Choosing a Rohloff Hub Bike?

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Mycroft

New Member
I've been pouring over the Thorn PDFs, decided on a search and found this thread.

Is there any update?

Mac? hows the SRAM hub?

have you went Rohloff yet?

how did you find Bollos bike?

a potential customer desires replies any time its handy :smile:
 

dondare

Über Member
Location
London
Do Rohloff make a gold-plated titanium hub? I fancy one of those.
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
I've had my raven Sport tour for 11 months now. Still very happy with it.

It's been completely reliable, and way way less fuss than a deraileur. It just works. No issues with the 7/8 shift or noise (although it is noisier than a schimano deraileur). Nothing's broken, or needed adjustment - other than retensioning the chain once, which is a doddle. The gear range is superb, and the even spacing a joy.

However it's not a race road bike, even with the dropbar bar-ends, which is a comfortable comprimise. It is heavier, and slower to accelerate than an STI machine.


I'd suggest contacting Thorn in Bridgewater and going on a test ride with one of their bikes down there. Worth it anyway just to see the factory. But they on;y way you'll know if it's right for you is to ride one.
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
The SRAM I-9 was faultless for nearly a year and 3k miles then it seized totally in January. Was returned, via my seller, then UK distributor, then Germany, repaired(under warranty) and made the same slow way back to me. Has been fine since, another 1k miles. By all accounts I was unlucky but I'm not happy with the SRAM policy of return to Germany. For this reason I wouldn't buy another and also the fact that I didn't need that many gears. Bear in mind it's a bike for commuting only, there is no commute i could possibly have, around here, that needs more than a 3 speed hub gear. I could easily do my 40 mile round trip in one gear and generally did it using 3/4 gears in the range max.

I came to the conclusion that a Sturmey Archer 3 speed, either AW or new SRF3(the latter is what I got) set up with a 2:1 ratio gave everything required for commuting. You get 3 gears approx 40, 54 and 72 gear inches, there's nothing around here I can't climb in 40 inches and 72 is fine as a top gear, I can hammer along at 18-19mph in that comfortably, that's approx 80-90 rpm. Plus I, and my LBS, can strip and maintain the SA hub, I can also afford to keep a spare wheel with one in.

I never tried Bollos Rohloff, but have tried others, they seem a great piece of kit but I can't justify the spend unless I was planning to tour. For general use the gearing is even more pointless than the SRAM, too many of the 14 gears would just never be needed. I still want one but, at present, it would only be in the 'Shiny Shiny' sense of wanting:biggrin:

Just my view and heavily bias towards the concept of a dedicated commuting bike, I have other bikes for other duties. If you want a bike for more uses then a bigger range hub gear may be a better fit. I also tend to ride in an old fashioned style, I change my tempo more readily than I change gears.
 

Mycroft

New Member
Fox :laugh:

thanks for the reply, good to hear from a happy Thorn owner. I'm almost convinced, but for the cost, it just stings!

I guess though, I am totally convinced by the idea of the Rohloff, had a few days touring planned for this week, riding partner had serious deraileur probs part way into the first day (2 hours of swearing worth) and it was an angry 46 miles back home on 3 gears (only 2 of which were actually useful)

I'm in N.I. so will have to plan a trip over and check them out :sad:
 

Mycroft

New Member
Mac :sad:

Ahh!! I must have switched off seeing the word commute in your other posts :tongue:

thanks for the detail though, good to know. I want the Rohloff for touring, no headaches, simplicity and as a "do everything without having much maintenance" go-to bike. I hope it will be my only bike (Tandem aside)

oh yeah, and the shiny shiny has its draw as well :laugh:

TBH its either at the end of this year, or the start of this one, I'll plop down my money somewhere.

thanks again for a great thread
 

Tinuts

Wham Bam Helmet Cam
Location
London, UK.
I have a Rohloff on my commuting bike.

Plus points: less maintenance than multi derailleur system, ease of use, easier truing of rear wheel.

Minus points: weight, gear ratios more widely spaced than derailleur, difficult to change sprocket, feels inefficient at some lower ratios, it is possible to slip the occasional gear when changing.

Some of what you read by proponents is, imho, hype. It's not the holy grail some make it out to be but is good if you want a robust minimal maintenance system.

Expensive? Yes, but they do come up on eBay.
 
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