Rohloff or not to Rohloff.

[Stuart H]

Ebike decisions have come down to Rohloff with gates or standard chain with 11 speed cassette?
Bike will be used for mainly just under 20 mile commute most Working days when suitable all year round. It’s time to limit the car use.
What are people’s opinions on Rohloff and gates drive on an Ebike. Expensive luxury or worth the money. Bike will be a R&M supercharger.
Thanks.

 

[36vpower]

I have a Rohloff on my bike which I converted to electric about three years ago. Love the Rohloff, oil change once a year, no other maintenance needed. Would have liked to put a gates belt drive on but sadly that needs a frame capable of being split.
For commuting all year round the Rohloff option would be my choice.

 

[Nealh]

If you want it have it, no regrets later when you wished you had got it then didn't.

 

[MarcusT]

Have you looked at the Rohloff website for their data?
Only because I know mid drive motors put much more stress on the drive train than normal pedalling. Just concerned that such an expensive investment might not last as long with a motor as with chains, cassettes and derailleurs

 

[Fishy]

Enviolo N380 another option, comes with Gates belt, zero maintenance on the hub.

 

[flecc]

Have you looked at the Rohloff website for their data?
Only because I know mid drive motors put much more stress on the drive train than normal pedalling. Just concerned that such an expensive investment might not last as long with a motor as with chains, cassettes and derailleurs

The Rohloff is the one exception among hub gears, almost indestructible and far less trouble over time than any other gear setup, with or without a mid motor.

Very expensive, but that pays back handsomely over time so best for reliable commuting.

Is it perfect? No, nothing is and there are two very minor issues:

The lower seven gears are all compound so a bit noisier than the upper seven.

On rare occasions when changing from gear seven to gear eight it can arrive at top gear instead, a bit disconcerting if climbing at the time. But easily corrected of course and some Rohloff owners claim to never experience it.
.

 

[sjpt]

With hub gear you can use a much stronger wider chain than with derailleur which mitigates one disadvantage of mid-drive.

 

[E-Wheels]

Ebike decisions have come down to Rohloff with gates or standard chain with 11 speed cassette?
Bike will be used for mainly just under 20 mile commute most Working days when suitable all year round. It’s time to limit the car use.
What are people’s opinions on Rohloff and gates drive on an Ebike. Expensive luxury or worth the money. Bike will be a R&M supercharger.
Thanks.

Have a read here for mixed reviews https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/rohloff-speed-hubs-on-e-bikes-mechanical-and-e-14-discussion.33122/
Nothing is bullet proof and over time, whatever combination you choose will need to be maintained or repaired. You need to consider the level of aftermarket support you will get if needed and if you are you able to do the maintenance and repair work yourself

 

[Ocsid]

With hub gear you can use a much stronger wider chain than with derailleur which mitigates one disadvantage of mid-drive.

Plus it does not run askew twisting under load to a side or be forced to move off the sprokets and can be shielded from dirt and water.
But, still I much rather the Gates Carbon belt drive on several counts, not least that compasionate bit of compliance it adds into the drive train, good news for motors & hub gears, a gearing system that can uniquely benefit from it.
Mine is Gates belt plus Nexus 8, as my pockets were not deep enough to buy into a brand featuring Rohloff, more the pity.

 

[Stuart H]

Thanks for your replies. I have never seen a Envilio hub working. don’t know anything about them tbh. Looks like an interesting option. I have only seen 3 Rohloff hubs in 30 plus years of cycling. They were all on a Koga world traveller frames. The bikes in question were going on a sponsored ride pre 2012 olympics ride to Rwanda from Suffolk For charity. The gears were perfect. Sadly not the frames by the end!
I Think Riese and Müller/Rohloff will standby their products if there was every a problem with the hub.

I have found a “new” 2nd hand one in eBay but I would rather have the warranty as a piece of mind if something was to ever go wrong with the motor, batteries, Rohloff etc. Expensive to repair/replace with no warranty as it’s non transferable.

