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

AND THE WINNER OF THE ROHLOFF VS. PINION SHOOTOUT IS...Shimano! That's right, you didn't even know they were a competitor, but they win by default because they're the only option you can realistically afford!

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

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.

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.

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!!

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

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

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

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!

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

This guy is a professor on topics about bicycles.

Rohloff is built in my hometown Kassel, easy win for the Rohloff :)

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.

Great information 👍 Very clear, compact, detailed and nicely illustrated. Well done... and please keep on making more films! 🥇

I really enjoy all the great information that you provide. I'm finally able to understand how these gearboxes work. I also understand now about belt drives, in fact, I am learning the simplicity and easy maintenance. Thank you so much for the technical information.

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)

I like them both but can't afford either one. So, there you go.

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.

Very comprehensive and thorough presentations. Well done.

not only particular this video, in general most of your videos are really informative. thank you