Rohloffs are not invincible

[Andre Jute]

My Shimano Nexus Premium 8 hubs cost substantially less than £235, as I had to buy them online (not available locally here in France). I got mine from Germany.

The £235 is an approximation I took from the OP's bill from Rohloff for repairs. I remember the wide range of prices on the net for Nexus boxes and wheels when I was shopping for them a few years ago. (Tip for those looking for a Shimano Nexus box: buy the whole wheel, buy it only with a fitting kit of rotary control, cables and brackets, and buy it in the winter when the manufacturers sell off made-up wheels not used for the assembly of sold bikes, when you can get amazing bargains.)

If I get around 5,000 kms from them I will be happy.

Well, maybe I'm just a wrecker, or maybe I was unlucky. In The Netherlands there are Shimano Nexus hubs, typically wretchedly neglected, that soldier on for many, many tens of thousands of klicks, so I wouldn't put my neck on the block with a generalization from my very limited experience with the Shimano. I liked the Nexus hubs I had a lot; in some respects, if not sturdiness, they are initially superior to the Rohloff, or at least more convenient and instantly lovable, whereas the Rohloff needs time to grow on you.

The difficulty of getting the "oil bath" Shimano Nexus gear hub service kit (and its price, twice the Rohloff service kit's price!) tells you that almost nobody actually services Nexus hubs; they just run them into the ground and replace them.

I think your scheme with the oil and the marine grease is superior, but too much trouble for me. A large part of the attraction of the Rohloff for me is how easily it fits into my no-fuss-no-bother near-zero maintenance/replacement scheme of operating my bicycle. In that perspective the Nexus hub gearbox, at least in my hands, is a consumable.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

It should also be noted that Thorn subsidized the repair to reward his high mileage efforts and confidence in our product so the final bill was £156.73.

[bobs]

That was never mentioned in the original post. An example of Thorn's excellent customer service.

Bob

[Javier]

SJS Thorn customer service is second to none by attending your queries and replying with deep knowledge. A number of times they surprised me with free replacement of parts that were not under guaranty, by their own initiative. Top quality service, no doubt. 

[geocycle]

To be fair to the OP he was very positive about SJS and it's service.  He was also very positive about Rohloff until the last issue.  I would disagree with the contention that Rohloff had an obligation to repair something of this vintage FOC. Nevertheless, his post makes the valid point that nothing is infallible and that there will always be a risk of failure.  However, two failures in 90,000 km of tough touring sounds not unreasonable to me.

[bobs]

I don't think that many Rohloff owners think that their hub is infallible.  Most will have a great  deal of confidence  that they will do the job that they were bought for.


Bob

[Bill C]

I don't think that many Rohloff owners think that their hub is infallible.  Most will have a great  deal of confidence  that they will do the job that they were bought for.


Bob

swap rohloff for derallieur gears and your statement is true of deralliuers, cant imagine anyone spending out on decent kit and not having confidence that they will do the job they were bought for

but with derallieurs a total fail of one part isn't going to set you back a grand or make it so it isn't cost effective to repair your bike

[RonS]

swap rohloff for derallieur gears and your statement is true of deralliuers, cant imagine anyone spending out on decent kit and not having confidence that they will do the job they were bought for

but with derallieurs a total fail of one part isn't going to set you back a grand or make it so it isn't cost effective to repair your bike

Neither will it with a Rohloff. The OP had two failures which set him back £156.73

[bobs]

That's  about the cost of a Shimano XTR rear derailleur .

[Bill C]

yea and now he has a wheel that has failed him twice before, 
how far would you trust it this time?
enough to exchange your good wheel for it?

c'mon someone even took a pop at anto's new build saying it would look less cluttered/ have better lines with a Hoff
are we mech users supposed to take it on the chin and never respond with like for like comments?
hoff non hoff almost as devisive as brexiteers and remoaners 

atb Bill

[bobs]

Maybe the best solution is that Thorn make their frames both Rohloff  and derailleur  compatible  by adding a few cable stops and a hanger.  Then you could  change between the two , best of both worlds. I was going to say  upgrade to a Rohloff but I won't.


Bob

[Bill C]

hi Bobs
if they did put a mech hanger on the frames i'd probably buy a Nomad frame instead of the troll that i keep eyeing up
but then i'd want the dedicated 10mm bob/trailer hitch mounting point, no pleasing some people is there 

edited typo

[bobs]

Bill,  I had a Troll  before my Nomad.  It was a good frame but rubbish paintwork. I found the straight forks very uncomfortable.  It is however a very versatile do it all frame.

Bob

[Bill C]

I've come close to ordering one a couple of times, they didn't have any in stock for months when i looked at the beginning of the year, someone locally advertised a 2003 Klein Attitude a few weeks ago and the money went on that instead,
tbh i think i'd prefer one of the older ones as the new one sounds a bit ott for my needs
the paints not a problem they sell decal sets so any colour you like and new decals

they must be decent bikes rarely see one secondhand, and the ones that do come up are for the vertically challenged

[Matt2matt2002]

Great topic and thoughtful contributions.
I learn so much from this site.

All this talk about hub failures (or not) has got me a wondering as to whether or not I should return my own hub for a service.
It doesn't skip or wobble or leak.
I change the oil in a regular basis.
I bought the Raven second hand so although I log my milage, I have no idea of the total on the clock.

I like to tour abroad once a year so don't fancy a breakdown away from home.

Should a factory service be considered in the same way as an oil change?