As you guys know, I am a big fan of gearbox drivetrains. Almost all of my
journeys around the globe have been without a derailleur or a chain. But in a
head-to-head battle between the two most popular options, the Rohloff hub and
Pinion Gearbox, which one comes out on top? This will likely be the Internet's
most thorough analysis of these bicycle gearbox systems, but did you expect
anything less? We will assess 18 different criteria to find out once and for all
which is the ultimate bicycle gearbox. I am going to focus on the 18 speed
version of the Pinion gearbox for this comparison, but it's worth noting that
you can get them in 6, 9 and 12 speed versions as well. Number One: Gear Range.
Your bike's gear range determines the speeds at which if you can pedal your bike.
Gear range gives us an idea for how easy it will be to climb hills, cruise along on
the flat or whether you'll have enough gearing to pedal on the downhills too. A
Rohloff has a gear range of 526 percent while the pinion offers 636 percent - the
widest gear range of any bicycle. Using a Rohloff hub with a low drive ratio, you
can comfortably pedal up a hill at 5 kilometres an hour in the smallest gear.
When you shift to the largest gear, you will top out at 45 kilometres per hour.
The Pinion gearbox with its extra 21% gear range provides 21% more top-end
speed, so you can still pedal right up to 54 kilometers per hour.
Number Two: Gear Steps. The Pinion gearbox and Rohloff hub have even gear
steps of 11.5% and 13.6%. The best way to understand what these numbers mean is to
translate them to cadence, which is the number of times your crank spin per
minute. When you change the gears on your bike, your cadence becomes faster or
slower for every shift. Ideally we want the smallest possible cadence changes
because it allows us to maintain the cadence we prefer, without having a big
change in speed. With a cadence difference of 9 rpm for every shift, the
Pinion gearbox is as good as it gets for a wide range bicycle drivetrain.
It's slightly harder to find the perfect cadence with the Rohloff hub as the
cadence difference when you shift gears is 11 rpm. For reference, a 2x11
drivetrain offers around 10 rpm differences, and a 1x12 has 13 rpm
differences. Number 3: Drive Efficiency. We have run lab tests to determine how much
of your pedal power is lost in different gearbox drivetrains. The Rohloff hub is
the most efficient available, with an average efficiency of 94.5
percent across all gears. The Pinion has a few more losses in the system, so
it averages out at 90.5 percent. When it comes to the Pinion gearbox, it is understood that the large crankshaft seals,
faster internal rotating cogs, smaller front chainring and faster chain speed
are the most likely sources of the extra friction. Number Four: Weight. The Rohloff
hub works out to be about one kilogram lighter than the Pinion Gearbox. The hub
and associated components are around 700 grams lighter, but there is also around
300 grams extra frame weight required to house the Pinion Gearbox. Number 5: Noise.
The Rohloff hub is notorious for producing noise in some of its gears, in
particular, gear 7. The Pinion Gearbox is not completely quiet, it still makes a
slight whirring sound, but it's certainly less pronounced especially in the lower
half of the gear range. Number 6: Gear Pickup. Gear pickup determines how
quickly your drivetrain engages when you start pedaling. On most bikes you'll
notice a small clunk when you apply power to the pedals which is usually the
pawl system in your rear hub engaging. Ideally, we want instant engagement, but
hubs usually offer between 24 and 36 engagement points per wheel revolution.
The Rohloff and Pinion have a different number of engagement points depending on
the gear selected. The Rohloff has the most engagement points of the two,
between 16 and 54, while the Pinion has between 14 and 22. But the Pinion gear
box also needs to engage at the rear hub when you pedal, so ideally you want a hub
with the most engagement points possible to minimize any drivetrain slop. The Onyx
hub wins this competition with its instant engagement sprag clutch design.
Hey, if you're enjoying my tech content, make sure to grab a copy of the Touring
Bicycle Buyer's Guide or the Bikepacking Bike Buyer's Guide! Both will teach you
everything you need to know about bikes before allowing you to compare more than
150 bikes at the back of the book. And it's updated yearly for free! Right, let's
move on to Number Seven: Shifting. When you change gears with the Rohloff
shifter there is a varying level of shifting resistance as you engage
different sections of the gearbox. The Pinion shifter has a lighter shifting
action across all gears making it a bit nicer to use. Number Eight: Oil Changes.
