does anyone use a rolhoff speedhub on their tourer

[bruno]

i'm thinking of setting up a rolhoff bike for heavy-duty touring. does anyone have experience with these hubs? thanks!

[closer]

Hi Bruno,

Only very limited experience with this hub but I am currently having an "Expedition Touring" bike built by Hugh Black (True North Cycles) of Kitchener, ON. Canada, which is incorporating the disc version of the Speedhub.
I have done loads of research on them and am quite excited with the project--will definitely post when the bike is finished (hopefully in February).
Check out this article by Andy Blance of Thorn Cycles, for starters:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff-impressions.html
It is excellent and also includes gearing charts.

Regards,

Art

Closer to Free

[tofubicycle]

Bruno,

World touring adventurer Tilman Waldthaler has used a Rolhoff on may of his trips. While it's true that he has money and resources at his disposal that most of us do not - such that unexpected mechanical problems might be easier for him to deal with - I'd still say his hard testing of the hub is a great testament to thier performance.

Just for the sake of oohs and ahhs, here's a shot of a cut-away of the Rolhoff I snapped at the 2006 Interbike:



--
......... __ o
.........-\<,
......(O) (O)...........
...........................
i'd rather be biking.

[bruno]

thanks guys. i rode one the other day at harris cyclery in newton, mass. it was on a surly karate monkey built up by sheldon brown. (you can see it on their website). the gear range is amazing. i'm seriously considering building up a rolhoff.

[Raine]

Sorry to be a bit off topic, but I would love to see pictures of your coming "Excpedition Touring" frame, Art.

Do you have any pics of it yet? What kind of specs are you having there?

Cheers,
Raine

This message was edited by Raine on 1-5-07 @ 11:30 AM

[Sailariel]

Looks like an incredible bit of engineering. Super expensive, I would guess.

[reflect.collect]

I have one, I love it.  Though I used it only for a year of lots of off-road riding experience. It's sitting in the basement now built up, waiting for a different bike at some point.  I see the only drawback for touring being that it is only available in 32 hole version.  For loaded touring, I'd like to have a few more spokes.

[closer]

Hi Raine,

No pics yet but come to think of it, I should snap a few of my new baby while she's being built.
The last I saw the frame was at Hugh's shop on December 22. The frame build was complete, save for final braze-ons and prep. for paint.
The Rohloff was to be ordered and the next step will be to build up and install the rear wheel, pannier racks, etc., for a final mock-up, in order to determine placement for the final items to be brazed on.
Regarding specs, I will be using a steel tubeset, with a mix of True Temper Verus, Verus HT, OX Gold, OX Platinum and Columbus Zona--all on the beefy side, for self-contained, all-road/off-road touring.
In no particular order: TIG welded, 71.5 Head Tube, 72.5 Seat Tube, 45.5 cm. chain-stays (True Temper 29'er stays) eccentric bottom bracket, 26 inch wheels, Salsa suspension-corrected 1 1/8" diameter rigid fork (True Temper tubing) Rohloff Speedhub disc version, 160 mm Avid mechanicals front/rear, S&S frame couplers, chain-stay mounted disc brake carrier/vertical dropouts courtesy of Mr. Richard Schwinn of Waterford/Gunnar (nice guy and a nice favour which allows one to run a rear disc brake without pannier rack attachment issues that you have with seat-stay mounted disc brakes).
Hmmm, what else? OMM Sherpa pannier racks, Schmidt front dyno hub, Ortlieb panniers, SKS fenders, Thudbuster ST seat post, Pletchser/ESGE centre-stand, Schwalbe Marathon XR's.
Not fully set on the rest of the components but this gives a pretty good picture.
Bottom bracket height will of course vary a bit with the EBB but is essentially on the lower end of "standard mountain bike", based on the profile of a 2 inch wide tire. When running with narrower/lower profile street touring tires, this will drop the BB height for a lower C of G, for road use.
Also, the wheel base will be a bit over 109 cm, so fairly long and Hugh is installing canti brake mounts and a derailleur hanger for versality in the event of disaster "way out there". We will also be setting it up with a flat bar, with option for running drop bars. Flat bars also make sense for packing in a travel case. I have purchased a Modolo Trekking Bar and will be experimenting with that.
I have put a lot of research time into this project. It's also not cheap but it's been a fun learning and creative process, as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed  collaborating with Hugh, who is a mechanical engineer, researching my ideas and various "engineering issues", presenting them to him for his consideration and then working our way forward, with his input to achieve consensus on the particular issues at hand.
I should start my own "build thread" and post photos/updates there. It will be fun to share what I am doing.
Finally, a plug for my builder, Hugh Black: http://www.truenorthcycles.com/default.asp

Best regards,

Art



Closer to Free

[bruno]

hi closer! we gotta have pictures! this thread is useless without pictures!!!

[closer]

Good morning Bruno,

Yes, I will be calling Hugh on Monday, in order to set up a time to come see him/the frame because it's been 2 weeks since we've talked and I'm getting itchy about seeing it (I also like to cut him cheques fairly frequently--good faith to the guy who is working for me and ensures a happy frame-builder!).
Anyhow, yes, I'll bring the camera and go snap-happy with the pics, my friend and post in due course--probably before next Friday, which is January 12.

Best regards,

Art

Closer to Free

[DaveB]

Looks like an incredible bit of engineering. Super expensive, I would guess.

Yep, you could say so.  Sheldon Brown's web site lists them for $950 to $1200 depending on the model.  Remember, this cost is ONLY for the hub, the rest of the bike isn't included.

One downside to the Rohloffs is the twist-type shifter is intended for straight bars only.  I've heard of homemade adapters to allow it to be used on drop bars but they seem crude and awkward.

[Raine]

Again, strongly off topic, but since we started to discuss about custom made touring frames, I could not resist to post this one up. Simply amazing:



You can find some pictures of it from MTBR forums etc. with Google. It is called Moots Snoots. Full titanium... :8|:

This message was edited by Raine on 1-6-07 @ 12:26 PM

[tofubicycle]

My favorite aspect of the Moots Snoots (which is a one-off custom bike owned by the founder of Moots Cycles) is that both fork legs were made to actually hold stove fuel!! That's no joke. Notice the valve at the top of the fork leg and the brass fitting at its base. Truly an amazing bike.

--
......... __ o
.........-\<,
......(O) (O)...........
...........................
i'd rather be biking.

[jnorth]

i have a rohloff 14 on a bike friday folding bike. very sweet shifting, with nary a problem. it weighs more & is wider, and the rear rack struts must be stretched a bit to accomodate. otherwise flawless, with a simple oil change each year. no bent derallieurs!

[bruno]

been ridin' my rohloff bike a lot since it was built up last week. i can't say enough about it. it was worth every cent i paid for it. i would even pay more knowing what i know now. super smooth precise shifts (even standing still). and supposedly it gets better and better the more miles you put on them. plus an always straight chainline.

it seems to me that unless you're a road racer, the rohloff would be the way to go for all your bikes--mtb, commuting, and touring.