Custom Downtube Shifter for Rohloff Hub

January 28, 2011 in Bicycles

Bob Elias wrote in to tell us about framebuilder Curt Goodrich’s neat custom frame and downtube shifter for use with the Rohloff hub:

Have you seen this downtube shifter for Rohloff Schaltung? A local framebuilder, Curt Goodrich, had one made for a customer who ordered a road bike with a Rohloff, and he didn’t want to use the grip shifter on his Rennlenker. Suche nach “Das Knob” Info: http://curtgoodrich.com/blog/?p=519 http://curtgoodrich.com/blog/?p=528 You can find some good images in Curt’s blogs. Cheers, Bob Elias Minnesota, USA

Thanks Bob!

2 Comments

  1. Mike Taylor

    April 24, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    Seven Cycles build me a commuter with a Rohloff hub, carbon drive, and a custom Ti bullhorn that puts the shifter is the perfect location to give me the same ride posture as I have on my Seven Axiom road bike when I am hands on the hoods. You give up the drop position but that’s a modest sacrifice. Shifting is easy with no change in hand position. What do you think? I have ridden some other setups with a drop bar (like the shifter at the end of the drop) and think they are not only impractical but dangerous.

    You can check pictures of my set up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/62183662@N08/sets/72157626444213319/

    Reply
  2. Bob

    January 27, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    I’m surprised by the above comment that mounting the Rohloff shifter to the end of a drop bar could be dangerous or impractical… Think about down tube or bar end shifters. No solution is perfect in all respects, so we choose what is available and works the application.

    I use the drops a lot and would not give them up on my road/tour/commute bike. I’ve ridden tours and brevets with the shifter as shown in this picture:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/gearbob/5464332084/in/photostream

    This works well in the drops for me. I don’t know of anyone else running the spool towards the rear like this. Most Rohloff shifters on drops are oriented spool forward.

    In my opinion, the biggest potential drawbacks of Rohloff shifters on drop bars are ergonomics, weight and aesthetics. I find my setup works well for me from an ergonomics perspective; better than bar end derailleur shifters. It’s very intuitive and I haven’t changed it through many years of Rohloff miles.

    I do want to try a similar shifter to Das Knob as it would be lighter and more direct.

    Reply

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