First Time Rohloff Owner

[jrn]

ok.... I am going to lead with my chin and ask question that will make some on here cringe but here goes....

When I need to remove my rear wheel to mend a puncture, although it is sometimes possible to patch a tube with the wheel still in the frame, should I leave enough slack in the chain so that I can, just run the chain off the sprocket to avoid having to use the EBB or split the chain?
Is that too much chain slack?

[PH]

You should be able to lift the wheel clear of the frame without doing anything to the chain.  I can do this even with the chain at it's tightest, I could do it with my Alfine Mercury even when the chain was tighter than I'd have liked.
On my bike that has a Rohloff in horizontal dropouts, I can unship the chain from the sprocket, when the chain is the tightest I'm happy with. To do this you only need to get the first link alongside the tooth and gently rotate. 

[jrn]

Thanks PH.
I warned you it was a daft question.......

[JohnR]

I've also had no problems removing the rear wheel of my Mercury. First remove the wheel from the drop-outs and then move it forwards slightly to lift the chain off the sprocket. The process is helped by having a relatively slack chain as recommended on page 12 of the Thorn's Owners manual http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/ThornBikeOwnerManual2Web.pdf.

[Matt2matt2002]

"Ok.... I am going to lead with my chin and ask question that will make some on here cringe but here goes...."

Don't hesitate to ask what you may consider a simple question. I've seen the same question answered in slightly different ways that has greatly increased my knowledge.
The only silly question is the one that isn't asked.

Best

Matt

[mickeg]

ok.... I am going to lead with my chin and ask question that will make some on here cringe but here goes....

When I need to remove my rear wheel to mend a puncture, although it is sometimes possible to patch a tube with the wheel still in the frame, should I leave enough slack in the chain so that I can, just run the chain off the sprocket to avoid having to use the EBB or split the chain?
Is that too much chain slack?

You did not mention brand or model, I am assuming it is a Thorn bike and has an eccentric bottom bracket for chain adjustment.  The rear dropouts should be angled such that the wheel will easily come out of the dropouts with a chain that gets looser as you extract the wheel.  Chain would then be adjusted properly when you put the wheel back in.

I did not cringe. The dumb question is the one not asked.

If you have any medical type disposable gloves, they can come in handy any time you need to handle the chain.  I do not dispose of them, keep re-using them.

[jrn]

thanks everyone - that is helpful.
in an odd way, will help me a "rule of thumb" to adjust chain tension.  It will be just loose enough to allow the rear wheel to be removed - I going to have look on my Raven Tour this evening to see how well it will work.....
Stay safe

[PH]

Thanks PH.
I warned you it was a daft question.......

You're welcome, though I didn't consider it a daft question. 
There is a learning curve, the hardest part is maybe un-learning all the things that concerned you on other bikes.  The chain on one of my bikes is a bit slack, I noticed it about 500 miles ago, I might get round to tightening it this week.

[mickeg]

thanks everyone - that is helpful.
in an odd way, will help me a "rule of thumb" to adjust chain tension.  It will be just loose enough to allow the rear wheel to be removed - I going to have look on my Raven Tour this evening to see how well it will work.....
Stay safe

Somewhere in all the writtings on Thorn Rohloff bikes, the two pointy bolts that hold the eccentric in place need to make clear depressions that are far enough from each other that the depressions do not form a groove. I have about 2 to 2.5mm between each depression in my eccentric.  If I can't move the eccentric that far to adjust the chain, I do not adjust it.  Thus, mine often has a lot of slack before adjusting.

[AndrewJ]

Hello the Forum! This is my first post, and thank you to @Danneaux for un-bodging the registration gearbox. Writing from Berkeley California...

I'm also a first-time Rohloff rider, just finishing up the build of a new frame. Pictures to follow at some point... but the short story is a friend built me a custom steel frame around the general parameters of my two Rivendells, one a 65cm road bike the other a 66cm singlespeed. With longer chainstays and a middle frame tube to add rigidity. We used Paragon rear dropouts with the nice slot for the Rohloff torque tab, and I'm running an external gear mech.

The advice in this forum was VERY helpful in getting the final bits squared away. Getting the cable housing length right was stressful, since you only get one go when cutting, but the shifter feels good and I expect the mechanism will loosen as it breaks in. I'm enjoying the ability to shift at a stop, and to shift over several gear ratios in a single twist. And as the hub has been in storage for four years, and unknown on the shelf before I Bought it, I figure I'll change oil before going for a long first ride.

[PH]

A welcome from me, Andrew.
Interesting looking frame, what size is that?  Pretty big judging by the head tube. I've seen Rivendell with the extra tube and wondered what they rode like... Is that the model it's based on.
What BB are you using?
be interesting to see it built up.

I do like that aesthetic, just never enough to consider paying for it! Not sure about the threaded forks, adjusting threaded headsets is a job I was happy to leave behind.

[AndrewJ]

It's 66cm from BB to top tube, as measured along seat tube. Tall, indeed, to match its rider! Five years ago, I asked Grant at Rivendell if he would make a custom with support for a Rohloff hub integrated into the frame (I thought the long torque arm fixed to left chainstay was ugly). Grant declined, and so I turned to a friend and budding framebulder in Portland Oregon, Mark Guglielmana, and we took the best elements of my two Rivendells and innovated on a new design. That's an original Rivendell fork on my bike, but re-raked for loaded touring. I'm perfectly comfortable with threaded headsets, no issue there. And... well, I'll let it wait for the pictures. I made use of the Nitto stem in mounting the twist shifter.

The added stiffness of the frame from the middle tube does not feel harsh at all, and it has reduced flex when I'm standing on the pedals. I'm running 700x44 Compass Snoqualmie Pass tires, which are delightful, and also absorb impacts to a good extent. The BB is just a simple non-eccentric Shimano. I may upgrade to a Phil for chainline adjustability, but am not in a hurry. I use a Surly Singleator to take up the slack.

Here's a (very) partial build picture, to give a better sense of scale.

[PH]

Even bigger than I imagined and with a horizontal TT there would have been a lot of space in that triangle!
Are the bosses placed for specific brakes?
I must admit your choice of using a tensioner wouldn't have been mine, for aesthetics as much as anything else. I run a Rohloff tensioner on a folder and it's never once been an issue, and there's been a couple of round the World record holders run IGH's and tensioners, it just wouldn't be my choice if starting with a blank sheet.

[AndrewJ]

Even bigger than I imagined and with a horizontal TT there would have been a lot of space in that triangle!
Are the bosses placed for specific brakes?
I must admit your choice of using a tensioner wouldn't have been mine, for aesthetics as much as anything else. I run a Rohloff tensioner on a folder and it's never once been an issue, and there's been a couple of round the World record holders run IGH's and tensioners, it just wouldn't be my choice if starting with a blank sheet.

This bike is destined to offend and attract! :-) I wanted a single-cog tensioner with easy chainline adjustment. The Surly provides that, and I can use it either pressing down, or pressing up (UP preferred).

Brakes are MAFAC RAID centerpulls, with new bushings I turned. Other bits: Nitto Albastache bars, Nitto two-bolt seat post. The obvious Brooks saddle, yet to be broken in. There's a SON widebody hub up front, which will power an Edeluxe light in front and a red taillight in the rear. Aluminium fenders fore and aft, and a bespoke front rack with mounts for panniers.

[PH]

This bike is destined to offend and attract! :-) I wanted a single-cog tensioner with easy chainline adjustment. The Surly provides that, and I can use it either pressing down, or pressing up (UP preferred).

I'm never offended by anyone's bike choices, not necessarily attracted to them either, but always interested in the what and the why.