Rohloff Australia Upholds Obsession for Technical Perfection

Back in 1986, Bernhard and Barbara Rohloff created the company that bears their name. Their first product was a chain followed by various other drivetrain related products.

It took a decade before they released their iconic 14 speed Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 which apart from refinements, has essentially remained the same product since 1996. In those 24 years they have manufactured over 300,000 Speedhubs, all from their German factory that employs over 35 staff.

It would be reasonable to say that Herr Rohloff is obsessed with the quality and durability of his hubs. Despite being expensive, they’ve developed a devoted following, initially amongst long-distance touring cyclists, one of whom documented riding 327,000 kilometres without any mechanical failure.

Paul and Denise Moir run Rohloff Australia, which is the exclusive Australian distributor and service centre. There are currently about 60 Rohloff dealers Australia wide.

Paul has retired from a career as a senior engineer in the oil industry that saw him living extensively in South East Asia. Paul has a passion for mountain biking and while overseas he also distributed various bicycle and component brands.

Upon returning to Australia in 2011 the opportunity arose to take over the Rohloff agency which they’ve now run since mid 2012.

Although 80% of sales are still to the urban / touring / utility market, Paul says that about 20% of sales are now to mountain biking enthusiasts.

Paul has become an expert on converting high end MTB’s from their originally spec’d derailleur system to a Rohloff system. He’s produced detailed videos on how to do this, which have attracted tens of thousands of views via YouTube and Vimeo.

The growing popularity of e-MTB’s with their additional weight and power has accelerated interest in using the Rohloff system. Rohloff have developed a comprehensive conversion kit with detailed instructions on how to do the job to their customary high engineering standards.