on a bike which you are planning to last you a lot of years, which would you choose, and why.

You can either afford the Rohloff or you can’t.

Surely the answer is that simple.

Rohloff – they’ve been around longer and there’s more likley to be a supply of parts in 5 years time – Shimano seem to discontinue key bits quite quickly after stuff goes out of production and then you rely on NOS.

Also, they have a smaller gap between gears even if the range isn’t that much larger.

Depends on money. I only have an Alfine 8 and it’s been superbly reliable for 3 years without me doing anything to it. Reports suggest the 11 speed isnt as reliable. Rohloffs have a rep for reliablity but are expensive. If money isnt a real issue then Rohloff. (although I hate gripshift type things)

i bought a rohloff for the same purpose on a ti bike for life …..

hubs sat in the shed except for a few uses and a couple of tours . bike rides better SS

now have an alfine on another bike – and much prefer the way it feels – i have no doubt the rohloff will last longer (esp the time its sat in my shed insteda of being riden)

I have an alfine 11 with versa drop bar shifters. It works well so far, but only had it for two months.

Was a lot cheaper than a rohloff!

I am planning on keeping the bike for a long time: then again I always do…

I’m loving the simplicity and maintenance free-ness of my Alfine 8 but I were building a “forever” bike, it would probably have a Rohloff.

used a alfine for a few months on a 29r. i did not like it very much.
a friend has a speedhub on a p7 and it rides nice, but it has a fair few years mileage on it.

borrow rohloff for a while….

mines is a few years old and had done a few thousand miles before i got it and been serviced….. still wasnt really doing it for me….

Rohloff is great I’ve only had it a while but wouldn’t go back to normal gears. You can feel some resistance but nothing much. Easy to service and they have just dropped the recommended ratios for even lower hearing if needed . Which is nice as I don’t often run out of gears goin down but I have going up 😉

Rohloff or Alfine? On a bike which you are planning to last you a lot of years

Neither

Had my rohloff in a mtb and did not like it , now have it on my surly lht an its perfect

Rohloff if you can afford it or stay with dangly gears.

My Alfine 11 has been back once already for repair and slips gears every so often even now. I wish I could go back in time and save up more for a Rohloff now.

Things that put me off the Rohloff;

– Price
– 2 cables to the device and trickier to mount than the alfine
– Price
– The shifter (Although the alfine-8 isn’t perfect as it’s backward)
– Oh and the Price!

Friend has a Rohloff; seems to love it. I’m happy with my Alfine on the commuter, not sure i’d want the weight on a trail bike though.

Price is the only thing from above that you might find an issue
Cables are very well sealed and last ages
Shifter works well but I do like gripshirt

I had a Rohloff for about 18 months, and mechanically there’s no doubt it’s the mutt’s nuts. It makes the idea of dangly gears seem utterly ludicrous.

The thing is, while the weight is apparently lighter than a full transmission, it is very much concentrated at the rear axle, and as a result it changes the feel of the bike somewhat. I had it on what I think was a slightly ‘dead’ feeling Ti hardtail, but the balance as a whole just didn’t work for me, and it didn’t feel chuckable or fun in the way I wanted.
I switched back to XT gears after that, and it completely changed the feel, and the bike felt much more nimble.

For that reason, I’d say Alfine.

I’ve had a ‘Hoff and I’ve also got an Alfine 8.

I’d stick with a normal setup if i were you.

Hub gears are fine on a touring/commuting type bike but are a bit pants on an MTB.
Great idea but just doesn’t cut it. I would like to try a Pinion gearboxed bike though.

Hub gears are fine on a touring/commuting type bike but are a bit pants on an MTB.
Great idea but just doesn’t cut it.

Why?

OP: I can’t comment on Rohloff but I loved my Alfine 8 until I went singlespeed and now it suddenly feels very heavy

chrispo.

You’ve just half andwered your own question. 😉

For me the drawbacks are.

Weight in the wrong place, not changing gear fast enough, not quick enough pickup on the freewheel and the feeling of drag (moreso on the hoff)

I won’t even mention the oil leaks and bearings wearing out on the Hoff either. 😐

I’d love a gearbox bike as an MTB if it could overcome these things.

now have an alfine on another bike – and much prefer the way it feels – i have no doubt the rohloff will last longer (esp the time its sat in my shed insteda of being riden)

Ever thought of selling it? 😉

The drag difference between alfine 8 ad rohloff is like night and day

Alfine feels like multiple ss ratios

Rohloff feels like your constanty cross ringing.

