What's The Ultimate Bicycle Gearbox? Rohloff Hub VS Pinion Gearbox

Welcome to the internet's most thorough analysis of these bicycle gearbox systems! 😎

Like my videos? Patreon supporters get early access to my films and exclusive access to my Q&As:

0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Gear Range
1:36 - Gear Steps
2:32 - Drive Efficiency
3:07 - Weight
3:24 - Noise
3:43 - Gear Pickup
4:45 - Shifting
5:12 - Oil Changes
5:34 - Price
5:54 - Product Refinement Period
6:18 - Warranty
6:34 - Retrofitting
7:03 - Wheel Swaps
7:35 - Mountain Biking
8:00 - Hike-A-Bike
8:18 - eBikes
8:53 - Cable Changes
9:13 - Aftermarket Shifters
9:47 - Summary

[detmer]

Rohloff has a 4% higher efficiency, is lighter and doesn't require a odd frame like the Pinion does so a easy win for the Rohloff if you ask me.

[ginkobender]

Both gear boxes a pretty good and perfect. Your research is very precise and based on facts. My 15 years old Rohloff had a leakage at the left hand side. They exchanged the sealing for free including assembly work of my bicycle dealers. My 3 years old pinion had a leakage, Pinion exchange the sealing for free but I had to pay the assembly work of mu bicycle dealer. So my experience was, Rohloff gives the better service.

[RobZelf]

I've been using a Rohloff for a decade and about 85000km now. Initially the first 7 gears whirred a bit but that disappeared soon. I lightened the whole gear-range for mountain trips but after that I just cycled and cycled and cycled. Oil change every year during a good clean-up and then ready for another year. For my usage (long distance, multi-day trips, 50/50 paved/gravel) I would not consider a pinion gear-cluster. I love the reliability and use of use.

[jensroeckendorf]

Thank you for detailed view to this two gearboxes. Since 16 month I have had a bike with a Rohloff Gearbox for my commuter bike. It is very lightweight and sportive for every day use. It is the best choise for me and for people who need a flexible gearbox system!!

[vinnerf]

Dude you are the wizard of making techy info understandable for people (like me 😁) I did a bike mechanic course for a big tour I made. While dealing with derailleurs and looking into other options I found out about the Rohloff and Pinion. The surcharge of the Pinion made the choice easier. Haven’t had any regrets. I love it so much! Thanks for your work and have a good one!

[bananabear]

The only thing I can remember after watching this video is the price tag of the gear boxes

[BenZintank]

For more than 15 years I am very satisfied with my Rohloff gearbox on a trecking bike. 3 years ago I exchanged the bottom bracket for an aftermarket mid-motor and the rear sprocket for a slightly smaller one, and now I have one of the best and most lightweight e-bikes in my area. I would always take a Rohloff again. And yes, I always try to avoid gear 7 and use the 1:1 gear 8 instead.

[atticusfinch]

Great review! I have a C1.12 on my bikepacking bike and a Rohloff on my tandem. Your assessment is spot on! If you go with a C1.12, you save about 600g AND you have some aftermarket options for shifting (dropbar and flat bar from Cinq). Of course, you lose 6 gears and therefore have a bigger cadence jump between gears. The only complaint I have about my Pinion is the slow engagement, so if they can fix that, I’ll be totally satisfied with it.

[MusiCaninesTheMusicalDogs]

Well... I guess I'm gonna have to use both in a single bike! 🤔

[Cyclingabout]

I hope you enjoyed my analysis! 💎 Soooo, which gearbox do you think wins this battle? 🤔🤔🤔

[ericbergemann]

Great Review! Riding Pinion P1.18 and Rohloff bikes daily I can only agree with everything you say here. Especially coupled with Gates carbon drive.
I love the Pinion best. Maybe only because it cost the most 😀
Keep up the best touring content on the Internet!

[calaphos]

I think price is also missing the point that you can actually get a rohloff hub as a single part new for ~1000 Euro for retrofitting. Even more important, you can get them used for half of that - With their legendary durability even a really old one is probably fine.

