2500kms on my Rohloff-Specialized Turbo Levo

[paulmoir]

9 months on and 2500kms on my Specialized Turbo Levo, fitted with a Rohloff Speedhub drivetrain (14-speed geared hub). No issues... still with the original chain, original rear sprocket, original front chainring and nothing needs replacing - just keep on enjoying the ride. Really happy with the bike and the Rohloff performance on an eMTB. Watch it in HD

https://youtu.be/Zuhcd2-a7z8

 

[ImSundee]

Always loved Rohloffs, always been so disappointed they havn't moved away from gripshift (that I can see), this on its own makes me not want one - to many mis-shift issues in the past.

 

[paulmoir]

Always loved Rohloffs, always been so disappointed they havn't moved away from gripshift (that I can see), this on its own makes me not want one - to many mis-shift issues in the past.

There are options for trigger shifters, but all are third party. Rohloff only make the twist shifter which many riders love, although others do not or have trouble with as you mention.

 

[wepn]

9 months on and 2500kms on my Specialized Turbo Levo, fitted with a Rohloff Speedhub drivetrain (14-speed geared hub). No issues... still with the original chain, original rear sprocket, original front chainring and nothing needs replacing - just keep on enjoying the ride. Really happy with the bike and the Rohloff performance on an eMTB. Watch it in HD

What an excellent video Paul. I highly recommend everyone on the forum have a gander at it. Only an engineer can ride technical & talk technical at the same time - and you make it look & sound as easy as it actually is - unlike a lot of engineers.

I’ve done a lot of miles on Speedhubs and the opposite of traditional gearsets - they get better with 1,000 km or more distance covered. The shift stiffness eases off but maybe just as much, efficient gear selection & maybe even more so, precision gear preselection becomes more instinctive & automatic.

If you know the approaching section, you become much more efficient by knowing the right gear to go to every time.

14 gears is a lot to select from though depending on terrain & type of riding, you tend to hover around a group of sequential gear numbers.

Just so more people will notice this, here it is again!

 

[Joeyrotundo]

Thanks for the update Paul,
I am in the slow process of accommodating the initial cost but your update makes me feel more secure in switching over in the next little while here.
Putting on 600-800k a month it should
Pay back fairly quickly.
I have been eating rings,chains and cassettes fairly steadily. Not having
to worry about my drivetrain as much will be very welcome!

Ride
Smile
Recharge
Repeat

Joey

 

[Hasse Birkmose]

How is the shifting going uphill. I have Trouble getting my head around this.
If the rohloff cant shift under load and the motor has overrund when you ease of to shift. Do you have to wait half a second every time you want to shift?

 

[wepn]

How is the shifting going uphill. I have Trouble getting my head around this.
If the rohloff cant shift under load and the motor has overrund when you ease of to shift. Do you have to wait half a second every time you want to shift?

Not every gear is difficult under load and I'd say less than half a second with experience. Also you can shift 2 or however many at a time which of course greatly reduces the number of shifts required on a technical climb and can work well in many situations.

 

[atcspaul]

have you measured the chain yet? if so how much stretch

 

[paulmoir]

How is the shifting going uphill. I have Trouble getting my head around this.
If the rohloff cant shift under load and the motor has overrund when you ease of to shift. Do you have to wait half a second every time you want to shift?

The simple answer Hasse is that it is not a problem shifting up hill. I would say 1 in 30 or more uphill shifts I may experience a little motor overrun and you just wait another half a second. But the big plus over an eMtb derailleur is that you can then change 2 or 5 or 14 gear in one twist if you want to (changing with motor overrun with a derailleur can cause drivetrain damage - with a Rohloff it doesn't allow you to change). Even with a derailleur you should back of the pedalling pressure whilst changing gears to best treat/protect your drivetrain from damage - so it is not that different. The best explanation I can give is watch myself pedalling in the 'Gear Changing' section of the video as most of that part of the video is up hill - you wont see any problem. The best proof is in my racing and Strava KOM results... it does not slow me down, in fact I believe it is an advantage with the eMtb as when you are flying down a hill in say 12th or 13th gear and then you hit a sharp corner with a steep uphill... you simply downshift as many gears as is appropriate for that corner/steep pinch and you just keep on riding in the right gear. On a derailleur system on an eMtb, you are restricted to one gear shift for each trigger shift (even with a normal derailleur, you cannot change as quick as you can with a Rohloff). I often change down 4-5 gears approaching an upcoming hill or tight corner in readiness... all whist I am cruising downhill without pedalling.

