Expedition / Adventure / Backcountry Touring: Lynskey Fatskey Fat Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 XL

A customer from Hickory, NC called us to discuss building up a new bikepacking rig. He wanted to use 29+ wheels with a maintenance-free and dependable Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive belt drivetrain to take on the Great Divide and other adventure touring routes. 

There are limited options available for dedicated 29+ bikes to begin with, and he wanted something lighter than the popular Surly Krampus and ECR steel options. Fortunately, most fat bike frames will accept 29+ wheels, so he was able to use the lightweight titanium Fatskey frame from Lynskey. He sent us the frame and Carver O’Beast carbon fork that he had already picked up, and we worked with him to pick the rest of the components for the build and put everything together.

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.

Mule - The Expedition-Ready Trailer from Tout Terrain

Introducing the expedition worthy Mule trailer from Tout Terrain

Headed to the backcountry or on a long distance tour: hire a Mule.

Tout Terrain designs purpose-built bikes and trailers for a cycle-centric life. The Mule, a suspended single-wheeled luggage trailer, is a unique product for off-road and on-road cycling and ideal for bicycle touring.

Now through the end of 2015, get free shipping within mainland US on Tout Terrain trailer orders.
http://cyclemonkey.bigcartel.com/product/tout-terrain-mule-cargo-trailer

Tout Terrain Mule trailer hitched to 29er MTB

Surly Troll with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Schmidt Dynamo

We built this eye-catching purple Surly Troll for a local customer who wanted a bike for daily commuting and long-distance touring. He asked us to build it up with versatility and ergonomics being the primary concern. With Surly's nearly indestructible steel frame, a worry-free Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, Schmidt dynamo front hub, dynamo-powered head light with USB charger, and a pair of steel Tubus racks, this bike is ready to serve as a reliable transporter for many years.

The Surly Troll frames are a trusted choice proven on many different kinds of terrain. From commuting to mountain biking to mixed terrain touring, the Troll is an easy choice for versatile builds based around 26 inch wheels. Like all of Surly’s frames, it features sturdy 4130 chromoly steel tubing to ensure longevity even under the harshest of conditions. It includes gussets on the key tube junctions where frames tend to fail - where the seat tube meets the top tube and where the top and down tubes meet the headtube. Troll frames also offers a full array of threaded mounts for racks, water bottle cages, fenders, and Surly's trailer, making them adaptable to satisfy any rider's needs, no matter how they intend to use it.

For the wheels, we used Sun Ringle’s MTX33 rims, which are rated for downhill mountain biking, making them plenty strong enough to handle just about anything thrown at them. The 33mm width also helps spread out the tire casing for better traction. We laced up the rims using Sapim Race spokes and brass nipples for an appropriate blend of weight and durability in mind. Naturally, we chose a black Rohloff SPEEDHUB in the rear and a matching black Schmidt SON28 in the front. Finally, we mounted the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires, which have a thick, flat-resistant liner embedded in the rubber so they won't be susceptible to unexpected punctures on the road.

For the varied type of riding this customer is planning to do, a SPEEDHUB was the best choice to serve his needs. Rohloff's hubs are widely recognized as the most suitable drivetrain choice for long distance touring, which this customer plans to embark on in the future. On an unsupported tour that can lead you into remote and unknown areas, you don't want to risk being stranded far from a bike shop with drivetrain problems. The hardened steel gear wheels within the SPEEDHUBs are well protected and far more durable than any derailleur system. The Rohloff hubs are also the ideal choice for our customer’s other intended application: reliable daily commuting. To make it across town quickly at a moment’s notice, the commuter cyclist needs a drivetrain that remains in tune and performs consistently every time they get on their bike.

The Schmidt SON28 dynamo hub powers a Busch and Mueller Luxos U headlight with built-in USB charger. The highly efficient Schmidt hub provides reliable battery-free power to illuminate the road or charge electronic devices with an undetectable amount of resistance. We routed the headlight power wire through the inside of the fork leg for a clean look, a trick which also protects the wires better than wrapping the cable around the fork blade. A second wire from the headlight running to the handlebar terminates at an on/off switch that doubles are a plug for charging a phone, gps, or other USB device.

To fulfill the requirement of comfort, we used our standard choices for ergonomic cockpit and seating components. Ergon’s GP1 grips are shaped to distribute pressure evenly across the palms and feature an extended rest to support the rider’s wrists. The Selle Anatomica’s Titanico X leather saddle features an opening down the middle which allows the saddle to flex with a rider’s pedal stroke and removes pressure on the perineum. The leather breaks in over time to conform to the rider’s unique body shape but feels comfortable right out of the box.

Final touches include Shimano’s XT dual-purpose touring pedals with a platform on one side and an SPD interface on the other to allow them to be used both with clipless shoes for longer rides and flat soled shoes for around town rides. Race Face’s Turbine cranks, made from forged 7050 aluminum, make an extremely strong and hard wearing pedaling platform. Cromoly steel Tubus racks are light and strong.

If you’re looking for a durable touring or all-arounder of your own, contact us to start a conversation about what we can build for you.

Ventana El Comandante Bike Packing bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB and BeltDrive

Riding the Divide is one of the most awe-inspiring and grueling cycling challenges in the world. The 2,700 mile, 200,000 foot elevation gain ride goes from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, traversing the whole length of the United States along the Continental Divide. The Divide is also the route of the annual Tour Divide, a famous unsupported endurance race. The record for the race is 15 days, but the ride is also done at a more leisurely pace by non-competitive riders who want to enjoy the beautiful Rocky Mountain scenery along the way. We built this Rohloff SPEEDHUB-equipped Ventana El Comandante for a customer who is planning to ride and train around his home near Columbus, OH with the goal of eventually gearing up for a Divide ride of his own.

Surly ECR with Rohloff SPEEDHUB and belt drive

We built this Surly ECR for a customer in Mount Pleasant, SC who is bikepacking through the backcountry of Colorado this summer and planning a future tour along the Rhine River in Germany. He has toured extensively through Europe in the past but was considering a new Rohloff SPEEDHUB-equipped touring rig to make his future adventures as enjoyable as possible. He had been comparing a number of 29er frames before the ECR was released last year, including Surly's Ogre model. He was drawn to the larger volume tires of the 29+ platform, but the Krampus frame didn't have the right geometry and mounting points he wanted. Once the ECR became available his decision was pretty easy, and he contacted us to put together this bikepacking-specific ECR with some unique modifications and a custom paint job.