Rohloff speedhub on a mountain bike?

I have a new MTB frame on it's way to me which has sliding dropouts and cable routing allowing it to take a Rohloff speedhub. Now I have fancied one of these for a while as I love the idea of no derailleurs and some fancy engineering all wrapped up in a nice hub.
Has anyone any experience of using one on a mountain bike? There are loads of reviews of using them on touring bikes but I haven't seen much about them on dedicated mtbs.
I know they are a bit heavier than a traditional gear setup but I am not a weight weenie so that won't bother me too much, unless it feels like I am towing an anchor! And before anyone says it, I need gears, so ss is not an option for this build.
Any real world experience, advice or thoughts out there?

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=183728

Have a read through here. Apparently very very good, I haven't heard anything bad about them.
Also by the time you ad up everything you take off from a geared system there's not much difference in weight, it's more where the weight is situated.

I´ve got a Cannondale Bad Boy from 2007 with Rholoff. I use it every day for commuting to work and it´s great, but I´d never consider puting some nice mtb tyres on it and making a ride. It really weighs a ton, and in the mountain is very noticeable all that weight in the hub. Just my opinion of course, sure some one will love it for that!

Use a Rohloff on all my bikes including hard MTB use, will NEVER go back to mechs again! Give it a shot (yep...initially it's an expensive shot ) pretty sure you'll be enjoying it ....a lot. No more chain suck, no slapping chain no mis-shifting and it will last and last and.....well you know looks pretty clean too.

What frame did you buy if I may ask :?:

Cheers Roy

ps, use mine for 5 years now, I'm 95kg and riding rigid the hub is still going strong

I use both mechs and a rohloff. The mech bikes only come out when the sun shines and when the Rohloff is in for maintenance, which rarely happens. The added weight is there and you notice it, but mostly when you're in the air and then only for the fist few rides.

Utter reliability, near zero maintenance, cleaning takes 3 minutes instead of 30 and it ALWAYS works, sub-zero, mud, whatever, it just works. Cost can be an issue, but if I see what money people spent on retro stuff, then I guess for most a Rohloff is feasibe. And having said that I truly don't understand why I don't see more of Rohloff on this forum in the 98+ section. You Brits on your wet and muddy island should love this thing

Interesting alternative might be one of these :
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/nuvinci-n360-hub-with-disc-brake-fitting-black-prod25057/

Stepless gearing sounds great

velomaniac":2n2recu3 said:

Interesting alternative might be one of these :
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/nuvinci-n360-hub-with-disc-brake-fitting-black-prod25057/

Stepless gearing sounds great

Click to expand...

Again, nice for a commuter but no comparison to a Rohloff

- more than a kilo heavier than a Rohloff!
- Smaller gear range
- Difficult to change gears under power


I'm always keeping an eye on internal gear systems/hubs to see how it evolves, for the last 13 years there has been ZERO competition for Rohloff.
These guys are up to something but not 100% there yet:
http://pinion.eu/

but won't be cheap!

Thanks for the replys chaps.

I did have a look at the 11 speed Alfine, but it doesn't seem to cut the mustard enough. I just keep coming back to Rohloff, especially after reading some of the threads on the the MTBR IHG forum.

The expense of a Rohloff is a big issue. I am not in a position to spend £1K on a rear wheel very often, but the money is doing nothing in the bank right now so maybe it would be better used scratching this itch.
It will be worth it if I end up loving it as much as some folk do.

I am wondering if I should try and get a demo ride on a speedhub equipped bike? Or would it be better to just buy and give myself time to get used to it?

And Roy, the frame is a Pace 104.

firedfromthecircus":3romdecd said:

Thanks for the replys chaps.

I did have a look at the 11 speed Alfine, but it doesn't seem to cut the mustard enough. I just keep coming back to Rohloff, especially after reading some of the threads on the the MTBR IHG forum.

The expense of a Rohloff is a big issue. I am not in a position to spend £1K on a rear wheel very often, but the money is doing nothing in the bank right now so maybe it would be better used scratching this itch.
It will be worth it if I end up loving it as much as some folk do.

I am wondering if I should try and get a demo ride on a speedhub equipped bike? Or would it be better to just buy and give myself time to get used to it?

And Roy, the frame is a Pace 104.

Click to expand...

the Pace 104 is nice.

And yep, it's quite an investment to go Rohloff (you probably need a Speedbone too, to "block" the hub as the Pace frame has no Rohloff specific drop-outs) Used this on my brothers Vicious too and works fine : http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... ht=vicious
Most people I know switched to Rohloff now or are seriously thinking about it, it does take some time to get used to the Rohloff. A test ride would be nice but it's better to use it for a longer period (i.e. buy one ) I don't think you'll regret it. Good luck with the build and please keep us informed,
Cheers Roy

edited