Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Rohloff Internal Hub Gears => Topic started by: phopwood on November 24, 2013, 02:12:52 pm
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Hi,
I have converted my Sherpa from derailleur to a rohloff speedhub. I got a new Rohloff cc kit, rim and spokes and took the plunge.
My gears were wearing out my rim was wearing out, all these came off of 10 year old bike when I assembled my Sherpa last year so they were old to start with.
I know it would have been cheaper to replace the standard gears, but I felt it was time to move on. And at the moment rose bike in Germany have our had great a deal on new rohloffs.
I did all the work my self using new parts. I kept my crank and chain ring as they seemed OK and the 44 tooth chain ring is steel. I opted for the chain tensions rather than messing with any other method.
I have just done a few miles on it so far so time will tell if my wheel building skill are up to standard.
I will post some pictures in a few days time.
All the best,
Peter
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I did all the work my self using new parts.
Well done Peter, I wouldn't even attempt such a job.
Looking forward to seeing the photos.
Jim
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Excellent on all counts, Peter!
Like Jim (Relayer), I'm so looking forward to photos of your "new" bicycle and some long-term ride reports as well.
All the best,
Dan.
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Hi Peter
I hope your wheel is a success. You weren't kidding about the good price :o No wonder they've now sold out!
Have fun
Ian
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so whats the verdict then much better jod or just different ::)
fair play for taking it on look forward to the pic's.
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I just did another 5 miles around the village in the dark and I would say first impressions are, the gears are a nice even spacing which you notice sight off and no messing with the front shifter.
My old gear shifters were thumb shifters which were very slick and the rohloff do not compare, but this I am sure I will get used to it.
The kit was very easy to fit, and I can convert back to derailleurs if I ever need too, also there is less clutter on the bars. Every thing in the kit is great quality and fits together just right I did not have to bodge anything.
I went with Rigida Andra 30 which has made the wheel very heavy so I hope this will suit me only time will tell.
All the best.
Peter
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Stick up a few photos peter good man. ;)
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Well done. I'm not suprised they're sold out now at that price. If I'd known I'd have jumped at it, I've been waiting for a good one to come up on ebay at the right price, all go for at least that and most considerably more.
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Some pictures. I see from the pictures I need to tidy up the cable routing both hub cable and the lighting cable. I initially ordered the hub from Bike-discount.de, but then saw the rose bike offer and bike-discount refunded me the difference as part of their price promise so I was very happy, I did not make this clear in the earlier post. But then rose did sell out very quickly, so I guess they were just shifting stock. But even at the bike-discount standard price it is still significantly less then UK retailer and the ebay offers are way too much.
All the best.
Peter
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Yay, photos!
...and some really nice ones, too!
Peter, your Sherpa is looking very nice with its new Rohloff drivetrain. You've done a terrific job of getting everything all setup and in place.
Except for the hub's torque-reaction arm and the tensioner (neither very visible against the bike's matte black paint), it looks very like a "Factory" RavenTour and has similar cable routing. Especially nice job at the brake lever/shifter junction. All congratulations your way.
Well done!
All the best,
Dan.
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Thanks all for your kind words, now to put a few miles on it.
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class well done i loved the sherpa great bike.
one thing though whats the story with that rear rack it looks all over the place you need to sort it out.
;)other than that super job enjoy, btw i was trying to find the wheel on rose bikes but no luck have you a link to where you bought the wheel and kit thanks.
jags.
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Jags,
Not sure what you mean about the rack I am sure that's what it looked like in the shop ::) but it works, sort of.
I did not buy the wheel built I got the parts and built the wheel my self.
At the moment rose are sold out but you can still get a good deal from bike discount for the hub alone.
Peter.
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Peter the rear rack just looks as if its set to far back,not trying to be a smart arse just that i notice things like that ::)
anyway look forward to the ride report and maybe a few more pic's.
jags.
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Well I have done about a hundred miles on my converted Sherpa and the gears are excellent, nicely spaced, easy to use, cleaner and less hassle than twin shifters.
But my upgrade has slowed me down not by much but I do notice it on every ride. I don't think this is related to the new rohloff but more to do with the weight of the new rim and the slime inner tube I put in. My back wheel weighs in at 3.6 kgs
So over the last 12 months my standard 10 mile spin has averaged 12.2 mph since my upgrade 11.2 mph. I am thinking perhaps a lighter rim would have been better.
Peter.
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slick tyres will sort that out.my usual average speed is 13.5 to 15 mph on a good day.but i'm on a much lighter faster bike that you.when i had the sherpa i tried about 4 different tyres found the marathon supreams excellent.
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Jags,
My tyres are continental travel contact at 690g each. They are fairly slick. So over my last rear wheel I have an extra 250g for the rim an extra 200g for the slime inner tube plus the weight of the hub but that may not be significant as it is in the centre.
So I think I will start with removing the heavy inner tube and work out from there.
Peter.
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yeah i also had travel contacts not bad but not great, marathon plus terrible, what else oh yeah panaracer ribmo not bad but when i got the supreams they totally transformed the feel of the bike so much smoother.only probem with them the side walls are pretty thin so off road cycling is a big no no.mind you i dont go off road much if ever.i would imaging that slime kills the feel of the tyre.yeah give Dave on this forum a shout he will advise you on a super wheel build (daves bike shed) ;)
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I didn't like the Travel Contacts when I tried them a few years ago on my previous bike, felt a bit unstable on corners, and the sidewall split after only a few hundred miles. A google images search shows the same splitting on other users tyres.
Now using Marathon Supremes on my Rohloff Sherpa.
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Vittoria Randonneur Cross (26x1.75"), or Randonneur Pro (26x1.5") for more slick tread. Never had any penetration pnctures with these tyres so I rate them as good as Marathon Plus, for 30-40% less weight. I have riddent the Rando Cross on all sorts of roads, including really rough fire-trail MTB rides.
