Commuting / Touring: Co-Motion Americano with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive

This Co-Motion Americano was built for a customer in Corpus Christi, Texas. He had been riding on a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 for many years that he loved and wanted to move it to a new bike. He rides to work everyday and wanted to get a great commuter with dynamo powered lights and a frame that was sturdy enough to be used for moderately loaded touring. He was also excited about using a Gates Carbon Drive belt. Co-Motion's top quality, American made, Americano model covered all of his requirements, so we used this as the starting platform.

Gravel / Adventure Road Bike: Shand Cycles Stoater with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive

This Shand Cycles Stoater adventure road bike was built for a local customer in San Francisco. He wanted a no fuss commuter/adventure bike that was fun and comfortable to ride to help him get back into a regular riding routine. A friend of his had worked with us to get a Rohloff-equipped touring bike and raved about the drivetrain, so he decided to get in touch with us to test ride the internal gear hub and Gates belt and to discuss potential build options. He really like the aesthetic of the Shand Stoater demo bike we have at the office, so we based the build around this frameset.

Soma Sandworm Fatbike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, Gates Carbon Drive Belt, and Lauf Leaf Spring Fork

San Francisco-based Soma Fabrications recently sent us a production version of their first fat bike frame, the Sandworm. This is a great affordable option for a Rohloff- and belt-compatible fat bike. The frame is designed with several key features to run a Rohloff-Gates Carbon Drive belt drive train.

We built this Sandworm up as demo with a Lauf Carbonara leaf spring fork. Assembly was very straight forward. With only a few quick spins on it, the geometry feels very neutral and familiar.

Previously, we built up a prototype version for form, fit, and function validation. Throughout the assembly, we made notes on the ease of assembly and integration with the Rohloff-belt drive train.

The production version of the Sandworm evolved based on lessons learned from the prototype, while maintaining the earlier tube shape and geometry.

The prototype was built with a 135mm offset rear triangle, which worked with the original SPEEDHUB 500/14, while the production version made the change to 170mm symmetric spacing and accepts the SPEEDHUB XL.