Can I use a different type of oil when servicing?

Absolutely not. The Rohloff Speedhub needs its own cleaning and lubricating oil. Other oils can damage the plastic parts inside or fail to give the shifting mechanism the grip it needs. To keep your warranty, use only the factory oil-change kit — you will also find it in our boodabike.com webshop.

Lubrication and oil

Every bicycle drivetrain has many moving parts, and they must always be well lubricated: that keeps them running lightly and protects them from wear and corrosion. The difference lies in how the lubricant gets to where it is needed.

Derailleur gears

Derailleur lubrication is a total-loss system: the lubricant is squeezed out of the contact points, flung off and washed away by rain. So the chain needs re-oiling at least every 500 km and after every wet ride, and the derailleur pivots every 500 km as well. At least every 3,000 km the grease in the hub and jockey wheel bearings has to be checked and topped up — usually meaning some disassembly.

Conventional hub gears

A hub gear’s chain does not run at an angle and does no shifting work, so it needs less lubrication: at least every 1,000 km and after rain. Inside, the bearings and gear teeth are greased and the planet pins and pawls get a few drops of oil. With heavy use this is used up or pushed out, so the hub has to be dismantled and re-lubricated at least every 4,000 km.

The SPEEDHUB 500/14

Like a car gearbox, the SPEEDHUB runs in a sealed oil bath. There are about 12.5 ml of free oil in the hub shell, circulating constantly as you ride and lubricating every part. So you can ride thousands of kilometres without thinking about lubrication beyond a few drops on the chain. An oil change once a year or every 5,000 km takes care of the rest.

Oil and temperature

The SPEEDHUB comes with an all-season oil. Besides lubricating, the oil also damps the rattle of the ratchet freewheels: up to about 25 °C you barely hear them. When it is warmer — 30 °C, say — the oil is thinner and the freewheels get louder. That does the gearbox no harm, as the oil’s lubricating power does not drop.

In the cold the oil thickens. What to do in very cold weather is covered in Riding in winter.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a different type of oil when servicing?: Absolutely not. The Rohloff Speedhub needs its own cleaning and lubricating oil. Other oils can damage the plastic parts inside or fail to give the shifting mechanism the grip it needs. To keep your warranty, use only the factory oil-change kit — you will also find it in our boodabike.com webshop.