# Six-bolt Rohloff disc



## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

I've purchased a wheel that has a six-bolt Rohloff disc, instead of the standard four-bolt. 

Yes, it's a six-bolt.

Spoke with Neil at Cycle Monkey and he told me that he knew they were produced early on, 1999 or so, but was unsure if any actually made it to market. 

This one ended up in North Dakota. It has a very early serial number.

A swap to a four-bolt cap would make the screaming deal I got on the hub not so much. 

Anyone know of anything compatible short of drilling a new disc? 

The disc appears to be in nice shape and the hub was ridden little, I was told by the former owner _ and I believe it.

I'm building _ as in brazing _ a frame specifically for the wheel, and will post when completed. My shop in unheated so it will be a while.

Thanks.


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## gatouille (Aug 17, 2009)

Hi,
I know a lot of thing about this hub but I have never seen one with 6 bolt for disc.
I'm curious. You have a photo (only the hub) ?
Thanks.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

If the disk is OK , why the need ?
Different size ?


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

"why the need ?" Seems obvious: I expect the Rohloff to outlive many discs. 

And sorry, no immediate photo. Just picture the same end cap with a six-bolt configuration. Chainring bolts secure the disc like the four-bolt.


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## ratherbeintobago (Aug 20, 2010)

I suspect if all else fails Hope would be able to make you a disc, but what this would cost, especially if you're a _long_ way from East Lancashire...


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

Yes, thanks. I thought about that. Would be spendy for sure. emailed Rohloff but no reply yet. 

I may post on some German/Euro sites. Somebody somewhere has to have one.


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## WarthogARJ (Dec 15, 2012)

What dimension is your 6 bolt rotor?
The Rohloff 4-bolt one has a PCD of 65mm.
The international standard ISO 6-bolt rotor has a PCD of 44mm.

Are you sure it won't just take a standard 6-bolt disk rotor?

I'm sure you can measure that: for sure if you are building your own frame you can measure the PCD of the rotor bolts?


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

An ISO standard six-bolt won't fit. 

As mentioned earlier, the now apparent proprietary Rohloff disc is secured by chainring bolts thus larger diameter than a standard six-bolt ISO. 

Not enough material on standard disc to drill out and modify to fit. Unsure if another hub maker ever used chainring bolts for fastening ala Rohloff?

Also still awaiting a response from Rohloff.


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

jamescyco said:


> "why the need ?" Seems obvious: I expect the Rohloff to outlive many discs.


Yep !
I'm on 2nd disk on my 10 year old hub.

Have you checked with Cyclemonkey ?
(north-American distributor)


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## WarthogARJ (Dec 15, 2012)

Well, I still think you should post a photo, as well as actual measurements: you've had a few people make an effort at trying to help you. If you make more of an effort to provide more details you might find someone provides a good solution.

I think you have the following options:

Rohloff: don't rely on email, call them up on Skype. I've never had much luck in emailing companies in Germany unless I know the person's direct email: or else they are truly international (Touratech etc). Lots of Germans are not that comfortable in English, at least those who read the emails off the site. If you call you will find someone who's happy to talk in English. Get their email then go from there. And I HAVE tried emailing Rohloff: never got a reply. 

Adaptor: you might be able to make an adaptor. Will need to be clever about the spacings, might have to put shims/spacer on your disc brake to make it fit

Modify: contact someone like Hope or EBC who make MTB (plus other) rotors. By phone/Skype not email. And ask if you can buy a few blanks that have not been completely laser cut to size. I bet they cut the OD first from sheets before the interior details. You then send them to a smaller place to laser/water-jet cut the interior parts.

Custom Rotor: get someone to cut a few rotors using your existing dimensions. The steel is no big deal: is just stainless steel, probably 400 series grade. Your only problem will be in getting a small quantity. You will be able to find a local company that will water jet or laser cut it for you: either will work. Maybe get them to give a quote for 4 or 5 discs: 2 or 3 for you and the rest to sell on eBay. You might find others with same problem. The costs are usually a setup charge and then by machine time.

Rohloff will swap your housing, but it will cost you, as you've said.


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

I got it covered now. A riding buddy/engineer will make a CAD file of the disc that I can send off locally or really anywhere to have duplicated. I'm in no hurry.


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## WarthogARJ (Dec 15, 2012)

Excellent.

