Originally Posted by
Industrial
I was directly replying to a person who said an internal hub would be good for mountain biking. This is a discussion forum and things are allowed to go off topic from time to time right?
I really like rohloff hubs but they are pretty expensive. I'm guessing that there really isn't that much more maintanence involved with a normal setup compared to internal gears when it comes to mountain biking. Everything gets trashed after a good ride and needs to be cleaned, re-lubed and checked. It's not like internal gears keep dirt/leaves/rocks/branches from getting everywhere. I have no idea how they would hold up for extreme drops. Using an internal gear setup with a front derailluerer seems to be defeating the purpose somewhat. I can see potential for a downhill bike to have internal gears but only if it's made for like 80% down, 20% up.
I'd give it a shot if it wasn't so expensive or heavy. I'm not a pro rider but I'd don't want to pay more to handicap myself for almost no upside.
It is my understanding the main reason for the development of the Rohloff was for touring. However it has been used in many off road events. Read
the article by Andy Blance from Thorn Cycles. I agree they are expensive, but IMHO this is one of those case where you get what you pay for. They are built in a small facility by trained personnel in a first world country. As far as the weight is concerned, I don't think they are way heavier than a total dérailleur system, if you factor in ALL the components.
FWIW I have had a couple of long walks home after trashing a dérailleur system when riding my MTB, the first time the cage disintegrated, the second the dérailleur broke at the hanger bolt. If I had taken my chain breaker with me I would have been able to shorten the chain and limp home...live and learn.
Aaron
