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Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22181040)
Just curious, do you guys do a lot of climbs? I find the stock 10-speed with single chainring more than sufficient for my commute. The only mod so far is to upgrade from 52T to 56T Oval.
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Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22181040)
Just curious, do you guys do a lot of climbs? I find the stock 10-speed with single chainring more than sufficient for my commute. The only mod so far is to upgrade from 52T to 56T Oval.
Even in cities, there are places with short but very steep streets where the 52x32 2.21m, the lowest gear of the Birdy Touring, is too long For those places, the Birdy Rohloff with 1.55 - 8.27m goes everywhere while the Birdy Touring with 2.21 - 7.86m can have problems on steep hills. For me, the Birdy City with its cheap and limited Nexus 8 is a very bad choice. I wonder why at his price, R&M doesn't install an Alfine 11 hub on the Birdy City instead of the low end Nexus 8 ? |
I see. Come think of it, there's hardly any hills here in Singapore, hence generally 7-speeds onwards is sufficient for most of our commuting needs.
I'll be swapping out my SRAM X5 10 speed to the Rohloff hub next month, looking forward to the modification!
Originally Posted by JRat
(Post 22184951)
15% hills need a good gearing range. I can just get up a 15% hill in 3rd gear on my Birdy Rohloff and like to have a couple of gears in reserve for headwind / extra load / tired legs.
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Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22185231)
I see. Come think of it, there's hardly any hills here in Singapore, hence generally 7-speeds onwards is sufficient for most of our commuting needs.
I'll be swapping out my SRAM X5 10 speed to the Rohloff hub next month, looking forward to the modification! |
Originally Posted by Jipe
(Post 22184967)
I
For me, the Birdy City with its cheap and limited Nexus 8 is a very bad choice. I wonder why at his price, R&M doesn't install an Alfine 11 hub on the Birdy City instead of the low end Nexus 8 ?
Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22185231)
I see. Come think of it, there's hardly any hills here in Singapore, hence generally 7-speeds onwards is sufficient for most of our commuting needs.
I'll be swapping out my SRAM X5 10 speed to the Rohloff hub next month, looking forward to the modification! Note also that Rohloff hub gears improve with use but are very low maiintenance except for the oil change every year or 5000km, whichever comes first. |
Most of the Birdy owners I know use the bike for leisure speed rides. Hence they focus on weight savings (eg lightweight cranks) and highest gear ratio available.
I'm likely to retain my existing 56T oval chainring with the Rodloff hub before deciding if I need a smaller chainring. I also read that the Rudloff hub can be noisy at gear 7, did you observe that?
Originally Posted by JRat
(Post 22186135)
I agree. While the Alfine 11 is more than double the cost of the Nexus 8 this difference is a relatively small proportion of the total bike cost. I briefly considered putting an Alfine 11 onto a Birdy City but quickly crossed off that option because I knew that it wouldn't have the gearing range I wanted (I've got another bike with the Alfine 11 which is waiting to be re-homed).
The standard Birdy Rohloff uses a 52T chainring and 13T sprocket (the smallest available). I'm planning to fit a 14T sprocket to get slightly lower gearing for my hills but if you don't have steep hills then you may want to investigate fitting a bigger (56T but even bigger if feasible) chain ring. Otherwise you'll never be using the bottom gears and be wanting another gear at the top end. Note also that Rohloff hub gears improve with use but are very low maiintenance except for the oil change every year or 5000km, whichever comes first. |
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6df78b2c6f.jpg
My current setup. Birdy GT. With 18" Schwalbe Kojak. |
Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22186526)
I'm likely to retain my existing 56T oval chainring with the Rodloff hub before deciding if I need a smaller chainring.
I also read that the Rudloff hub can be noisy at gear 7, did you observe that? Any of gears 1 to 7 of a Rohloff hub are noisier than gears 8 to 14 as an extra set of gears is used to create the low range. However, 7 tends to be the noisiest as it is effectively overdrive low range and involves both the low range gears and a freewheel mechanism. The sound difference between 7 and 8 provides a useful way of knowing which gear you are in without looking at the shifter. The gear noise reduces with use. My No. 1 Rohloff bike is approaching 10,000km and the gears have become much quieter which is very noticeable when compared with the much newer Birdy Rohloff. Probably the best English discussion about Rohloff hubs is at Rohloff Internal Hub Gears . |
Current Rohloff are less noisy on their 7 lowest gear than older ones. I have two bikes with a Rohloff, he first one of 2021 even if it now has a lot of km remain noisier than the second one of mid 2016.
