anyone on here use a rohloff and nothing else?

if you do, pro’s and con’s please.

Just awaiting delivery of a Rohloff Shand Stoater… Which might become my only road bike.

Pulls op a chair

stoater is on the list.

I’ve a Rholoff on my Thorn Raven Tour, though I have other bikes with derailleurs and another with an Alfine Hub set up.

The Rholoff offers very easy maintenance, the ability to shift gears when stationary, the ability to ride through any trail conditions and keep going.

The downsides, some people don’t like the grip shifter and all the transmission weight is at the centre of the rear wheel, this isn’t an issue for me as my wheels seldom leave the trail.

There are hundreds of threads out there on the pros and cons.

Our pact bikes tandem will have one fitted.

The pros for me are there is no derraileur /hangar to break, and a chain will last longer than on a conventional setup.

I’ve been using a roly exclusively until last weekend when I got a new bike with xx1.
It’s great, I’d recommend it. The weight probably isn’t great on a super light bike, but on a fatbike its not an issue at all having the weight in the back wheel. The range, and the ability to change while static is spot on, as is the imperviousness to craggy muck.

Run an Alfine 8 and a SS.

Love both and prefer the Alfine over derailleurs.

Reliable, quiet, neat, robust.

Yes since 2003, I have some retro stuff with “normal” gears but never ride them.
Running 3 Rohloffs, an Alfine 11 and an Alfine 8, would really like a Pinion 18 but just can’t justify the cost presently, especially since dropping 26″ option as standard.

I am a big fan of IGH.

2 x bikes here with Rohloff since 2007ish. Haven’t used ‘normal’ detailers since….and I’ll not be going to again.

1. Tweaked 29er Solaris with paragon swinging dropouts and 29+ rigid forks.
2. On one 26″ 130mm Inbred with sliding dropouts.

Currently in discussions with Shand for a custom frame 😀

The swinging / sliding rear dropout thing is a bit of a faff but the newish PF30BB with a EBB remove all that hassle.

Maint: a hose down and light oil of the chain is all it needs. Current chains have 8K+ miles and are both still under 1% stretch.
Weight: My own weight fluctuates more each week than this adds to a bike. If your’e after a race bred carbon bike then don’t but if your’e thinking rohloff already then your journey of enlightened is already well on the way!
Usability: Being able to change gear anytime, whilst peddling or not needs to be experienced to fully appreciate what it brings to the ride.
Drag: When new I did notice a little drag but now that they’re both worn in I never really notice anything. In reality, if you use your MTB (as it should be) through the muck and mire then any system will clog up with crap and become draggy when covered in mud. The best bit about the rohloff…even when it’s caked in mud you can still change gear without thinking about it!
Cost: Given the ever increasing cost of the latest bling IMO the cost of a rolloff quickly pays for itself.

IMO it’s the best bike related investment I’ve made and I’ve not regretted it once.

I used to. It depends what you want from a bike and what you do on it.

I used mine on an Evil Sovereign and a Commencal full suspension bike, swapping between the two. I got on with it for a couple of years but found that actually the cost of a standard drivetrain and actual stuff you had to replace wasn’t really offset by the Rohloff. A cassette for me lasts 2-3 years, chains around 18 months. Cables about 8 months.

The Rohloff was very good at its job of just getting on with things regardless of maintenance. The cables it came with had a loose liner which kept getting sucked into the shifter, making it unusable. Standard cable is much better.

The disadvantages that made me get rid were weight and drag. Mine was used on burly bikes for burly riding and the extra weight of the Rohloff was too much on already heavy bikes. Switching to 1×10 saved me in the order of 3lbs from the Evil and all of a sudden it was a lot more fun to ride. The drag in the lower gears on an already heavy bike (33lbs with the Rolfharris) was a real bind.

I have switched back to traditional drivetrains and find I spend no more or less time faffing with them than I did the Rohloff. The shifting is better and the efficiency higher, as well as the initial outlay being much lower. An SLX cassette costs less than a Rohloff sprocket and will last me 2-3 years, a Rohloff one around 4 years if I turned it round.

HOWEVER, in spite of my experience with it I would recommend it for certain riders, and you are one of them I think ton. If you are plugging it into a reasonably lightweight hardtail and the final weight will be somewhere around 26lbs then it will be great. At that weight it is still manageable, the drag is less of a problem and if you are doing high mileage and normally munch through drivetrains then it will do really well for you.

I never could justify the expense of a Rohloff but I run the Shimano alternative on one of my bikes and love it. Its a 5th of the price, less faff to install (no torsion bar) and weighs less.

2 major benefits for me are consistent shifting whatever the conditions and zero chain slap. I run it on a full suspension bike and blasting through rock gardens in total silence makes the experience even more enjoyable.

The shifting while stationary thing is useful but hardly a game changer.

One thing with the Alfine thats a little annoying is you cant shift to an easier gear while peddling hard – you have to back off a bit to allow the spring to engage. That’s not an issue with the Rolhoff as it has 2 cables pulling different directions.

I’ve had a Rohly on my main bike for about 6 years now. Its a bit like Trigger’s Broom. Its on its 3rd frame (about to be fourth), 3 forks, 3 seatposts, 3 sets of brakes, 2 saddles etc.
I love it, and wouldn’t have anything else.

I ‘ve also got SS bikes, ran an Alfine for a while, got derrailieurs on my road/cross/audax machine and about to get a derrailleured full-sus bike (as I don’t want the unsprung mass – I need a Pinion gearbox really). I simply love the fit and forget factor. Hose it down after a ride. Clean the chain every few months. Change the oil once a year, change the cables every 2. But the biggest factor is changing gears when stationary. The biggest get-out-jail-free card you can have on a mtb.

Rohloff and SS only here.

Havent used a dérailleur for nearly 8 years IIRC.

TBH I mainly ride SS, the Rohloff is the holiday bike*

The pro’s and cons are pretty well covered all of the web and forums. As a bit of a big lad (95Kg) I’d just add that the weight in the wheel thing is pretty much irrelevant. The hub will take some serious honking, but obey the torque limits on the gear ratios. Servicing is a doddle (ben cooper will help you out with oils) and once you get the hang of mechanically sympathetic gear changes for the rohloff, it’s so simple to use and live with.

*the hills in france are too big for SS