2010 Cycle Tour Across Canada: rohloff

Showing posts with label rohloff. Show all posts

Thursday, 22 July 2010

Bike Report 1

Bryan (who rode across Canada last year and kindly helped me with some of my planning stuff) has asked about how my bike is doing and commented that I hadn’t said anything about it so far. Well, there’s not much to report, everything’s been fine…I shouldn’t have written that of course…Thanks Bryan for all the mechanicals coming my way over the next few days… :)

For the record:

The tyres are holding up well. I’ve not needed to mend any holes. The rear might even get to 6,400km without a swap around. (I’ve a spare waiting in Montreal). I’m also carrying a spare so can just swap the rear only if the tread goes. I think the front could do the whole trip. I don’t think these tyres would last as long as M+, but they roll a whole lot better!

The Ergon grips are excellent. I’ve no hand issues, despite not using bar ends. I’m in the habit of practicing regular hand (and shoulder and feet) exercises on the bike to avoid problems, though.

The Brooks saddle is good but not perfect. It’s comfortable enough on a daily basis to avoid any “saddle issues” (I’ve no chafing or soreness. My excellent padded Assos shorts and liberal use of “Chamois Creme” also contribute significantly to this), but it’s still “a bit of a trial” sitting in the saddle all day on this bike with it’s more upright position. After about 80km, I need to relieve pressure every couple of km by standing for a minute or so. Hence my comment before about wishing to avoid 140km+ days. My legs and fitness could cope with it pretty easily, but my arse (and willpower and sense of humour) would struggle.

(I might want to do a bit more work on my saddle comfort before another long trip. I’ve got a Selle An-Atomica to try out and maybe the Brooks B17 Narrow might be a better shape for me…).

The transmission is fine, I’ve just moved the eccentric BB once so far to take up chain slack. It’s probably due other tweak soon. I’ve wiped and oiled the chain a grand total of one time, so far! I’m changing the chain (and reversing sprocket and chainring) in Montreal for essentially brand new transmission. I reckon the chain could do the whole trip if needed, though. I could do the Rohloff service anytime from now, but may leave it until Montreal, as well.

I’ve got a very slight amount of bearing play in the right SPD pedal. Should be OK, but monitoring it. Bottom bracket is fine.

I broke my Cateye cycling computer mount on about day 3! (The bike fell and took out the mount on a bench). The computer is still working and has been kept attached to the mount with various elastic band arrangements. My ingenuity knows no bounds! My current “best solution” is a little ponytail fabric elastic band. I’ve found a couple of these on the floor. They work really well!

Wednesday, 26 May 2010

First Rohloff Oil Change

The Rohloff Speedhub on the Raven Nomad requires an oil change every 5,000 km to keep it running smoothly. Conveniently, I've just passed that mark before I go to Canada. So today I did my first Rohloff oil change.

Rohloff Oil Change Kit: Speedhub Oil, Cleaning Oil, Syringe and Drain Plug

It's quite an easy task, but looks a bit strange on the first look as the Rohloff Oil Change Kit contains a great big syringe! Is this bike maintenance or a medical procedure I'm about to perform on the Rohloff?

Ok, so it's a tiny bit late...

The first step is to use the Rohloff Cleaning Oil to help remove the existing oil from the hub. Draw the contents of the blue labelled bottle into the syringe. Then, after removing the small drain plug on the hub, connect the syringe and squirt the contents inside! (Then draw some air back out through the syringe to equalise the pressure).

Drawing the old oil from the hub before adding the clean stuff

Refit the drain plug and turn the cranks for a few minutes in gears 3 and 5. (This engages all the hub's planetary gears and ensures the Rohloff Cleaning Oil gets in all the nooks and crannies). Reconnect the syringe and leave with the syringe at the bottom. After 15 minutes draw the old oil out of the hub. Return the contents to the Cleaning Oil bottle for safe disposal.

Fill the syringe with about 15-20ml of clean Rohloff Speedhub Oil. Add this to the hub (then equalise the pressure again) and fit the new drain plug. Job done.

Continue riding, with a near maintenance free transmission system, for a further 5,000 km...

Monday, 24 May 2010

Two weeks to go and some bicycle maintenance

Well, I've only got two weeks to go before I depart for Canada! Everything has been progressing nicely and I'm just about ready to go! In fact, these next two weeks just waiting around are going to be quite hard. I'm really excited about the trip, but a bit scared as well...

New Components for the Nomad...

