Internal geared hub

[V2 guy]

Has anyone replaced the standard drivetrain with a Rohloff internal hub and rim assembly using a S40 frame set? I am interested in how the 2 cable system is routed from handlebar to frame. Was the rim a special build?

 

[Black Hawk Down]

I'm also interested for the Q45.

 

[Scott McCullough]

I don't have an S40 (yet) but, I do have the Rohloff on my Lightening R84. Here are the pics of the 2 cables connecting to the Rohloff hub. From riding this bike shifting the twister on the handlebar is not exactly smooth like butter. It takes some effort. There is also some give or energy lost using the Rohloff. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, from my experience jumping from this bike to my P38 with a regular cassette 100% of your effort moving the bike is a 1:1 ratio. When I ride my R84 (granted it also has a suspension) with the Rohloff you can tell it's not a 1:1 type of ratio where effort equates to spinning your wheel. I knew this reading reviews and researching prior to ordering my bike. But in hindsight for me I would have went with a reguluar cassette. Pros and cons with everything. But the effort to shift gears and the small loss of energy moving your wheel for me I would not have chosen the setup. My goal for this build was zero derailers which I accomplished with the cons of what I just mentioned (plus the cost... it's not cheap).

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Thanks @Scott McCullough. But I would still like to try it on my Q45. I just don't want to be the first. I am not that mechanically gifted. If someone else went through the installation and laid it out here on the forum, I would give it a try.

 

[David Saxton]

A friend of mine was looking into this. He learned that if you have the thru-axle version of these bikes, there may be some compatibility hurdles to overcome. Rohloff does not make a thru-axle SPEEDHUB and I'm not sure any of the other mass-produced internally geared hubs are made for that standard either. Apparently space inside of those hubs is at a premium due to all of the moving gear parts, and a 12mm bore through the center is hard to accommodate.

If you have a thru-axle frame, you have to buy special adaptors to more or less turn your bike back into a quick-release frame. Not impossible but according to this article you will need the assistance of a Rohloff dealer who has a special fitting kit who can determine what adaptors to buy and install in your frame.

Tech Talk: Rohloff's "Through-Axle" A12 Hubs

In 2016, Rohloff introduced a new version of their renowned SPEEDHUB 500/14 14-speed internal gear hub that works with through axle fra...

cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com

 

[Black Hawk Down]

A friend of mine was looking into this. He learned that if you have the thru-axle version of these bikes, there may be some compatibility hurdles to overcome. Rohloff does not make a thru-axle SPEEDHUB and I'm not sure any of the other mass-produced internally geared hubs are made for that standard either. Apparently space inside of those hubs is at a premium due to all of the moving gear parts, and a 12mm bore through the center is hard to accommodate.

If you have a thru-axle frame, you have to buy special adaptors to more or less turn your bike back into a quick-release frame. Not impossible but according to this article you will need the assistance of a Rohloff dealer who has a special fitting kit who can determine what adaptors to buy and install in your frame.

Tech Talk: Rohloff's "Through-Axle" A12 Hubs

In 2016, Rohloff introduced a new version of their renowned SPEEDHUB 500/14 14-speed internal gear hub that works with through axle fra...

cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com

Thanks for the info. I would like to find a LBS in Austin to do the conversion for me on my Q45. It's tough enough to find a bike shop that will work on a Cruzbike, much less convert it to a Rohloff speed hub. But, I'll shop around.