I'll stick to derailliers thanks

This sounds a tad more vexing than the time my saddle fell off in 50 acre woods.

hmm, yes it happened when she was 'just riding along' with no warning eh? have you seen the state of the sprocket? She dosnt sound like she is stupid but come on, you dont go into the back of beyond with your only hope of survival being the chance of an internet connection to ask how your bike works!

She has ridden 15,605 km so far- get that out of a dérailleur…

Although

Ages ago the screw on one of the cable stoppers came off and was lost. I solved the problem with tape and it's been fine. Anyway, I removed the tape to take a closer look and it seems as if the end of the cable has got wedged down inside the housing. Will have a go at pulling it free but not quite sure how as there's not much room to get hold of the end of the cable…

Can't put stuff off…

So she didn't think of contacting Rohloff first then?

It's frightening to think that someone with so little mechanical knowledge is riding solo round Africa.

just to prove beyond doubt that nothing on earth is idiot proof.

It's frightening to think that someone with so little mechanical knowledge is riding solo round Africa.

it's insane!
reminds me of jupiters travels. Ted Simon gets a Triumph sponsored him for a round the world trip, gets his visas, routes, passports, funding etc etc. Chapter 5 "I decided I'd better learn to ride a motorcycle"

sweet lord that's a worn sprocket.

bassspine, yes, but that was a Triumph. They never break down.

I have to say given the massive distance of the riding and the obvious total lack of mechanical sympathy it's been treated with, it isn't a scare story it's a testament to how incredibly robust Rohloff is.

And that's the second worst worn sprocket I've ever seen – the other was on a mate's TZ125 – he'd flipped it over to use the 'other side' of the teeth and they bent over like little breaking waves….

Ooer….Rohloff scare story

Lack of due care and attention, more like. +1 for not putting stuff off

….15,605 km so far

Still, sounds like a cast-iron excuse for a new bike!

sweet lord that's a worn sprocket.

ER no that's a ninja throwing star 😯

I bet if they open it up it will be bone dry

I'm missing some thing

where are the photos?

im sorry but youd have to be off your nut to get that close to complete failure !

its nearly round …..

Brilliant ad for Rohloff.

Numpty rides it 15,000 miles without maintenance before it starts playing up.

She would probably have broken even a single speed.

to be fair – ive had SS chainrings that looked like that 😀

my rear sproket refuses to die though

Nice to see the armchair experts out in force tonight (or does everyone here know how to strip and rebuild a Rholhoff Hub gear whilst very far from home or indeed your friendly bike shop mechanic?)… 😉

Im just impressed at the year of riding/kayaking and 15000kms travelled, her blog looks good too 8)

I didn't actually reverse my sprocket on the Rohloff as it runs against an oil seal and I didn't want to risk running what after 3 years was a fairly worn and pitted outer surface against that seal. I thought after 3 years and around 7 -8 thousand K it didn't owe me anything. It can also make it difficult to remove if it wears down to far in both directions.

WOW

I suppose single/speed internal hub doesn't share the pain

ive yet to see a deraileur system thats done 15000kms and is still functional …. let alone fair any better

Nice to see the armchair experts out in force tonight (or does everyone here know how to strip and rebuild a Rholhoff Hub gear whilst very far from home or indeed your friendly bike shop mechanic?).

You cant strip a rohloff, thats the point, you learn about your equipment, its limitations and what is required to maintain it. In the case of a rohloff you pay attention to any odd noises or play in the wheel which might indicate bearing issues.

Saying that though im a whimp, i wouldnt do half the stuff she has as i dont like getting that far out of my comfort zone. I think thats part of what those trips are about, putting yourself out there and seeing what happens, dealing with the unexpected.

The less people know about bikes the further they seem to get: ignorance is bliss.

Been toying with a Rohloff Thorn. I'd like to think I'd notice things wobbling to bits.

