Rohloff Hub Oil

[Danneaux]

I seem to be an ascetic, preferring to simply get the job done in a self-abnegating devotion to Rohloffian duty.

In caring for it, it takes care of me.



All the best,

Dan.

[geocycle]

I seem to be an ascetic, preferring to simply get the job done in a self-abnegating devotion to Rohloffian duty.

In caring for it, it takes care of me.



All the best,

Dan.

Asceticism is all well and good and characteristically Germanic yet pleasure from riding rohloff can also be cathartic if not catholic!

[Danneaux]

^^^ So true, Geo!! 

All the best,

Dan.

[John Saxby]

And why not make a virtue out of necessity, after all?  (Others can exorcise their OCD demons by endlessly adjusting their derailleurs.)

The oil change thing ritual makes a good conversation piece, too:

"So this expensive German hub, John, how much attention does it need?"

"Not much. I change the oil once a year, usually in November. Not a lot of oil, more than a thimbleful, less than a shot glass."

"You change the oil? In a bicycle??"

"Well, yes. Care for a cuppa while we wait?"

And so it goes...

[martinf]

Did the oil change on my Raven Tour on schedule last week.

Also cleaned the bike, took off the Chainglider, had a look at the chain, then put  the Chainglider back on again as nothing needed doing. And took out the seat post and steerer, again everything was OK.

Apart from pumping up the tyres, that's about it for the Raven Tour for the past year (and I don't do seatpin/steerer every year).

And I finally got round to putting my old derailleur lightweight tourer back together, but not had the opportunity to ride it since, maybe this coming week, as dry weather is forecast.

[mickeg]

.... And took out the seat post and steerer, again everything was OK.
...

When I bought my Nomad Mk II S&S frame and fork, I was quite surprised to see a piece of tape inside the head tube.  It covered the holes into the top tube and down tube.

I was applying Framesaver to the frame so I had to remove the tape, but it made so much sense to have that tape in there to prevent any water that gets into the headtube from flowing into the toptube and downtube that I put a new piece of tape in there to cover the holes again.  And since then I have put tape in the headtube on my other bike frames when I had the steerer tube out.

A friend of mine that works as a bike mechanic has told me that capillary action will allow water to get in the downtube from water bottle cage bolts.  So, nothing is perfectly sealed.  But the tape still made sense to me.

[energyman]

Bit of Art ?  Just done my oil change and this is the oil placed on an ice cream carton lid then put on top of a do-nut magnet.
Still suprises me that the gears are shedding so many particles every year.

[mickeg]

That really shows the importance of using the cleaning oil.  I am always quite thorough, with the cleaning oil I go for a bike ride about 2 km, spend some time in every gear.  Then let it drain for a good amount of time.  Thanks for convincing me to continue taking my time.

[Matt2matt2002]

Me too Mick.
I go for a good long ride with the cleaning oil in.
10/15 miles.
Through all gears. I can't see any harm in it and I am happy that everything inside the hub has had a good coating/ flush.
Interesting to see the magnet picture. I'll try that at the next oil change.

[Danneaux]

Mine has always done the same, e-Man. A good illustration of why it is important to change the oil on a regular basis -- and yes, do the flush by the book as well.

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Absolutely. I reckon the key thing about the oil change is a thorough flush with the cleaning oil, which axiomatically includes doing it according to the factory schedule or better. I too leave the cleaning oil draining out for a couple of hours to ensure all the metal scraps slide out on it.

But here's a radical thought: if you leave the box unserviced, it might loosen up a lot quicker. You'll lose your warranty, of course. I take the view that the liberal warranty Bernd Rohloff gives is the third most valuable thing about the Rohloff box, next to the physical installation of the box on your bike, and the convenience of its cleanliness, so I'm not recommending this abuse, merely trolling it lightly across the waters for those who worry that their Rohloff box will never run in.

[martinf]

But here's a radical thought: if you leave the box unserviced, it might loosen up a lot quicker. You'll lose your warranty, of course.

I wouldn't like to leave much more than a year between services as I would worry about water from condensation in a little-used gear box.

IMO water damage is the main fault with (older) Shimano 7-8 speed hub gears, I've also found it occasionally in very neglected Sturmey-Archer hub gears and had it in my own SRAM 3-speed on my first Brompton (SRAM 3-speed doesn't have labyrinth seals like the Sturmey, so water ingress is much more likely, much less of a problem with Rohloff).

And if you're doing more than the recommended 5,000 kms between oil changes in a year I reckon you will loosen up the hub gear quick enough.