# Marin & Rohloff



## cooperte (May 2, 2009)

Can anybody tell me whether it would be possible to retrofit a Speedhub 14 or a Shimano Alfine to a 2004 Marin Wolf Ridge? I haven't got a picture of my bike, but it's exactly the same as this one..










I want to do something different and kind of _despise_ derailleurs :madman:


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## biketuna (Mar 28, 2008)

alfine should be no problem, they make a couple different version of the anti turn washers.
not sure about the speed hub 14


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## cooperte (May 2, 2009)

thanks for the reply biketuna.

i might go for an alfine then. i'm just worried that i might not have enough gearing for an all-day ride on the trails in wales.

how do you work out what type of anti turn washer you need? i've been looking at the bike shop websites but they don't seem to say what parts are needed.


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## biketuna (Mar 28, 2008)

This is where i ordered mine. scroll down and you'll see all the options (washers and sprockets). The nexus parts are used for the alfine hub.
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html

I ride a 1x9 now so it was not hard to get my gear ratios the same.
There is a gear ratio calculator on that page.

Right now i have a 30 up front and a 11-34 in the rear.
When I get my new wheels, I will have a 32 up front and a 19 tooth sprocket on the alfine.

I can change the sprocket if I'm going some where hilly or flat.


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## swift (Apr 3, 2007)

A Rohloff will likely work on that bike but you'd probably have to use the Speedbone or Monkeybone in place of the torque arm that's supplied.

After you get it built (w/ Rohloff or Alfine or whatever internal hub), come back and let us know how it rides (pedals). I'm in the early stages of building a single-pivot, with similar pivot location, for my IGH and would be interested to hear your take on it's performance characteristics.

Good luck!


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## cooperte (May 2, 2009)

thanks again biketuna!

and thanks swift - i will probably go for the alfine for my first attempt as it's a much cheaper option, looks easier to mount, and is a bit lighter. if i find i love the alfine, but i haven't got enough gear options, i'll probably look at moving it to my downhill bike, and fitting a rohloff to my marin instead.

will let you know how i get on!


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

My wife rode a 2001 Marin Mount Vision that I built up with a Speedhub, no problem. I can't see the pic you posted, but I believe '04 was the year Marin transitioned from the single pivot to the Quad-Link suspension. However, that should have no impact on your ability to 'hub the bike.

In her case, I used Rohloff's Speedbone for anti-torque duties, but like Swift mentioned, a Monkeybone ought to work well, too, with a cleaner look.

Here are a couple of piccies of her build:



















A major benefit of the Speedhub on a single pivot design is the ability to optimize the chainring size to the pivot location, to cancel out any unwanted effects of the chain pulling on the suspension. With the chain aligned with the pivot, it's a fairly neutral pedaler without the need for fancy damping on the shock.

In the case of multi-link setups, the proper gear ratio gets a little more complicated, but you can usually rely on something between 32 and 38T hitting the sweet spot.


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## biketuna (Mar 28, 2008)

speedub.nate
Do you every drop the chain in the front with that setup?


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

biketuna said:


> speedub.nate
> Do you every drop the chain in the front with that setup?


I can't recall if I left the Marin as pictured, or if I ran a Rohloff chain guide.

I can tell you that I attempted no chain guide on a full-suspension Iron Horse Hollowpoint, and was successful for a number of rides but then dropped the chain three times in one ride. Same again on an MkIII, except this time the chain bent my steel chainring AND spider, landing my crank in the recycling bin.

So every full suspension bike I've built with a Speedhub has a chainguide on it.


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## biketuna (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks speedub.nate, I'm going to try a bash guard and a n-gear.


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