One of my final tasks is to get the bike ready for 9,000 km of riding over the next three months. As a precaution, most of the components that will wear out or eventually break are being replaced for new ones. I've done just over 5,000 km on the Nomad since new and all the current components still have plenty of life left in them, so they will be reused at a later date.

Nomad undergoing a transmission rebuild

I decided to replace the following:

Bottom Bracket
Chainring
Sprocket (swapped for a 17T sprocket for slightly lower gearing)
Chain
Brake Pads
Brake Cables
Rohloff gear cables
Tyres
Pedals (precautionary, one side on my right SPD has a click)

Shiny new transmission. Nice!

A short test ride later and everything's sweet! Just an oil change to perform on the Rohloff Hub and that's about it.

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Easy Rohloff Sprocket Removal

I was reminded by Vik's post, referencing this forum post, that it was time to check I could still remove my Rohloff Speedhub Sprocket. I had planned to release the sprocket every 2500 km to avoid any future trouble. I'm at 2700 km now and 4 winter months riding done, so I'm about on schedule!

The Rohloff Speedhub Sprocket can be difficult to remove
(if you leave it on too long)

Rohloff sprockets have some notoriety for becoming struck on tight, partly because Rohloff have specified a threaded sprocket in preference to a splined sprocket and lock-ring arrangement, but mostly because people leave the sprocket on far too long before trying to remove it. I wasn't expecting any problem removing my sprocket at this stage and that's how it turned out. It unscrewed easily.

Removing the sprocket: Fix the sprocket removal tool with the quick release nut,
arrange the spanner and chainwhip
and push down on the chainwhip (NOT the spanner)

When I received my Nomad, I took most of it apart to be satisfied that everything had been prepared properly. (I'm not a very trusting person). To Thorn's credit, everything was fine. When I reassembled the bike I used my preferred copper based anti-seize preparation on most of the threaded components. Of course, I removed and refitted the Rohloff sprocket during this process as well.

Use an anti-seize preparation when refitting

Therefore, for today's quick operation, I had a Rohloff sprocket that was fitted using an anti-seize preparation and it had only been on the hub for 4 months and 2700 km. That's why it could be removed so easily.

I do quite a lot of bike maintenance and I think most tasks are pretty easy with the right tools and preparation. Maintenance only becomes difficult when you leave it too long. Then you have to resort to long levers, hammers and grunting a lot. By regularly removing and refitting torqued threaded components, you can save yourself a lot of headaches.

I've a comment regarding the positioning of the chainwhip in the forum post referred to at the top. (I also use a Park Tool SR-2). It has the chainwhip in the 10 position and the chain wrapped around the sprocket with a tie-wrap for extra security. I prefer the SR-2 chainwhip in the 8 or 9 position because more chain links are naturally engaged and then the tie-wrap isn't necessarily needed. There is still enough leverage in this position.

More links engaged in the 8 position for about the same leverage

Incidently, in the Rohloff video on sprocket removal, the chainwhip is attached 'upside down'. I tried this with the SR-2, but it won't grip that way at all. This suggests the best positioning may well depend on the chainwhip make and it's characteristics.

The moral of the story here? Regularly remove your Rohloff Speedhub Sprocket and reassemble with an anti-seize preparation and you won't have any trouble. It should only take 10 mins and will ensure the sprocket always unscrews easily. While you're at it, how about extending this regime to include the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket and EBB as well...

Friday, 19 February 2010

Getting used to the Rohloff Speedhub

I'm getting used to the Rohloff Speedhub and I'm enjoying my first experience with hub gears!

Rohloff Speedhub - now used

Rohloff gear changing is usually easy and effortless. There's a delicate "click" from the hub gear box, transmitted through the cables to the shifter, on every shift action. You do need, though, a light touch with the shifter and a small synchronised lift of pedal pressure to operate the system effectively and this took me a bit of time to master. At first, I was too heavy-handed and kept shifting 2 gears at a time or 'blocking' gear changes by not lifting pedal pressure enough!

I still occasionally fluff the 'difficult' shift from 8th to 7th, by forgetting to back off. This triggers the hub's protection mechanism and puts it temporarily into the top gear (14th). Of course this usually happens on a hill and can lead to a moment of panic as you're simultaneously trying to lift the pedal pressure to change down and maintain forward momentum! A couple of other gear changes seem to get 'blocked' more than others (9th to 8th especially), if there is any amount of torque on the cranks when you twist the shifter.