 

[flecc]

I have only seen 3 Rohloff hubs in 30 plus years of cycling.

We have several members with Rohloff hubs and all swear by them, not contemplating any other gears. Here's some of their posts:

Spare battery, High capacity or dual battery bike?

I am sorely tempted by a R & M dual battery eMTB but for some reason my OH looked shocked when I told her it is just £6K. As I do a lot of bikepacking (unpowered), I'm looking towards getting some sort of assistance by using anE-MTB...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

First ebike belt not chain?

I'm looking for my first ebike. I'm a regular cyclist but am looking for an ebike to commute 15 miles each way, mixture of town, disused railway and country lanes. Would also use it at weekends as well as my road bike. I've been looking online, and thinking of going for belt over chain (thinking...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

Death of the derailleur?

It'll be interesting to see how they integrate it with a motor, which will require the addition of the motor, primary reduction system, electronics and sensors. Hopefully they won't bother, I don't see the point of any bicycle gear systems with crank motors in pedelecs. Though the rider needs...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

nexus 7 versus nexus 8 versus derailleur

Looking for advice on buying our second bike. I have a Batribike Omega, (bought for my partner but used by both of us) and am pretty happy with that. It has the Nexus 7 gears, but whilst I love the simplicity, I would like to be able to go a little faster than 7th gear comfortably allows under...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

.

 

[Oldmanonanebike]

Thanks for your replies. I have never seen a Envilio hub working. don’t know anything about them tbh. Looks like an interesting option. I have only seen 3 Rohloff hubs in 30 plus years of cycling. They were all on a Koga world traveller frames. The bikes in question were going on a sponsored ride pre 2012 olympics ride to Rwanda from Suffolk For charity. The gears were perfect. Sadly not the frames by the end!
I Think Riese and Müller/Rohloff will standby their products if there was every a problem with the hub.

I have found a “new” 2nd hand one in eBay but I would rather have the warranty as a piece of mind if something was to ever go wrong with the motor, batteries, Rohloff etc. Expensive to repair/replace with no warranty as it’s non transferable.

I have the Enviolo/Nuvinci on an R&M Tinker, didn't get on with it at first as the twist grip goes in the opposite direction to a Rohloff (which I adore !) but after a few hundred miles I remember to twist the correct way. Would prefer a Rohloff on the bike but found that the relatively narrow range does me OK and I don't need the much wider range of a Rohloff.

 

[mountaindweller]

Hi ,as a long distance touring cyclist i have used the Rohloff gear hub for a number of years with no problems , last year i purchased a R&M supercharger GX which has Rohloff e-14 and gates carbon drive belt and can honestly say they are well worth the money , and a very impressive gear combination with smooth effortless changing , and talking from experience , i also have a few friends who have travelled far and wide with the same set up on their Hybrid bikes (standard Rohloff hub ) and none of them have experienced any maintenance issues , easy to maintain and free from the usual mud that one finds on some of the trails during rainy seasons that cause havoc with a chain and derailleur set up . Having completed a long tour last year of Europe with my super charger my overall impression of the bike is 09 out of 10 based on its reliability and its power as a robust touring e-bike where in my opinion their is no other bike out their to match it , i base my 09 on the fact that i had some paint wear on the pannier rack caused by the panniers rubbing , which R&M addressed , the new 2020 version has addresses that issue and as you probably know vastly improved upon their 2019 version in other areas .

 

[Oldmanonanebike]

Now that's what I call a bike........... !
BTW that aerial rings a bell but can't place it. Where is it please ?

 

[mountaindweller]

Now that's what I call a bike........... !
BTW that aerial rings a bell but can't place it. Where is it please ?

Hi, South Gare Lighthouse which was built in 1884 at the end of the breakwater at South Gare north west of Redcar in North Yorkshire and in north eastern England.