Well I've been busy working on my "new" Rohloff bike (from eBay), so I saw your post and it took my curiosity. On the surface it seems like no problem, but actually it IS an issue. It will put your bike on the sidelines if it gets bent, and I suspect you won't be able to buy a rotor directly.

Incidentally, how will you address the chain length in your new bike? I have a titanium Van Nicholas frame with Rohloff I bought 2nd hand, and it has a really good Bushnell eccentric bottom bracket. I think that's the way to go: very nice piece of kit.

You COULD do it with horizontal dropouts with a Surly tug not or something, but the Bushnell is just so much more elegant: matches the Rohloff.

In addition, I'd look at how you add on racks and mudguards, assuming you want them. For the braze-ons. It's not so easy to make sure they all fit well.

I've just installed Tubus front and rear racks, and SKS mudguards and everything fits pretty well on my Van Nicholas with their braze-ons. Except for a missing braze-on on the fork, where I had to make a bracket.


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

Paragon sliders. No rack or fender braze-ons. Not envisioned as a touring or commuter bike.

I wouldn't call an EBB "elegant," with a fist-size bottom bracket shell. I've had experience with eccentrics _ human types too _ and they're fine for the most part. But I do prefer sliders at present on a bike.

The most obvious thing often overlooked in my view is clean cable routing on a Rohloff bike. No offense, but I've only seen a few that don't make the hub _ or the frame as the case may be _ look like an afterthought with zip-ties and/or clamp-on stops to corral the haywire of cables. 

I understand though that's the easy and effective alternative on non-Rohloff _ and even some _ Rohloff-specific frames.

Stinner, Coconino and a smattering of others have frames with tunnel guides that are examples of tidy-as-can-be external Rohloff cable routing, using full housing as recommended.


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## WarthogARJ (Dec 15, 2012)

Well maybe we should start another topic, but I was lucky: my 2nd hand eBay bike is a titanium Van Nicholas: the cable routing is pretty good. Nice frame in fact: even nicer price.

I think the Bushnell complements the Rohloff pretty well: you can get a featherweight version at 140 grams too. And sure the EBB is a bit bigger OD than a standard one, but for a guy with a REALLY fat rear hub Rohloff, I think being touchy about that is a bit out of character...:-} Like calling the kettle black.

But sure, I raced track for years, and ride single speed, so for a simple chain length fix a horizontal drop-out is OK. It does add som weight of its own though: heavier dropout, solid axle and a lockout (Surly tuggnot etc). Assuming you don't want it to slip when you jump on it hard!

Anyways, if you have a Rohloff you are not really a light-weight guy. And I don't see as many advantages for a Rohloff for a non-touring or commuter bike. Like MTB shocks evolve quite quickly, so I wouldn't want to get locked into a long lived bike/frame. Rather get a cheaper drive train and replace it for the newest development more often.

But back on topic, I was originally thinking to buy a disk-Rohloff, but the 2nd hand one I got a deal on was rim brake. Which has worked out fine. I WILL need to rebuild rear-wheel as the rim wears obviously, but there are some advantages to a good rim brake.


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## Stray Mutt (Dec 3, 2011)

In regards to the cable routing for the rohloff. I've had them on two bikes and the long bends of the cable coming from the shifter and shifter mech always bugged me aesthetically and if they were bent too tightly shifting suffered. And with MTB use, I liked to have to mech behind the axle where it was a little bit protected by the QR.
My solution was to use V-Brake cable noodles at both ends, I used heat shrink tubing to seal the noodle to the cable and make it all black as well. It makes for a very clean look and the shifting feel in my opinion was better than the original.
It works well and is easy to set up. You might want to consider that approach when planning your cable routing and mounting since you are starting from scratch. Just my $.02.


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks, Stray Mutt. Much appreciated advice. I had considered the noodles on the shifter but will aim to do them on both now, as per your experience. The external mech behind the axle also makes sense, since that high-dollar piece would seem less vulnerable there. I'm still in the head-scratching phase so this is very helpful.


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## jamescyco (Jan 20, 2009)

"But sure, I raced track for years, and ride single speed, so for a simple chain length fix a horizontal drop-out is OK. It does add som weight of its own though: heavier dropout, solid axle and a lockout (Surly tuggnot etc). Assuming you don't want it to slip when you jump on it hard!"

Paragon sliders are NOT track ends. They are adjustable dropouts. I will be using a standard skewer. These work well, with no slippage. Got them on several bikes.


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