# Two Years With the Rohloff



## Ailuropoda (Dec 15, 2010)

I've had my Rohloff for two years. Counting my Tour Divide attempt, training, and other random rides I probably have 5000 miles on it.

There is no question that it is a quality piece of equipment. I have bought a lot of bikes and bike parts over the last ten years but this is the first thing I have bought that improves the more you use it. After two years it runs better and smoother than when I first bought it and, after doing a routine oil change yesterday after swapping it to my gravel bike (see my other thread), I may have to revise some of my earlier criticisms. 

Truly I have reached some point where the thing has seated, broken in, or whatever and it is so smooth now that I hardly know it's there.

And it is absolutely reliable and has required no maintenance of any kind. I probably didn't need to change the oil but I did it to do it. I have no leaks, the old oil looked pretty clean, and I took out about what I put in the last time. 

The shifter cables still work perfectly, as well, although I haven't touched them in two years. 

Since I run an eight-speed chain on a Surly chain ring and Hope bottom bracket the rest of my drivetrain is pretty robust, too.


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## ladljon (Nov 30, 2011)

I have two Rohloffs, one 9yrs old. haven't done anything but change oil and turn cog around to wear teeth the other way, and of course new chains when needed.


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## MrBadger (Apr 4, 2010)

Haha, young pups!! Mine is 19, spews most of it's oil on the bootroom floor every year when I change it and has never missed a beat. The start of some sketchy shifting means it's time for new inner/outer cables every few years. Fantastic bit of kit and worth every penny, lord knows how much it's saved me over the years.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Same here

The first one I got is now 16 years old , shifts better than the 3 others, and it's still going strong !!

I change the oil every year , even if I don't have to , changed chains , cable 1 or 2 times , that's it.
Same here : The amount of money I saved running this over 16 years has probably paid the unit twice. (I paid 900$)


Only love !


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## Ailuropoda (Dec 15, 2010)

The Rohloff is a pretty cool conversation starter. They are not that common and a lot of cyclists are pretty interested in them. 

I've even been accused several times of having a motor. The shifter cables going into the external gearbox apparently look suspiciously like wires.

The knowledgeable questions are almost always about weight and drag. The weight is obvious and people are a little put out when they lift the rear of the bike off of the ground. I don't know what to say about drag. I think I still notice some in the low gears but in the top seven gears (the money gears) I don't notice a thing.


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## christina.last (Sep 19, 2018)

Hi. Thinking about get an the hub for my ebike.

Can anybody comment on the chain tension.

I am also considering the ETR-B tensioner.

Anbody have any experience with a similar setup?


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## Ailuropoda (Dec 15, 2010)

You know, I think my problem with the Rohloff (such as I had) was that I've been running it on a heavily loaded bikepacking rig, in this case my venerable and well-travelled Salsa El Mariachi Ti. My complete loaded weight is around fifty pounds so naturally the bike is going to feel a little sluggish.

As some of you know, I recently did some drivetrain surgery and switched my SRAM XX1 11-speed drivetrain from my Lynskey gravel racer to the El Mariachi and replaced it with the Rohloff.

Although I added a couple of pounds to the Lynskey, it is still just under 26 pounds. I carry a small repair kit (thanks, Tubolito!) but it's pretty light and I'm amazed at how fast I can go now. That thing is a rocket. The terrain is pretty rolling here in Michigan so I generally stay in the top seven gears but I don't notice any drag at all.

Even the lower gears are quieting down now after almost 5000 miles of use.

And I am really enjoying how quiet the hub is. Not to mention that I don't give a crap about mud or rain.

Just a tip with apologies to those more knowledgeable about the Rohloff. It seems to run better with the chain a little on the looser side. I can depress the top run of chain about half an inch or so. One of the idiosyncracies of the hub is that the pedals will turn when freewheeling. If they don't then I think the chain is probably too tight.


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