Rohloff Hubs

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:22:53 +1000
Moike wrote:

A couple of weeks back it took me about 10 seconds to cut a thick
brand-name (forgot the name but i remember thinking "this is going to be
hard, this is an expensive cable") cable from a donated bike. 8"
scissor action cable cutters. It took two bites to chomp through the
cable which I would estimate at 15mm.

I was afraid of that....

Ulocks are difficult with the 'bent as there's no frame triangle, I'd
have to carry 3 of them to fully lock the thing. I'm still tempted by
the ringlock idea as I figure the 'bent's weird enough that as a whole
bike it's not attractive and I seldom park it anywhere that isn't in
well trafficked areas. So the ringlock and a long cable around front
wheel, spar, and pole will make it "go find something else".

Having found the videos posted by Captain Cropper on u-tube I know
anything chainlike carryable on a bicycle is going to be attackable by
large boltcutters, it is depressing to know that much smaller than
that will do cables.

I wonder what the thief profile in Sydney is. Joyriding? Steal to
sell? Steal to part out? What parts are attractive?


Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on 12 Jul 2008 22:05:44 GMT
Zebee Johnstone wrote:
(I think the one in your pic is a tyre gripper)


FOund the lock and no, it's a proper ringlock, I might well get that
one.

They have a cable accessory, the long cable would be perfect for me -
around the front wheel and spar then around some pole, then back to
the ringlock and back wheel.

But... it's a 12mm unarmoured cable.

Does anyone have a link to a site where they've actually tried cutting
such cables? Plenty of "cables can be cut" ones, but so far no luck
in finding anyone who has tried it rather than repeating "everybody
knows".

I suspect that given where and how I leave the 'bent a 12mm cable
would be fine but there's always the unexpected. Can it be cut with
short boltcutters for example?

Zebee

From what I was shown by someone in the Melb Bike Police, the villains
are using something similar to these.
http://www.clamp-products.co.nz/access.shtml
http://www.felcostore.com/wirecablecutters.jsp
It would appear that 12mm would literally be a snip to cut through.

I haven't seen an "armored" cable under attack but there's practically
nothing short of lethal booby traps that could protect a bike from a
determined thief.

I look to park in front of populated places where an opportunistic thief
cannot be sure of my vicinity or expected return. Cafe's and convenience
stores are good for this. I learned the hard way that parking in front
of the cinema when going to a movie was not a good choice.

--
--
Pete.B

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:31:10 GMT
Skewer wrote:

From what I was shown by someone in the Melb Bike Police, the villains
are using something similar to these.
http://www.clamp-products.co.nz/access.shtml
http://www.felcostore.com/wirecablecutters.jsp
It would appear that 12mm would literally be a snip to cut through.

*sigh*.

Oh well, so much for a nice neat solution. Stick to the bigger (but
probably no more secure from someone with the right tools) armoured
cable.

I haven't seen an "armored" cable under attack but there's practically
nothing short of lethal booby traps that could protect a bike from a
determined thief.

Yes, that's the trick - how determined.

I doubt the 'bent as a whole is a bike someone would steal, as it's
not exactly quickly saleable so the only reason to nick it would be to
flog the bits.

I have no idea about thief thought processes, such as how they decide
which bike to take, or which bits to take.

If they knew what the front hub was, then I'd imagine they'd take it
because it would sell quickly enough on fleabay I think. I suppose I
should engrave something on it so if I see an ad I have a chance. But
then you'd have to be a determined thief to nick the wheel then snip
all the spokes off to sell just the hub and just the 24" rim, for some
reason I don't feel most would be that energetic. At least if I saw a
24" rim with SON on fleabay I'd have a fairly good idea whose it was!

Does a part thief know much about parts? Can they look at a bike and
think "that bit will fetch money"? Would a 'bent bit nicker find himself
with a weird thin 26" rim with a low grade Shimano derailleur on it and
just chuck it away when both roadies and MTBers laughed at him or would
he know it isn't worth taking?

(And do hybrid owners buy stolen parts enough to make something useful
to them worth nicking?)

Just what happens to stolen bikes and to stolen parts?

