Rohloff fitment – Are specific dropouts needed?

This has puzzled me for a good while now and prompted by the Rohloff in the classifieds.

Is there much of a compromise when using non Rohloff specific dropouts?

Pictures helping descriptions are always welcome 🙂

No,
I prefer normal dropouts and a monkeybone brake adaptor, keeps it a bit tidier looking.

monkeybone on IS (sliding) mounts:

Of course, if your frame has post-mounts, you’ve no real choice.

Rohloff dropouts (IS mounts, with EBB):

And another combination:

IS mount brake calliper, with Speedbone and track ends (not a happy combo)

you dont need to but i think it looks neater – with the exception of those thorn frames – i have one , i HATE it.

the picture above is a sliding rohloff drop out – its ace . chain tension and your hub and caliper and rotor all stay lined up 😀

Rohloff specific Nicolai

Ive been using my ‘hoff in various On-One slotted drop out frames with IS mounts inside the rear triangle and the scandal with vert drop outs and IS mounts on the top of the seat stay.

The former I use an adapated version of the speedbone that transfers torque directly to the dropout and the later I made my own monkey bone from a spare disk mount.

So am I right in thinking that the monkeybone is used to stabilise(?) the hub and as such requires an anchor point?

stoner – i like that – i had that idea for my new fat bike build – but havnt got the frame yet to do it. good to see it works.

lmttm: The torque plate (that forked thing) is used with non-rohloff specific dropouts to oppose the counter-rotational force of the hub that enables it to gear up or down the drive. The counter rotation moves from one direction to the other as you pass through 1:1 (direct drive).

The forked slot on the torque plate needs to engage with something attached to the frame.

The rohloff approach to adapting non-rohloff drop out frames was to use a long arm strapped to the chainstay – ugly as hell.

The speedbone was then developed to use IS disk mounts – it has a peg on it that sits in the fork. Ive chopped mine down so that the peg simultaneously engages with the fork plate on the hub AND the internal void in the On-One drop out.

The monkey bone started out as a bodge by a user and makes for a nice tidy alternative to the speedbone by using the lower IS bolt hole mount rather than an additional peg to engage the fork.

Rohloff dropouts have long, fat slots into which a different kind of torque plate (not the forked one) slides with a keyed profile. In theory this could work in very special circumstances (wheel rammed forwards eg) on a track-ended frame, but runs the risk of splaying the track ends unless they are seriously beefy.

Speedbone: £35!

Mnonkeybone: £32!

Obviously ben cooper of this ere parish, ( http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/ ) is Teh Shiz at this stuff if you have anything more complicated to deal with.

Why is there not this problem with the Alfine?
No-turn washers do the same job – don’t they?
….or is there more Torque from the extra Hoff gear ratios?

mdt – I think it’s to do with the having a qr axle by reading here:
http://fernandoj.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/rohloff-axle-plate-types/

but Im not sure. does the alfine have bolt through or QR axle?

10mm bolted

Why is there not this problem with the Alfine?
No-turn washers do the same job – don’t they?
….or is there more Torque from the extra Hoff gear ratios?

^This. Bottom gear on the Rohloff is <50% of the Alfine, so the torque reaction is more than twice as high. The extra friction from the Alfine’s bolt-up axle will help, of course.