Super Commuter: Co-Motion Camino with Schlumpf Speed Drive

This bike was built for a customer in San Francisco, CA who had a very specific idea of what he wanted in a commuter bike. He was looking for a clean, minimalist aesthetic and the zippy, responsive ride he was used to on his road bike in a fixed gear package. He also wanted to have more than one gear to handle the hills in San Francisco without getting off the bike and flipping the back wheel around to a different sprocket size. Disc brakes were a requirement for stopping on the way back down those same hills, as was a Gates Carbon Drive belt system for no drivetrain maintenance.

He liked the options that Co-Motion offered, and the Camino model covered all the bases. We worked with them to customize the frame to accept a belt and then installed a Schlumpf Drive internally-geared cranksets to provide two gear choices without adding any clutter and maintain the simplistic look of a single-gear bike. A rich paint color makes this bike stand out.

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.

Tech Talk: Shifter Options for use with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14

The Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 internally geared hub has always enjoyed a lot of interest with it's 14-speeds, low maintenance, 526% gear range, high durability, and extreme reliability, but not all riders are aware of the flexibility of bike set-up that new shifter options allow. With a variety of aftermarket options available, shifter options for Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 hubs have never been better.

Drop bar, flat bar, Jones H-Bar; these new shifter options provide the flexibility to use your preferred set-up on your Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 equipped bike.

Drop Bar Options: 

• Rohloff twist shifter with HubBub bar end adaptor
• Rohloff twist shifter with Rodriguez Doohicky headset spacer adapter
• Gilles Berthoud twist shifter
• Co-Motion twist shifter
• GELBA Rohbox with SRAM or Campagnolo brake/shift levers
• Cinq Shift:R thumb shifters

Flat Bar Options:

• Rohloff twist shifter
• GEBLA Rohbox with SRAM trigger shifters
• Cinq Shift:R thumb shifters
• Gilles Berthoud twist shifter

Co-Motion Klatch - Adventure Road Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB and Gates Belt

This bike started into motion when our customer in Burlingame, CA first rode his friend's Rohloff-equipped touring bike. He liked the internal gear hub so much he decided to design a bike of his own around the system. During his research into potential frame options, he found our Monkey Lab blog post about a previous Co-motion Klatch we built and got in touch with us to discuss building him something similar. He wanted a low-maintenance bike that was suitable for bike-packing, gravel rides, and mild single track. He knew the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 would meet his drivetrain needs perfectly, especially when combined with a Gates Carbon Drive belt, and he had a top shelf build kit in mind to finish off his dream bike. Once we had all the details in place, we got in touch with Co-motion to finalize the frame details and set out on making the bike happen.

Co-Motion Americano Touring Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB and belt drive

This Co-Motion Americano was displayed in our booth at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) last March in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is equipped with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates belt drive, as well as a full compliment of racks and panniers for loaded touring. Co-Motion Cycles – a company who specializes in building bikes for touring, commuting, tandems, and other unique bikes at their factory in Eugene, Oregon – lent us this bike to showcase an example of a fully loaded touring bike equipped with a SPEEDHUB. It attracted plenty of attention among show attendees; a crowd made up of handmade bike aficionados, many of whom travel from all over the world for a chance to see these bikes in person.

Co-Motion Americano Touring Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB, Schmidt SON28 Dynamo, and Gates Belt Drive

Taking a four month tour through the Balkan Peninsula in Europe requires a commitment to adventure. As with most self-supported bike trips, you must be prepared for different road conditions, varying weather, and unexpected mishaps. The embrace of the unknown was exactly what inspired this build: the customer, from Santa Cruz, CA wanted a fully-equipped touring bike to set out to see new parts of the world. Based on his criteria, we set him up with a Co-Motion Americano equipped with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, belt drive, generator hub, and an array of other reliable touring components to keep him comfortable during his travels.

Co-Motion Klatch Fitness Road Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB and Belt Drive

We built this Co-Motion Klatch as a fitness-oriented road bike for a customer who wanted a comfortable, reliable bike to tackle the many great road rides around his hometown of Santa Rosa, California. His priority was simply to ride often, and the bike needed to stay out of the bike shop and on the road as much as possible. He was looking for a sporty-feeling bike that would motivate him to enjoy the outdoors and stay in shape. We were tasked with creating a Rohloff SPEEDHUB and Gates Carbon Drive-equipped road bike with durable components that would withstand plenty of hard riding, all within a lightweight package.

Rohloff-Equipped, Belt Driven Co-Motion Americano Touring Bike

We built this steel touring bike for a customer in Henderson, NV to replace the Surly Cross Check that he had been riding.  He came to us two and a half years ago to build a rear wheel with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 to replace the derailleur system on his Cross Check, and a couple months later, we built him a matching front wheel with a Phil Wood Touring hub.  Having been happy with the performance of the Rohloff drivetrain, he decided to upgrade to a dedicated Rohloff frame and swap out his chain for a belt while he was at it.  The Americano model from Co-Motion offered all the options that he wanted.

Co-Motion is one of the few US bike companies that offers dedicated Rohloff-specific frame models.  They build bikes out of steel and aluminum in their facility in Eugene, Oregon.  They are well known for their tandems and touring bikes, though they also offer road, cyclocross, and commuting frames.  Their catalog includes a wide variety of models with stock geometry, with custom geometry available for a moderate up-charge.  A few years ago, they decided to design a Rohloff OEM dropout and offer stock Rohloff-specific frames to accommodate a growing number of custom Rohloff frame orders.  Since many of these customers also wanted to use the Gates Carbon Drive belt drive system, they incorporated a split point into the dropout so a belt could be inserted in the frame.