Hi, and erm... anyone know about Rohloffs

[FLV]

I'm new to the forums so Hi I guess :D

I've been lightweight touring or a while and recently discovered that I seem to be bikepacking
Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with few of you guys for some rides / events, I'll be at the bearbones200 this year.

I wondered, does anyone know anything about Rohloff hubs? After another rediculously muddy / wet weekend, listening to my drivetrain grind its self into oblivion my mind turned back to Rohloffs again. I know I could consider alfines but would prefer the range from a rohloff I think.
I have a frame with replaceable dropouts, and have some singlespeed dropouts that could be fitted.
Question is, can I run a rohloff directly in the SS dropouts or would I need rohloff specific ones?
My preference would of course be to have no extra bits bolted on to tension the chain etc.
Also, I think the rohloff puts a lot of torque through the rear of the bike, I wonder if a couple of bolts holding replaceable dropouts would be up to the job!

Anyone got any experiences?
Cheers, FLV

[Cheeky Monkey]

There's a lot of stuff about this sort of thing on the Singletrackworld forum. If you can avoid the crap there's often some really good info / people with a lot of tech knowhow.

[FLV]

Cheers,
I'll have a search through

[Ray Young]

Met a guy out riding a while ago who had a Rohloff fitted and he loved it. I'm sure he said that you needed dedicated dropouts though. Hope you find the info your looking for.

[FLV]

Cheers for the reply.

I was directed to a chap a kinetics bikes who sorted me out with the knowledge. I'll post a summary belo in case anyone cares...

-You need a way to tension the chain
-Sliding dropouts
-EBB
-Chain tensioner
-You need an anti rotation method on the other side
-Rohloff dropout (then uses what they call OEM axle plate)
-Standard Dropout, OEM 2 Axle plate with their speedbone which links to the brake, or an aftermarket modded disc adapter known as a monkey bone.

Not sure how SS dropouts would work.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Have you ridden an alfine (8 or 11)?

I run an 8 on a cotic roadrat. Once I'd down geared it with a larger (20T) rear cog IIRC it suited the terrain / my riding fitness just fine. I liked it so much I bought an 11 but due to all sorts of stuff I haven't managed to build a bike with it yet.

I've never ridden a rohloff but the extra fag of fitting, quite a lot of extra cost and iirc extra weight mean it'd have to be pretty spectacular to persuade me to chose it over Shimano. Not trying to over-evangelise it, honest :)

[royAB]

Would suggest you have a look at Alfines - 8 or 11 geared up (20t) rear - are both excellent for the money. My 8 spd has been going strong through thick (mud) and thin (rain) with no servicing or fiddling for the last 5 years (might even be longer - put it on when they first came out and can't quite remember. Fit and forget). Recently went to 11 for a try. A (little)bit more fiddly to set up (very precise adjustment needed to get shifts as sharp as on the 8, but fitting the shifter cable is easier than on the 8 ... ) but so far problem free too.

[FLV]

Interesting, cheers. I will certainly take a look at the alfine 11 then.

The only alfine I have seen is action was an alfine 8, the cable looked horrible to set up. I will certainly look though.
Is the shifter still the cheapo looking thing for the 11?

[Cheeky Monkey]

The alfine 11 shifter is a different design tot he one for the 8. However, they both come from the same school of functional-but-ugly, IMO.

Still, "you don't look at the fireplace when you're stokingthe fire"