Home > Other Fun Stuff > Gadgets & Hacks

Rohloff gets hydraulic road & trail shifting with new Bpod psh’R

16 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_on-bike

Last year we saw the introduction of an aftermarket shifting control box made by Gebla to give Rohloff users more flexibility when it came to shifter setups. The 14 speed internally geared Rohloff hub has long been a sought after solution for all types of riding due to its durability and low maintenance, but besides its high price, it has been held back by being limited to a single twist shifter that only works on standard flat bars. The Gebla Rohbox let you use standard (albeit modified) road or mountain shifters, but still pulling a pair of standard shift cables. Now from the relatively young Swiss company Bpod comes a pair of hydraulic alternatives under the new psh’R name. Take an up-close look at the both road drop bar shifters and the trigger shifters, and find out why go hydraulic in the first place…

 bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_trigger-shifter

Having put a lot of time in riding a Rohloff off-road myself, the only issue I had ever experienced was with the mechanical shifting setup. Having two cables coming out of the shifter – one push, one pull – meant that getting cable tension set up perfectly was key, and any contamination of the cables resulted in friction inside the housing and a lot of effort required to shift. Then that twist shifter becomes a chore to use. The Rohbox mostly eliminates that problem, since you end up with two pull cables, but there are still two long shift wires that will stretch and wear over time.

The new bpod psh’R however promises the same benefits as the Acros A-GE shift system that it is based on. Lighter weight fluid filled hoses, and friction free shifts for the life of the hydraulic fluid.

bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_setup

The single Acros/psh’R lever works just like the standard A-GE shifter. One lever with a push-pull hydraulic system using two hydraulic lines will drive the psh’R box that shifts the Rohloff at the hub. With the same flexible Matchmaker mounting available for the Acros shifter, it will open up a lot more possibilities for flat and alt-bar Rohloff setups.

bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_controller bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_on-bike-detail bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_colors

The flat bar bpod psh’R 1.2 MTB setup is expected to be available at the beginning of 2017. It is projected to cost 500€, including the Acros shifter, 2 full length hydro lines, and psh’R control box. It will be available in a number of anodized colors, as well as with a carbon cover on the controller, and claims to drop 130g off of the standard Rohloff twist shifter.

bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_road-shifters bpod_Rohloff_Acros-pshR_hydraulic-internally-geared-hub-shifting_road-shifter

For those looking to take your Rohloff Speedhub over to a drop bar bike, either for road, cross, or touring will get another bpod psh’R option as well. We’ve only seen renderings of the psh’R 2.2 RR so far, but it uses a simple and light (drillium) set of levers that pair up to the same psh’R controller for shifting and a pair of Brake Force One calipers for stopping (apparently other brake pairings will be available as a separate option.) The shifters have thumb paddles, similar to Campagnolo, with one side providing upshifts, while the other downshifts.

bpod.ch & pshr.ch

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

16 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
ChrisS.
ChrisS.
7 years ago

That does sound like a nice way to spend my paycheque… too bad that the Rohloff cost as much as a wedding ring….

Yo!
Yo!
7 years ago
Reply to  ChrisS.

a wedding ring is way cheaper

Tim
Tim
7 years ago
Reply to  ChrisS.

Or, too bad that a wedding costs as much as a Rohloff!

Tr0n
Tr0n
7 years ago

I would like to see Rohloff with SRAM e-TAP

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago

In the long run, they’re actually a great deal when you compare them to an XTR or XX1 group. I just hate that they haven’t figured out how to let you safely shift under torque without damaging the thing. I’d be willing to take a weight penalty for this if they could do it without adding friction to the system. Its not too hard to build a pretty darn light bike with one of these.
That said, I really do think Pinion’s gearbox is going to be a big deal once they can drop their prices even 25%.

***Look inside one of these things and compare them to a car’s transmission. When you consider that they’re paying German laborers high wages, these hubs are really pretty darn inexpensive.

Shanghaied
Shanghaied
7 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Yes, lots people are still regularly running their first gen speedhubs from like 1998/99 with only oil changes and replaced chains and sprockets, which is pretty incredible in the bike world. That said I’m not holding my breath for shifting under torque though, since no hub gear manufacturer has ever managed it. Hell, no car company with their billions upon billions of dollars have managed it yet. Pinion and Rohloff are really in the same kind of bind – they can’t seem to sell in enough numbers to get the economies of scale going, and yet their costs keep them a niche item, without mass market appeal. That said, while not wildly popular, Speedhubs just seemed to me a LOT more common in Germany for some reason. Like each time I’ve been there I have at least seen one, and always on the same type of bike – flat bar touring bikes with mudguards, racks and Magura hydro rim brakes. It’s like the stereotypical German bike for me now.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago
Reply to  Shanghaied

Not exactly true. Nuvinci allows it. I loved mine, despite the drive friction. It’s just not enough gearing

Stephen
7 years ago

The Rohloff shifter is useless when your hands are numb and wet. This shifter is pretty tempting, even at this high price.

Antipodean_eleven
7 years ago

As an ex-‘loff owner (bike was stolen and can’t justify the spend again), this is a very cool upgrade I have to say.

JH Aberschmidt
JH Aberschmidt
7 years ago

Yep, but its still a Rohloff. Its like adding a 8 speed Dual Sequential Gearbox to a dumptruck

wunnspeed
7 years ago

I see them on Euro Ebay quite regularly less than a 1X system and can get one quite inexpensively (for a Rohloff) but dislike the shifter so much that I just can’t buy one. Sadly, this doesn’t help much even though it’s a really nice idea.

John
John
7 years ago

My only knocks on IGH rear hubs is fixing a rear flat, and that the shifters tend to suck. This looks like it fixes 50% of those problems. Would like to test drive one for a month or so, failing that maybe one of the BR crew can sweet talk their way into a long term review?

Abraham
Abraham
7 years ago

I have very bad experience with handling the rohloff shifter when my hands get sweaty in sunny weather and hard climbs. I know a pair of gloves might be usefull, but still the shifting sucks really bad, especially compared to the cheapest Shimano groups. The gebla rohbox solves it already, thumb shifting, better cable routing, a bit cheaper then this pshR), but darn this pshR really looks good. Too bad the aftermarket has to solve the shifting problem (slow slugish, almost impossible in steep sweaty conditions). Hopefully Rohloff itself will come with something better en replaces the Twist Shifter rubber grip as soon as possible with something that will have some firm shifting grip in harsh conditions.

Matt
Matt
7 years ago

I could never get shifting to work well with a Rohloff. Went back to good ol’ chain and cogs.

Tobi
Tobi
7 years ago

Interesting that they mention the Gebla Rohbox but not the cinq5 Shift:R trigger shifters…

Janek
Janek
7 years ago

Rohloff is great but it makes sense only with gates carbon drive belt to keep it almost absolutely maintanence free. I use it in my Poison MTB 29 er. But there are two problems, first is as somebody mentioned above the shifter which requires a lot of strength and second which I discovered not long ago is that when you leave the bicycle lying on the floor for some days the oil leaks from the hub. I must have bought a new oil and refill it..

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.