I guess the issue is that you're more likely to find a spare deraillier than Rohloff spares in the Congo though?

If you assume you're going to need spares for both systems, how many spare cogs, chains, cables would you need for each over say 20k kilometres?

I'm puzzled that she did an aeronautical engineering degree and worked as an engineer but claims to have little clue of how to deal with mechanical things!

I'm not – I did a mech eng degree and at least half of the people on the course had near zero mechanical aptitude though they could do the maths/theory perfectly well…

Come on you Rohloff evangelists, you must have done these calculations before buying into it?

all those miles and the hub fails. must be a manufacturing defect… 🙄

Good for her. That's what I say.
Definitely not a scare story from where I'm sitting.

When I was in NZ last year bike touring pulled into a layby heading north on State Highway 1, from Kaikoura to Nelson in the South Island.

Sat and ate my sandwiches with a chap riding the other way, who had come all the way from Hawkes Bay in the North Island.

He asked if he could borrow my pump, so I asked him what tools he had. Absolutely none. Couldn't event move his seat post, tighten a bolt, oil the chain, change a tire. Nothing. I felt rather over-prepared.

has anyone established if she's good looking? i'm not reading any of the linked bits and pieces if not. thanks.

I wouldn't use a Rohloff myself but this reads more like a testament to their durability to me more than a scare story. Any drivetrain will die eventually.

From reading her blog it seems that she is/was an Aeronautical Engineer, obviously not much hands on though….. Reminds me of working in the bike trade and often hearing customers proclaiming loudly they were ENGINEERS, and hence an expert on bikes too.

Sounds like she has had the same bearing problem I've had a couple of times now with the Rohloff. Of course Rohloff had never had problems before when I sent mine back…… I do wonder why they deny this so strenuosly when the internet evidence is mounting.

It's frightening to think that someone with so little mechanical knowledge is riding solo round Africa.

bit like that lady in the papers a few years ago who literally filled up her car engine with oil until the level was up to the oil 'filler' cap! 😉

haha rootes – one of the design engineers (with a beng in mech eng) at work filled his up like that DONK

I "own" a rohloff but i havnt seen it yet – its in my mates shed awaiting my return from paradise !

For a story about going unprepaired try

A Bike Ride: 12,000 Miles Around the World
Ann Mustoe, 1992

Head of an upmarket private girls school, retires, buys a bike, starts a series of very long rides. In this volume, its her first ever ride. Starts off for the ferry with no practise and when she gets to Italy, casually mentions that she had to find a bike shop as she was wondering if it was time for someone to pump up her tyres. To paraphrase some of her other attitudes:

Crosses a large desert people have died in 'no need to take water, someone always passes and offers you some'.

Never learns to fix a puncture 'Its better to employ a local to do it as it gives them money. Someone on a truck always turns up however empty the landscape and you can get a lift from them'

Interesting read, foolhardy woman, cant believe she was ever trusted to head a school or teach kids as she had not a shred of sense. Died last year still biking. Luck of the devil to make up for the lack of intelligence!

Sounds like she has had the same bearing problem I've had a couple of times now with the Rohloff. Of course Rohloff had never had problems before when I sent mine back…… I do wonder why they deny this so strenuosly when the internet evidence is mounting.

mine's going back too rohloff for the same problem also. seen quite a few other similar cases online yet ….as you say …rohloff say it is "practically unheard of"

they are obviously worried that the truth is the speedhub often does has problems but won't admit it cos of the likely effect on sales.
…still a great bit of kit though!!

It would be nice to find somewhere that could sell her a single speed rear wheel to get around on until she finds someone to help her out.oh well.

while we sit at home wondering why folk do these things with no knowledge on fixing these problems.. we are the ones with the bikes that work perfectly yet we go out for a couple of hour rides on average.a ride that we could walk home from if anything went pear shaped.It seems to be the case that the fastest,fittest riders out there ride hunks of shit. funny old world isnt it?