I'm thinking of investing in a The Rohloff SPEEDHUB. Was wondering what other bikepackers thought, pros? cons?

i have one. its been on various bikes...

unlike most rohloff users im not going to baffle you with numbers and suggest its better,.

ime its draggy , its slower than a comparable geared bike , its kills the bikes spightly feeling dead.

my bike was 24lbs with rohloff , but it felt like an anchor out back.

I swapped for an XT/XTR mix and the bike dropped to 22lbs - but if you listen to the rohloff love in the rohloff is not heavier..... maybe not heavier than a full alivio groupset or something. but its heavier and makes the bike less balanced.

Ive worked it through three bikes now and its found a home on my 9zero7 fatty where its actually quite suited as the bike is much more balanced than either of my XC biased builds before.....

How ever - if i was going on a fugging long tour and wasnt wanting to singlespeed it - it would be the hub id take- bought it used , used it for 5 years and its needed nothing more than regular oil changes.

They're good.

I had one for a while. rode it on bikepacking trips including the HT450 or whatever the number was that first time. I did always run slightly higher pressures in the rear tyre to prevent tyre ripping incidents.

They give a good gear range and you can easily find a decent ratio. You need to be able to get on with grip shift (unless you want to spend even more cash on shifters)

I likes mine but the weight of the thing ended up seeing me leave it languishing in the back of the garage so I sold it. If I still had it, approaching winter now, I would fit it today.

was on here



Spent about 18 months on here before i turned it back into a singlespeed and eventually 3x9.

before ending up on here where its been for about 18 months and i quite like it on there.

I have one on my Bike Packing bike 29er+ and another on my fun winter bike.
Never noticed them "draggy" never a problem, they are perfect if you are lazy. Cover them in mud, put it away in the garage, a day or two later brush off the dust (if you can be bothered), oil the chain and off you go again.

We've got one on the tandem, that I specced for fear we would rip a rear mech off and that we could run a straight chain at the back.

The gear range is OK. It is a bit draggy though not so much it bothers me.

The only thing that annoys me is having to near compleetely stop pedalling to change gear.

I've got an 8sp Alfine on my solo BP bike, and prefer that, though it hasn't got the range for an off road tandem.

I've got one on my bikepacker and love it for that application, where the slight draggyness and bit extra weight seems less important
It's seems better suited on a 29nr than i felt it was on a 26" wheel bike i used it on previously.
Very reliable, mines been faultless, my mates Alfine 11 was a nightmare by comparison.
In short the worse the weather, the more tired you are and the more of a pain a mechanical would be the more you appreciate a Rohloff.

I'm currently in the rather exclusive two Rohloff club

Whilst I really like the Rohloff, just getting one for the sake of it is probably an excessive expenditure

I'd say for long distance bike packing trips, and for this I'm talking multi month rather than over night trips I would say in my experience they are second to none. The lack of maintenance and hassle with derailleurs is a real bonus. Throwing bikes on the top of buses in developing countries, or riding through deeeep mud suddenly become a whole lot less stressful.

I've got around 15,000kms on mine and other than oil changes and flipping the cog there is little to worry about.

That said it does alter the way the bike handles and it does give it a slightly numb feeling, maybe not as noticeable with luggage but unladen it is a bit more noticeable. After a couple of rides you tend to get used to it, and the draggy feel people tend to mention often settles down on the hub is properly bedded in.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, its appreciated. I think i'll have to beg borrow or steal one for a ride or two before making my mind up about splashing the 'big' cash or not!

Richpips wrote:
I've got an 8sp Alfine on my solo BP bike, and prefer that, though it hasn't got the range for an off road tandem.

That's a hell of a statement given the price differential!

I have 2 Alfine 8s and on one of those builds I did consider the Rohloff, but I just kept coming back to the price! Given that I'm not particularly bothered about pedaling down hills I gear them low and when I spin out in 8 I enjoy the cruise.

I have a rohloff that has been switched between a fortitude adventure and a niner sir 9. I really like the fit and forget nature of the set up-especially in the winter, but agree that the bike doesn't feel as responsive with the hub on. I think it is down to the weight redistribution. It really comes into its own though in the mud and mine has done several long bikepacking rides with no issues at all.