Transcontinental Race No. 6 - TCR6 - #TCRN06 - 2018

The difference between the lightest and heaviest kit lists on TCR will be many multiples of the 'extra' weight of a Rohloff compared to a normal geared drivetrain.

I think his choice of hub was very poor - he would have been better getting a rohloff or sticking with Brompton 6 speed (maybe with 2 chainrings). Shimano hub gears are so inefficient

I expect you're right but, to be fair to him, choice of rear hub isn't the biggest flaw in his setup...

I'm also still aiming for a top 50 spot but today was hard. With the neck issues I only did 200km but still took till 22:30 to ride (started at 8:30).
Comfy bed now for 5 or 6 hours and hopefully tomorrow is better.

Just wondering... is anyone doing it on a Rohloff hub?

Many riders tend to follow fashions and so setups tend to be pretty similar.
I have to admit I didn't know how broad a range a Rohloff have until I googled it just now, and it's 526%. That makes it very interesting as an option.
Agree that weight not such an issue if it gives good ratios and performance
My reservations about them are

• lower efficiency than derailleur setups, but DK how much difference it would make.
  
• some of them have a reputation for breaking hub flanges. I was on a ride with someone when this happened, and then you are utterly stuffed.
  

Rest is good!
Tempting to ride on into the night after a short day but usually that's a mistake.
Hope neck benefits from the rest. Tomorrow's a new day!

Yeah, surely? I mean there's that dude on a Kona Sutra which weighs a ton - I know because I've got one.

Skinny has been riding very well but he's also not suffered mechanicals or got lost (AFAIK) which seems to be where a lot of people lose big chunks of time - days even. As someone who has never done anything even remotely similar to this... I would want to prioritise reliability over nearly anything else. Weight would be one of the last things on my mind - I'd just compensate with ultra low gears and spin up hills at 100 RPM.

Having said that as mentioned above they're not very servicable so perhaps not the best choice

Agreed on all those points. I was warned about the lace pattern I was asking for because of the broken hub flange risk, but then... I use Hope M4 disc brakes and have toured heavily loaded (I'm not very good at travelling light yet) in the alps and braked on descents at speed and it was solid.

If you find yourself loading web pages to view the info... take whatever is your comfortable fast cruising gear inch on a single speed and that is gear 11. You get 3 gears up and 10 down, all evenly spaced.

The only things that have bugged me about mine are:

• Weight centralisation, it's only a fraction more than a traditional drivetrain but it's all in one place at the rear.
  
• Gear change between 7 and 8 can't be done under high torque, you need to back off on that one. This is because there's 7 gears and then a step gear to give you the range of 14, and 7-8 is the biggest move internally.
  
  

Otherwise it's fine. Drive train stays very clean and is super easy to service because you just run a basic chain and it's always in contact. The hub itself is fully sealed so if it's running smooth you're good for a few tens of thousands of Km before you need it serviced (though I've never serviced mine, maybe I should).

Shifting a Rohloff is a manual mechanical process right? No buttons you can just mash with whatever functional appendage you have left after x-days racing and have a machine move parts for you...

Looks clean though, no doubt you could neutralise some of the weight distribution with your packing and probably pretty crushing as you spin past competition and they think you're riding single speed.

@Velocio

Electric Rohloff was released last year.

I’ve had a play with one and it’s good, up/down buttons and quick shifting.

AFAIA it’s just the shifter and box so you could retrofit it to and existing hub.

Interesting...

I think that we are very likely to see Velocio enter next year.

Would be brilliant.

Hub flanges are pretty major! Rohloff now offer, and will only warranty, hubs with flange rings, an extra support ring over the flange to stop breaking!

Thanks for sharing that from wherever it came. Epic effort.

Skinny has been riding very well but he's also not suffered mechanicals

The was a picture of him a couple of days ago where he had had to boot a tyre.

But what about the efficiency? Ie they are meant to waste more power than a derailleur.
I've not run numbers on it to see what difference it makes to speeds, and in these races people's drivetrains get dirty so derailleur drivetrain efficiency reduces.
That comparison would dictate if it would be a good option

The perfect chainline on a Rohloff gives you would be worth a considerable amount (over a ride like TCR) compared to sub-optimal chainlines from derailleur setups. I'd definitely like to see the numbers if you find them and apply them to TCR type distances.

@TM thanks for the heads up on electric Rohloff. The need for a gripshift (or heinous bodge for ergo type levers) was one of the things that kept putting me off about Rohloff hubs.

The Rohloff website goes into considerable detail regarding efficiency compared to derailleur. Some well considered testing methods too. Total drivechain efficiency looks comparable to derailleur. I'm just a little scared-off by the complexity - I like simple.

https://www.rohloff.de/en/experience/technology-in-detail/mechanical-efficiency/

Skinny with that whole country buffer, he'll have time for a dip in Balaton at this rate

Bjorn is not that far behind and he’s probably well rested, so there is no room for complacency. Not that @skinny ever gets complacent.

I beg to differ.

Alfine 11 as well, real piece of crap. Warm weather and they shit their oil out. Expect he will scratch imminently.

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Regarding the rohloff chat, homepage says the electronic shifting only works in combination with a Bosch motor and that they're aware people want it in non ebikes too.
Rohloff, bosch motor, at least 3 Akkus, perfect TCR setup!

Ah, didn’t realise it was only available withBosch, but expect when they can meet demand it will be more available.

They are hard bastards. Allez Björn. Huge respect.

You dont get tour riders writing from the race !