[atheeromar]

I never thought a comparison of gear shifters could be that extensive. Well done!

[erazr]

Thanks for this awesome guide!
I was always quite concerned about spoke/rim failures during long distance bike touring, and a hub gearbox would make it way harder to fix such problems.
Therefore, it is quite exciting to see that Pinion offers a completely different concept of bicycle gearboxes.

After some months of research, starting with this video, I have just decided on a new Pinion touring bike for my own world trip. And it somehow wasn't as expensive as I expected, top tier Pinion touring bikes start at about 4000 € in germany (e.g. TX-1200 by Vsf)

[MonoLake]

I owned a Rohloff for about one month, and I still miss it. I purchased a titanium (Seven) touring bike a a pawn shop with a Rohloff, couplers, and a Son dynamo for $1000.00. The bike was too small, but I wanted the parts. My friend rode it and begged me to sell it to him, so I made an extra $1000.00. He is still riding it and would never part with it, and I am still dreaming of a gear box bike. Thanks for the review, because I am shopping for the right frame right now...

[BosisofSweden]

Mate, you should definitely start a school education for bike mechanics all over the world. How you say it, your speed, how you build things up and explain.... It's just perfect! I would go with the Rohloff due to price, efficiency and the fact that the pros of the Pinion doesn't really matter to me. I am currently running a Shimano Nexus 7 so ... :)

[peterlo]

This guy is a professor on topics about bicycles.

[dannygayler]

I recently purchased a Smart Motion E Bike with a Rohloff hub, so far after 1400 km I have no problems and rather than change the oil in the hub I'll take my bike back to the dealer for Specialist service, I also had a shock absorbing front fork fitted and the results and assed comfort were immediate !

[f.molenpad]

Thanks for the videos. The level of detail is refreshing and extremely helpful. Have a safe journey!

[mtbkmaniac]

I've ridden Rohloff hub on an all mountain bike since 2005. Serious competitive, technical riding, all over the west as a 220lb 6' guy. That said. The hub is bullet proof for "acoustic" MTB's!
Note: Always shift on the top of the crank stroke and It will shift flawlessly.
The question of rear wheel weight. You unweight where you need to. It's a pound! Use the force! Your Camelback bladder more or less full or a seat bag can weight that.
The noise in gear 7. I think its cool! If you hate it, just shift.
If it were to break. Rohloff internals can be swapped out as a unit, leaving your wheel build intact. Although..
I have sent the wheel to U.S. service (there is only one here!) for seals, maybe every 4 years. They always weep a little oil at the axle ends, especially if you lay your bike over on the disk side.. it may start creeping oil toward the braking surface over time as you ride. If you dont lean it over? No problem, just monitor.
The chain tensioner needs lubrication at the pivots. It is rebuildable. The stock jockey wheel's bearings die a crunchy death about once a year due to contamination. You can clean and re-grease them, but I found Rollerboy ceramic bearing jockey wheels. They stay smooth and don't die, like the stock ones do.
The wheel strength. The spokes are equal length and tension. Much stronger than wheel builds accommodating a cassette.
The Rohloff hub itself is always there, ready. Just lube your chain (I use chain wax), as usual, some Triflo to the tensioner pivot (and sliding surfaces, like your dropper, shock shaft and fork sliders) and go. It has saved me so much money over the years. Previous to Rohloff, I broke or bent 3, 9spd Shimano XTR cassettes and broke the pawls on a Hugi hub, back before 2005 due to torque applied to the rear wheel while climbing. It was such a problem, I went back to 8spd cassettes.
You can reverse the chainring and cog too, for double life. Chains are cheap too. Single speed chains are everywhere. I like Sram PC-1
I am building a levo turbo Rohloff and have to relieve the disk side of the frame to accommodate the 40mm dia. torque arm. This needs to be, and was approved through Rohloff beforehand and handled through the U.S. service center. They are called Cycle Monkey.
That has been my experience.