We've been using the Rohloff Speedhub on the Moots Cinco for over 2 years now riding it in pretty much all seasons having using it in several Uxbridge Icebreaker races, several 24 Hour Solo and Team races, the Lost in the Rocks and Trees race a few times plus all around riding in the local trails.
For those not familiar with the Rohloff Speedhub, it's an internal geared hub offering 14 evenly spaced gears all sealed from the elements meaning less maintenance compared to a traditional derailleur system. It operates from a single grip like shifter with 2 full length cables that goes to an external gear box that does all the shifting. The Rohloff is disc compatible and uses it's on proprietary bolt circle. Different rotors are available to work with the major disc brake manufacturers. We're using a Magura Marta SL but they offer rotors that work with Shimano, Hope, Hayes, etc.
Build & Setup
Building the wheel isn't any more difficult than your traditional disc hub. The only thing is that you have to order spokes from Rohloff that are shorter than what is commonly available for about the same price so no problems there. I would order a few more to keep as spares if you're going on an extended trip because typical bike shops are not going to have these lengths in stock. The nice thing about this hub is that spokes are equal length on both sides and there is no dish so the wheel comes out stronger than the typical disc wheel. What we recommend is using a UST compatible rim such as the Mavic X819 or if not UST, get Stan's No Tube tubless kit. More later in regards to that. For setup, it's quite straight forward. The manual is very clear with nice pictures and instructions. Measure the shifter cable lengths carefully, it is important. We ran into shifter problems during our 1st 24 Hour race because of incorrect shifter lengths and took us quite a bit of time to sort out. The cable routing can be an issue as well for your bike if it's not designed for Rohloff in mind. The good thing is that Rohloff offers cable clips that can be mounted on the top tube or downtube of the bike to make it easier to keep the the full length housing in place. If we were to do it again, we would have asked Moots right from the start to put in full length cable guides, much like the one for the rear disc brake. This would have made the routing easier and give it a much cleaner custom look.
Ride
Once installed, the hub needs to be broken in in order for all the gears to mesh properly. This can be done simply by riding a lot. At times, the hub would freewheel a bit while riding but once broken in, this never happens. Just something to be aware of but certainly not an issue overall. Shifting is all from the single shifter so there is no front derailleur or cross chaining to ever worry about. We've never found chain suck to be an issue either during our time with the Rohloff. We initially had the Rohloff setup with with a Singleator on the Moots Cinco because of the rear travel of the bike, the chain would lengthen and shorten as rear of the bike goes through it's travel. There has to be a way for the drivetrain to take up the slack. We were hoping this would be enough but the long travel of the bike was too much for the Singleator to handle and we found the chain skipping off the sprocket at the worst times during our 1st 24 Hour Race with the hub. In the end, we got the Rohloff chainguide and chain tensioner so that the chain stays put on the sprocket. It meant adding a bit more weight but the result was much more consistent performance. If someone was using this hub on a hardtail, this would not be an issue.
The Rohloff feels odd at first but you do get used to the shifting after a little while. You can shift into any gear at any time so that is something we found to be very useful in the trails when something unexpected comes up right around the bend. We can simply shift in a lower gear (typically) and be on our way. The range of gears is more than enough for us. That can also be adjusted with using different size chain rings and sprockets. We're using a large ring in the front and a 16T in the back. The Rohloff can use a wide range of ratios to suit pretty much all needs.
The Rohloff has 14 evenly spaced gears that covers the same range as a standard 27 speed system because a lot of the gears on the 27 geared system are overlapped. Each gear change on the Rohloff hub is exactly 13.5%. Sometimes however, we would like the gears to be a bit closer together. We found this on courses where there are long flat stretches or rolling hills and looking to find just the right cadence. When we were out on a typical Sunday in the trails, this was never an issue. So we probably wouldn't equip a bike going racing on the Tour de France race for example but then again that's what road bikes are designed for. Having said that, we know the Rohloff being used on touring bikes so again it's a matter of adjustment and getting the correct gear ration. Rohloff has a calculator that helps riders determine this. Even then this to us is a minor issue that we noticed but it's definitely not something we feel all the time, it really depends on the particular situation.