The break-in time of current Rohloff is also much shorter that it was with the first models. If somebody will build the wheel for you, it is strongly advised to add the flange support rings |
Thanks for sharing! I'll slowly read up the discussion threads.
Originally Posted by JRat
(Post 22186621)
I agree that if you've already got a 56T chainring and no very steep hills then it would be best to keep that chainring.
Any of gears 1 to 7 of a Rohloff hub are noisier than gears 8 to 14 as an extra set of gears is used to create the low range. However, 7 tends to be the noisiest as it is effectively overdrive low range and involves both the low range gears and a freewheel mechanism. The sound difference between 7 and 8 provides a useful way of knowing which gear you are in without looking at the shifter. The gear noise reduces with use. My No. 1 Rohloff bike is approaching 10,000km and the gears have become much quieter which is very noticeable when compared with the much newer Birdy Rohloff. Probably the best English discussion about Rohloff hubs is at Rohloff Internal Hub Gears . |
Green Basikal didn't organise the pictures into an album, hence you can read up the comments in each photo to piece together the puzzle.
Posted on 9 July by Green Basikal on Facebook: Birdy conversion from 1x to 2x Chainrings. Objective is to have lower gear ratios for ease in climbing. Contrary to many commonly seen Birdy conversions where riders just want to ride fast, faster and fastest, with increasing bigger chainrings, we actually swap the original 52T to 50/34T chainrings. The original 52T w/11-32T (9s) Birdy has a range of 27.9 to 81.1". With the swap to 50/34T double chainrings, the new improved gear ratios became 18.2 to 78". Now he can C L I M B. Facebook Post
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Originally Posted by Jipe
(Post 22178250)
What model of Birdy do you have ?
What is the brand of the front derailleur mount used for the conversion ? You could maybe post some pictures of it. |
81,1" is really short, 78" is even worse !
I have a Brompton with Rohloff (54x13), the 19” to 102” range is really excellent. 102" is about 25% longer than 81.1" ! |
Originally Posted by Jipe
(Post 22187751)
81,1" is really short, 78" is even worse !
I have a Brompton with Rohloff (54x13), the 19” to 102” range is really excellent. 102" is about 25% longer than 81.1" ! |
The slightly longer gear range of the Birdy Rohloff vs. my Brompton Rohloff is due to the slightly bigger wheels and mainly the bigger/wider/higher Big Apple tires.
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Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22185231)
I see. Come think of it, there's hardly any hills here in Singapore, hence generally 7-speeds onwards is sufficient for most of our commuting needs.
I'll be swapping out my SRAM X5 10 speed to the Rohloff hub next month, looking forward to the modification! One qn - has anyone used a larger chainring say 58T vs 13t sprocket on Rohloff? I know is not known as a speed demon but technically the largest gear inch at gear 14 here (118”) would be much longer than most including R20 So at same candence rohloff would be faster? Or did i miss something? |
Yes, Green Basikal is the Rohdoff dealer in SG. :) and I think for MY as well.
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Originally Posted by desmondk07
(Post 22214307)
One qn - has anyone used a larger chainring say 58T vs 13t sprocket on Rohloff? I know is not known as a speed demon but technically the largest gear inch at gear 14 here (118”) would be much longer than most including R20
So at same candence rohloff would be faster? Or did i miss something? You are correct that a larger chainring will give a higher speed at a specific cadence and this applies through the whole gearing range. 58T instead of 52T increases the gearing by about 11.5% which is close to 1 step in the Rohloff gears. If you live in a relatively flat area with no need for the bottom gear or two then I would suggest that you try using a bigger chainring if only to find out if it works. |
The current chain tensionner arm placed around the chainring limit the chainring size.
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I'm using a Ridea 56T oval chainring currently, and will be pairing it with at 13T sprocket on the Rodloff hub for a 20" to 108" range.
I have no problems folding with the 56T chainring, but not sure if 58T would be too big for folding. |
Rodloff conversion done
1 Attachment(s)
Finally I got to collect my Rodloff after 2 month's wait. Just love the way the close ratio gearbox shifts!
