rohloff problems 2500 miles??

[vincent]

Have not used the bike much at al the past year or so and not long before i slacked off riding it i had the rohloff serviced at the bike shop

2-3 months ago noticed it was leaking when i took it in to get a general tune up and told them to address it

they ended up having to see the whole wheel to propel for a few weeks who evidently are the repair place in the US now and then they had to wait on parts from Germany for a good bit

not a big deal since i have other bikes but i am wondering what made it mess up, was not a cheap or quick repair
this is just a normal one not rohloff E

i ride very easy and light, it has definitely not been beat on or used hard

could they have overfilled it when they serviced it? What makes these things leak?
Regardless i want to avoid more problems in the future

maybe i should move this to the parts forum

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Have not used the bike much at al the past year or so and not long before i slacked off riding it i had the rohloff serviced at the bike shop

2-3 months ago noticed it was leaking when i took it in to get a general tune up and told them to address it

they ended up having to see the whole wheel to propel for a few weeks who evidently are the repair place in the US now and then they had to wait on parts from Germany for a good bit

not a big deal since i have other bikes but i am wondering what made it mess up, was not a cheap or quick repair
this is just a normal one not rohloff E

i ride very easy and light, it has definitely not been beat on or used hard

could they have overfilled it when they serviced it? What makes these things leak?
Regardless i want to avoid more problems in the future

maybe i should move this to the parts forum

Not quite sure if I have the sequence of events, so please pardon my reframing:

How old is the Rohloff hub?
Did you purchase it new?
What axle type? QR, Threaded, Thru Axle?
It the "E" model, electric shifting?

You had the Rohloff hub serviced about a year ago at your LBS, then you "slacked off" riding it for about a year?
What kind of service did they perform? Were parts replaced? Oil change? Seals replaced?

Then, after a year, you took the bike into the LBS for a "general Tune up"and noticed the hub was leaking?
Before you took it to the LBS, were you able to visibly isolate the leak source?
Was it the oil filler screw, or around the hub seals near the left or right drop out?
Was the bike stored in an upright postion at all times?

Finally, you sent the hub to Propel.
What was thier diagnosis? Did they repelace any parts? Did they make any recommendations? What was the cost of the repair? Is it still leaking?

 

[vincent]

wattwagon 4-5 years old, came with the rohloff
not E shifting
had the oil changed at bike shop a year ago
noticed it was leaking a few months ago after minimal riding the last year - I do not know where it was leaking, was taking it to the shop and planned to let them handle it

took it to shop for tune up and to have that looked at
shop was told by rohloff to send it to propel
they shipped the wheel there and propel just said they replaced seals, not a very detailed analysis the shop said

bike has always been stored upright in my van or in the house

I am just wondering why they leaked and wondering if they could have overfilled it when they changed the fluid, very few miles ridden after that

just trying to avoid this happening again

 

[Tom@WashDC]

wattwagon 4-5 years old, came with the rohloff
not E shifting
had the oil changed at bike shop a year ago
noticed it was leaking a few months ago after minimal riding the last year - I do not know where it was leaking, was taking it to the shop and planned to let them handle it

took it to shop for tune up and to have that looked at
shop was told by rohloff to send it to propel
they shipped the wheel there and propel just said they replaced seals, not a very detailed analysis the shop said

bike has always been stored upright in my van or in the house

I am just wondering why they leaked and wondering if they could have overfilled it when they changed the fluid, very few miles ridden after that

just trying to avoid this happening again

Thanks for the info. I installed my Rohloff hub on my Luna Z1 in May 2023, I've got about 3,500 miles on it.
It is possibel the LBS overfilled, I've heard that can happen. Up until a few months ago, Rohloff has recommend the full 25ml of oil during an oil change. After several years of research they now recommend only 12.5ml for the oil change.