The hub being completely sealed offers many advantages. In conditions where is is less than ideal, which is more often than not when you ride your bike all year round, that means shifting is consistent every time. During one North Bay race where it was scorching hot and we were riding in beach like conditions, we had consistent shifting from start to end. Others on the course really struggled with the thick sand and chain suck. During the Uxbridge race last year where it was a complete wash out, mud was everywhere and it was brutal. Probably the worst race we had to ride in with the rain, wind and mud. Again, we had consistent shifting from beginning to end. That's why so many people go to Single Speed for the Uxbridge race. The conditions are typically so unpredictable that shifting can be a real problem. The Rohloff really shines when conditions goes south but you still need more than one gear.
The added benefit of a sealed rear hub is or course maintenance both during the course of the year (ie, none) to the end of the year (oil change). We shouldn't really say maintenance is none during the year, we do spray the mud off the hub and let it dry in sun before we put the bike away. Oh...and we lube the chain, although that's more for keeping it rust free than to help with shifting.
It's hard to do a review on the hub without talking about weight. It's heavier than a comparable derailleur system and because it's concentrated in the rear unlike a derailleur system where it's distributed a bit more, it seems even heavier. Our Moots Cinco with the hub is about 28lbs which isn't all that bad but the weight is biased more to the rear so it's more noticeable when you lift the bike. Is it as noticeable when on the trails? We don't think so. Is the XC World Cup racer going to use a Rohloff? Likely not but the weight is still there. What we're saying is the weight makes more of a difference on the show room than on the trails. The Rohloff is suitable on an all moutain frame, 5-6 inch travel in the rear where it's meant for trouble free riding in all seasons from snow and ice to rain and mud and everything in between.
We think the biggest negative for us with the Rohloff hub is when we get a flat on the trail. The rear chain guide and wheel combination simply makes it difficult to remove and place a wheel on. What we found is that it makes it much easier to not inflate the tire until the wheel is on the bike. This makes installing the wheel a lot easier. That's why we recommend either Mavic's UST or Stan's Tubless system if riding Rohloff to limit the times when you'll need to change a flat on the trails.
After 2 years, the hub shifts just like it did on day one, actually better since the hub is broken in now. How many derailleur systems can make that claim? We've done one cleaning / oil change. We've hosed the hub on more than one occasion to clean off the mud and snow. Haven't had to change the chain or sprocket. The hub takes a beating and keeps on ticking. We've changed the shifting cables once because we damaged the first set, installation issues on our part more than anything else.
Positives
- Trouble free shifting in all conditions
- Minimal maintenance
- Consistent performance year in year out
Negatives
- Weight - still heavier than comparable system
- Gear indicator on the gripshift wears off (although we don't really look at the indicator while riding ) SRAM and Shimano shifters don't have indicators anymore because no one should be looking at it while riding on the trails.
- Tub changes takes longer than typical rear wheel - run Tubeless.
Conclusion
We really like the Rohloff hub and think that it is ideal in many situations. We think the weight may put off some people and understandably so. However, it being essentially maintenance free and offering consistent performance year in year makes up for the weight. I basically never have to worry about cassettes, derailleurs, chains again. However, Shimano and SRAM has not been standing still in the last few years. SRAM's X.9 and X.0 as well as Shimano's XT and XTR has gotten better. In order for Rohloff to compete, we feel that first it must lose some weight, about a 1lb or so would be ideal although 1/2lb to start would be nice. They have to work on points that potential buyers will see on the showroom, so the weight and the feel of the shifters are important. The Rohloff shifter is not indexed right now but an improvement would be to be make it indexed so that shifts are more precise. By precise, I mean that after every shift now, there is some play at the shifter. There is some adjustment to remove some of this but it's limited. Again, this is more relevant on the show floor but that is something the potential rider sees and feels and ultimately compares to the competition. Rohloff is said to be working on a lighter hub and we hope that it'll come to being in this year's Interbike show. Weight is not the biggest issue for us and it wouldn't stop us from buying a Rohloff hub today but something nice to look forward to. Is the Rohloff right for you? Only you can decide. The way we see it, the Rohloff hub is like any tool. The right tool for the right job. That is why there are road bikes, cross bikes, XC bikes and DH bikes. For us, the goal was to find something that we can ride all year round with minimal maintenance and consistent reliability. We found it in the Rohloff hub.
We should note that Rohloff's Website has a lot of technical information regarding the hub concerning gear ratio, efficiency, and how the hub works in detail. We think anyone that's interested in this hub to read the technical information to fully understand the inner workings.
Team Spokewrench
Comments