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{{Short description|German manufacturer of bicycle components}}
{{for|the surname|Rohloff (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Rohloff AG
| foundation       = 1986
| location         = [[Fuldatal]], [[Germany]]
| key_people       = Barbara Rohloff
| num_employees    = 45
| industry         = Cycling components
| products         = [[Bicycle]] related components, internal gear hubs, chains, tools, lubrication
| homepage         = {{URL|http://www.rohloff.de}}
}}
[[File:Speed1c.png|thumb|Internal Schematic of a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14]]
'''Rohloff AG''' is a German company from [[Fuldatal]] near [[Kassel]] that manufactures [[hub gear]]s, [[bicycle chain]]s and tools that are known for their durability and high performance. The company's logo is a black silhouette of a [[raven]] on a yellow background.
==History==
Rohloff AG was founded in 1986 and began by producing a high-tech, premium priced [[bicycle chain]], the SLT 99. Sales of this chain generated revenues of €1m in 1991, and approximately €0,5m annually from 1992 to 1998.<ref name="stories">{{cite book|title=Rohloff Stories|year=2010|publisher=Rohloff AG|isbn=978-3-00-031899-3|author=Rohloff, Barbara|author2=Rauch, Marco }}</ref>
===Development of Rohloff Speedhub 500/14===
While at the [[Tour de France]] road race in France in 1994, the Rohloffs went bicycling on the beach in [[France]]. The bikes got stuck in the sand, and the primitive [[derailleur]] gear systems would not work properly. This triggered [[Bernhard Rohloff]] to develop a new [[hub gear|internally geared hub]].
At the 1996 [[Intermot|IFMA]] in [[Cologne]], Rohloff announced a 14-speed gear hub with a weight of 1700&nbsp;grams. At the time, the gear hub with the greatest number of speeds was the unreliable 3700&nbsp;gram 12 speed [[Sachs Elan]] (discontinued by 2000), made by the hub-gear manufacturer Sachs (later acquired by SRAM). A year later Rohloff presented a workable prototype at the 1997 IFMA and won a crate of [[champagne]] from the employees at Sachs, who had bet against them the year before. The managing director of the dominant cycling component manufacturer [[Shimano]] approached Rohloff and asked: "Shimano could release a 14 speed gear hub onto the market tomorrow, but it would weigh double as much as yours" – "How do you manage this?"<ref name="stories" />
The Rohloffs had been granted a [[Deutschmark|DM]] 1 million [[bank loan]] for [[R&D|development]] of the new product, and for the start of production, guarantees in the amount of several million marks. At this time, the design just existed on paper. The company was not successful in raising [[financing]] from [[investor]]s. However, just 10 days after IFMA, the loan guarantees were retracted. The granting bank had gone [[bankrupt]], was acquired by another bank, and the restructuring specialist hired had previously been involved with financing development of the competing Sachs Elan hub.<ref name="stories" />
Rohloff searched but was unable to raise a bank loan. The company was in dire straits; if the product could not be launched, it could not repay the loans. The founders had personally [[surety|guaranteed]] for the initial million mark loan.<ref name="stories" />
Eventually Rohloff obtained a state guarantee which paved the way for a bank loan to pay local parts suppliers and commence production of the Speedhub. The decision maker at the financial and economic ministry in [[Hessen]] was a keen cyclist. When he had first heard of the Rohloff, he had already decided to buy a hub if it became available.<ref name="stories" /> Following a test-ride in May 1998, the loan was granted, enabling Rohloff AG to sign production contracts with local suppliers by the summer. The first Speedhub units were shipped to customers by Christmas of 1998.<ref name="stories" />
==Products==
Each year Rohloff produces approximately 20,000 gear hubs. The [[Rohloff Speedhub]] 500/14 is the only bicycle hub with 14 gears, which can replace a regular chain [[derailleur]] system regarding level of friction and range of transmission.
Rohloff AG also used to make an automatic chain [[lubrication]] system called Lubmatic, and cycle tools such as a chain [[rivet]]ing tool and a chain measurement tool.
===Speedhub production===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Rohloff Speedhub 500/14<ref>[http://www.rohloff.de/en/news/news_rss/news_in_detail/archive/2006/02/february/article/50000_SPEEDHUB_50014_delivered/index.html Rohloff AG: ''NEWS 50.000 SPEEDHUB 500/14 delivered''. 02.02.2006]</ref>
! Production year !! Serial numbers !! Production
|-
| 1998 || 000000 – 000400 || 401
|-
| 1999 || 000401 – 002700 || 2300
|-
| 2000 || 002701 – 006500 || 3800
|-
| 2001 || 006501 – 0012000 || 5500
|-
| 2002 || 012001 – 0018800 || 6800
|-
| 2003 || 018801 – 027700 || 8900
|-
| 2004 || 027701 – 038500 || 10800
|-
| 2005 || 038501 – 050049 || 11549
|-
| 2006 || 050050 – 065000 || 14951
|-
| 2007 || 065001 – 081600 || 16600
|-
| 2008 || 081601 – 100000 || 18400
|-
| 2009 || 100001 – 115900 || 15900
|-
| 2010 || 115901 – 135800 || 19900
|-
| 2011 || 135801 – 153000 || 17200
|-
|}
== See also ==
* [[Comparison of hub gears]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.rohloff.de/en/ Website Rohloff AG]
* [http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/accessoires/book_rohloff_storys/index.html Book about the Rohloff AG]
{{German bicycle manufacturers}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|51|20|53|N|9|31|00|E|region:DE-HE_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}}
[[Category:Cycle parts manufacturers]]
[[Category:Hub gears]]
[[Category:Epicyclical gearing]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1986]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of Germany]]
[[Category:1986 establishments in West Germany]]