Just guessing here from automotove, HVAC, and farm machinery experinece. Seals in general on any kind of machinery can lose some degree function due to age especially if not routinely lubricated by some periodic movement to keep them lubricated. To rule that out, I'd recommend you rotate the Hub periodically to keep the seals lubricated. If the hub is not used for a long while, the botom portion of the seals remain bathed in oil, while the top portion is not.

~Tom

 

[vincent]

good suggestions, thanks
did not know that about the oil amount recommendations, very good to know

hopefully starting in the spring it will get ridden more consistently too

I may change the oil myself from now on

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Everything said so far makes good sense, but it seems to boil down to "leaks happen". Frustrating that you didn't get more details out the the service than that they replaced the seals. Perhaps it made more sense just to do that than to find the leak (if there was only one). If there was only one bad seal, SOP would probably be to replace them all anyway.

TT

 

[Gionnirocket]

good suggestions, thanks
did not know that about the oil amount recommendations, very good to know

hopefully starting in the spring it will get ridden more consistently too

I may change the oil myself from now on

Definitely change the oil yourself as it's very easy to do. Many a YouTube on it.

More than a few reports of seals leaking from being over filled so you may have just been taken for a ride by the LBS and Propel just changed the seals because it was sent to them.

If you are handy with tools my experience with most repairs is 30 minutes of research leaves you knowing more about things then most so called professionals in the field. Every time I hire someone I'm most always discouraged by the lack of craftsmanship and actual knowledge as opposed to just hack parts changers.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Thanks for the info. I installed my Rohloff hub on my Luna Z1 in May 2023, I've got about 3,500 miles on it.
It is possibel the LBS overfilled, I've heard that can happen. Up until a few months ago, Rohloff has recommend the full 25ml of oil during an oil change. After several years of research they now recommend only 12.5ml for the oil change.

Just guessing here from automotove, HVAC, and farm machinery experinece. Seals in general on any kind of machinery can lose some degree function due to age especially if not routinely lubricated by some periodic movement to keep them lubricated. To rule that out, I'd recommend you rotate the Hub periodically to keep the seals lubricated. If the hub is not used for a long while, the botom portion of the seals remain bathed in oil, while the top portion is not.

~Tom

Are you saying Rohloff now suggests 12.5ml as I haven't come across any documentation stating so.
That said I was planning on going a little light on the oil change as my research led me to the same conclusion. But I was thinking more along the lines of 20ml or the 15ml at the very least.

 

[vincent]

agree, I used this shop because they assembled the bike for me and I think the manager rides a rohloff but they have a big turnover in mechanics so I don't know who ended up working on it for the oil change or this...

hoping to see some kind of write up from Propel but when I called them about it he said there was not much information on there, I don't pick the bike up for a few weeks because it's on the other side of the state

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Are you saying Rohloff now suggests 12.5ml as I haven't come across any documentation stating so.
That said I was planning on going a little light on the oil change as my research led me to the same conclusion. But I was thinking more along the lines of 20ml or the 15ml at the very least.

Yup.
"Rohloff are delighted to announce that following long and exhaustive testing in both commuter and touring cycling conditions. we are so confident in the performance of the "SPEEDHUB All Season Oil', that we have now taken steps to reduce the volume of oil used, from 25ml, to just 12.5ml.

Reduced SPEEDHUB oil volume as of 10/2023

www.rohloff.de

 

[Gionnirocket]

Look at you with the latest and greatest!
And just in time, I'm just about due for a change and was waiting for a stretch of bad weather to throw the bike up on the lift. Probably open up the Ultra at the same time for a greasing.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Look at you with the latest and greatest!
And just in time, I'm just about due for a change and was waiting for a stretch of bad weather to throw the bike up on the lift. Probably open up the Ultra at the same time for a greasing.

Yeah I was stoked to see that bulletin when it came out!
I gotta stretch of rain for the the last 4 days that won't let up til Friday. I'm itching to get on my bike. Hope you had a great Christmas, and bike the hell outta that hub in the New Year!
~Tom