Hydraulic and mechanical gearboxes for Rohloff

The twist grip of the Rohloff Speedhub gear hub is not always the first choice or can be installed properly. Alternatives can be found on the thriving gear hub accessories market. The Rohbox from GEBLA allows the use of mechanical trigger shifters on MTBs and brake levers on racing handlebars. The psh'r gearbox comes from Switzerland and can even be used to operate the Rohloff hydraulically.

Gebla Rohbox: Switching with mechanical trigger switches

The Rohbox from Georg Blaschke (GEBLA) replaces the original Rohloff shift box and allows the use of MTB trigger levers and shift/brake levers from road bikes. Shifting is then done with two shift levers: pressing the right shifts to the heavier gear, the left to the lighter one - or vice versa.

To do this, however, the shift lever detent must be removed. GEBLA offers modified shift levers including long shift cables, but has also published modification instructions for self-tinkerers on the Internet. At present, only the modification of SRAM shifters is recommended (shift/brake levers for road bikes also Campagnolo), Shimano levers cannot be modified due to their pinned housing. Georg Blaschke accepts enquiries about specific levers by e-mail.

The GEBLA raw box costs 179 euros. Prices for modified shift levers start at 59 euros (SRAM X5), shift/brake levers are available from 139 euros (Campagnolo Veloce), each in a set with two shift levers and long cables.

Further information about the Rohbox on its own website rohbox.de

Hydraulic shifting of the Rohloff with psh'r

Sven Jan Hiltbrand from Switzerland offers a special kind of technical delicacy with the psh'r. The retrofit gearbox works hydraulically and replaces the original Rohloff gearbox. The hydraulic system is virtually maintenance-free and promises consistently low operating forces and a weight saving of up to 130 grams compared to the original setup.

The control element for selecting the psh'r is the shift lever of the hydraulic gearstick Acros A-GEwhich can be used to shift both up and down. The customer can choose between a left-hand and right-hand lever.

The psh'r is expected to be available from 2017 at a price of just under 500 euros. Also in development: a fully hydraulic shift/brake lever for racing bikes. Sven's co-operation partner here: Brakeforceone.

Further information on www.pshr.ch and www.bpad.ch