Im not giving up on te hoff til the alfines stood the test of time …… I can live with the drag if the alfine only lasts a year of commuting…..

i might hasten to add, the bike i am building is for touring at a slow leisurely pace, both on and off road.
it is in no way gonna be used for any serious mtbing or ‘performance’ type riding.
i can cope with a bit of drag, if it means cutting down on the maintainance.

i can cope with a bit of drag, if it means cutting down on the maintainance

I told myself that for three years. 😐

Not missed it one bit after selling.

Weight in the wrong place, not changing gear fast enough, not quick enough pickup on the freewheel and the feeling of drag (moreso on the hoff)

I won’t even mention the oil leaks and bearings wearing out on the Hoff either.

hoff fan here. Run them exclusively for years now and they’ve been trouble free. Don’t find the pick up an issue, nor the gear change for the sort of riding I do – might be an issue if you were racing but for me the ability to change when stationary far outweighs the snap of a trigger shifter.

None of our hubs have yet had the bearings replaced nor any problematic oil leaks – they seep a bit but that’s normal.

Expensive up front but running costs are negligible

Alfine 11 experiences haven’t been good at all.

This thread lead to me having a look at what I could get a Rohloff for but I have had to have a little lie down after the palpitations I suffered. Over a thousand quid!!!! You could buy an awful lot of XTR drivetrain for that and although you would have of course to replace the consumables you would have to do a lot of miles to make it worth while!

We used to Spec the Alfine (11SP) on our Stoater (as well as a Rohloff option). To be honest I thought the build quality was poor, didn’t like the shifter and the idea of changing a puncture in the pishing rain gave me the heebeejeebees.

We dropped the Alfine and now only spec the Rohloff. I luv ’em. Built to last, reliable as heck, positive shifting, excellent warranty and backup. Although they can feel a little draggy to begin with, they definitely get better within a short while.

– 2 cables to the device and trickier to mount than the alfine

not sure what you mean by that. If you use the external cable box, I can’t think of an easier wheel/hub to mount? I found the Alfine a complete disaster to fit.

Rohloff Speedhub by shandcycles, on Flickr

Gates Carbon Belt Drive and Rohloff IGH by shandcycles, on Flickr

Had mine 6 years now Tony and never had any bother with it. Rode it through all winters and a lot in last years summer through mud. Changed the cog 18 months ago and had about 5 chains in 6 years. I know its expensive but I expect it will last many years yet. From what I know its a better range of gears than alfine and its low enough to get you up the hills.

Agree shand rohloff does win the easy to remove war.

Good for security to – if i was nipping into shop with no lock i just kick it into easiest gear and remove click box .

As a hub geared owner I was sold on the maintenance free aspect. But in reality what hassle is there to keep on top of a traditional cassette, cable, jockeys/mech? Been there done that, never again.

Also when you factor mudguards and trying to do a puncture in -8 temps the romance of it all goes sour. And even using marathons, ultimately that day will come!

i commute by bike everyday, and have done since i was 15, so 32 years, on average a drivetrain i.e cassette, middle ring, chain and jockey wheels lasts about a year with good regular maintainance.
and i all that time, i have never broken a rear mech.
am i talking myself out of it before it is off the ground?

Do it Tony they are great 😉

Ton if it was me I would save your cash.

Go on Tony take the plunge – if you dont get on with it Ill bet thered be plenty takers on Classified AND you`d get almost cost back .

I’ve commuted on a Alfine’d (8spd) road bike for 3 years now and the maybe 4 times I’ve had to fix a puncture haven’t been too bad. There’s a knack to it, but once you know its pretty simple.

I love the no hassle maintenance of it; my chain is a mess but it doesnt matter! Haven’t cleaned the bike in months.

Mine feels quite draggy now. Well a lot harder than my geared bikes. I think the bearings need changing. Not sure whether to get it serviced or buy a new one. SJS have them for £120 at the moment!

Had a couple. Hated the shifter. The hubs worked beautifully.
Went back to shimano and am happy.
If they ever did a clicky shifter then I’d reconsider.

I’ve had my Rohloff for 4 1/2 years now. Its brilliant.
had a couple of problems – bearings needed changing so it got sent back to germany, fixed and returned for free, with a letter of apology for it failing! Had to change cables a couple of times, had a problem with them gunging up a few times, but that was my fault for being a cheapskate.

I’ve also had an Alfine8. Performance was good, but what a huge hassle to remove the wheel! Rohloff for me forever (until I can afford a Pinion gearbox….)

Downside has got to be it can’t be used with Roadbike STIs, but i’ve an idea about that.

Shand – that’s brilliant. Belt-drive Rohloff is in my future….

that Shand stoater plus is one fantastic looking bit of kit.
if it took a 2” tyre, that would be my ‘rest of life’ bike…. 😀

If he won’t make you one bob jacksons will pretty much what I was after but with couplings to split it and they were happy to build it mate 😉