Frankly I'm taking this opportunity to validate all the claims I've heard about Rohloff hubs. I'm a skeptic and the long, long, long bike build process was a direct result of the lack of availability of Rohloff parts. If I had decided to use a standard MTB drive train I would have had this bike on the road in a day or two after the frame arrived as opposed to more than 6 weeks later...and for much less $$$.
Perhaps after a summer of riding I'll drink the Rohloff kool-aid and overlook the numerous problems reported on the Thorn Rohloff Forums and the scarcity of spare parts in favour of the hub's reliability and minimal need for maintenance??? Part of the reason I got a Rohloff for the Big Dummy is that I can live without this bike for a while in the event of a problem that requires significant down time.
I will say that at one point last night I thought I had damaged the hub [wouldn't shift at all] and envisaged a long period while I tried to get advice/repairs on how to fix it. In my frustration I made a hasty decision to pull the hub from the BD and install an off the shelf MTB drive train rather than deal with more frustration and delays. In my wisdom I took 10 mins to drink a beer and calm down. Then I tore down the hub [as far as I had before] and did some trouble shooting to find out I had installed a small pinion gear upside down. Problem solved.
Having ridden a few KMs on the hub I am pleased so far and my negative feelings from last night are evaporating. Although I'm tempted to stock up on a few Rohloff specific parts just in case.
I'm still not convinced I'd choose one of these hubs for a long tour in Mexico, Central Am or South Am, but who knows perhaps I'll change my mind with use....?
Sorry for the ramble, but I'm fascinated by my love/hate relationship with the Rohloff...LMAO...
