Broken flanges on Rohloff hubs

[paulhipwood]

Hi all

I have a Raven sports tour. I use it mainly for commuting, about 25 mile per day but not every day. Its 4 years old and has done about 10,000 miles.

regards
paul

[geocycle]

Mmm.. that's one of the few cases I've heard of one breaking that's not been heavily loaded eg on a tandem.  Let us know how it is resolved.

[daviddd55]

weird - I've just checked my flanges and they're Ok thankfully. In fact I have noted that even after 12000 miles, some of which was on very rough Outback gravel roads, the wheels are still running as true as when Thorn built them - a testament to the quality of their bikes. Is it possible that over-tightened spokes might cause this problem? Or unusual exposure of the hub to abrasive substances?

Whilst on about quality, the Thorn racks were unblemished by the hammering from bad roads and up to 30kg (rear) load, they're very strong.

[ALMEIDA]

Is it possible that over-tightened spokes might cause this problem?

No. In most cases a too little spoke tension is a problem but causes not automatically a broken flange.
It is barely possible to over-tighten the spoke tension. Shortly before the nipples will brake.

[paulhipwood]

Hi all

I have been told my hub was returned today (I am in the middle east for a few weeks). It broke on 17th September.

I spoke to Thorns and was told it was not under warranty. This was because I had bought the bike second hand (off thiss forum)  and the warranty was not transferable. They gave me a quote of aprox £100 to have the hub fixed.
I understand the stand taken but was a bit supprissed at the cost.

So I spoke to the Rohloff importers and they offered to return to Rohloff for me. They implied that it would be under warranty.

On 20th I sent it off (£18 post)

We got a message a few days ago that it would be returned, it then got lost and its turned up today.

In the meantime I have been using my old Moulton APB.

I have not been charged with the repair and think this is a good service, but I am not to sure about the reliability of these hubs and the ease of repairing them.
The Moulton is different and the gears are poor but I can fix and keep them servicable quite easily. My 12 mile commute was a few minutes quicker than my Sports Tour.
So basically I am disalusioned with the bike.

regards
paul

[PH]

Better it didn't happen obviously, but I think a three weeks turn around for the price of postage, for a second user, is reasonable.  I've had a Campag bike off the road for longer than that waiting for a warranty repair, though of course in that case I could have got it back on the road next day if I'd been desperate enough to spend £90.  I think if I ever do an extended tour I'll probably use a derailleur bike, for everyday high mileage use, which is what I bought mine for, I haven't seen anything to put me off.

[seligsohn]

I am interested to read all the posts about Rohloff hubs and their associated wheel performance.  As experience tandemmers, we bought a new tandem from a local bike builder fitted with Rohloff hub in 2009.   The wheels were 700c.   After three long  trips, spokes started breaking which I replaced.   When six spokes broke (nipple end!) on one short trip, I knew something was wrong.   I looked at all the websites and found out we had to get a special Andra rim  with Sapim or Swiss DT spokes.    This we did and it was rebuilt (Sapim strong spokes and Andra rim) on the existing hub.   After that we had absolutely no trouble with the wheel and indeed carried on with our annual  >1200 km trips abroad with full camping gear and  also local trips.   Then about five years ago, I noticed that the spokes had loosened.  I re-tensioned the spokes to the recommended 1100 or so N (with inflated tyre)  and we carried on riding with no problems.   Last week after a short run, I noticed a spoke with a shallow kink mid-length.    I replaced this spoke and re-tensioned all the spokes to the same tension as before.   Next week we are going to tour in Scotland.   All I can say is that apart from those teething troubles at the beginning, the Rohloff hub has served and is serving us very well.    I have to say however that maintenance is important.  Spokes should be checked and after reading your forum, I am now checking the flanges before any big trip.  It is also worth investing in a wheel truing jig and a spoke tension guage.   I use this for my solo bikes as well.

[JohnR]

Rohloff created flange support rings https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/search/?term=rohloff+flange+support+rings to reduce the risk of broken flanges and my 2020 Thorn Mercury came fitted with these but they can only be added before a wheel is built. That bike has suffered one broken nipple which, I think, resulted from crashing into a particularly nasty pothole. It put the wheel slightly out of true but wasn't ride-stopping. More here http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14193.msg106793#msg106793 and in subsequent posts in that thread.

[brummie]

(Touch wood ! ) - No problems here on my 15(?) year old hub built @ sjscycles. Probably on my 3rd rim and all original spokes. Soon to be rebuilt onto an Andra rim for the back of the tandem, so new spokes and ring support will be added.

[PH]

An old thread dug up from the past, I've broken two flanges since the last time I posted on this thread.
I'd rather neither had happened, but both were dealt with swiftly by SJS and as they're the only issues I've had in twenty years and at least 120,000 miles  I remain as happy with the hub/s as ever.

[mickeg]

I am interested to read all the posts about Rohloff hubs and their associated wheel performance.  As experience tandemmers, we bought a new tandem from a local bike builder fitted with Rohloff hub in 2009.   ...
Next week we are going to tour in Scotland.   ...

Although Dave (formerly of SJS) did not recommend adding the flange rings when you are not otherwise rebuilding a wheel, since some of my travels involve a heavy load and takes me a long distance from where help may be available, I chose to do so on my Mk II Nomad.  To do so, I only had to unthread and re-tighten half the nipples, and no spokes came out of the hub so it was a quick job.

More here:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11802.msg99847#msg99847

If I had a Rohloff on a tandem, I would consider adding the rings.