Time for first time maintenance

[Thomas777]

We have just returned home from our Summer tour and my wife's new Rohloff will be getting it's first oil change. This tour was about 4,600 miles. Is there anything I need to do with the cog? Reverse it??
Thanks!

[geocycle]

Have you replaced the chain yet? If not I'd wait until you do to reverse the sprocket as a new chain should run better on the clean side of the sprocket. I changed sprockets for new every 10-12 k miles but I know others run them much longer. Depends on where you ride, whether you use a chainglider and how well you manage chain rotation.

[Thomas777]

Watched the Rohloff video then did the oil change. Went off without a hitch!
But boy does it smell.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

If the oil smells this is a sign water has got into the hub and mixed with the oil, if you ever submerge the hub this can happen, other ways water can enter is by being forced under the seals by a pressure washer or driving in heavy rain on a car rack at speed.  As long as you do an oil change as soon as you can after water ingress occurs there is unlikely to be any damage to internal components. If a hub is ridden an excessively long time with contaminated oil it can mean the bearings are starved of oil or the internal clutches start to get corrosion on causing mis shifts.

Dave

[Thomas777]

Well it did not get submerged in water, no high pressure washing and it was not transported on a vehicle. Just about 7 days of riding in the rain across Canada.
So should I be concerned? Is there anything else I should do?

[mickeg]

I have never heard of smelly Rohloff oil.  Interesting. 

I wonder what would cause that, perhaps biological growth in a water oil emulsion?  If that is the cause, I could imagine other issues down the road.  Perhaps Dave could elaborate more?