nomad build

[dick220369]

I'd love to have n + 1 bikes but I don't have room for more than 1. If I did, I would use the Sherpa as a daily use bike and keep the Nomad for touring. I don't have a car, so my bike is my main mode of transport - used everyday come rain, shine, or snow. Unfortunately at work, the bike racks are not under any shelter so the Sherpa is left outside in the rain more often than not. I take good care of the bike though, stripping it down about twice a year, re-greasing every thing, and giving the inside of the frame a blast of 'frame saver'.

One caveat for going rohloff is the fact that I have to send the wheel off to Germany for a service. Since I use my bike for everything, I'd be hard pressed to get by without it for over a week. How easy would it be to convert the Nomad to a single speed whilst the hub was getting serviced?

[rualexander]

They don't need serviced.
Just a quick 15 minute oil change once a year or every 5000km.

[bobs]

The hub only needs and oil change, which is easy todo.

[dick220369]

Won't any bearings need changed periodically like a normal hub? So what you are saying is that, unless the hub develops a fault, it will never need to be returned to Germany?

[DAntrim]

Yes, only servicing it needs is the oil change. at the stated 5000km / 3000 miles or yearly.

[mickeg]

In the unlikely situation that your Rohloff (on a Nomad) had a fault and you had to return it to Germany, another wheel for a 135mm dropout (and most 26 inch wheels are for a 135) could be dropped in to convert it to a single speed.  In that situation your Rohloff shifter would have to be wrapped up and attached to the rear frame to keep crud out of it and keep it from getting into the spokes.

If your single speed wheel had more teeth on the sprocket than the Rohloff you might need a few more chain links.  But if you do your own bike work, you likely have a few bits of chain lying around.  Gear 11 on a Rohloff is direct drive.  Thus, a single speed wheel with the same sprocket size would be the same as a Rohloff bike in gear 11.  For most people gear 11 is a good gear on the flat and level, if you had hills you would likely want a larger sprocket to make hill climbing on your single speed easier.

I own both a Nomad and Sherpa.  They are both great bikes.  But, the Nomad is a much heavier bike.  So, if you decide to switch from a Sherpa to Nomad, you should fully expect that your bike will be several kg heavier.

[dick220369]

I know that it is advertised as a bike capable of carrying heavier loads, but what makes the Nomad more capable than a Sherpa at doing this? Looking at the frames, neither seems that much different from the other.

[bobs]

Sjsc can carry out repairs to Rohloff hubs.

[dick220369]

Thanks bobs, that's good to know. I buy a lot of stuff from SJS and their customer service is second to none. I actually met Robin Thorn in Dunkeld, Scotland, a couple of weeks ago. I was out for the weekend with a pal and we had our bikes padlocked outside a cafe. He was taking pictures of my bike because it had a n'lock stem on it.

[Paul S]

I know that it is advertised as a bike capable of carrying heavier loads, but what makes the Nomad more capable than a Sherpa at doing this? Looking at the frames, neither seems that much different from the other.

The wheelbase on the Nomad is longer than the Sherpa / Raven and the tubes in the frames are up one level.
A Nomad will carry the kitchen sink if you want it to. The more rubbish I hang on mine the better it gets.

If you are happy with the way your Sherpa handles & unless you are looking to carry lots more weight, moving to the Hub with a raven frame is worth thinking about.

Cheers Paul

[Paul S]

Won't any bearings need changed periodically like a normal hub? So what you are saying is that, unless the hub develops a fault, it will never need to be returned to Germany?

That pretty much fits the bill. Do the oil change at the stated mileage or once a year whichever comes first. Mark the card which comes with the hub with the date(s) of the oil change & if you are very unlucky and get a fault it should not be an issue with Rohloff.

Cheers,

Paul.

[dick220369]

Hi All,

Just one last question, maybe, before I take the plunge. My Sherpa is a 530L and was wondering what size of Nomad frame would be most similar? I was thinking the 540L.

Originally, I bought the Sherpa as a complete bike built by SJS. Using my supplied measurements, they built me a 500L but I always felt that it was too small so I bought a 530L frame which I feel is a perfect fit for me.

[mickeg]

I know that it is advertised as a bike capable of carrying heavier loads, but what makes the Nomad more capable than a Sherpa at doing this? Looking at the frames, neither seems that much different from the other.

I did not weigh the frames when I bought them, so I can't say how much more the Nomad weighs, but I think the tubing is heavier. 

This thread discussed weight capacity on the Sherpa.
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11661.0

When I bought my Nomad Mk II frame in late winter 2013, at that time my frame (size 590M) had a rated capacity of about 60 kg in addition to weight of rider.

When I pedal my Nomad up a hill it does feel heavier than other bikes that I have pedaled up that same hill.  I can't say what the difference is, maybe 2 to 3 kg?  I used to complain about the weight of my Nomad, but when I had it in the interior of Iceland last summer, I was really happy to have a bike that I could really load it down and be confident in.  Part of the weight difference would be the rear hub, which is not exactly light. 

[Paul S]

When I pedal my Nomad up a hill it does feel heavier than other bikes that I have pedaled up that same hill.

Yes they do. Thomas with all of his bitts weighs in at over 19Kg (subtract S&S Andra 30 & Son 28 one could get it down to 18 ish but its still a heavy bike), low gearing compensates for the weight but the trade off on that is riding without a full load the same gearing is rather low.

[dick220369]

I'm now toying with the idea of converting the Sherpa to a rohloff. I have a radical designs cyclone IV trailer which I use for extended touring. So I rarely have more than 15 KGs on the rear rack any other time. Plus I can always go on a diet. I also like the idea of having a frame that I can go back to derailleurs with if I have rohloff issues

I'm looking at getting SIS to build a wheel with the following rohloff:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hubs-internal-hub-gear-brake/retrofit-rohloff-speedhub-50014-cc-14-speed-gear-hub-32-hole-with-disc-fitting-8021-red/

Can anyone tell me what the torque arm is used for? As far as I can tell it's used it you need to change the default direction of the ex mech.