Lisbeth x14, Trolloff Lives

After 4 months of exclusively riding singlespeeds I took my first short ride on Lisbeth with the Rohloff Speedhub this afternoon. I took the frame and a front wheel in to Petrie's at 9 Sunday morning for the build. I arrived to see Farzam with his glasses on and his head buried in the manual. We dove in and finished the basics in just under 3 hours. German translations in the manual are a bit dodgy at times and unlike any other systems there are 2 cables running from the shifter to the rear wheel. One to upshift and one to downshift. Along with that is the ability to (somewhat) easily remove the wheel to fix flats etc. That ability requires quick disconnects for the cables and adds complexity to the installation.

The cables were on and off the bike at least 5 times, first the shifting was reversed, then a few cuts that proved too short. We finally got a third pair of hands holding the shifter in position and got the length right and shortly after the basics were done. I left to take Sal for dimsum (have to keep the person behind this all happy) and Farzam installed a tire and set up the rear brakes. We brought him some of the Canton's delicacies and I went out for a quick lap around the block. I stopped to tighten a few things, thanked Farzam and told Sal I'd meet her at home.

I rode over through Chapples to check out the Little League All-Star games but it was too hot to stand and watch so I just kept going. I rolled up a few short hills to try the lower gears and wound her up around the golf course. The range is amazing. 14 speeds with an even 13% spread between every gear. The shifting is so smooth, you barely feel the change other than the spedometer climbing. A 27 speed setup with derailleurs has more gears but many of them are just 5% apart and shifting can be tricky and anything but smooth, going up and down with the front shifter. The Rohloff requires just a twist of the wrist and no chain moving. It's not a light setup but there are no races in my near.

A huge thanks to Sal and my kids for making this happen. You've given me something I only dreamed of and would never have done on my own. Lisbeth is one of a kind. I took the long way to work and back four times today racking up 20 km on a ride that is just 2 km if I go the short route. Riding wasn't just transportation today, it was a blast.