|   næstep & Henry Dorset Case- Answers and Thanks | Festively Plump
Jan 24, 2003 7:42 AM | | Gentemen:
Once again I would like to offer my gratitude for all of the information you are sharing. The BOB Trailer comment came from a friend of mine that has opened up his own shop and really goes the extra mile in customer service. He has no experience riding a Rohloff (which he said straight away) but asked me how happy would I be if I felt like I was pulling a trailer all the time. He wants me to walk out of his shop each and every time happy and satisfied. I would expect nothing less as the line between customer and friend becomes more and more gray.
He has said it would a super "trick" bike :-)
A few anwswers to your questions yes I have disc tabs and I run discs so I will be ordering the OEM2 and the speed bone as well. The 34/13 setup would be perfect. I need to call Mike from SPOT (if you ever want to get into SS'ing these guys are the absolute best) and determine how to compensate for the new chain line (washer, spacer, etc...) it is a screw on freewheel so we'll see what he comes up with. I figure the worst case scenario would be that I would have to change the front chain ring as not to run with the "thicker" 13 tooth cog but we'll see. The two handle bars is a great strategy. I didn't understand how the shifting box came into play until I read the Rohloff PDF and now that I understand I see how having two handlebars with the full housing cables will and zip ties will work.
When you need to fix a flat I guess you need to disconnect the shifting box from the hub to remove the wheel?
I think this is going to be a pretty interesting experiment. I will chronicle this project via a digital camera and I will post as I move forward!
Once again thank you and I'm sure I will be in touch with more and more questions! |
| re: næstep & Henry Dorset Case- Answers and Thanks | jpre
Jan 24, 2003 4:24 PM | | When you need to fix a flat I guess you need to disconnect the shifting box from the hub to remove the wheel?
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Not really. It makes it easier, but you can drop the wheel out of the dropouts though it's still held in place by the cables. There is enough room to work the innertube out and replace it if you're willing to work through the gaps. |
| External Shifter... | næstep
Jan 24, 2003 5:35 PM | | I haven't tried jpre's suggestion of leaving the External Shifter Box attached during tire changes, but his suggestion would work. He rides a Buzz Bomb with Rohloff as I do; I just find it easier to unscrew the thumb screw and detach the Shifter Box. Getting it back on presents a challenge every now and then, and it's important to remember to shift to gear 1 or 14 so you don't "lose a gear" due to misalignment during reassembly.
Assembled External Shifter. Large round thing on Shifter Box is the thumb screw that secures it in place.
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Shifter Box removed. This is looking at if from the backside where it engages the Speedhub External Shifter assembly.
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Speedhub External Shifter without Shifter Box attached. Technically Rohloff refers to this entire assembly as the External Shifter. The black "hex head" in the center is engages by the Shifter Box which rotates it through gear selections. If you blow it and misalign the shifter while the Shifter Box is removed, an 8mm wrench can be used to rotate this into to gear 1 or 14.
Also note the black "block" (above & left of hex head) and the plate it's attached to. That is the "OEM1 Axle Plate" which slides in to the elongated wheel dropout to perform anti-torque duties. The OEM2 Axle Plate you'll be ordering is similar, but instead of a "block" has a "U-Groove" to engage the Speedbone or a bolt head protruding through a disc brake tab.
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Innards of Shifter Box. Very simple, the two cables come from the shifter, enter this box, and rotate this wheel. The hub innards, not the shifter, is indexed, so the barrel adjusters shown entering the box are only used for cable tension adjustments (to reduce excessive cable play or friction at the handlebar shifter). These cables must be cut to a precise length during initial assembly.
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That's enough for now. Time to reach for your Visa.
næstep |
| You're a veritable Encyclopaedia Germanica | AK Ken
Jan 24, 2003 8:19 PM | | on the Rohloff! That is so much cleaner than the torque arm business that we have.
Thanks for posting those pics.
Ken |
| Ken, are you two just riding the Burro... | næstep
Jan 25, 2003 9:30 AM | | ...or do you have a second Speedhub-equiped bike now?
Getting rid of the torque arm and the external shifter box were the best things to happen to the Speedhub. The torque arm I found not only ugly, but the hose clamps were an insult to my bike. The external shifter, to sum it up in one word: "Clean."