I've picked up a couple of Rohloff gear changing techniques! If you change gear when the cranks are approaching vertical you hardly need to lift off pedal pressure because in that position there's very little torque going through the cranks. I've also noticed it's actually easier to change down from 8th directly into 6th! (I don't know if this is recommended though)? A friend of mine, also with a Rohloff geared bike, commented he often does this as well!

Unscrew the EX box (below the dropout) and the wheel is easily removed
You can also see the small torque plate that needs slotting in the dropout (below the QR lever)

Sometimes with hub gears, back wheel removal can be tricky. On the Nomad, the use of the Rohloff EX Box has made rear wheel removal no more difficult than my derailleur geared bikes. Put the Rohloff into 14th gear, release the V-Brake noodle, release the EX Box by undoing the knurled thumb screw and drop the wheel out. Easy. (This is also somewhat easier than Rohloff's alternative gear change mechanism the Internal Gear Mech. Here, two concertinaed gear cables have to be released using the special cable joiners. Some people have reported these are difficult to operate with cold and/or wet hands).

Although it's widely stated you can change gears with the Rohloff hub while stationary, you can only do so if there's no torque on the cranks! Once, I was slowly avoiding an obstacle on a trail and I was in a relatively high gear and also on a slight incline. As I navigated around the obstacle, I tried to select a lower gear but the shifter wouldn't rotate because I was having to press on the pedals to counteract the slope. I ground to a halt, desperately trying to change gear, but couldn't and just managed to release a foot from the pedal to avoid a prat-fall!

One slight bug-bear I have with the Rohloff hub is losing momentum both at the start of inclines and riding into headwind. The gaps between gears 9, 10, 11, 12 (my normal riding ratios on 40x16) are bigger than I'd like. I sometimes feel I'm grinding along in 11th, but after changing down, I'm spinning more than I want to in 10th and vice versa. The Rohloff gear ratios are all evenly spaced (13.6% difference) and although the spacing of the 1-7 climbing ratios feels OK, I'd prefer the spacing of the 8-14 ratios to be closer together. I often feel I'd like a gear 9½ or 10½. I'd consider sacrificing some of the 526% gear range for slightly closer normal riding ratios. It's a shame that aspect of the Rohloff isn't configurable...

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
40x16: 13.6% diff: 526% range	18	21	23	27	30	34	39	44	50	57	65	73	84	95
38x16: 11.6% diff: 410% range	21	23	26	29	32	36	40	44	50	55	62	69	77	86

Closer normal riding ratios, if the gear difference was reduced

I also find it mildly irritating having to move my hand from the handlebar grip (and shift my balance slightly) to operate the Rohloff shifter. It's only a few centimetres of movement, but I feel it spoils 'the flow' a little. (I've used Campag Ergo levers exclusively for many years and appreciate greatly this superb way of changing gears).

Not very far from grip to shifter, but too far not to have to shift your balance to operate

On the subject of noise, there is no real problem to report! Actually, 8-14 on my Rohloff bike is quieter than my (well maintained) Campagnolo geared road bikes! I only hear the tyres when rolling along in these gears. The freewheeling noise is also less, although Campag freewheels aren't that quiet. Of course, I wish the noise and whirring of the Rohloff reduction gears (1-7) wasn't present, but it's not really that intrusive. I do sometimes find myself holding onto 8th gear, when I should be in 7th, so the noise and whirring obviously has some impact on my psyche. It is only really 7th, though, that's any 'problem' and only for the first few seconds. After that I settle in and get on with the job of climbing the hill...

Overall, I'm very happy with my Rohloff setup. With it's idiosyncrasies duly noted, it is working perfectly and has been great for winter weather riding! The joy of using one on wet and muddy rides (that would be all of them so far then Shaun) and the subsequent easy chain cleaning and zero maintenance regime is a revelation! As long as I don't have any serious trouble with the hub, I will feel that I've made the right choice for my expedition touring bike's transmission.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Rohloff Speedhub 500/14

My Raven Nomad doesn't have 'normal' derailleur gears, it has an internal hub gear system called a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14, designed and manufactured by a German company Rohloff AG.

For the technically minded, the Rohloff Speedhub is a bicycle hub containing an epicyclic gearing (or planetary gearing) system. It has three planetary gear assemblies. The first two assemblies provide 7 gears between them and a third assembly, serving as a reduction gear, doubles this. Hence, the Rohloff Speedhub has 14 gears. All the gears are evenly spaced with a 13.6% increase between sequential gear ratios. There's some fascinating technical documentation contained within Rohloff's online presentation.