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:31:10 GMT
Skewer wrote:
From what I was shown by someone in the Melb Bike Police, the villains
are using something similar to these.
http://www.clamp-products.co.nz/access.shtml
http://www.felcostore.com/wirecablecutters.jsp
It would appear that 12mm would literally be a snip to cut through.

*sigh*.

Oh well, so much for a nice neat solution. Stick to the bigger (but
probably no more secure from someone with the right tools) armoured
cable.
I haven't seen an "armored" cable under attack but there's practically
nothing short of lethal booby traps that could protect a bike from a
determined thief.

Yes, that's the trick - how determined.

I doubt the 'bent as a whole is a bike someone would steal, as it's
not exactly quickly saleable so the only reason to nick it would be to
flog the bits.

I have no idea about thief thought processes, such as how they decide
which bike to take, or which bits to take.

If they knew what the front hub was, then I'd imagine they'd take it
because it would sell quickly enough on fleabay I think. I suppose I
should engrave something on it so if I see an ad I have a chance. But
then you'd have to be a determined thief to nick the wheel then snip
all the spokes off to sell just the hub and just the 24" rim, for some
reason I don't feel most would be that energetic. At least if I saw a
24" rim with SON on fleabay I'd have a fairly good idea whose it was!

Does a part thief know much about parts? Can they look at a bike and
think "that bit will fetch money"? Would a 'bent bit nicker find himself
with a weird thin 26" rim with a low grade Shimano derailleur on it and
just chuck it away when both roadies and MTBers laughed at him or would
he know it isn't worth taking?

(And do hybrid owners buy stolen parts enough to make something useful
to them worth nicking?)

Just what happens to stolen bikes and to stolen parts?

Zebee

Check out what the stolen Kona had and as it was different police picked
it up about 12km south of Brisbane - that was locked up with a 12mm
cable which was cut through.

"Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message
...


Just what happens to stolen bikes and to stolen parts?


I reckon there's a roaring world trade in stolen higher-end bike bits.
Steal the bike in country A, pull apart and sell the bits in country B.
Anything of "105 equivalent" standard and above. I also wonder where some of
the expensive Italian machinery I see offered on eBay is coming from - it
would be worth filling a container with stolen Colnagos I reckon for the
prices that can be realised in Australia.

In aus.bicycle on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:59:20 GMT
Claude wrote:

"Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message
...


Just what happens to stolen bikes and to stolen parts?


I reckon there's a roaring world trade in stolen higher-end bike bits.

I wonder if the thieves know what higher end is, or if they just steal
and the bod who buys says "yes, yes, no" and the "no" gets chucked in
a skip or tried at TheftConverters.

Zebee

BtC

I have a Rohloff and I think it is great

Thorn – a British bike manufacturer has a loyal customer following on
the forum at the end of this link with lots of useful info.

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php

And another useful forum

http://www.rohloffownersclub.com/

Typically Rohloff hubs need an oil change every year or 5,000 km which
ever comes first. Many Rohloff owners run their chains into the
ground along with the sprocket on the hub and the front chain ring.
Then they buy a new chain, reverse the direction of the sprocket and
chain ring and start again. After the second chain it is time for a
new sprocket and chainring with the new chain. The combination can
last a lot longer than a derailleur equipped bike. I have ~17,000km
on mine and I'm still on my first sprocket and chainring.

You will need a means to keep the chain from going too loose as it
wares, this is often done with an excentric bottom bracket (on frames
designed for a Rohloff), horizontal dropouts or a chain tensioner.

Mine is a little bit noisy in a few of the lower gears but not the
gears I use most of the time. This seems to vary a little between
individual hubs and improves with age.

The spacing between the gears is 13.5% which is seen as too much by
some who like road bikes, I personally don’t find it a problem.

There are two cables going to the hub which must be disconnected when
taking the wheel off but the various options for doing this are quick
and easy to remove with a little experience. There is also the need
to restrain the reaction torque coming out of the hub which may be
done with a connection to a disk brake mount, Roholoff specific
dropouts or a torque arm. The latter option means you have another
thing to disconnect when taking the rear wheel off but again it is
quick and easy.

When buying a hub you need to consider the number of teeth in the
sprocket and front chain ring as this combination sets the start and
finish of the gear range. The Roholoff web site has tables that help
you with this decision. If you get it wrong initially all you need to
do is change one or the other and maybe adjust the chain length.

