Evening.

I'm considering some wheels utilising the internal hub gear system, what are your experiences using these, in terms of servicing and also gear ratios.

Any thoughts on the 'schmidt system would be great too.

Cheers.

Was just about to fit a Hammerschmidt supplied by a customer this morning actually, it all came to nought as they're only available to fit 03/05 ISCG mounts, not what was on the intended bike, and the other spanner in the works was that the ISCG mounts also need facing to align the two parts of the chainset, the tool to do this job retailing at just over £200.Also, just having the correct mount is, apparently,no guarantee that it'll fit your frame either.

I've had a Rohloff for over four years, no regrets at all. If I could afford another I would put one on my other bike.

38*16 provides a good match to a 9spd system, I never find myself wanting another gear.

No experience of the other system you mention.

Switched to Rohloff system about 18 months ago, no regrets. Some people don't get on with the system though, and its expensive (but worth it in the long term).

38 x 16 as woodsman says, covers the normal range that most people use 44/32/22 with 11-32. Gaps are a little larger , think of an 8 speed set up and you're pretty close to the gaps between the gears.

had a guest using a Hammerschmidt the other week. Seemed to work really well, no problems at all.

Became a bit of a theme while everyone else (on DH bikes) got off and pushed:

Click… Hammertime!

Got fed up with servicing grief of hardtail and full sus bikes, so sold them off and went hardatil with Rohloff. Originally Cotic Simple, just replaced with Rohloff specific Thorn Enduro.

Its bloody ace.

Ride. Hose bike down. Put bike away.
Repeat to your heart's content 🙂

Hub works fine too. Took a little getting used to weight distribution, but once you do, its no problem. Great being able to change gears stationary, got me out of a few literally sticky situations.

Just about to go back to Rohloff on my HT so will report back once Ive had a chance to try it out..But the last time I used it on a FS it was so-so..Yes v good in terms of maintenance/riding but it fecked up the weight distribution on my bike something terrible.

Sounds good. How strong are the hubs in terms of using them for free riding? I only ask as I'm a big guy, at about 130kgs.

I appreciate the feedback so far though.

I did have one, but got ride because of the weight disadvantage. The system is wonderful, but I had it built into a burly steel hardtail and the all-up weight was 35lbs. That was too much. Built into a more XC bike it is a brilliant set up and will last you forever.

I'm 11 stone but mine did do some rad shit and survived nicely- Vanderham used to use one for his big hucks.

On the other hand my mate has relegated his Rohloff to his winter HT because he found the system generated so much drag that he was noticably slower.

gandberg – Member

Sounds good. How strong are the hubs in terms of using them for free riding? I only ask as I'm a big guy, at about 130kgs.

They are one of the least fragile hubs under tandem conditions :-). None broken by the tandem boys and girls – except one team who geared it lower than the limit. so should be ok for a mere 130kgs

Chris Smith, apparently Britain's best known freerider, used one for a while whilst visiting Hucksville, also I think Bearclaw, or whatever he is called used one too, so they have been used in "heavy" situations.

You need the right drop-outs for it.

I had my Rohloff on a Mk IV Chameleon with the horizontal drop-outs & disc brakes, which proved to be an incredible faff when removing the rear wheel. The torque generated also meant that the QR had to be done up inhumanly tight.

Since I got the Singular Swift, it's been great. I can climb steep stuff in the lower gears without worrying about the rear wheel shifting under the load.

As long as you don't undercut the minimum specified chain wheel/sprocket ratios with regards to rider weight/tandem applications, you should be fine. Free riding should not cause any issues with the hub.

Good thread on Hammertime here:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/hammerschmidt-3

My LBS owner has to regularly service the Rohloffs fitted to the police bikes. They caused so much grief that the plod got rid and fitted regular gears.

On a side note, I would love to be chased by the police mountain bike squad. (Not so much the traffic cops though).

In 2 years I'm just over 8000 miles on the full sus & 1400 miles on the HT, both Rohloffs & the only maintenance has been 3 oil changes, one rear sprocket & 4 chains – how much would an XT drive train cost over that mileage?
Once you get used to them they're great – buy a secondhand one & if you don't get on with it (stick with for at least 1000 miles) you can probably get your money back selling it on – not many drive train components with that feature 😛
I've got a light XT equiped XC bike but rarely use it.

