Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Rohloff Internal Hub Gears => Topic started by: PH on September 17, 2017, 01:34:02 pm
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Hello, after an absence of a few years, while my Rohloff has been in another frame, it may be returning to a Thorn, (Namely the Mercury, which is where it would have gone if it'd been available then), which brings me back here - :)
Anyway - it's the wrong model for a Mercury, so the question - Has anyone converted a hub from an internal gear change to external? And to being disk brake compatible from not?
I see you can buy the external kit for £130, and there's a vid which makes it seem simple. What about the disk conversion which has to be done by Rohloff? Which order would they need doing in? Would I need to convert the gear changer before sending it off? Would Rohloff do the lot in one go, and would that cost more?
I'm trying to work out at what point it makes more sense to just buy another hub, or choose a different frame that takes V brakes at the back.
Yes I know I could just ring Thorn and they'd have all the answers, but I don't want to get trigger happy with the bank card before I'd thought it all through... which has been known :-[
Thanks
Paul
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I have not done the work so I can't comment on any details. But, the disc version requires a different part of the hub shell. And to get to the part that has to be removed, you have to remove the gear change mechanism first. Thus, I think you want to have it all done at once. And since opening the shell up is something that is not really intended to be done by a user, I suspect that you want someone that knows what they are doing to do the work.
If it was me and if I was told that it would be expensive, I would consider getting a new wheel built with a new hub and leaving the old wheel on the bike where it currently resides.
I would contact SJS first as they might be able to do the work. (I actually live in USA, not the UK, so I probably would contact someone other than SJS that is closer to local but if I was in the UK I would go to SJS first.)
Does Rohloff still use a non-standard rotor mount? If so, you need to figure out if you need to add a new rotor to your budget too.
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Just on the point George raises about the non-standard disc rotor mount, Rohloff sells, through their dealers, rotors for all the popular formats/brands to suit their 4-hole mount, so the availability and price of the relevant rotor can be discovered from the internet.
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Thanks for the replies, the cost of the Rohloff specific rotor wasn't something I'd factored in.
mickeg - I wasn't expecting to do the disk conversion myself, the Rohloff website says it has to be done by them via the local distributor. The gear change swap looks simple enough, Rohloff have produced a vid and sell the parts. What I was really after was anyone's experience of going down this route, partly if there was any advantage (Financial) of converting the gear system before sending it off. I do like the look of the Mercury, it isn't that different from the now damaged custom frame my Rohloff is in, except for the disk brake, and of course some of the Thorn unique parts that a one off would't include. If converting the hub becomes too much trouble I'll have to find another off the peg frame, I'd have no issue with another custom except the waiting list of any decent builder.
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It was not clear to me that the frame that your Rohloff currently resides in was damaged.
I had assumed that the Mercury was cantilever brake capable, but I just looked at the SJS page and found that it lacked cantilever posts. Thus, I understand your desire to go with disc on it.
I recently built up a new bike (non-Thorn) that was a disc only type of frame. Thus, I finally have a bike with a disc on it. But I went with a rim brake for the front wheel so the bike has disc rear and V brake front.
Good luck with your endeavors.
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If you send the hub/wheel into us, to convert to a disc fitting costs £77.50 + £5 return postage. Turnaround is 2-3 working days on average.
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Thanks all, also had a reply to my email enquiry which tells me all I wanted to know. It's getting expensive, and I'm not particularly fussed about having a disk brake, but I can't see another OTP frame that comes even close to matching my requirements.
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Could you use a sidepull brake, or perhaps a vintage centerpull brake unit?
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I could, and may even do so as a temporary measure to get the Rohloff back in use, but the tyre size restriction doesn't really fit with it's intended use and it's a lot of money for something that's a compromise from the start.
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Ison Distribution, did the convention for me and also did a hub cap change converting it to discs as such they returned it to Rohloff to rectify another issue,whereby it was occasionally going into 'neutral'. This included seals and all parts. The sent it to Germany Free of Charge. Mine is from May 1999.
I think it may be run in now external conversion in my experience is a little tighter, even though lighter springs were added. I put this down to the longer cable runs.
