Originally Posted by
CargoDane
Ah, the usual "a friend of mine".
You can run it year round on Rohloff's cleaning oil if you wish. Or get a Rohloff. Yearly oil change is not a bad thing, though. Just how cold does it get where he is? I have been to about -15 degrees C on my Alfine 11-speed and about -10 on the Rohloff so far. Not a problem on either.
If you set up your deraiileured bike for summer weather and then go run in -15C and below, I can guarantee you will have to adjust it.
Add to that, snow and mud will make a derailleur not shift at all. That seems a lot more work to keep clean - even on a singly muddy or snowy trip than the entire oil shift on a Rohloff or Alfine.
You complain about oil shifts, but I only change my oil once a year or so. I don't even change for winter (so not even half-yearly).
How well does your derailleur work in bad weather, mud, or even with just road grit? Have you ridden in weather that was not clear skies forever and way above freezing?
How much cleaning of your derailleur setup do do after each and every ride? Do you own dedicated cleaning brushes for your cogs and derailleur?
Also, what hub does the "friend of [yours]" run? Alfine what exactly? How many gears? 5? 7? 8? 11?
After initial cable and housing bed-in I don't have to adjust the RD. And that adjustment is just a small barrel turn. Works in snow, and dirt.
shifter cable stretch should be the same (non) issue on a Rohloff.
Chain gets wiped off after a ride and lubed monthly unless it is rainy, but that is the same for a Rohloff, unless you have a belt drive.
If you mean the cable will stretch or shrikinng with temperature, so should the housing. Assuming they have similar coefficients of expansion, thermal shrinking or expanding of the cable should be cancelled out by the same for the housing.
The only real disadvantage of an RD is that it can be damaged, especially on a wide fatbike. On the other hand, the $1,400 Rohloff is the only hub rated for MTB. The Alfine are not durable enough. But the RD has a huge advantage, it shifts under heavy load. I never damaged an RD, but shift under load all the time. So I take that. For $1,400 and the weight of the Rohloff, I can bring a whole bag of spare RD with me.
They have their place, and some advantages, but not the ones you list.