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Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22278601)
Finally I got to collect my Rodloff after 2 month's wait. Just love the way the close ratio gearbox shifts!
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Yes, I'm enjoying every moment with the Rodloff hub!
Do you mean the click box? |
Originally Posted by Huggable
(Post 22281383)
Yes, I'm enjoying every moment with the Rodloff hub!
Do you mean the click box? |
Does anybody know is (assuming using a SRAM XDR body rear wheel that I have), a 10-44 SRAM 12s XPLR cassette will fit on a Birdy (from what I see on my Birdy with a 10s 9-32t cassette, it seems to me that the chain on the 44t will rub against the left stay) ?
Does anybody know what is the maximum biggest cog size possible ? I have now 32t, would 36t ou 40t fit? P.S. : this cassette and the XDR body are road/gravel components, not MTB components. |
Not the specific answer you are asking for, but the variables you could play around with when dealing with that stay are 1) bottom bracket spindle width 2) front chain-ring diameter and 3) granny cog diameter. If you are willing to trade off some power for easier climbs, you could get a smaller front chain ring with your existing cassette and BB.
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My motivation is to get rid of the original Sunrace hub and cassette and at the same time have narrower spaced gears.
The range of this 9-32t cassette is enough but the hub isn't reliable and the cassette is very difficult to find in spare parts. I have two options, either go as with my Ti Birdy with a 3T 11s 9-32 cassette for XD/XDR hub and Shimano Ultegra or 105 derailleur that works very well but with the drawback that this cassette is not really available anymore. The other option is to go with a full SRAM transmission using a 12s SRAM XDR cassette and SRAM road or gravel derailleur but there are only two cassette that give at least the same range I have, the 10-36t and the new XPLR 10-44t (there are also smaller range cassettes, the other SRAM wide range cassettes are MTB and not road cassettes). The 12s offer also closer spaced gears. |
Question on Stem Compatibility across models
I have a Birdy Classic BD-1 (unsure which mk), which comes with the fixed 10D unadjustable stem. I'm looking at purchasing a used adjustable stem, which was supposed to fit a Gen 2 Birdy. I have looked around to find any resource on the differences, and have not found much. does anyone know if a stem from gen 2 or 3 will fit a Birdy Classic BD-1?
Another question - what are the actual practical differences between a 10D vs a 25D? is there a guideline... which is suitable for taller/shorter riders? Thanks in advance! |
There are two angles for the stem, Comfort 10 degree and Sport 21 degree.
As you can read (sorry its in Dutch but I think its understandable), it seems that the one for Birdy II also fit for Birdy I (there are two other versions for the Birdy III). The Sport 21 degree fits better for taller rider while the Comfort 10 degree fits better shorter riders. Note that both adjustable stem have two positions with two different reach values (s (the reach adjustment is done by rotating the top part of the stem by 180 degrees and moving the push button to the opposite side of the stem tube, there are two holes in the stem for this push button) Pacific Cycles has also a fixed one piece lower 19 degree stem (which because its fixed has also no reach adjustment possibilities, its always the shorter reach). |
That's good to know! thanks alot!
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Originally Posted by Jipe
(Post 22370982)
Does anybody know is (assuming using a SRAM XDR body rear wheel that I have), a 10-44 SRAM 12s XPLR cassette will fit on a Birdy (from what I see on my Birdy with a 10s 9-32t cassette, it seems to me that the chain on the 44t will rub against the left stay) ?
Does anybody know what is the maximum biggest cog size possible ? I have now 32t, would 36t ou 40t fit? P.S. : this cassette and the XDR body are road/gravel components, not MTB components. If you are considering to go with 9T-44T cassette, you might have to consider moving onto a 48T or even 44T chainring for a single chainring setup. You will be getting higher top and low gear ratio but high gear gap as you might already know. My 3x10 Touring Birdy 3 is using 44T and 11-36T combo without the chain rubbing the rear fork. I have a friend with a Frankenstein New Birdy Classic running 44T single chainring pairing with a 9-46T cassette. He initially used a Zee RD and eventually switched to SRAM Force AXS XPLR RD. (He replaced the stock v-brake forks with Birdy 2's disc brake forks.) https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c244788c75.jpg |
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