The Monkey Lab

05 June 2012

Rohloff-Equipped Bruce Gordon Rock N' Road Tour Commuting/Touring Bike

This project included a very involved Rohloff conversion on a Bruce Gordon Rock N' Road Touring frame for a customer in San Francisco, CA. The project revolved around building up a reliable commuter and occasional touring bike using the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and the Schmidt SON dynamo hub. The customer found the frame used in his size and, based on Bruce Gordon's long-standing reputation for building reliable steel touring frames, decided it would fit his needs.

For the wheels, we laced up the Rohloff and Schmidt hubs into Velocity Dyad rims using Sapim Race double butted spokes and brass nipples. The Dyad rim is billed as do anything rim, and we have certainly used it for many applications including recumbents, heavy duty road wheels, commuting wheels, light to moderate duty touring wheels, and mountain bike wheels. It is offered in a variety of diameters to fit almost any need, with 26" and smaller sizes being labeled Aeroheat instead of Dyad. While we prefer a beefier rim for expedition level touring, the Dyad was perfect for this build, offering a good combination of weight, strength, and durability. At 24mm wide, it works well with your typical 28-38c commuting tire widths as well as typical 1.9-2.1" cross country mountain bike tires.

The frame was immediately sent off to Bilenky Cycle Works for some major modifications: the frame was cut in half and S&S couplings were installed, the bottom bracket shell was cut out and replaced with an eccentric shell, cable guides for the Speedhub were added to the top tube, and a boss was brazed onto the left seat stay for the Rohloff OEM2 axle plate to mate with. The frame then went out for powder coating, and finally new decals were applied.

The now virtually new Rohloff-specific frame was built up with a mix of top-quality, mostly US and German-made components. The matching red anodized Schmidt and Rohloff hubs and Schmidt Edelux headlight pop against the gloss black powder. Everything came together nicely, and the customer has been very pleased riding the bike.

Build details

Frame: Bruce Gordon Rock N' Road Tour steel
Fork: Bruce Gordon Rock N' Road Tour steel
Headset: Chris King 2-Nut
Stem: Bruce Gordon
Handlebar: Aluminum Drop Bar
Shifter: Rohloff with Hubbub drop bar adapter
Bar Tape: Selle Anatomica Leather
Seatpost: Aluminum
Saddle: Selle Anatomica
Front Hub: Schmidt SON Delux dynamo
Rear hub: Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14
Skewers: Pitlock
Spokes: Sapim Race
Rims: Velocity Dyad
Front Skewer: Shimano XT
Crank Arms: White Industries VBC
Chainring: White Industries Single
Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood stainless square taper
Brakes: Paul Components Touring Canti
Brake Levers: Cane Creek SCR-5
Racks: Bruce Gordon Touring Pannier Racks
Pedals: Tioga Spider
Front Light: Schmidt Edelux
Rear Light:Busch & Mueller Dtoplight XS Plus

14 May 2012

Rohloff-Equipped Steve Potts Cyclocross Travel Bike

We got these photos of a Steve Potts titanium road/cyclocross bike from Mike Valley at Black Mountain Cycles, one of our Rohloff dealers in Pt. Reyes, CA. The frame was on display at Steve Potts' booth at NAHBS, and the bike was assembled shortly after the show. Steve made the titanium frame and stem, as well as the steel fork. The goal was a multi-purpose bike that could be used on pavement with skinny tires or dirt roads with larger tires. S&S couplings allow the frame to separate into two pieces that can be packed into a box that meets airlines' maximum baggage dimensions, saving the exorbitant fees that some airlines charge to transport a bicycle. Titanium is a great frame material for a travel bike because it is scratch, dent, and chip resistant, so it won't get banged up in transit. The Rohloff SPEDHUB 500/14 offers a travel-friendly drivetrain that doesn't have any derailleurs hanging down that could potentially get damaged. Paragon Machine Works sliding dropouts provide a means for tensioning the chain and anchoring the hub's axle.

Rohloff-equipped Independent Fabrication Touring Bike

Independent Fabrication, one of our partner frame builders, recently built this rugged touring bike for one of their customers. They were commissioned to build the bike to be as strong as possible to carry the rider safely and reliably through many thousands of miles of unsupported, heavily loaded touring. IF contacted us to build a wheelset around a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 that would complement the frame.

For the wheels, we laced the Rohloff rear hub and a Phil Wood Touring front hub into Velocity Cliffhanger rims using Sapim Strong spokes and brass nipples. Phil Wood has a long standing reputation for building durable hubs that, much like the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, are sought after by global tourists.

Recovered Bike!!!

After more than a month of searching, Matt received a tip that someone had purchased his bike at the Oakland Coliseum flea market. He was able to track it down and buy it back. Not ideal, but Matt is totally stoked to have his bike back and be able to continue his trip. Thanks for keeping an eye out!

08 April 2012

Schlumpf-Equipped Leader 725 Two Speed Fixie

We built this black and white Leader 725 recently for a customer in Toronto, ON Canada. He was looking for a fixed gear bike with clean lines to commute on but wanted to have more than one gear to deal with hills. A Schlumpf Speed Drive was a natural fit as it offers two gear choices without any cables or hand shifter. The customer had been interested in getting a frame from Leader Bike and decided that the 725 model fit his budget and offered the aesthetic he was looking for.

For the wheels, we went with White Industries track hubs laced into Velocity Dyad rims using Sapim Race spokes and brass nipples. Dyads are one of our favorite rims; we've used them for many applications - road, touring, fixie, commuting, and mountain. At 24mm wide and 22mm high, it has the width of a typical touring or cross country mtb rim. The sidewalls are thicker than a standard road rim, so it can handle more abuse. When used in more of a road/fixie application, the extra wide spreads the tire out more to provide increased comfort and traction.

The Leader 725 model is a stout aluminum track frame built for the rigors of urban fixed gear riding. It has short chainstays for tight handling with stainless steel plates to protect the dropouts from the axle nuts. An oversized headtube with internal headset stiffen up the front end. The minimal decals on this frame were part of the appeal for the customer as they don't loudly scream an advertisement at you.