I'd like to see a way to get rid of the tensioner maybe an eccentric Speedhub??? but that wouldn't be possible on full suspension unless a bottom bracket-centric pivot or URT design is used.
næstep |
| Burro is our only Speedhub, but | AK Ken
Jan 25, 2003 9:36 PM | | it doesn't see much use. The bike itself is the problem, not the transmission. It's a fun little bike to ride, but if you're going with anyone on bigger wheels it's wicked tough to keep up.
Our torque arm doesn't have hose clamps, but has a plate mounted to the chainstay that accepts a pin to secure the torque arm. A little cleaner than the hose clamps, and quicker to change a tire, but still nothing I want to do to an aluminum bike (Burro is steel).
I'm very interested in suspension designs that allow the use of the Speedhub without a conventional tensioner. As you say, bottom bracket pivot location would work, or a jack shaft bike like Brooklyn Machine Works might offer some advantages (like high ground clearance). Also the Nicolai design where the Speedhub is mounted in the frame and the suspension pivots around it is cool, and gets the weight off the rear end.
You're the only one I know who actually has a Speedhub on a conventional full suspension design, so you tell me which way to go.
Ken |
| Well, me, and... | næstep
Jan 25, 2003 10:02 PM | | ...Henry Dorset Case ran a FSR with a Speedhub down in NZ until just recently, and Tracer_Guy over in Vermont just got his Speedhub up and running on an Uzzi this past fall. I'm sure there are others on mtbr.
On the NRS, even if I could find a workaround to "fix" the chainstay length during suspension travel, I'd still need the tensioner to drop the chain below the bike's funky chainstay.
I'm at a loss as to what might be better. Maybe a pivotless soft tail? But that's not what I'd be looking for. I wouldn't want to be roped in to buying a Lens Sport just because of the Speedhub, so I haven't given that any real consideration as a follow on to the NRS.
I thought of contacting Charles at Hammerhead bikes about anything "special" that could be done to his HH100X to better accomodate a Speedhub, but honestly I can't think of anything to request the Speedbone works so well at adapting the disc tabs to anti-torque duties that there would be no reason to request Speedhub-specific dropouts, and there's no way to get around the tensioner on a Horst link suspension.
So really, any frame goes as long as it has disc tabs; the tensioner will just be a part of life with the exception of the few the two of us have already identified.
næstep |
| Probably a good place to ask... | xxlt
Jan 24, 2003 9:46 PM | | Something I've been meaning to ask Næstep... have you ever replaced the cabling? I'm looking at mine, and thinking its a pretty involved process (not that it will need changing for a while). Is there a recommended change interval?
Also, from the pics I gather there is no grease to go into the hex head interface. Any reason? Where is it that you mentioned gunk really built up? I was thinking it was in there... |
| That's the gunk... | næstep
Jan 24, 2003 11:40 PM | | That's where Van Dessel and then I both neglected to put the grease (until recently). I believe the manual only recommends behind the cable wheel to lubricate the metal on metal interface, but I fill the entire Shifter Box with Tri Flo grease to help keep the grit at bay. It's worked well on my NRS installation, and definitely could have benefited on this one.
The cables aren't complicated to change. They're standard derailleur cables in standard brake housing, they thread into the shifters similar to a Grip Shift, and to get them wrapped correctly around the shift wheel just takes a couple of twists of the wrists. It's the measuring part I don't like; I believe it's 173mm each needs to be cut from the end of the threaded "barrel adjuster" before it can be inserted and set to the shift wheel.
næstep |
| Ahh | xxlt
Jan 25, 2003 7:49 AM | | Gotcha. So you've noticed smoother shifting after filling the box?
Why Tri-Flo? Does it contain additives you like over others? I typically use Phil Wood grease and it seems to work pretty well. |
| I used the Tri Flo... | næstep
Jan 25, 2003 9:02 AM | | ...'cause that's what I've used on Grip Shift twisters for so long, since Sram is very specific as to what additives can't be present. Of course that doesn't apply here since everything is aluminum, but it's what I had on hand.
Looking at how much crud got in there, I'm thinking I should try out marine bearing grease. The Tri Flow is viscous enough that with a few rotations of the shifter, it evenly distributes itself throughout the shift box. The marine grease probably won't spread so easily, but if I simply pack the box with it until it's spooging out every orifice, it may offer even better protection and water intrusion resistance.
næstep |
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