Originally Posted by Buzzbomb
I'm not trying to start anything here, but I've used both systems. In fact, I still use a traditional Shimano setup on my road bike. Have you got experience with both systems? No? You say the Rohloff is delicate, but trust me on this, I MTB some pretty rough terrain, and have bent, cracked, or otherwise broken many Shimano parts while in the same challenging conditions my Rohloff keeps on doing it's best impression of a Timex. Two years, one oil change and NO adjustments or problems, whatsoever. If you are really interested in finding out about these things, read some reviews. You will find that although some people don't like them, not one complained about the delicate nature of this piece of equipment...
Just to clarify my last post, my bike uses adjustable dropouts which allows me to size my chain and then adjust effective chainstay length for chain tension (think singlespeed), negating the need for a tensioner. If you mount this hub on a frame with standard dropouts you will need a tensioner.
Hey, it's a free country and thank god for that!!
I stand by my orig. opinion (I THINK that's what the original poster was asking for).
It's true that I haven't tried one of these expensive parts - for the reasons stated in my other post, although I will admit that "delicate" might not have been the proper word to use.
I've personally logged about 250,000 miles over nearly 30 years (equivilent to over ten around-the-world trips at the equator) and have NEVER been stranded due to a "conventional" drive system failure of any kind - and I believe that if I HAD been, it would have been a simple matter to find the parts to get going again.
Personally, due to lots of experience, I try to always apply the "KISS" (Keep it simple, stupid) philosophy. So far, it's worked extremely well for me.
Regards,
John