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The
German made and designed Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 rear
transmission gear hub was chosen for the HSB Rhythm RDF mountain bike as our bike frame is designed to only
accept this great hub and shifting system. The advantages
of the Rohloff Speedhub are numerous.
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ROHLOFF
SPEEDHUB 500/14 ADVANTAGES:
I
(DH Dave) have
identified over 12 key advantages that the Speedhub has
over conventional derailleur systems.
They are:
-
With 14 gears, the Rohloff completely replaces a typical
24 or 27 speed derailleur drivetrain yet still offers
the same range of gears! This is due in part to the
overlap between many gear combinations on a derailleur
system.
- Gear
increments are much more finely tuned and equal so
there is not such a wide "gap" between many of the
gears.
-
Shift without pedalling. For my freeriding/ downhill
racing this is a key point. Often, after pounding
down a fast chute I will come upon a rise or technical
drop or technical slow section. Now, I can stay on
the power right to the last second, get hard on the
brakes and gear down in an instant to hit the slower
section. Before, I would have to start changing gears
50 feet ahead of the obstacle.
- Stronger
wheel build. With a taller flange and wider body,
there is less dish and shorter spokes may be used,
creating a stronger wheelbuild. The load is evenly
distributed at 700N (newton meters) on each side of
the Rohloff built wheel. Conventional wheelbuilds
on cassette/ derailleur systems have loads of 600N
on the non drive side and 1105N or more on the drive
side.This severely unbalanced loading on conventional
derailleur compatible conventional wheels leads to
spoke fatigue and can even cause rim damage.
- Direct
chain line. Now, you can perfectly align the front
chain ring with the single rear cog. This reduces
drag.
- No
need to worry about bent derailleur drop-outs, as
the derailleur alignment is no longer essential to
shifting.
- Reliable
shifting as a result of the above point. No more missed
shifts from mud or sticks in the derailleur or from
a bent derailleur. This was one of the key points
that drove me to convert to the Rohloff system. I
suffered two crashes years ago from a downhill run
where rocks must have flipped up and bent my derailleur.
Then, halfway down a descent I came upon slow, technical
wheelie drops. On both occasions, I went to shift
down to wheelie the 6 foot and 8 foot stunts and the
shift was missed due to a bent derailleur drop-out
(that I was unaware of) which caused me to endo. The
Rohloff solves this problem.
- Simplified
shifting. With one machined and ultra durable shifter
handling all 14 gears, no longer is there any confusion
for novice riders who often cannot figure out which
lever woks what gear and how to use them.
- Reduced
maintenance. With fewer exposed parts, there are fewer
chain rings to clean.
- Durability.
It is estimated that because of 100% accurate chainline
alignment and no cross-stresses on the chain line,
combined with fewer parts hanging down to get damaged,
the Rohloff system should outlast at least 2 complete
conventional drive systems. I estimate that number
to be closer to 3 or 4.
- For
my custom bikes, having one shifter freed up now allows
me to run a remote shock compression damper from my
left side shifter on my downhill bike, and on the
HSB Rhythm it allows the Joplin joy-stick seat post
adjuster to be placed without interference from a
shifter. As I am a twist-shift rider, I now have my
old twist shift running the damper on my rear shock
(on my downhill bike). This is important for cross-country
racers as well as serious downhillers.
-
One bike for all ocasions. Now even the burliest "downhill
bikes" can be ridden up climbs. They can still run
chain guides or rock/ bash guards on the cranks and
still have all the gear combos that an 8 or 9 spd
bike with triple front rings would have. This is a
very liberating factor for a freerider such as myself
that often climbs before a full-on descent.
- Rohloff
hubs are available for conventional rim brakes or
are available for Avid, Shimano, Hayes and Hope disc
brakes. For disc brake applications, a rotor is even
supplied (please specify what brake and size of rotor
you will use)!
- Tuneability.
Rohloff offers several diferrent rear chain rings.
This, combined with the users ability to select a
size for the front chain ring, allows the user to
easily fine-tune the gear ratios to best suit their
riding style.
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