Sub Questions | Rohloff Speedhub Oil Change & other Trike maintenance. 

Don't worry about the tensioner angle. It is always under the right tension. It is needed to absorb the continuous relative movements of rear suspension. Most important is de wear of the cog teethes and the stretched chain.

Awesome video Tim! Matt Galat went something like four years before he changed the chain on his HPV. Way too long and he had a lot of issues because of it. It depends on several factors like how many miles are put on it and regular cleaning and lubrication, but a quality chain should last at least a couple of years. Some people change then annually. Your idler looks worn to me but I’m not an expert either. I really like the Rohloff hub but I’m looking at adding electric assist to my trike.

Hi, Tim On the subject of chains if you thinking of going down the wax on a chain rather than the messy oil on the chain .useing molten speed wax or your own choice of waxes. apply on a new chain its got to be easier. taken me hours on my road bike. looking forward to more great journeys.

I agree with the tire you chose for the rear tire. I found out about the standard tires I got with my Catrike Dumont, I had to get off the trail and when I went to get back on the trail all I did was spin my rear tire. So I had to get a more aggressive tire.

Tim, great video. I'm a Clydesdale and as such put more stress and wear on a chain. My most concerning point of your video is the amount of grit/sand/dust on the frame. Dirty Frame=Dirty Chain!! All that off-pavement riding kicks up the dust/grit and it too gets lodged in you chain to act like a grinding paste wth the petroleum lubricant used on most chains. I only ride on the pavement, but when they are tilling or harvesting the farm lands the winds always kick up lots of dust here in NW Louisiana too. I stopped using petroleum based lubricants and started waxing my chain. I have a reusable master link so I can take it off the trike. My process is to soak the chain in Parks Citrus Degreaser (large bowl with a collander to hold the chain off the bottom) and enough degreaser to cover the chain. Let it sit and agitate a number of times. You'll be shocked at how much metal flakes and grit will be in the degreaser after a 30 min soak. Then I take the collander to a 2nd bowl filled with alcohol to get the degreaser out. Hang the chain for a bit to let dry. Then I bought a cheap slow cooker crock pot and melted a number of large white candles in it (removing the wicks too). After the chain is dry from the alcohol bath, let it sit in the hot melted candle wax for about 30 minutes and agitate some along the way. You'll see lots of bubbles coming up from the chain. The hot wax gets into all the pins and side plates so the chain last longer. (Oz Cycle has some good You Tube videos on this.) Use the Parks Chain checker tool regularly to catch the when to change the chain. I get one 13 ft length of new KHS chain from Terra Cycle (t-cycle.com) and wind up replacing the chain about every 5 month. I try to clean the chain about 4- 6 weeks if I'm riding a lot. I filter the used cleaning solutions thru a funnel with an old cotton work sock or cotton towel portion to catch all the dirt and metal so I can reuse the fluids a number of times. I would also get a new idler wheel from Terra Cycle too, that one looks like the bearings are worn out. The jockey wheels below the Rolhoff hub need to have lube too. I use a Boeshield lubricant to drop some lube in there too. Also you will need to clean out the inside of each chain tube as these hold a huge amount of grit/lubricant. You can get new tubes from Terra Cycle too when they are worn out. Hope this helps keep you rolling! Sincerely, Clydesdale

March 17 I got my new ICE with the Rohloff Hub. Didn't realize it needed an oil change. I will save this for when I need to do it.

This was the best so far of all your short videos. Glad you’re doing them & I look forward to each & every one. I agree with you HP parts & accessories. Their Stand up bars case in point. Particularly because,in my case, my trike isn’t from HP Velotechnik. I almost choked when I found out the cost.

Park tool chain checker

When it comes to maintainence or replacement, I tend to think of the chain in a similar way as you do your rear gearbox: time and/or mileage. Matt got himself in trouble by riding on and on without considering how essential the chain is to his trikes intended purpose. In addition, the chain is but one part of the drivetrain system, and not maintaining or replacing it can damage other key parts-as Matt discovered to his chagrin. We have big investments in our trikes, so I'm taking a similar view to the Arrow as I have to my car. I've owned my '92 Honda Civic since 1996. It has served me well for 23 years because I've stayed ahead of potential problems. I changed the clutch (anyone remember manual transmissions?) and struts before any signs of trouble appeared because I knew they'd go bad eventually. Better to be ahead of the game. I don't know how much mileage you've put on Trinny, but I do know she's seen quite a bit of scenery. Serve her well, and she'll do the same for you for years to come.

Thanks for sharing Tim. As always very useful information.

As for the chain, on a bike with a cassette and normal crank set you change out the chain with things begin to skip. But I believe that Park makes a ruler of sorts that will measure your chain, too see how much it has stretched. If your idler wheel has teeth on it, when the teeth are worn out, then time for a new one. I ride a Sun Sport two wheeled recumbent and the idler wheel on mine is a non toothed pully type. So just check too see how worn it is. Your Idler wheel looks fine. A bit of side too side movement is okay. Good tire choices. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. They last along time.

