Cargo Bikes

The build quality of the two is night and day. A Rohloff hub will likely outlive whatever bike you put it on. Shimano IGHs also tend to get sloppy as they age, even if you're diligent about dipping them.

My experience is limited really to only have enviolo to compare it to. Was looking after a fleet of Urban Arrow XL with enviolo (10-15 bikes) . Problems almost every day (with freewheel, cables, shifter etc). , a hub would have to be stripped and warrantied every other week almost. There’s no repairing the hubs when they break inside either, warranty process and replacement every time. Long asf. We ditched the enviolo in favour of Rohloff at that point and gradually expanded the fleet to 70+ (while I was there). It would have been completely overwhelming if it was a fleet of enviolo for me and + another mech to stay on top of.

In use, the Rohloff is many many times more reliable. It rolls better and the actual useable gear range is much better, like you can run v low gear inches (there are still limits, outlined in Rohloff manual) to get up those steep asf hills fully loaded without breaking the hub (for me this is one of the key differences, they can handle higher torque / low GI than cheaper IGH).

When you’re actually doing maintenance it’s much nicer and more user friendly- (removing gear box for puncture repairs etc). Much easier to train people to use it as well. Just good quality and reliable and nice to use.

Hard to go into it in loads of detail but the money is worth it, it’s just a lot more expensib so if you can get away with a cheaper hub then 🙌... one of the biggest complaints on the urban arrow groups I’m on are hub failures. Powerful mid drive motors, heavy bikes, hills and cheap IGH are not a reliable and long lasting mix.

Sorry for the tldr ;)

Thanks for the tldr!
I’m pretty happy with the Alfine 11 on
our analogue bullitt, but we do live in a very flat place.
Funds allowing I hope to upgrade to rohloff when I’ve worn out the alfine.

Mine isn't so good on the Douze. Some skipping / catching at a certain gear. Service didn't remedy it.

Thanks for the detailed response. I keep kicking around the idea of getting one. The problem that I have is both the cargos we have now came with nexus 7s that have been flawless so far. Not a ton of gears but its pretty flat where we use the bikes. So this would mostly be a boredom upgrade. Basically if i find a hub for cheap i would do it I guess. Maybe it will become more clearly needed when converting to mid drive.

Wife wants a bullitt now to replace her 3 wheeler but wants less gears then her current cargo (like a nexus 3) so she wants to go the other direction lol

The quantity of the gears isn’t really important on Rohloff, the increments are too small imo but then they weren’t designed for E cargo bikes but primarily for tourers / tandems etc. I would regularly cycle through 2 or 3 increments at a time when changing gear.

The important thing is the total range (536%) and max. torque capacity. high torque is what breaks cheaper hubs rapidly if you abuse them.

Forgot to say in earlier comment, oil changes are easy, sprocket changes are also easy with the C clip version.

Also iirc shimano IGH aren’t symmetric, so they build up into weaker wheels too (all other things being equal)

I like Rohloff service centre too. Never had any issues that they couldn’t fix.

What are people using to lock their bikes? ideally would get something from here so I could add it to the c2w but also looking at the Litelok x3 or the Hiplock similar jobbie

Pragmasis chain(s) and squire lock https://securityforbikes.com/security-chains.php

talking of Urban Arrows, my front suspension forks were so loose they were knocking. Couldn't find a service/rebuild kit. After much trawling I found original replacement forks, but they were not available & no restock date. They did have a newer version with a through axle but that was about £350! I ended up buying a cheap 20" suspension hub for £70 & I'll keep my fingers crossed. Fitted fine except I had to use a Coke can shim with carbon assembly paste for the steering rod bracket

1 Attachment

What’s the bungee attached to? QR lever?

Also you might find that those forks bottom out more often- the ones UA source have a double spring (one in each stanchion) and no lockout.

It just holds a tarpaulin on when parked up overnight (the box isn't 100% watertight)

So far so good but haven't carried any particularly heavy loads yet! Also I've adjusted the tension to half way

Load4 75 ordered. Much excite!

I don't want to scare you, but please be careful using any fork that isn't cargo approved. The braking loads you can get on a loaded cargo bike with the centre of gravity low behind the front wheel are no joke. It took suspension fork manufacturers quite a long time to develop a fork that could pass the tests. The test forces for a bike like urban arrow are at least 3 times as high as for a normal 20" bike and that's over 100000 fatigue cycles.

So what should I do? If direct replacement isn't available the only option is to spend £350 on updated version + new through-hub & wheelbuild. Just spent over £400 on replacement IGH & rebuild

What brand were the original forks? Greyville seem to be the distributor for Suntour, so they might be able to service them.

Can't remember. They've gone out with the garbage 3 weeks ago

My advice would be to plan to make the upgrade, but carry on using that fork in the mean time. It's unlikely to fail in the short term, but the knocking will probably start quite quickly. If you have to do any emergency stops or have an impact then give the fork a quick once over when you can. I would imagine the weak points will be bushings, crown to steerer attachment, stanchion to crown attachment and the dropouts. If everything stays straight and rigid, then you have nothing to worry about.

Sick, keep seeing more and more of these about, thought my bullitt was cool until I parked next to one 😂

Advice taken, cheers

BTW I just found a quick release one in stock & ordered it

What are people using to lock their bikes?

Similar to user_dontfukinatmeAmey. Almax chain and either a D-lock or a Squire Stronghold. Out and about I usually D-lock the frame to something substantial.

I think the trick is quantity and diversity/awkwardness of locking as much as quality for best security.

In a world where forgettaboutits can be cut in 20 seconds these days, its good to use a diverse range of locks on the bike rather than focussing on one mega expensive D. A disc lock on the front, a wheel lock on the back and a chunky D.

At home I use a gold chain/ground anchor and then actually lock other bikes onto it. Its such a tangled mess that it would be such a pig to even work out where and what needs cutting to steal the bike it wouldn't be worth the risk/effort.

They were spinner

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