Both of these gear systems operate inside a sealed oil bath and you'll need
to change this oil periodically. It's a very easy job to do yourself and it
won't take you more than ten minutes. Pinion wants you to change your oil
every 10,000 kilometres of cycling while Rohloff calls for 5,000 kilometre
intervals. Number Nine: Price. While both gearbox systems are priced incredibly
high, the Pinion gearbox is undoubtedly the most expensive gearbox option. The
price difference varies a little between manufacturers, but Rohloff bikes are
usually somewhere between 600 and 1,000 euros cheaper for the equivalent bike
build. Number 10: Product Refinement Period. With over 20 years in production,
Rohloff has had a lot of time to iron out any kinks in their product. In
comparison, the Pinion gearbox is a spring chicken with about eight
production years. While not a definitive measure of product refinement, the fact
that people have been able to put huge distances on Rohloff hubs has certainly
helped to develop the product. Number Eleven: Warranty. The Pinion gearbox
comes with a five-year warranty while the Rohloff hub comes with just two
years. In addition, if there is a failure, it's much easier to swap out a Pinion
gearbox than it is to dismantle and rebuild a new Rohloff wheel.
Number Twelve: Retrofitting and Interchangeability. As the Rohloff hubs
do not require a specially designed frame, there are enough adapter
accessories so that the hub will fit almost any bike. That makes them the
perfect retrofit if you're looking for a low-maintenance drivetrain. You can also
own just one Rohloff hub that will transfer between bikes. I've actually
used one of my Rohloff hubs on three different builds! Number Thirteen: Wheel
Swaps. Many modern bikes have the ability to run multiple wheel sizes. A mid-fat
bike is the perfect example, it can fit 26x4.0",
27.5x3.0" and 29x2.2" wheels all
on the one bike. If you wanted one super versatile bike you could use a Pinion
gearbox and have two or three different wheel sets that you switch out depending
on the terrain. In comparison, you would need multiple Rohloff hubs to provide
the same versatility! Number Fourteen: Mountain Biking. If you're looking to use
a gearbox for mountain biking, you want the Pinion. A crank0based gearbox makes
the most sense. By centralizing the weight on the bike and reducing the
unsprung mass at the rear wheel, you can improve the overall suspension
performance and ride dynamics of the bike.
In addition, Pinion gearboxes use smaller front chainrings, providing more
ground clearance from rocks and roots. Number Fifteen: Hike-a-Bike. There is
friction between the hub seal and rear cog on a Rohloff hub. As a result, you'll
find your cranks spin when you push your bike. This can put your pedals in a very
awkward location when negotiating narrow tracks, so the Pinion is definitely the
better option here. Number 16: Electric Bikes. Almost all of the top tier
eBikes use mid-drive motors and there is a strong case for this setup. In
particular, on steep gradients where the motor can use each of your gears to
optimize the torque, and therefore, optimize the battery range. As the Pinion
gearbox occupies the space of a mid-drive electric motor, the Rohloff hub is
usually the go on an e-bike. Rohloff actually offer Bosch-compatible gear
shifters that tell the motor to reduce the output torque when you're shifting,
providing one of the smoothest gearshifts of any
electric bike. Number 17: Cable Changes. Pinion gear cables seem to wear out much
quicker than Rohloff cables, but under daily use, you should get at least one
year from either set of cables. Gear cable changes are a much more simple
process for the Rohloff hub, which is demonstrated in the tutorial video that
runs for about half as long. Number 18: Aftermarket Shifters. Both the pinion
gearbox and the Rohloff hub come with a twist shifter, which I love, but there
are aftermarket shifters too. In terms of Rohloff options, Cinq makes both
integrated drop bar shifters and trigger shifters for flat bars. Gebla makes the
Rohbox which is a very neat shifting system that allows you to use 11 speed
SRAM or Campagnolo shifters to change your Rohloff gears. In comparison, there
is only one aftermarket shifter for the Pinion P1.18, and that's a drop bar
shifter by Co-Motion. Unfortunately, this head-to-head resulted
in a tie with both gearboxes ending up with 9 points! There are clearly pros and
cons to both gearbox systems so ultimately you need to go through this
video and weigh up the metrics that are most important to you. For a faster and
lighter build, the Rohloff is definitely the most compelling option, especially if
you prefer drop bars. For a mountain bike build, you'll definitely want the Pinion
gearbox. Otherwise, there is really no clear-cut winner here. Both systems offer
ultra-reliable long distance drivetrains, and frankly, are both an
engineering marvel of the bike world! Let me know in the comments section below
which type of gearbox would suit you best. Also, consider supporting my work on
Patreon! You won't find content with this level of detail anywhere else on the
Internet, so it's a pretty cool mission to support.