Just over a year and coming on 4500 miles on my Rohloff equipped Airnimal for daily commuting. Seems pretty bombproof thus far – I've been changing the oil every 1500 miles and this seems to have kept drag to a minimum. I think they're a bit 'marmite'; not everyone's cup of tea but for what I need it for it's been fantastic – primary advantage has been the easy maintenance: haven't had to worry about cleaning the bike daily during the grim winter weather.

Bad points – the usual, obvious ones – they're not cheap (tho' mine was a 2nd hand bargain), they do entail a weight penalty and the shifter isn't up to the quality of the rest of the system IMO. I'd buy another though if I could afford it!

had mine almost 3 yrs to the day – only on 2nd set of cables…
its been on a slightly heavier duty bike, but last year i did get a tad annoyed with it in the alps thanks to the drag – even if its makes little realistic difference, it makes a big psychological one when you can hear it dragging… this year i'll be on a 2 or 3*9 gear set up.

the rohlloff is now on an enduro race bike (not that i'm any good at enduro racing), which suits it perfectly. i'll probably not be getting rid for quite a while, or at least until i can afford to replace regular gears regularly… it just keeps on going.
this winter the rohloff bike will more than likely end up with rigids and mud tyres, as its fantastic in mucky conditions.
that it, of course, unless i get a CX bike 😉

Great for mud!
Faultless, but draggy in my most often used gear (the one between the two gearboxes)

I can't imagine what 'grief' they could have caused, Euro?

Chain tensioning perhaps if they weren't using a Rohloff specific/ singlespeed type frame. Or, when needing to remove the wheel, the user wasn't noting or moving the shifter to 14 or 1 prior, so that they then had restricted gear selection.

Are you sure it wasn't about money – £1k for a Rohloff gear system as oppossed to a couple of hundred for a mech set up!?

I hear simonfbarnes is a huge fan of these!

I had Rolharris's and it was great, no problems, never really noticed any drag, although I know it had a few miles on it! Picked up another one up s/hand with lower miles for my other bike, older but lower miles, cleaned it out using the rohloff kit, new oil and again, can't say I notice the drag.

Relaibility great, impervious to cr&p. A little heavy, although I built mine onto stans rims and run tubeless with a light tyre made a big difference, I like the weight distribution, makes manuals and jumps easier to land 😀

I hear simonfbarnes is a huge fan of these!

Yes – I believe he killed his a few times due to them not being suitable as submarine gearboxes – or riding through streams

What about the shimano alfine one?

The guysat trailaddiction swear by it.

also I once heard that nicolai and suntour had teamed up to make a BB mounted gear ox…what happened? or has shimano paid them millions for the right not to produce it? or a complete failure?

Got a Rohloff and I wouldn't go back to gears on the outside again. There is a (small) weight penalty if that bothers you, but I found that it countebalanced the heavy forks nicely. I've used it on a Cove GSpot and 456, both bikes ridden hard and without any great finesse or subtlety and it has worked flawlessly. Personally I like the shifter and the positive shifts the pull-pull cabling gives.

I can't imagine what 'grief' they could have caused, Euro?

I think the police got them for their 'fit + forgetness' but they had problems with 'loosing' gears and a few other niggles. I'm not too sure of the details, but I do know the LBS guy had no real experience of servicing them, and could likely be part of the problem.

I love mine – on an Inbred with Rohloff specific sliding dropouts. On steep ascents I find it much easier to hunt up and down through the gears than with a derailleur setup. There is no chain-slap on descents.

I think some of the "drag" is psychological. You have gear teeth meshing together inside the hub, which you don't have in a derailleur system, and which can give an unfamiliar "rubbing" sensation through the pedals. Yes, gear 7 is less efficient. But I found a German website where efficiency was compared to a (clean) 27 speed derailleur setup, and it varies with the ratios as to whether the Roholoff or derailleur is more efficient (since the derailleur gets less efficient when the chain is more crossed). Gear 4 is very efficient, and is a great climbing gear on my bike with 38×16.

Oh, and I find the gaps between the gears are fine. I always know that when the going gets tough, the next gear down will make it easier.

And it is the one gear system which actually gets better with use!

One other thing, referred to by others here, gear it right for you. I know they are supposed to be gear no lower than XX, but that does relate to elite athletes!

I have run all of mine 32/15 or 32/13. This means that I am in direct drive 11 as my most used gear, which is what you want to aim for. The Thorn website gives you all the gearing comparisons so you can work it out.