 

[paulmoir]

have you measured the chain yet? if so how much stretch

Yes, I have measured the chain. Chain wear as I mention in the video (7:50) and show the measurement tool on the chain (8:05), is about half-worn, half-stretched for a chain with steel sprockets... that is, less than 0.1mm per link (mine chain is currently around 0.05-0.06, as it is nearly touching on the Aluminium sprocket wear side which is max 0.075mm per link). Photo attached.

 

[TorAtle]

The only thing I don't like about this is the 2 cables to the gripshift. I currently have zero (Sram AXS). Is the electronic switching version of the Rohloff now for sale?

 

[wepn]

The simple answer Hasse is that it is not a problem shifting up hill. I would say 1 in 30 or more uphill shifts I may experience a little motor overrun and you just wait another half a second. But the big plus over an eMtb derailleur is that you can then change 2 or 5 or 14 gear in one twist if you want to (changing with motor overrun with a derailleur can cause drivetrain damage - with a Rohloff it doesn't allow you to change). Even with a derailleur you should back of the pedalling pressure whilst changing gears to best treat/protect your drivetrain from damage - so it is not that different. The best explanation I can give is watch myself pedalling in the 'Gear Changing' section of the video as most of that part of the video is up hill - you wont see any problem. The best proof is in my racing and Strava KOM results... it does not slow me down, in fact I believe it is an advantage with the eMtb as when you are flying down a hill in say 12th or 13th gear and then you hit a sharp corner with a steep uphill... you simply downshift as many gears as is appropriate for that corner/steep pinch and you just keep on riding in the right gear. On a derailleur system on an eMtb, you are restricted to one gear shift for each trigger shift (even with a normal derailleur, you cannot change as quick as you can with a Rohloff). I often change down 4-5 gears approaching an upcoming hill or tight corner in readiness... all whist I am cruising downhill without pedalling.

That describes it exactly. I'd say part of it is also indescribable, maybe it's the solid and precise transmission that gives the bike a whole different feel of ruggedness or possibly the quiet growling resonance of the mechanicals only really noticeable in gears 5,6 & 7.

Ok maybe I kind of described it. Rugged & precise.

Also shifts are much easier & quicker when the cranks are vertical. I can't recall seeing much mention of that apart from one sentence in the manual.

 

[paulmoir]

The only thing I don't like about this is the 2 cables to the gripshift. I currently have zero (Sram AXS). Is the electronic switching version of the Rohloff now for sale?

Rohloff's E14 electronic shifting is available only for the Bosch motors at this time. Hopefully they will bring out a retrofit very soon or develop the E14 software/CAN-bus interface other motors. It works, it is great - but only Bosch for now.

 

[CjP]

Rohloff if your watching this thread, please make this happen immediately. I want electric shifting!!

 

[Sparkie78]

Can anyone tell me what shifter this is?

 

[R120]

Can anyone tell me what shifter this is?

View attachment 31302

I believe its a modified version of the Rohlof shifters made made by a company called Cinq

 

[R120]

Rohlof have also bee prototyping a hydraulic trigger shifiting system for some time

 

[wepn]

Rohlof have also bee prototyping a hydraulic trigger shifiting system for some time

My hope is that hydraulics should remain within the braking domain and electronics become the standard for shifting Speedhub gears regardless of motor type.
Having now seen ABS on bikes, of course that means somebody’s going to develop electronic brake activation ?‍

 

[R120]

Yeah I can see that happening, but not working for MTB, as how you would replicate feel and not just having an on off type reaction to the braking system would be difficult. It an answer in search of a problem IMO

 

[cooperte]

Does anyone know of a bike shop in the UK that could fit one of these to a Lapierre Overvolt?

 

[Bigtuna00]

What's the weight difference? I know there are a lot of factors, just looking for examples.