actual experience Rohloff/full sus?

[Dennis]

Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who responded to my queries concerning planned upgrades for my Oz (blue crush). Som e of them were very funny (which is great), esp. all of the ones which volunteered testing services. but, NO CHANCE that will happen!!!

secondly, and just as importantly, I would like to hear (only) from anyone who has had actual experience with using a Rohloff hub on a full suspension bike. I would like to find out exactly how the bit of extra weight affected suspension performance. It must be minimal as these hubs have been used on DH bikes for years.

also, there is no mention of suspension performance being affected by the extra weight in any of the postings about the Rohloff on mtbr.com. Most of the reviews are about dual susp. bikes like Blurs and VP frees, DH frames, and the like.

thanks in advance for all the great info that I just know will come flooding in.


ps. my Giant HT is finally built, and I did it all myself (during a Park Tool School - take one at the LBS in your area if you get a chance). I will post pics as soon as I get a chance. no K2 parts on it, alas.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[kiwi]

dennis the pic that OP posted is from a guy who used to live up the road from me and who used to poston one of our forums....I will se if I have his details still.Extra unsprung weight iwill affect the suspension performance in some way

[Sprucey]

OK, I was negative about the idea.

I havn't ridden but have "hefted one" at a suppliers show. They are "HEAVY" compared to a normal XC MTB hub - even compared to a 150mm rear Bulb DH hub I a building into a wheel for  a santa Cruz VPP.

Also some (not sure why) need a rear chain tensioner which negates the advantage of a no rear mech!

I am hoping to buikld one into a hardtail this year - to learn about them so I can retail them properly.

I think the idea is great - thes era just views -

Sprucey

[Dennis]

Sprucey,

yes, they do need a chain tensioner, unless the frame has horizontal dropouts. since there is only one chainring and one cog, chain tensioning is similar to a single speed.

I am still not sure if I am going to do this, just an idea I am kicking around at the moment. they are pretty expensive, just trying to get as much info as possible to help make my decision.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Dennis]

dennis the pic that OP posted is from a guy who used to live up the road from me and who used to poston one of our forums....I will se if I have his details still.Extra unsprung weight iwill affect the suspension performance in some way

kiwi, any info that you can give would help me to decide whether to do this or not.

thanks for the help, I would really appreciate it.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[kiwi]

his details are on our old computer,i will have to beg borrow or steal a monitor of someone.

[will]

Heya Dennis,



I really spent a lot of time working on this Rohloff idea. I was more focussed on trying to integrate the hub into a bottom bracket where the axle would work as the crank spindle.

(The theory being to eliminate unsprung weight and combine two very heavy parts of the overall machine, the BB and the "gearbox.")



While corresponding with a Rohloff engineer, I learned a few things.

1. This was not the first time someone had thought of this.

2. No one has ever done this (exactly) without a jackshaft. Well... maybe someone has, but it's not well known or discoverable through the US Patent Office.

3. The orbital gearbox in the Rohloff - or the Nexus - hub needs substantial reduction of primary torque or the gears will fail.

4. The Rohloff guys didn't seem to understand how cool it would be to combine the BB & gearbox. Too bad, they're the folks who could gitterdun.



When visiting a high end LBS in Phoenix I met an "expert" on building up MTB's with Rohloff hubs. They had several very nice hardtails on the floor complete with disk brakes. These were beautiful machines, but the best they could do was a one pound weight adder for the hub. Darn! [smiley=worry.gif]



Looking into the Rohloff web site you'll see they sell replacement drop outs you can have welded into your frame. These can greatly simplify the conversion.



If you bought Yahoo! at $3/share, this should be no sweat. Otherwise it's gonna take some serious jack.



Best of luck!

Will

[Dennis]

Will,

thanks for the great info. I knew I would get info like that from somebody on this forum.

Will, is there some way you can give me a URL or email address for the shop in Arizona so that I can contact them directly for info? I'd really appreciate it.

I think I will stay with my precious PB derailleurs for now. The Rohloff conversion will take alot more thought. Suspension upgrades are the next move.

Thanks for everyone's input on this. Of course, I am open to anything else anyone can come up with.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Sprucey]

Dennis,

hold the faith!

"4. The Rohloff guys didn't seem to understand how cool it would be to combine the BB & gearbox. Too bad, they're the folks who could gitterdun. "

From a bike shop owner, this is the way to go!

(I justthink that right now it would be detrimental to the OZ - as a rear hub)

I am the most boring guy for original ideas around. But IMO Doing the internal hub around the B is the only way to go long term!

Sprucey

[will]

Okay... here's what I pieced together from a rubble-filled memory, the WWW, and a quick phone call...

The place I was talking about is Adventure Bicycle Co. in Mesa, AZ. I spoke with Josh on the phone today and he has some hands-on Rohloff experience. Their website is: http://www.adventurebicycle.com/#Gallery

They have a used 14 speed Rohloff in stock that's built into a Mavic wheel. It's a v-brake set-up, but they only want $500 for the whole deal. It can be converted to disk if you want to ship it Germany, but who knows how much that would hurt? ($$$)

Go man go.

[shovelon]

Dennis,

Will found you a great deal. If you want go for it I will help in any way I can.

Terry