STANFORTH ROHLOFF EQUIPPED TOURING BIKES
All of our Rohloff touring bikes are hand built in England - the frame will be custom made for you, using Reynolds steel.
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What is a Rohloff hub?
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The Rohloff is a 14 geared, oil bathed and completely sealed, rear hub – doing away with the need for front and rear derailleurs, multiple chainrings and rear cassette.
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It requires just a bare minimum of maintenance. One, quick oil change per year or every 5,000km – that’s all that is needed.
The overall gear range is 526%, meaning the highest gear is 5.26 times as high as the lowest gear, so plenty of range for touring. What we also like is the fact we can tailor the gearing on each bike to make 1st gear as low as needed through the combination of the front chainring and rear sprocket selection.
It is the most reliable bike drivetrain available. Rohloff are proud to state that even gear-units from their original pre-production series have yet to be returned due to damage or wear. They have been contacted by customers who have clocked up a phenomenal 326,000+KM mileages on their hubs and these units are still going strong. Many of our customers have circumnavigated the globe with the Rohloff hub and found it a trusted companion.
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The Gates Belt Drive
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Until 2022, we only offered the Rohloff hub with a chain, but we now also offer the proven Gates Belt Drive.
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At the core of the drive is the Carbon Drive belt. Belts have been used on high horsepower motorbikes for years and Gates have now perfected it for bicycles. The Gates belt is 11mm wide and made from carbon-fibre so it’s very strong. The drive is completed with the Gates front sprocket and the Gates rear sprocket which attaches to the Rohloff hub.
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They offer smooth running and minimal maintenance versus a chain set up. The Belt in combination with the Rohloff hub is the ultimate in minimal maintenance. However keeping the belt clean will length the life of the belt and the sprockets.
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The Gates belt and sprockets are extremely durable but they do wear and can tear over time. Gates themselves say the lifespan of their belts is twice that of a chain. Bike blogger Alee Denham (cyclingabout.com) estimates a belt life of 30,000km or more. Other estimates say at the very least 15,000km versus a chain’s average life of 5,000km.
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Stanforth Rohloff models
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We offer the Rohloff hub with chain or belt on our Skyelander, Kibo and Pamira models.
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To find out more, please click on the links below, or to get in touch please email us on info@stanforthbikes.co.uk
