Originally Posted by Dahon.Steve
Unless this German company made some scientific breakthrough, I don't see how they're going to develope a hub significantly better than Shimano, Sram or Sturmey Archer when it comes to friction losses. As I said before, Shimano made similar claims on performance gains and left me disapointed.
If you think that Shimano's products (and others mentioned) represent the absolute top in mechanical engineering, think again. Just look at how another German company, Schmidt, builds their dynohubs, compared e.g. to Shimano's similar products.
What
Shimano claims (and in your case apparently failed to deliver) has got nothing to do with
Rohloff. Claiming that is like testing one disappointing halogen light and then claiming all halogens are sh** because they are all based on same technology.
I think it is evident Rohloff choose to do better job with their product than most internal gear manufacturers. I also think it is evident a Speedhub offers significant advantages over "normal" 3x7/8/9 setup. It is also evident there are disadvantages, most importantly weight and price.
So whether this hub is good for you is entirely subjective (for my riding it probably would be). Whether it is worth the extra expense is also entirely subjective (for me it is not). I just don't think you can categorically state "keep the 9 speeds folks" here.
--J