We have a Rohloff that came on a used tandem we bought from eBay. I'm not a fan. Here are some reasons why:

1- You really have to ease up on the pedals in order to shift. On a tour down the Pacific coast, we tried to shift to an easier gear when we came upon a surprise hill and the mechanism shifted to gear 11 (one of the hardest gears) instead. We couldn't pedal in that gear so we had to walk the bike to the top of the hill. Since the shoulder was blocked by concrete barriers, we were forced to walk in the road. Not pleasant.

2- My hub currently leaks oil. I'll eventually have to figure out why and do the work myself because I don't want to spend $$$ to ship the wheel to a certified repair shop. In the mean time the bike sits idle until I take on the project.

3- The hub weight is significant. On a tandem it's not really a big deal, but on a single bike the weight should be centered. The Pinion system looks much better for this reason.

4- There's no good solution for drop bars. I set up the bike with the Gebla Rohbox and Sram shifters. You can only shift one gear at a time. I knew about this going into the project, but thought it wouldn't be a big deal. On a heavily-loaded bike the ability to switch gears quickly as the terrain changes is crucial. I switched back to the stock twist shifter and flat bars. Perhaps the Co-Motion twist shifter provides a better drop bar experience.

5- The hub is noisy. In gear 7 especially the hub makes a lot of noise when pedaling. I was always relieved when I shifted out of that gear.

Anybody want to buy a S&S-coupled Thorn touring tandem with a Rohloff and SP dynamo hub?