Shifting a Rohloff from the stem

[BSWP]

I'm purt near serious about making up a new frame with a Rohloff IGH. Looking at the myriad ways of mounting the shifter, I'm drawn to putting it on the quill stem, like shown here, #11, on someone's Atlantis:

http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2011/11/rohloff-hubs-with-drop-handlebars/

This seems reasonable, and leaves me free to experiment with bars and brake levers. Anyone done this and liked it over the long haul?

- Andrew, Berkeley

[oceano...@gmail.com]

Didn't think to try that method myself, seems like a smart move though. I can highly recommend the drop bar mounted Gilles Berthoud though like in pic #4 - great hand position and looks really classy. 

- Geoff 

[Ginz]

Andrew,

I haven't tried this but I am surprised that folks run anything other than the Cane Creek or the Bertoud setup.  I run my Rohloff on a flat handlebar and takes quite a bit of twisting force to shift.  If I had to take my hands off the bars, I'd probably be wobbling all over the place.  Of course, my Rohloff bike is more of a trail bike which makes that problem worse.

You can always try it and change it later.  It looks like the stem-mounted setup won't cost you much if anything extra.

Ginz

[davidfrench]

I have the CoMotion shifter that comes in 31.8mm to attach close to the stem (on 31.8 bars of course). I really like this one, its sturdy and offer a really good grip. Maybe useless if you're thinking of a bike with quil stem tho...

[R Gonet]

Andrew,

Some years ago I ran a Rohloff on my Hilsen and tried both the Hubbub (#2) and the bar-end for quill stem (#11).  I preferred the bar-end method.  I don't use the drops that much, so the quill was much closer to my hand.  It's also less expensive and would be a good place to start since, as you point out it doesn't interfere with your experimentation with bars and brake levers.  Another thing that the writer does not mention about the Hubbub is that it slips into the end of your bar and extends the length by several inches, so you really need to saw off a piece of your bar end.  If you decide to go the Hubbub route, PM me and I'll see if I can still find my old one for you.

[blakcloud]

I remember seeing this setup on Flickr. Cruise through his photos to see the complete bike.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/andychurch/7302139292/in/photostream/

[David McCulloch]

Andrew,

I have a custom stem that has a clamp on the underside of the stem extension, essentially like the Thorn 55mm accessory bar and the Rodriguez Doohickey. It is a clamp brazed to the underside of the extension and is mtb bar diameter. I have a scrap piece of mtb bar and the stock Rohloff shifter is on the right and my bike computer is on the left of the stem. It works just fine for road riding, riding single track it is a little more awkward then having it right by the brake. Especially if you are riding slowly over roots and tricky terrain and need to shift really often to keep up with the less fearless riders.

My handle bar is a 31.8 Salsa Cowbell with Cane Creek road brake levers.  It is a comfortable setup.  I like the Rohloff, even if it is on the heavy side, the shifting is sublime, smooth, either static or pedaling.

I'm happy with my setup.

David

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[Jim Bronson]

I met someone on a 100k riding a Simpleone with the Berthoud setup, it was gorgeous and he was happy with the functionality.

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[Ginz]

Correction: Co Motion - not Cane Creek

[gunnara]

Hi
Got The Berthoud after riding with The original and The Mittermeyer. The Berthoud is just wonderful in every aspect. It can easily be reamed to 26mm so it fits on a noodles shim. http://wolff234.tumblr.com/image/82979201493
Best regards Gunnar

[BSWP]

Thanks for all the replies! Not sure which bars I'll end up with on the new frame, but I know from experience that I need to test and experiment for a fair time, so the bar-end off the quill may be doing duty for a while. And this is well off into next year, as the frame is not yet designed, but I'm glad to see plenty of Riv riders are happy with their Rohloffs. Cheers,

- Andrew, Berkeley

[Matthew Snyder]

I mount my Rohloff shifter on the quill stem on my Bilenky with Albatross (recently converted to Bosco) bars, but not in the way it's shown in photo #4, where it sticks out on one side.  I just insert the quill through the shifter before it goes into the headset/steerer tube.  I don't have a great photo of this setup, but you can get the idea from this shot:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/awilliams53/9278892005/

It felt weird at first, trying to shift that way, because it's a hand/wrist motion you don't typically make on a bike.  But after about two weeks, I got used to it, and now I love it.  I've had that setup for about three years.  I like that it leaves my bars totally open for more hand positions -- the Rohloff shifter is pretty large, and managed to occupy more bar space than I liked.  On long rides (>100 miles), the asymmetry of the hand positions on either side of the bar would really start to get to me.  

You do need a reasonable amount of quill real estate to make this method work, though.

-- Matthew, Seattle

 

On Sunday, August 24, 2014 8:24:16 PM UTC-7, BSWP wrote:

[Scott Henry]

As I look through that link in the first post :

http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2011/11/rohloff-hubs-with-drop-handlebars

I'm drawn to #14 the Lenker X-ACT Randonneur Vario Handlebar.    

Has anyone ever seen these take-apart drop bars in person?   I only see little bits of info online and its all in German, but I really like the idea of the bars.    I have an old Softride stem that I want to put dropbars onto but its made so that curved bars won't twist around the stem clamp (as in made for flat bars only)

Thanks for any help

Scott

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