I realise this thread is a couple of years old but in case anyone was considering a Rohloff hub I thought it might be useful to put my experiences in here.
I purchased my Brompton from Fudge Cycles in London in 2011 which was sold new with a widened factory rear triangle and fitted with an Alfine 11 hub. On testing this bike vs standard models at the time, it was an easy sell given the gear range the Alfine 11 offered and the gear shift was incredibly sweet. However, as I recall, I had issues from the start with the hub leaking oil from seals and returned it to Fudge's who ended up building a new wheel with a new hub in it. As I got used to the bike I enjoyed the 11, but as a package it felt underbraked to me.....
And so I stumbled across Kinetics in 2012 and the disc brake solutions Ben was offering online. I ordered up a new front fork and rear triangle, together with 160mm Hope discs and levers that he was offering at the time. It was a relatively simple job to switch out the parts and I was up and running. The Hope brake setup is nothing short of phenomenal and, frankly, transforms the bike. Their customer support when I have needed it is also truly awesome.
After putting a couple of thousand km on the bike and as I rode the bike more I found I craved more speed. I barely had need to use gears 1-6 on the Afline 11 (standard 54T chainring and as small as I could fit on the Alfine 11, I think 13T from memory), which seemed something of a waste. Anyhow, it wasnt long before the Alfine started crunching a bit and playing up. I cant remember the exact circumstances, but I read that the Alfine 8 was more reliable so had a wheel built and trialed this setup for a bit to see if it was any more versatile. The hub felt more robust, gear changes were great, but again, on flat London cycle highways, I was missing the top end speed, so ended up going back to the 11. Things didnt get better with regards to the 11, I moved house and the Brompton wasnt needed for a while....
I came back to it recently and gave it some TLC including an oil change for the hub. In the time it had sat largely unused the hub seems to have become "sticky" and there feels a lot more resistance when pedaling. As I learned, there is no servicing to be done on the 11 beyond the oil change. When freewheeling the cranks turn, which they never used to. It didnt feel like I remembered it. I swapped back to the 8 which felt much more free, but same old speed issue.
So I bit the bullet recently and ordered a Rohloff wheel from Ben, together with a few other upgrade bits to modernise the old girl as I decided to use the bike for part of my commute post COVID. I wasnt sure if the outlay would be worth it but I felt I was in for a penny, in for a pound on this journey. The kit arrived, Ben's workmanship is second to none and a few nights tinkering had me up and running. He had to make me a bespoke speedbone to fit the Rohloff as I apparently had an early Alfine prototype rear triangle of his. To his credit, he had kept an example and the kit fitted easily. I cant praise his work enough.
Ive probably now done a hundred or so km on the Rohloff and its been good. Top end gearing and speed (54T/13T) feels on par with the Alfine 11, maybe a little more at top end. I have to admit, I dont like the grip shift as much as thumb shifters. It takes more effort to change gear. The movement doesnt feel as natural and convenient to me, but I appreciate the simplicity of the gripshift which seems part of the Rohloff mantra.
But you guessed it, I'd want more speed. I find myself using gears 9-14 on the Rohloff for 99% of the time. I have a couple of mild inclines on my commute and but find no need to drop any lower, which again, just feels a bit of a waste. Im no power cyclist, but I cant really see where I would ever have need to use gears 1-8 in my current use for the bike. On flats I get up to gear 14 quickly and cruise. In my foolhardy quest to get the most out of this bike, Im considering pulling the trigger on a wider bottom bracket and a 60T chainring, which is ultimately as much as I can do, and Im hoping this will open up the usable range a bit more.
So back to Rohloff vs Alfine. The Rohloff isnt cheap, its multiples the price of the Alfine 8. The internal indexing of the Rohloff makes it a simple proposition to setup and feels really robust. The Alfine shifted really sweetly until it didnt, but would occasionally miss gears and feel a bit strange. On another bike where gearing wasnt an issue, Id personally pick the 8 over the 11 every time. The 11 has just felt too delicate, to fussy and sadly, too unreliable. I plan to sell my Alfine 8 wheel and the original Fudge's widened frame and bin the 11. The Rohloff inspires confidence, but the grip shift is a bit awkward. I dont regret the Rohloff purchase as for a commuter bike I want reliability. It feels high quality and despite loving thumb shifters, Im not sure I want to go down that route with the Rohloff (and suffer the expense). There is little discernible difference in weight between all hubs as far as I can tell. Coupled with the hydraulic Hope's, its a truly wonderful ride.
I just hope the 60T chainring gets me to where Id love this bike to be.....