Thanks! Fair enough about camera mic.

Regarding the issue of getting a wet bum when driving through puddles... as far as I know HP did change the front fenders some time ago. From what I‘ve been told they‘ve extented the inner side of the fender, so water and mud don‘t spray inwards. Maybe an email to HP Velotechnik will shed some light on this topic. Since I‘m still waiting for my Scorpion fs26 to arrive I can‘t share my personal experience yet. However I‘ll test this as soon as the new beast is here and we get some rain. 😉

Hi Tim! The oil change on the Rohloff was very interesting! So that's not complicated. I'm considering buying an own recumbent trike (we have already two of them but both are my wife's trikes and adapted for her) and I'm thinking about a Rohloff or a Pinion gear, maybe in combination with a Gates Carbon Drive System belt drive (if this works and makes sense on a recumbent trike ). All the best Stefan

Thank you for a simple explanation _oh dear_ that grub screw I'll have to ask my Asian friends next door for help I can pick up a basket ball one handed and no way can get my stubby big fingers between the spokes lol

On the chain as Robert mentioned a Park Tool Chain checker and a quick link tool and a good chain breaker, with a proper length of chain for the Scorpion. I would also change the Rohloff gear Rohloff Cog Removal Tool $34.15 the jockey wheels on the tensioner Tacx 10T jockey wheel set with sealed bearings from Amazon I do believe will work in the Rohloff Tensioner. I'm not sure what Tooth gear you are using on the Rohloff but if you want lower gearing use a smaller one than you have now. The Idle pulley looked ok, but I would more than likely order a replacement unit from Terra Trikes with are made of better materials and have better bearings and not a bushing like the standard set up. Chain tubes, once they get too many wear holes from the chain drag then I would replace. Think the Chain is either 8 or 9 speed on a trike. The chain would be better purchased from a LBS if they carry it in bulk and sold by the meter. Park Tool Chain Wear Indicator CC-3.2 $10.95Park Tool MLP- 1.2 Chain Plier $15.95

Just catching up with these videos, so apologise if your newer videos mention anything in relation to it. I see you have sent away for the chain wear tool - the basics is that 1 link of chain measures 1 inch in length exactly, as the little rollers wear out, the chain (appears) to get longer, and thus measures more than 1 inch, which is how the wear tool works - and you just replace your chain when its "stretched" more than a certain %. As a trike owner though, where the chain is more like 2.5 chains, our chains will last longer than those on 2-wheels, as less chain is in contact with cogs etc at any 1 time. I can't help you with your idler, as I'm not familiar with HP Velotechnik's style, but its purpose is there to stop your chain from slapping around underneath your seat. Maybe check your HP velotchnik website and see if they list it as an accessory?

Great video. Your idler wheel is vastly different from mine. The one on my AZUB TRIcon has teeth that engage the chain as it turns. I noticed yours does not. I think that is too much play in your wheel also (not sure). Not sure why one idler wheel would have teeth and another not; to engage the chain more securely? The dog leg in your chain tensioner looks a bit extreme to me. I would take at least one link out of your chain, maybe two but no more than that. It just installed a Bafang mid-drive motor kit onto my trike. Do you think the Rohloff would be a good match with the kit. I'm trying to get away from my low-hanging derailleur in back and also gain an additional 4 gears. Wondering if it is worth the $2000+ price tag. Are you happy with hub? Served you well?

Nice gearing system but I like the normal gearing more. Not only because of the price and mainly because I can change the gear sizes in the back easily. This gives me the option to make it good for in the mountains or on the flat or something in between. Where there no teeth on the gide wheel for the chain? Was it going not that smooth because the chain was still against it? I don't know how tight the tentioner must be. I know that a to tight isn't good but to loose is also not good. I always checked on my bikes if I could move the chain a bit and than it was good.

Tim, Some thoughts: How long have you actually had Trinny and how many miles/kilometres do you think you have covered?

It might be a waste of time but would taking a block of scrap wood and drilling one or 2 holes for holding your bottles to free up your hands be worth it? May be even a hole for syringe.

If you're anything like me Tim that little grub screw would have immediately grown legs after i opened that bag and ran into obscurity never to be rediscovered...

I have the sensation that you have not seen the link I included in my second comment on yesterday video... You never mentioned the steering alignment; setting it shall increase tire mileage. My Hase has not that problem: I have no experience in tadpole trikes.

Have you considered using a belt drive instead of chain?

I'd never work directly over grass. If you had dropped that tiny grub screw when changing the oil...

At the 18:26 point. Is that a crack on the weld? Near the 2 zip ties on the chain tubes, forward of the idler