Originally Posted by fore
steve, you really should do some research before posting, it'll save you a bit of confusion in the future.
that "german speedhub" is the rohloff speedhub. here's some nice information about it.
A) it's plenty durable.
nicolai,
evil bikes, and
rohloff are developing a standard for downhill/freeride bikes called the G-Boxx around that very hub. if it can handle the stresses of those, it can handle the stresses someone commuting back and forth to work will put on it.
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I've done enough research on the Rohloff speedhub before posting on this subject. Would you really want to put that heavy hub on a Cannondale 1000 or LightSpeed? Would you really want to put that heavy hub on a Tandam? Come on!
The hubs internals are not designed for that kind of punishment. All those dozens of moving parts inside that hub and you're going to do freestyle?? Good luck! Furthermore, it's way too expensive and I'll take a 3X9 system that's more efficient and can be repaired at any bike shop. This is something you can't do with a damaged Rohloff speedhub in the middle of a tour.
They're starting to experiment the Rohloff with some downhill bikes but the jury is still out. I would hate to damage that $1,000.00 dollar hub and have to send it back to Germany for repairs.