They certainly are not cheap but they do have a reputation of long
lasting reliable service. So far mine has performed flawlessly.

Peter

pdamm wrote:
BtC

I have a Rohloff and I think it is great

Thorn – a British bike manufacturer has a loyal customer following on
the forum at the end of this link with lots of useful info.

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php

And another useful forum

http://www.rohloffownersclub.com/

Typically Rohloff hubs need an oil change every year or 5,000 km which
ever comes first. Many Rohloff owners run their chains into the
ground along with the sprocket on the hub and the front chain ring.
Then they buy a new chain, reverse the direction of the sprocket and
chain ring and start again. After the second chain it is time for a
new sprocket and chainring with the new chain. The combination can
last a lot longer than a derailleur equipped bike. I have ~17,000km
on mine and I'm still on my first sprocket and chainring.

You will need a means to keep the chain from going too loose as it
wares, this is often done with an excentric bottom bracket (on frames
designed for a Rohloff), horizontal dropouts or a chain tensioner.

Mine is a little bit noisy in a few of the lower gears but not the
gears I use most of the time. This seems to vary a little between
individual hubs and improves with age.

The spacing between the gears is 13.5% which is seen as too much by
some who like road bikes, I personally don’t find it a problem.

There are two cables going to the hub which must be disconnected when
taking the wheel off but the various options for doing this are quick
and easy to remove with a little experience. There is also the need
to restrain the reaction torque coming out of the hub which may be
done with a connection to a disk brake mount, Roholoff specific
dropouts or a torque arm. The latter option means you have another
thing to disconnect when taking the rear wheel off but again it is
quick and easy.

When buying a hub you need to consider the number of teeth in the
sprocket and front chain ring as this combination sets the start and
finish of the gear range. The Roholoff web site has tables that help
you with this decision. If you get it wrong initially all you need to
do is change one or the other and maybe adjust the chain length.

They certainly are not cheap but they do have a reputation of long
lasting reliable service. So far mine has performed flawlessly.

Peter

Some pics of a hub here.

http://www.geo.net.au/~mart/Rohloff/Rohloff.htm

Zebee Johnstone writes:

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:31:10 GMT
Skewer wrote:

From what I was shown by someone in the Melb Bike Police, the villains
are using something similar to these.
http://www.clamp-products.co.nz/access.shtml
http://www.felcostore.com/wirecablecutters.jsp
It would appear that 12mm would literally be a snip to cut through.

*sigh*.

Oh well, so much for a nice neat solution. Stick to the bigger (but
probably no more secure from someone with the right tools) armoured
cable.

I haven't seen an "armored" cable under attack but there's practically
nothing short of lethal booby traps that could protect a bike from a
determined thief.

Yes, that's the trick - how determined.

Saddest thing I can remember seeing was where someone had D-locked the
bike frame to an immovable object, thief had used a hack-saw through the
aluminium bike frame but then been caught when running off carrying the
bike.

Cost benefit analysis: Full groupset minus bike frame, minimal effort to
trash frame vs lots of effort to break lock and score a complete bike.

Sadly, if they want it they will take it, or if they can't take it they
might just decide to stomp a boot through the wheel because its fun.

...

Zebee

Adrian

Adrian wrote in news:kgr63r11h75.fsf_-
:

Saddest thing I can remember seeing was where someone had D-locked the
bike frame to an immovable object, thief had used a hack-saw through the
aluminium bike frame but then been caught when running off carrying the
bike.

I've seen a few methods (depending on how/where the bike is locked) that
didn't even bother to touch the lock
- locked to cast iron railings? Whack the railings with a big hammer and
they snap/shatter.
- locked to a sign? Remove the top of the sign and lift it over the top.
This happened to me when I borrowed a friend's (thankfully dirt cheap)
bike.
- locked to a bench or similar? Bike + bench into the van.

and probably a good few more that i can't remember.

Sadly, if they want it they will take it, or if they can't take it they
might just decide to stomp a boot through the wheel because its fun.

Apparently one of the reasons this is done (other than mindless vandalism)
is to give them time to go and get the right tools for the job. The bike
owner can't ride it home so leaves it there to collect later, by the time
they return to collect it, it's no longer there.

--
Graeme