For the un-technically minded, the Rohloff Speedhub is a bicycle hub containing lots and lots of cogs that mesh and whir in perfect harmony performing 'magic'. You too can click on the link above, but you won't understand any of it. (But you can look at the pretty pictures).

Cutaway of Rohloff Speedhub - Picture Rohloff AG

The Rohloff hub has been around since 1996 and the same basic design (give or take a few tweaks) has been in production ever since. I believe that hub units have been given sequential serial numbers and my hub is no. 98806, so maybe close to 100,000 units have been produced so far.

The advantages and disadvantages of a Rohloff Hub v. Derailleur gears has been debated thoroughly over the years and this is definitely a product that polarizes the cycling community. For a cross-section of written views, from nay-sayers and yea-sayers, try the following links: 1 2 3 4 5.

Cutaway of Rohloff Speedhub - Picture Rohloff AG

Here's my distilled take on it, with respect to long-distance adventure touring. (I suppose I must side with the yea-sayers seeing as I bought a Rohloff equipped bike...).

Advantages (all minor points it has to be said):

Ability to change gears while stationary - This is the useful convenience. A loaded touring bike is very heavy. If you stop, or are forced to stop, in a high gear on a derailleur geared bike, to continue you can either slowly crunch and slip your way through the gears to something more manageable or lift the back wheel up and simultaneously turn the crank (and flick the gear changer somehow). Either way is not pretty and will result in some groaning.
Less drive chain maintenance - Derailleur gears work very well when they are clean and well lubricated, but over time they clog up with a mixture of dust, mud and oil, become less efficient and eventually need maintenance. This process is greatly accelerated in wet weather and on wet, muddy roads, even more so. Restoring efficiency requires cleaning the chain, the cassette (and the gaps inbetween), the chainrings, the rear derailleur and jockey wheels and the front derailleur followed by a lubrication step. A Rohloff equipped bike only has a chain wrapped around a single sprocket and single chainring. Everything else is sealed from the elements This simpler system is less susceptible to clogging up, so maintenance intervals are increased and when maintenance is required, it is quicker and easier to perform. Less oil on your hands during a tour must be a good thing!
Less wear - Chains, sprockets and chainrings wear down on both systems. The chain, sprockets and chainrings of a derailleur geared bike will wear more quickly though, for a number of reasons. When you change gear the chain jumps (derails) over the sprockets causing additional wear to both items. For most gear ratios, the chain is not perfectly in line between the sprocket and chainring. This will result in additional sideways stress on the chain and increased wear. The derailleur system has a greater surface area to collect contaminants and this will also contribute in the wearing of the system. The non-derailling, straight chain-lined, inherently cleaner Rohloff drive system also has a further trick up it's sleeve. It's sprocket and chainring can be reversed and reused when worn down on one side. Only a new chain is required to return the drive chain to an 'as new' condition.
Less to damage - I wouldn't call a derailleur system fragile, especially when protected somewhat by a rack and panniers, but there is clearly more 'sticking out' to knock and damage. The rear derailleur and gear hanger is open and vulnerable to damage from impact while riding especially on poor road surfaces (stones, rocks, sticks, crashes) and during transportation (baggage handlers). (The Rohloff EX box is also vulnerable to impact damage, but less so I feel).
Easier spoke replacement - When a wheel is fit for purpose and built properly, it shouldn't break any spokes, but inevitablly it will at some inconvenient point. The majority of spoke breakages on a derailleur equipped bike will occur on the cassette side of the rear wheel. This is due to cassette side spokes being tensioned higher than all the other spokes (wheel dishing). The cassette will need to be removed to replace one of these spokes and that will require tools (normally a cassette lock ring tool, a large spanner and a chain-whip). All spokes on a Rohloff hub wheel can be replaced without the need to remove the sprocket and hence no additional tools are needed beyond a spoke key. (OK, this one's only a minor advantage as you could carry a FiberFix spoke for a temporary repair and/or a hypercracker tool, but still...). Also, the rear wheel of a derailleur equipped bike has spokes of two different lengths, whereas those on a Rohloff equipped wheel are all the same length.

