Rohloff Hubs/ Shimano Alfine speed hub

tinytim

Hello

The Rohloff speed Hubs and Shimano Alfine speed hub , are these any good for road racing or fast touring, I know they are popular with mountain Biking , but cant seem to find much about them for fast road bike use
Could they ever or why haven't they taken over the derailleur?

pennepacker

Weight is the issue as much as anything I think - they are very heavy compared to a derailleur gear

The new 11-speed lighter Alfine that Shimano are bringing out at the end of the year may possibly change that when it comes to fast touring and sportive type riding. But they are a long way away from being light enough to race.

Radioactiveman

They are popular for touring, Marc Beaumont used one with a belt drive on his round the world trip

For road use the weight penalty is too high. They also have big steps in between the gears and certain gears are reported to have quite a bit of drag until they run in.

On an MTB they are good as the weight penalty balances out when they are used in shi**y mud. Definitely considering fitting a rohloff to my next MTB. No more rear mech to rip off,get cacked up,start auto changing etc etc

Han2130

I've got a rohloff hub on my tourer. It has 14 gears. They are evenly spaced out so no big gaps. It weighs 1820g fitted ( including twist shifter,cables etc) Fantastic to use. Now it's run in it's almost silent. The mechanical efficiency is comparable with a derailleur system. The only down side is the price. I hardly use my derailleur bikes now I've got it. Love it!

Radioactiveman

I would think,(guess really) that a rohloff probably is more efficient once you throw on a load of mud and gloop.