I spent today at Cwmcarn doing the xc trail and ended up having an issue with my Rohloff.

When going up steep climbs, standing out of the saddle and pedalling hard it appears that the chain either jumps or the Rohloff tries to ghost shift.

If i tried a similar climb with the rohloff in a lower (easier) gear, sitting down the issue doesnt happen.

When i came home i investigated further and the same issue will happen when standing up pedalling a higher (harder) gear at a low speed.

I have checked the cables and all fittings and nothing is loose or out of sync…..although something doesnt appear quite right.

The tensioner is rohloff and the frame is rohloff specific.

Has anyone any solutions for the above?

Must be epic power levels from mighty thighs 😉

When was the last time you changed the chain?
With an EBB or sliding dropouts, the chain & sprockets have to be totally sh4gged before you get problems but using a tensioner will allow a worn chain to skip.
If its not that then I’ve never heard of anyone getting charged for returning their hubs to Rohloff for work.

I’ve had problems engaging a gear before.
Sometimes it would go in to a false neutral and I would need to backpedal a quarter turn or so to get it to engage.
Putting some oil in it cured that. 😳

Do you mean you’re just losing drive for a fraction of a second, as if the chain’s jumping the sprocket ?
I haven’t come across this, although it might be what they mean by
“Loss of drive occurs in:
Less than 1/4 crank turn
More than 1/4 crank turn“
here.

Could it be the chain jumping the sprocket ?
One way to check, if you’ve got an even number of teeth, is to mark the sprocket by a wide link.
Ride the bike to replicate the fault.
Check the sprocket.
If the mark is by a narrow link, the chain must have jumped a tooth.

snaps – the chain has only done approx 100 miles and is not worn.

MTG – it is not linked to engaging/shifting a gear as i can be in the same gear on the flat and the drive be ok and then gives problem on an uphill.

I know it is nothing to do with the hub as i switch the rear wheel onto a hardtail with ebb during the week to use it on my commuter and never had the issue.

Therefore i believe the chain is jumping for a fraction of a second and then engaging again but unsure how to fix it.

i therefore think it is something to do with the way the cabling/gearing/sprocket/tensioner is setup but check and rechecked everything and all appears too good.

How old is the sprocket/how many miles? I strongly suspect this is a worn sprocket with a new chain (especially if you’re commuting on this hub as well so putting a lot of miles on it).

It really phased me the first time this happened. It *may* “wear in” if it’s not badly worn but you should look at flipping it over or replacing it. (By far the worst bit of maintenance a Rohloff ever needs. A Pedros ViseWhip helps – stick in vice and bash that with a hammer – but still not easy).

No no don’t bash it with a hammer! to get the sprocket off!!ffs!!!

If you look on the Rohloff site there is a short video which shows how to remove the sprocket. It’s a piece of pi$$ if you do it right. You’ll need the Rohloff tool, and chain whip and a large adjustable spanner – not a frickin hammer!

No no don’t bash it with a hammer! to get the sprocket off!!ffs!!!

If you look on the Rohloff site there is a short video which shows how to remove the sprocket. It’s a piece of pi$$ if you do it right. You’ll need the Rohloff tool, and chain whip and a large adjustable spanner – not a frickin hammer!

Eeek. remembers to be more precise.

Place Rohloff tool on hub. Attach Pedros tool to sprocket. Clamp Rohloff tool in vice. Hit Pedros tool with rubber mallet.

Trying to get it undone with a chainwhip (even a good, long, Park Tools one) I found far from a piece of piss. It’s very difficult to put all the force through the chainwhip rather than the spanner and it’s the chainwhip you want to move. Too much force on the spanner will mash the indents in the hub.

simon – i reckon the sprocket has only done about 1500-2000 miles so shouldnt be worn out yet.

Do you think i am getting it on one bike and not the other due to the different chains i am running with the same sprocket? My commuter gets lots of miles during the week compared to the fs at the weekends.

“Do you think i am getting it on one bike and not the other due to the different chains i am running with the same sprocket? My commuter gets lots of miles during the week compared to the fs at the weekends. “

that is indeed very likely the cause !

Do you think i am getting it on one bike and not the other due to the different chains i am running with the same sprocket? My commuter gets lots of miles during the week compared to the fs at the weekends

Trail rat +1. The chain on the commuter will be the older one?

Still seems strange that you’ve only got <2k miles out of the sprocket. Do you have a chain-checker and replace your chains early?

I’m not sure what life I get out of mine. On road much more than 2000 miles I think but maybe off road not so much.

simon – my commute is down gritting canal paths and bridleways so i would still class it as off-road.

Maybe as said above it is the chain wear. My FS has had a brand new chain about 30 miles ago and my commuter chain is very very old.

This may also be why the chain only slips under very heavy load.

What is the solution – replacing both chains?

Suspect the Very Very Old chain has done for your sprocket. As a chain wears it stretches (actually it’s the pins/rollers that wear but the effect is the same). A worn chain on a new sprocket will put all the load through a smaller number of teeth and prematurely wear the sprocket. A worn sprocket will have ‘shark fin’ teeth and a new chain will ride up on them and skip under heavy load.

I would flip (or replace) the sprocket and replace the chain on the commuter bike. Get a chain measuring tool and replace chains before they get too stretched.

Some people claim you’re better off running all drive parts into the ground as they wear together but you can’t get away with that approach if you’re swapping parts between bikes.

Simon – really there is no need to use a hammer – have another look at the Rohloff video. It’s easier than me trying to explain. When you put the sprocket back on, a smear of grease on the threads will make life easy for you next time.
The Rohloff tool is just to lock the hub, and held in place with the Q/R and an adjustable spanner, all the torque – in a snap action – goes through the chainwhip. I use the Park one myself

Put the hammer away, really so unecessary! 🙂

We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. No way my last few sprockets were coming off without it. Maybe with a much longer chainwhip (there’s loads of images on the web of people welding up 1m long tools) but not with the Park tool.

Here you go Simon – it’s all in the wrist action don’t you know! 😀

http://www.rohloff.de/en/technology/workshop/videos/sprocket_tool/index.html

Yep, had seen that. Believe me – it was not coming off.

I took it to one of our dealers who taught me the vice/pedro tool/mallet trick.