Jones Plus Bikepacking Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive

This customized Jones Plus bike went to a customer in Sunset, South Carolina. He originally contacted us about building a bikepacking/offroad adventure bike with plus size tires, Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, and Gates Carbon Drive belt for riding dirt routes that he had picked out across the US. The bike would be used for serious back country riding and needed to be built to stand up to anything he might encounter off the grid. For these types of adventures, where every piece of equipment needs to work without fail over various terrain weather conditions for hundreds or even thousands of miles, the Rohloff/Gates drivetrain is a perfect fit. He was interested in the "Plus" model from Jones Bicycles based on reviews he had read, and a test ride on our demo bike coordinated with a business trip to San Francisco confirmed that this was the right choice.

Jones is a bicycle company out of Talent, OR that is named for its owner, Jeff Jones. If you check out their website you’ll find their description, "Pure bicycle - Total function - Off-road and on - Inspirational handling - The high-performance non-suspension bicycle". The belief by Jones is, "There is immense satisfaction to be found in riding the trails as they are – not a version filtered by damping, compression and sag. To ride without the flattery of bloat 'n' float – less really can be more. It’s delightful when all your steering, pedaling and subtle weight shifts make an immediate difference to your ride". The Plus model, like all the Jones models, is rigid-only and is supposed to have vertical compliance and lateral stiffness. It differs from other Jones models through its extra long chain stays, long wheelbase, and big (3") tire clearance.

The Jones Plus has a relaxed head-angle (67 degrees) combined with unusually large fork offset (76mm) to maintain a normal XC bike steering feel while offering much greater toe-tire clearance. Rack mounts make the frame touring-ready and bags can be strapped to the truss fork for carrying additional cargo on longer trips. The frame is designed for the type of use this customer had in mind, but it needed some frame modifications in order to make it Rohloff SPEEDHUB and Gates Carbon Drive belt ready.

Our fabricator modified this frame for belt allowance, gave it a Rohloff OEM2 pick-up point, and added cable guides for optimal cable routing for the SPEEDHUB.  In order to put a belt on a bike the frame needs to split in some way in order to fit a belt into the rear triangle.  If a frame was not designed around this, there are modifications that can be done to make it ready to be belted. The most common option is to add a simple tube splitter.  In this case, we installed a splitter in the chainstay. The process involves cutting out a section of tubing and welding in a pair of machined steel blocks that sandwich together with two bolts. When the bolts are taken out, the tube can be flexed to open a gap that allows the belt to be installed.

Given the position of the rear brake mount between the stays, using our Monkey Bone to fix the hub's axle to the brake mount offers the possibility that the wheel can pull out of the frame under hard pedaling in some conditions. To avoid this risk, we added a threaded boss inside of the left seat stay as a pick-up point for the Rohloff OEM2 plate. The final modification was adding cable guides under the left chainstay to avoid having to zip tie the SPEEDHUB cables in place. After the modifications were complete, we sent it off to our local powder coater for a medium gloss black finish, then it was ready for build up in our Monkey Lab.

The build begins in our Wheel House by getting the custom wheels ready to roll. The wheels were built using Sun Ringle MuleFut 29+ Rims with a Hope Pro 2 Fatsno front hub and a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 in the rear.  Both wheels were then dressed with Maxxis Chronicle 29+ tires.

The Rohloff SPEEDHUB is a great fit for an adventure touring bike. Its durable, sealed shifting system is nearly impervious to weather or trail conditions and will hold up over the long haul. It provides dependability in all riding conditions, making it the perfect choice for a bike to take on a long journey, far off the beaten path. With the addition of the Gates Carbon Drive belt, which has a usable lifespan at least twice as long as a conventional chain (and typically much longer) and does not require lubrication, this is one of the most low maintenance and dependable drivetrains available. 

Once the wheels were done, the bike build could begin. The build uses many parts that we work with often and trust for performance and reliability, including the Jones Loop H-bar and ESI Chunky grips combined with a Selle Anatomica saddle for long distance comfort.

This customer wanted a bike to ride through anything and over great distances. The Jones Plus was a great fit for his backcountry adventures but needed a few modifications. We gave it a makeover and added an internal gear hub and belt to make it cover all the customer's requirements. If you are thinking about building the bike of your dreams and the frame doesn't fit into the picture perfectly, give us a call and we'll do our best to make it into a reality.   

Build Details:

• Frame: Jones Plus
• Fork: Jones Plus 142mm Truss Fork
• Headset: Hope Threadless
• Stem: Thomson X4
• Handlebar: Jones Loop H-Bar
• Shifter: Rohloff Twist shifter
• Grips: Jones ESI Chunky Grips
• Seat post: Thomson Elite
• Saddle: Selle Anatomica
• Front Hub: Hope Pro Fatsno
• Rear hub: Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14
• Spokes: Sapim Force
• Nipples: Sapim Brass
• Rims: Sun Ringle MuleFUT 29+
• Tires: Maxxis Chronicle 29 X 3.0"
• Cranks: Race Face Turbine Cinch
• Pedals: Shimano XT
• Bottom Bracket: Hope
• Chain ring: Gates Carbon Drive
• Rear Sprocket: Gates Carbon Drive
• Chain: Gates Carbon Drive belt

• Brakes: Magura MT7 and 4-bolt

• Rotors: Magura 180mm

• Rack: Surly Nice Rack