Regards
Ledburner.
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The conversion process is on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=10s&v=WGNFZjavXcI (https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=10s&v=WGNFZjavXcI)
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Cheers Ledburner, I should have updated this as I had the work done by SJS and the disk braked external shift hub now sits in a Mercury. All the work and the frame to Thorns usual high standards. Though I’m not sure I made the right choice, I preferred the internal shift it just felt more positive and although the disk brake is fine, it’s more complex than a V, messes up the rack fitting and doesn’t add anything... If I had my time again I’d put up with the wait and gone custom, it wouldn’t have cost any more.
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Hi PH, the conversion to using disk brakes has been a positive experience for me. The rain or mud do not affect braking. I do not use racks though. I have 'custom' bike-packing bags I made ( a labour of love). Not a convient as panniers. But the lower capacity means ago light and it is slot quieter. Post a picture if you can, which disks are you using, mechanical (cable) or hydraulic. I run flat bars (Jones copies), and Magura MT4, all deals at CRC/Merlin :D. Fitted by the LBS. I find wheel changing easier with an ex box than reattachein the bayonet connectors. I concerntrate on lining the disk and calipers up the rest follow. The Ex Bo's is current set at 2o'clck. If it is near 6 o'clock. It may be more inconvenient. I do not have rack stays cluttering the area. I find the Chain tensioner more of a fight!
Tip if using hydraulic brakes, if you remove, the wheel/brake calipers are empty, put in a 2-3mm piece so it the breaker lever are caught, when empty, the pistons/shoes don't auto adjust to the new (empty position). And clamp the brk' shoes together. You'll do it only once.
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I'm thinking I may be a little too critical, maybe I was looking for the Holy Grail (The mega brochure does tend to lead one up that path) and have ended up with just a nice bike. I'm going to refrain from any further comment on it till the 10,000 mile review!
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Racks and Disk brakes are poor partners. I am impressed with disk brakes better braking regardless of mud , rain/ puddles are a big positive for me.
The external box with cables all shoulder and limited mounting options has increased cable drag.
I haven't used a rack since converting to disc, since I use soft luggage, leaning towards 'bikepackung' type luggage.
Dan
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I was recently in touch with Thorn workshop about converting hub cap from rim to disc brake:
It now costs £135.
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I'm guessing this is for the cap swap alone with the EX shifter already existing...or is it a cap swap and conversion from internal to external shifter? If the latter, that seems the deal of the century! :)
Best, Dan.
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I made the disc-brake conversion from V-brakes on my Thorn Nomad Mk2 in April 2020. Since then I have ridden many kilometres including two fairly major tours (3-4 weeks each). The discs are hydraulic and have been great to ride with. Mounting with the front & rear pannier racks has worked fine; a 4-5mm spacer was fitted at the rear on the left side to space the rack out from the disc calliper (Tubes Cargo stay just conflicts with the brake hydraulic hose connection).
I had a standard Rohloff and got a new disc hub-cap fitted by a local reputable shop who are a Rohloff agent. It cost me $A400. All up the conversion cost me about $2,000 with the biggest cost being the new disc-fork for $1100. The SON28 dynohub cost me about $300 and the disc brakes were the lowest price for me - a set of Shimano SLX for about $150.
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I'm guessing this is for the cap swap alone with the EX shifter already existing...or is it a cap swap and conversion from internal to external shifter? If the latter, that seems the deal of the century! :)
Best, Dan.
One of the advantages of having such things done by SJS* is that they can use OEM parts rather than retail, there is a considerable price difference. I can't recall what I paid without checking the invoice, it was a bargain, the complete job including hub cap was less than the retail price for the external gear mech.
Also - as already pointed out in this thread, don't forget the include the price of a Rohloff specific rotor, currently from £40.
* Other service centres may offer the same, I've only dealt with SJS
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One of the advantages of having such things done by SJS* is that they can use OEM parts rather than retail, there is a considerable price difference.
<nods> That's a really good point, Paul. They do the same with their Brooks saddles with big discounts over retail when included as part of a build.
Best, Dan.