New Delite Mountain Rohloff E14 issue..

H

Homet

Active Member
I bought this bike a couple of days ago and it’s been perfect in every way apart from the crazy amount of noise it seems to make in gear 7 and lower. I also have a Cube Reaction Hybrid pro with the same Bosch CX gen 4 motor as the Delite and when running at 70-75 rpm in the lower gears, the Delite is around 30% louder than the Cube when going up a hill! Gears 8 and over are fine at the same cadence.
The sound is like the normal Bosch motor whine but louder.
Has anyone else had this issue or is this normal for the Rohloff?
 
Homet said:
I bought this bike a couple of days ago and it’s been perfect in every way apart from the crazy amount of noise it seems to make in gear 7 and lower. I also have a Cube Reaction Hybrid pro with the same Bosch CX gen 4 motor as the Delite and when running at 70-75 rpm in the lower gears, the Delite is around 30% louder than the Cube when going up a hill! Gears 8 and over are fine at the same cadence.
The sound is like the normal Bosch motor whine but louder.
Has anyone else had this issue or is this normal for the Rohloff?
Click to expand...

Because of the gear reduction mechanism, the 7th gear is the noisiest and it is well-known.

www.cyclingabout.com

16 Reasons To Tour With A Rohloff Hub (And 9 Reasons To Not) - CyclingAbout

Have you heard of a Rohloff hub? These internally geared rear hubs have been servicing the demands of bike travellers for a few decades now.
www.cyclingabout.com www.cyclingabout.com

1622846281852.png
 
I ride a Delite GX and for 90% of the time I'm in gears 8-12 with the E14. In my occasional forays into the lower gears, with a fast cadence, the noise level does increase significantly but I believe it is the Bosch (Gen 3) making the noise, not the Rohloff.
 
After a couple hundred miles the Rohloff does wear in a bit and becomes quieter. Still gears 5 and 7 make the most noise.
 
This is my experience also. Generally gear 8 is fine on eMTB mode for most trail riding, but occasional I dip into gears 2-7, and they are noticeably noisier. In reverse, when freewheeling gears above 8 are noisy, and sub 7 gears run quiet.

In time, as they break in, the noise might (?) reduce.
 
buying a new Delite and not sharing any bike porn is just ice cold lol *shivers*
 
I haven't noticed any distance-related changes in either noise or resistance. The gears that are regarded as noisy are used when starting (default is #6) or climbing and, if there is any racket, it's drowned out by the Gen1 Bosch motor.

Apart from some early wiring issues, my 2019 Homage's E-14 Rohloff has operated flawlessly. Put differently, I do recommend the E-14 Rohloff despite being disappointed by R&M's implementation.
 
Homet said:
ok, here ya go.. I must stress that it doesn’t live inside, I just brought it in to keep it warm!
Click to expand...

I’m a big softie - my SD Mountain lives inside when it’s not begging me to take it out for a ride!
 
Ok, just an update. I went out on another 20 mile ride today and the thing is noisy as hell in gears 7 and under, in the quiet back roads of the countryside that I usually cycle in. The weird thing is that if I turn the assistance off and just pedal, the Rohloff is nearly silent in any gear. Gears 7 and below are slightly noisier - a gentle whirring noise that’s rather pleasant! Turn the assistance on (in any level below gear 8) and the noise is significant. I don’t understand how this can be the Rohloff if it makes very little noise on its own!
Does anyone have an explanation?
 
Homet said:
Ok, just an update. I went out on another 20 mile ride today and the thing is noisy as hell in gears 7 and under, in the quiet back roads of the countryside that I usually cycle in. The weird thing is that if I turn the assistance off and just pedal, the Rohloff is nearly silent in any gear. Gears 7 and below are slightly noisier - a gentle whirring noise that’s rather pleasant! Turn the assistance on (in any level below gear 8) and the noise is significant. I don’t understand how this can be the Rohloff if it makes very little noise on its own!
Does anyone have an explanation?
Click to expand...
My uneducated guess is the significantly extra torque the motor generates transferring to the Rohloff hub.
 
Ok, I thought of the increased torque from the motor and I tried this:
1. I turned the motor off from the Kiox and pedalled in gear 5 at 5mph. Very little noise.
2. Still in gear 5, pedalled at 10mph. Just a fraction more noise.
3. Switched to gear 7, pedalled at 5mph. Little noise.
4. Gear 7, pedalled at 10mph, hardly any more noise.
5. Gear 7, pedalled at 15mph (nearly killed me!), fraction more noise.
6. Gear 5, motor on in Eco (60% assistance). 5mph, Lots of noise
7. Gear 5, motor on, Eco, 10mph, Even more noise
8. Gear 7, motor on, Eco, 5 mph, noisy
9. Gear 7, motor on, Eco, 10mph, lots of noise
10. Gear 7, motor on, Eco, 15, very loud noise.

As you can see, the Rohloff on its own hardly changes its noise profile with 150% more torque applied manually but add the Bosch in Eco, which is only 60% assistance and the change in noise is massive. Why?
 
Homet said:
If this is true, its absolutely unacceptable on a £8000 bike when my £2700 Cube and my wife’s £3200 Cube are both free of it. Precision engineering, my arse!
Click to expand...
 

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