IGH on hilly commutes

[mjr]

Luddite alert, Luddite alert!

I direct you to the Rohloff website. https://www.rohloff.de/en/experience/technology-in-detail/

Thanks for that page of 8 links with diagrams in German with none of them mentioning shifting or cables(!) https://www.rohloff.de/en/experience/technology-in-detail/gear-steps-1-14/ suggests there's a cable-controlled shifting shaft in the hub, similar to several other IHGs. Maybe what you meant is on that site somewhere but I didn't find it.

A keyboard expert then .

Not exactly: I've four IHGs in the shed so far, of three different types, but I know I don't have all the ones asked about in the OP. It's called humility. Maybe try it some time.

 

[Crankarm]

Thanks for that page of 8 links with diagrams in German with none of them mentioning shifting or cables(!) https://www.rohloff.de/en/experience/technology-in-detail/gear-steps-1-14/ suggests there's a cable-controlled shifting shaft in the hub, similar to several other IHGs. Maybe what you meant is on that site somewhere but I didn't find it.


Not exactly: I've four IHGs in the shed so far, of three different types, but I know I don't have all the ones asked about in the OP. It's called humility. Maybe try it some time.

With respect the Rohloff hub is far better than any Sturmey Archer or similar hub of yesteryear. And I have a Brompton which has had SRAM and Sturmey Archer hubs which are pretty rudimentary compared to the Rohloff.

Re shifting with the Rohloff. Should you so wish or indeed need to, but I can't think why, you can disconnect the shifter cables and actually turn the selector shaft on the hub itself with a spanner and it will still change and not slip gears etc. You read the Rohloff technical pages pretty quickly are you sure you read them all?

 

[Pale Rider]

Re shifting with the Rohloff. Should you so wish or indeed need to, but I can't think why, you can disconnect the shifter cables and actually turn the selector shaft on the hub itself with a spanner and it will still change and not slip gears etc. You read the Rohloff technical pages pretty quickly are you sure you read them all?

A benefit would be if a cable snaps or the shifter fails for some other reason you could still select any gear, albeit you would have to get off to do it.

Might be handy if you were in the middle of nowhere on a trans-continental expedition.

The cable on all other hubs of which I'm aware is spring loaded which means if the cable snaps, the hub will spring into either top gear or bottom gear.

The Rohloff is internally indexed which is excellent, no need faff around with lining up dots or cable tension.

As you say, other hubs are rudimentary in comparison.

 

[gazza_d]

IGHs are great for commuting. as the ability to change gear when stationary at lights or junctions is a real boon as is the hiding of the mucky bits away from the nasty weather.
Yea, they concentrate the weight and seem a tad heavy,but I'm normally carrying other stuff as well.
Same for any loss of theoretical efficiency compared to a derailleur, but again once on the road it's not really an issue, unless you are competing.
I have an SRAM 5 on one commuter, an A11 on the other, and a Nexus 8 in the wife's bike. I scored the Alfine for the cost of a Nexus 8 otherwise I'm not sure the extra 3 gears would be worth double the cost.

 

[Pale Rider]

Yea, they concentrate the weight and seem a tad heavy.

Nicely put.

Rohloff will tell you their hub, single front chain ring, chain, and shifter weighs no more than a cassette, rear mech, (longer) chain, front mech, triple chain rings, and two shifters, which you would need to get the same range.

The Rohloff feels heavier because most of the weight is in one place.

A 1X set-up with one of the newer cassettes which has a dinner plate first gear sprocket would give close to the range of a Rohloff, and be lighter.

What you would lose is the 14 evenly spaced gears, another very desirable Rohloff feature.

 

[confusedcyclist]

@Crankarm, I have been known to spend far too much on my bikes. A rohloff may eventually make it's way into my stable, however this is more of a learning expereince. I'm attracted to the x3 sturmey archers because they are simple (mechanically speaking), inexpensive and therefore easy and safeish to tinker with and learn about. I wouldn't want to do that with a £900 rohloff.

 

[mjr]

With respect the Rohloff hub is far better than any Sturmey Archer or similar hub of yesteryear. And I have a Brompton which has had SRAM and Sturmey Archer hubs which are pretty rudimentary compared to the Rohloff.

Of course, but you pay for it, with new Rohloff hubs starting at £700 compared to Shimano 11s or Sturmey Archer 8s from £150 and Sturmey 3s starting at £15.

Re shifting with the Rohloff. Should you so wish or indeed need to, but I can't think why, you can disconnect the shifter cables and actually turn the selector shaft on the hub itself with a spanner and it will still change and not slip gears etc. You read the Rohloff technical pages pretty quickly are you sure you read them all?

I still suspect most people are shifting with a cable rather than a spanner! And there are occasional reports of Rohloffs slipping, mostly in cold weather, like http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=1098.15 but I expect it's much less common than on other hubs.

Not only did I not read all of all of the Rohloff site, I'm not sure whether I read the intended bit(s) of the intended page(s) because the post that sent me there was almost completely directionless and barely better than JFGI.

 

[Crankarm]

Of course, but you pay for it, with new Rohloff hubs starting at £700 compared to Shimano 11s or Sturmey Archer 8s from £150 and Sturmey 3s starting at £15.


I still suspect most people are shifting with a cable rather than a spanner! And there are occasional reports of Rohloffs slipping, mostly in cold weather, like http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=1098.15 but I expect it's much less common than on other hubs.

Not only did I not read all of all of the Rohloff site, I'm not sure whether I read the intended bit(s) of the intended page(s) because the post that sent me there was almost completely directionless and barely better than JFGI.

Here we go. As I suspected, a Luddite. Btw a Rohloff is now £1100.

 

[mjr]

Here we go. As I suspected, a Luddite. Btw a Rohloff is now £1100.

I'm a Luddite because I think Rohloffs are good but expensive, still use a shift cable and not totally immune to slippage?

The £700 was the price of the cheapest hub on SJS this morning. Go tell them they're underpricing if you like.

 

[Pale Rider]

I'm a Luddite because I think Rohloffs are good but expensive, still use a shift cable and not totally immune to slippage?

The £700 was the price of the cheapest hub on SJS this morning. Go tell them they're underpricing if you like.

That's disappointingly cheap, but I'm relieved to see it's out of stock and the one I have is £939.

By the way, Rohloffs shift with two cables, one pulls the nutted shifter one way, the other cable pulls the nutted shifter the other way.

Advantage is there's no spring loading on the nutted shifter, it just needs to be clicked round in one direction or the other, which in turn allows for internal indexing.

No spring tension in the cables also means detaching them for wheel removal is easy, unscrew a finger tight knurled wheel and pull the cable junction box off the nutted shifter.

Reattaching is just as easy, although I always put the hub in first gear so if the twist shifter gets moved while the cable is disconnected I know what gear the hub ito re-set the twist shifter to it.

I learned that the usual way after a puncture.

Not that it made that much difference it just meant the twist shifter was indicating five gears lower than the hub was actually in.