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Thanks all if I upgrade my tyre they will need to be all good all year in England. Are Marathon Supreme good all year round.
Peter.
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yes i seriously dont think you'll be disappointed .i had them on the sherpa touring in the uk ireland france never even checked the pressure once.well i forgot to be honest ::)
i bought mine with chainreaction only because no postage ;)
great tyre on wet tarmac as well.
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Today I changed my drag inducing slime filled inner tubes with some normal inner tubes and my Sherpa feels more like it did, just feels more alive. In the new year I will invest in some supremes.
Thanks all for your help on this one.
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All,
I was inspired by rualexander and i wanted to drop my tensioner and get a cleaner line.
I spent a few weeks riding my bike with the standard 44 tooth chain ring. I have now changed to a 36 tooth chainring which suits my riding much better than the 44. The 44 was just a little high and I was using gear 9 most of the time. By using a 36 this puts me in gear 11 most of the time. But I have lost the speed going downhill, I can live with a coasting downhill.
I have now removed the tensioner, I am not sure how long this will last before stretch becomes a problem, but I may put a simple push up tensioner on at that point. Or just change the chain, they are cheap enough.
The Rohloff does feel better with no tensioner; it is just a lot smoother
All the best.
Peter
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And this time with the picture.
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My, the result looks stellar, Peter; a very nice job indeed.
Wrt tensioners, the less twisting required of a chain the better in terms of reduced friction, so a push-up tensioner would be preferable to one that required double-rollers. You'd also get a bit more chain wrap in the bargain, should a tensioner be required.
Best,
Dan.
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The Rohloff does feel better with no tensioner; it is just a lot smoother
The Rohloff tensioner may be a beautifully engineered afterthought and bodge, but it is an afterthought and a bodge all the same. It's fundamentally contrary to the principle of a "single-spewed" gear train. I reckon quite a bit of effort is justified in removing it, not least on grounds of efficiency. But I wonder if you really need to chuck out chains earlier than with the tensioner fitted. Wouldn't a half-link work?
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The Rohloff tensioner may be a beautifully engineered afterthought and bodge, but it is an afterthought and a bodge all the same.
I have a Surly Singleator tensioner pushing upwards with minimal tension on my Nexus 8 conversion, on an old mountain bike frame with vertical dropouts.
Agree that a tensioner with a hub gear is a bodge, but the Singleator seems to work with no noticeable friction. As I am using my old derailleur chainrings on this bike, it wouldn't be economical to fit a Chainglider, so for me the downside of the Singleator is just the minor annoyance of cleaning the single jockey wheel when I maintain the drivetrain.
Maintenance remains much easier than with the 3 x 7 derailleur system the Nexus + Singleator replaced.
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All,
My conversion is running well, just one clean and a bit of chain lube since Nov last year and while it has not been very cold it has been very wet and dirty. So I am very happy.
Have a look at the photos below and tell me do you think the chain is to loose. It is not skipping but as I have no way to tighten the chain is this time for a new chain. I know that I only need 1.5 mm of extra chain stay to make the chain tight, but short if filing the drop out, my only other option is a push up tensioner, but I like it with no tensioner feel and look.
Peter
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Next picture
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Looks fine to me.
With my Sherpa I didn't do anything until the chain started coming off and it was a good bit slacker than yours is by that time.
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Yes, I agree with rual, only worry if it falls off. I wonder if a half link might help your chains last longer?
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Thanks both. It is not ready for a half link just yet maybe in a few months.
Peter.
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Hi Peter!
Very nice-looking conversion! If you wish to consider it -- and the external-bearing bottom bracket required, with its own list of positives and negatives -- a Phil Wood "PhilCentric" bottom bracket will allow fine-tuning of chain tension without a chain tensioner or half-link.
Here is a customized Google search on the topic: http://tinyurl.com/l522qnd
Here is a link to the Phil page: https://www.philwood.com/products/bbpages/philcentric.php
Just another data point, another means for adjusting tension, but it won't provide much movement; Phi warn a half-link may still be required. Alternatively, swapping to a 1T larger 110BCD chainring would take up slack as well, but odd-numbered ones are tough to come by these days and the jump would be too large at this point.
Please don't file the dropouts. Very little travel would be gained at the expense of a great many problems. I agree with Rual and Geo' for what it's worth; run as-is for awhile longer if you wish to avoid using a tensioner.
Best,
Dan.
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Thanks Dan I had considered a eccentric BB conversion and the 3 mm of movement each way would give me enough movement to cover .75% stretch on a standard chain.
Your idea of an extra tooth may be an option, I might consider that when the skipping starts to happen. Then between the two chain rings I would get full life out of a chain and it only take a few minutes to change the chain ring. 1 tooth adds 6.6mm to the length of the required chain.
All that said I can buy a new chain for a few pounds.
Don't worry I will not file the drop out honest gov.
Peter
Peter.
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A post by il padrone on BNA - Australian Cycling Forums, covers safe amounts of chain slack with info from Thorn including measurements and diagram.
Second post down on following page:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37092&hilit=thorn+raven&start=75
Hopefully that will set your mind at rest.
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Hi Peter ,
I had to come in to your post to see how your conversion worked out as I may attempt something along the same lines. The nice thing is you also have the flat bar rather than drops so it gives me an idea of how mine might look. I also had a look at Rualexanders sherpa,and he also has done a tremendous job. Please bear in mind if I go ahead with the conversion, I may never be of your backs asking advice.
Regards, Alfie
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Alfie,
I am so please with it and the whole experience was a pleasure. I have since replaced the bars with butterfly bars with the brakes on the vertical part I fine that position much more comfortable.
Please ask away.
Peter