A first “serious” breakdown: what a hub gear and waterbirds have in common
Even very unlikely events cannot be completely ruled out...
You may have heard that an abandoned fishing line lying around, razor-sharp and tear-resistant, can pose a danger to animals (especially waterbirds). We had to find out for ourselves that it can also be a danger for touring bikes. In order to avoid a busy country road, we followed the Danube Cycle Path on a small gravel road directly on the banks of the Danube north of Negotin (Serbia). This section is quite scenic, quiet and less than 2 meters from the water, which is why many anglers can be found there. On this route, Sonja must have ridden over a small piece (approx. 1 m) of fishing line (due to a previous inspection of the chain on the same stage, we can narrow it down relatively well). The fishing line had obviously been kicked up by the tire, which allowed it to get into the tiny gap between the sprocket carrier and the Rohloff hub housing, where it then coiled up and completely shredded the plastic seal of the hub’s sprocket side seal in a very short time (about 10 km). “Final destination” for bicycle parts, so to speak… But we didn’t notice anything about the whole process at first, no noise, no jerking, no irregularities. Only the next day, fortunately a rest day (which then got very restless), did we want to adjust the chain tension of the bikes and re-grease the chains, as they both seemed very dry to us the day before. With Sonja's bike, we immediately noticed that the chain seemed to be surprisingly well lubricated. A few cm of fishing line was hanging out on the sprocket, which we couldn't pull out completely. So we dismantled the rear wheel and sprocket (the snap ring was already very oily) and then pulled more and more oil-soaked fishing line from the area where a seal should normally be. The comparison with the "healthy" hub of the other wheel then showed quite quickly: we have a serious problem! A call to Rohloff customer service revealed that the main problem wasn't even the loss of oil, but the fact that the inside of the hub was now leaking water and dirt, which is why the hub should no longer be cycled in this condition. On the same day, customer service offered to send us a repair kit consisting of a new seal and the special tools required for assembly to Serbia, which should take about 7 days. Of course we gladly accepted.
The waiting and the repair
Lucky in misfortune: we were now stranded in one of the best places where cyclists can strand, namely the base camp for cyclist of Boján in Negotin. The wait here was very pleasant, because Boján is a top notch host. He showed us the wine-growing culture in the neighboring hills to the south. In addition, other cycle tourists often arrive here, which is why we were able to exchange experiences with many others and it never got boring. After three months on the road, we also really enjoyed being able to taking the inward turn and slow down for a while.
Unfortunately, the shipping of spare parts and tools took a long time. First we had caught exactly a holiday week in Germany, then the courier service in Belgrade was, well, also extremely talented in slowing down. Shipping from Germany to Belgrade Airport took less than 24 hours, but importing it to Serbia took a full 12 days (which was not due to the customs office...). When the special tool finally arrived, installing the new shaft seal took less than 15 minutes (the tool is really well thought out and the detailed instructions are available online in the Speedhub manual).
After the repair we did an oil change. Another piece of luck in disguise: the next regular oil change for the Speedhub would have been necessary soon anyway. In total, the incident resulted in costs of around €50, most of it were import duties (€37). The tools were just borrowed and we sent them back after the repair.
How do we assess this situation
Derailleur gear advocates, if they haven't laughed themselves to death by now, will remark that this wouldn't have happened with a decent derailleur gear. Unfortunately they are right about that. Although we don't want to imagine what a fishing line with could do to a front derailleur or rear derailleur. However, we would be lying if we didn't admit that this incident somewhat damaged our confidence in the durability of the gear hub. It was always clear to us that a defect in one of the two speed hubs could lead to a longer mandatory break - we are just a little disillusioned with how quickly this case actually happened (after approx. 9000 km (5500 miles) with these bikes, thereof approx. 4800 km (3000 miles) on the current trip). On the other hand, the way in which this defect came about is very unusual and we would not be surprised if we are the first and also the last cyclists for whom a fishing line has torn an important seal. Let's put it this way: we still stand behind our decision to have the bikes equipped with the Speedhubs. Rohloff's service was very good and helpful, but unfortunately we were unlucky when it came to shipping and got a very slow courier service in Serbia. Let's hope that such an incident will not occur a second time on this trip...