a Rohloff every time.

Cost

Now for the painful bit. The hubs start at £870, but realistically for mountain biking you'll want the version with disc mounts, quick release axle and external cable routing (so you can get the wheel off easily if you puncture), which is £995, or £1025 if you want a black one (which is nicer!). This sounds like a lot of money - just for a hub - but when you compare it to all the parts it replaces it starts to look a bit more reasonable. Add to that the cost of replacing your drivetrain roughly once a year, and it soon starts to pay for itself.

 

But Don't Take Our Word For It

Try it for yourself. We've got two demo bikes fitted with Rohloff hubs, a Nicolai Argon FR and a Dialled Love/Hate (click here to see our full range of demo bikes). Give us a call to book your test ride, and experience for yourself how the Rohloff hub will change your riding (and possibly your life) forever.

 

Want One?

Give us a call or drop by the shop and we'll talk you through the finer points of how you can fit one to your existing bike, or custom build you a Rohloff-equipped bike.

 

Rohloff Builds

Here's some pics of some of the Rohloff builds we've done, to give you some inspiration...

 

Nicolai Argon FR
A Rohloff-specific frame with sliding drop-outs to keep the chain tensioned

Dialled Love/Hate
A singlespeed frame with a Phil Wood EBB (eccentric bottom bracket) to keep the chain tensioned - any singlespeed frame can be easily retro-fitted with a Rohloff without the need for a chain tensioner

Nicolai Helius CC
A Rohloff chain tensioner is fitted to allow for the variation in chain length as the bike moves through its travel

Ellsworth Tandem
The front mech was left on this, to give it an amazing 42 gears!!! To allow for the wide variation in chain length this would create, a regular rear mech was used as the chain tensioner (a Sram XO, making it possibly the world's most expensive chain tensioner!?).