Disadvantages:

I'm buggered if the Rohloff hub fails - AFAIK nobody has ever reported a complete Rohloff hub failure, but there have been several documented cases of the hub's flanges cracking or failing (1 2 3 4 5) and needing replacement. I've also read of the occasional hub developing partial problems (bearing play, certain gears slipping or unusable) and having to be returned to Rohloff for servicing. So, Rohloff hubs are not bullet-proof. This is the coup de grace as far as the nay-sayers are concerned. They argue that if the Rohloff hub fails in the back of beyond, it will be almost impossible to repair and nobody will have spares locally. This is irrefutable. They continue that local spares for their derailleur system will be easier to obtain. This is also true but ignores the larger picture. The hub gear (or derailleur system for that matter) is not the only or the most likely point of failure. It could be argued that the wheel rims, the handlebars, the forks and even yourself are more susceptible to catastrophic failure (what we're taking about here) and all cyclists are equally susceptible to these failure modes. You may be a considerable distance from any bike shop assistance and in that case again, it doesn't matter what's failed, you are stuck and will be walking (unless you've broken your leg). Overall, there is the very insignificant risk of failure of the hub drive system, but if it does happen, virtually any urban centre is reachable by UPS in a few days, so spares can be shipped out. A Rohloff hub failure it isn't worth fretting about.
Requires a very short spoke length - Actually, this one hasn't been mentioned much in discussions about the Rohloff hub, but has caught my attention. The Rohloff hub is big and consequently the hub flanges are very high compared to normal hubs. This means that when building the hub into a wheel, unusually small spoke lengths are required. (Mine are just 238mm long). This would imply that obtaining the correct spokes locally could be an issue. I would always carry a few spares with me for replacing the odd breakage, but if I needed to do a complete rebuild onto a new rim while away on tour, although I could probably reuse most of the existing spokes, I might feel inclined to carry a few more spares to cover this operation. Whilst we're talking about wheel rebuilding, my rear Andra 30 rim has spoke holes that are 'Rohloff drilled'. That is, the spoke holes are drilled at a slight angle to reduce mis-alignment between the nipple and spoke caused by the large hub flanges, even when lacing 2x cross. This mis-alignment has been reported as the cause of some Rohloff hub related spoke breakages. Obviously, a locally sourced rim won't have this attribute and then I may be exposed to a slight increase of future spoke breakage. (It may be possible to 'cold set' the spoke holes of the new rim a little to help with alignment, though).

There are a few other 'disadvantages' that are commonly cited that I feel are in fact non-issues, being either easy adjustments, a minor inconvenience, irrelevant or insignificant. These are:

More expensive - Intially yes, but because of reduced drive chain wear when compared to a derailleur system, the cost difference diminishes over time. I think you need to consider the 'whole of life' aspect of this product when thinking about cost, not just the 'headline' purchase figure. Also, the additional cost (if any) is probably insignificant when compared against the total cost of a number of long distance 'adventure tours'.
Heavier - It's perhaps an additional 400 grams in 40kg. That's 1%...
Hub requires an oil change every 5,000 km - True and this requires the carrying of (or rendezvous with) an 'oil change kit' on 5k+ tours. I feel this is adequately offset by the general reduction in drive chain maintenance highlighted earlier.
Whirring / noise especially in gears 1 thru 7 - There is additional noise from the hub in these low gears, but the noise is not a disadvantage and actually, I quite like the noise! It also reduces as the hub runs in, apparently.
Increased friction especially in gears 1 thru 7 - Slight, a percentage point again, nothing to worry about. I don't feel any more emasculated climbing hills with a Rohloff v. derailleurs.
Changing from the 7th to the 8th gear or vice-versa is problematic - Not really, you'll get used to it. You do need to back off the pressure on the pedals during this gear change (or you'll end up in 14th gear until you do back off), but this is easily learned and becomes second nature. There's probably more chance of fluffing a simultaneous front and rear derailleur shifting manoeuvre to select the next gear ratio. (I do concede there is a slight issue with reading the Rohloff shifter, especially in reduced light, because of it's black-on-black numbering system. This can make it difficult judging when you're in 8th gear and needing to back off for the next downshift. The same applies, obviously, when riding at night).

One further point worth noting is that not all Rohloff equipped bikes are created equal. Some require a chain-tensioner, if they don't have a eccentric bottom bracket or some adjustment available in the rear dropouts to maintain the chain tension. Some use an internal gear change mechanism (as opposed to the simpler and neater external 'EX' box). Some require a long torque arm, if the bike hasn't got Rohloff OEM dropouts. All of these things add complexity and compromise into the Rohloff design and negate some of the advantages of the simplicity of the optimised system. Something to bear in mind.

As a final statement, I would say that either a Rohloff geared bike or a derailleur geared bike would work well on a long tour with very few, if any major problems. So, the decision of using one system over the other is, I suppose, an entirely moot point!