Rohloff-Equipped Soulcraft Road Bike

Custom Soulcraft frame in sea-foam green.

We built up this custom Soulcraft for a customer who had a very specific road bike in mind. He had searched in vain for a production frame to suit his needs, but couldn't find anything available on the market. After deciding that a custom frame would be his best option, he contacted Soulcraft, a local Northern California framebuilder, to make his dream bike a reality. With his one-of-a-kind frame in hand, he came to us to build up the rest of the bike around the Rohloff gearing system.

Our customer was looking for a comfortable yet nimble road bike that he could take on all-day rides without straining his neck, back, or shoulders. He requested a taller headtube on the frame to give him a slightly more upright seating position, yet he still wanted it to have a quick-handling ride quality like a traditional road bike. He also knew that he wanted to use a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, so the frame was made specially for the hub – braze-ons for Rohloff cable routing, no derailleur hanger, and a sliding dropout with a bolt for an axle plate to secure the hub's axle in place.

Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 with Rohloff-specific dropout design.

Because our customer likes to go for long road rides, he knew the Rohloff SPEEDHUB would work well for his riding style. The internally housed mechanics of the shift system are extremely durable and only need to be serviced with a new oil bath once a year. Long rides normally take you miles away from any bike shop, so a reliable shift system is a priority for endurance riding. Knowing he did not want to be stuck mid-ride on a desolate country road with derailleur problems, our customer figured the SPEEDHUB was the perfect hub for his needs.

We have long believed a wheelset truly “makes” the ride. Wheels play a large part in the ride quality and general feel of any bike. Much like a custom frame is tuned for a given rider, custom wheels can be tuned the same way. For the wheels on this bike, we used Velocity’s A23 road rims because the wider footprint allows the tire to spread out more, providing more comfort, control, and traction. We used White Industries’ American-made MI5 front hub and the SPEEDHUB on the rear. The polished silver color of the rims and hubs matched perfectly, making for quite a shiny, vintage-looking wheelset.

White Industries is another local company we have come to trust. They have been making parts in Northern California for nearly 40 years, and have a reputation for very precisely machined components. For these reasons, we chose a White Industries crankset, bottom bracket, and chainwheel for the Soulcraft.

Nitto Classic handlebars.

Finally, we set up the cockpit. We chose Nitto’s classically shaped drop bars, paired them with a Nitto stem, and mounted the Rohloff shifter on the end of the bar with a Hubbub adapter. Lastly, we wrapped the bars in tan Deda tape to compliment the Gilles Berthoud leather saddle.

This custom frame was a joy to build, and we were excited about the Rohloff-specific features designed into the frame. We expect our customer will enjoy this no-frills, durable road bike for years to come. Contact us to discuss whether a Rohloff-equipped road bike is in your future.

Build Details:

•  Frame: Soulcraft custom steel road
•  Fork: Soulcraft steel
•  Headset: Chris King NoThreadset
•  Stem: Nitto UI85EX
•  Handlebar: Nitto Classic
•  Shifter: Rohloff
•  Bar Tape: Deda
•  Seatpost: Paul Component Engineering Tall and Handsome
•  Saddle: Gilles Berthoud leather
•  Front Hub: White Industries MI5
•  Rear hub: Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14
•  Spokes: Sapim Laser
•  Nipples: Sapim brass
•  Rims: Velocity A23
•  Tires: Schwalbe Durano Plus
•  Cranks: White Industries VBC Road
•  Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood Stainless
•  Chainring: White Industries VBC
•  Pedals: Shimano Ultegra
•  Chain: Wipperman 8sX
•  Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace
•  Levers: Shimano R600

Surly Krampus 29+ Commuting/Mountain Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14and Gates Belt Drive

Surly Krampus with belt drive and a Rohloff.

It’s not often that we’re asked to build the ideal bike for someone commuting in Siberia. We dreamed up this build for a customer of ours who is a British expatriate working in the snowy climate of central Russia. He intends to do a mix of snow, dirt, and paved riding in sub-freezing temperatures and wanted a dependable bike that could handle a range of conditions but still feel speedy. He ruled out a full fat bike and opted for the more versatile “29+” platform, a tire/rim designation that Surly invented to provide the float and traction of a fatbike, but the fast rollover of a 29er mountain bike. Once we agreed on the type of bike, we set to work planning out the build specifications.

Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, belt drive splitter,
and Gates Carbon Drive belt system

Surly Troll Touring Bike with S&S Couplers, Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14,Gates Belt Drive

S&S couplers, a belt drive splitter, and a forest green paint job make this Surly Troll one of a kind.

This modified Surly Troll frame was put together for a customer who lives in Southern California, but spends a fair amount of time in the rural East Coast every year. He wanted a versatile full-sized bike that he could easily pack up to take on an airplane and was sturdy and reliable enough to know he could jump on at any time for a ride. Based on his requirements, we set to work creating the ultimate go-anywhere travel bike.

Gates Carbon Drive belt and Rohloff SPEEDHUB.

Custom Independent Fabrication Belt Drive Rohloff Commuter

Custom Independent Fabrication commuter frame built using a blend of road and mountain geometry.

This titanium Independent Fabrication frame was custom-built for a customer looking for his dream commuter bike. He wanted a good looking bike that he could use to comfortably explore the East Coast bike paths and city streets near his home. Above all, he wanted his custom ride to be reliable, so he could jump on the bike any time and not have to worry whether it would shift properly or need any adjustments.

Because our customer was looking for an elegant, handcrafted titanium bike, we recommended New England based frame builder Independent Fabrication. They specialize in custom frames, so we worked out a design with them that uses a mix of mountain bike and road bike geometry for a fast, fun, and comfortable commuter.  After we nailed down the geometry, Independent Fabrication built up the frame with a belt drive splitter, Rohloff cable guides, low mount disc dropouts, and an eccentric bottom bracket to tighten the belt, then finished it with a shot-peened treatment.

The frame was custom-made with a belt drive splitter.

Surly Moonlander Fat Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates BeltDrive

At nearly 5 inches wide, the Surly Moonlander's tires are designed
 to have maximum float and traction to ride through snow, sand, or deep mud.

Just in time for winter, we built this Surly Moonlander for a customer who recently moved to the snowy state of Minnesota. He wanted a bike that could tackle the frosty bike paths and snowbanks of the Midwest in winter but that he could also take on some singletrack and dirt expeditions when the weather warmed up. After discussing a few options for an all-seasons bike, we settled on the Moonlander as the most versatile bike to handle all the conditions he planned to ride through.

The Moonlander uses 4.8” tires on 100mm rims, offering the largest tire footprint currently available on any bike. The tires can be run at pressures as low as 1 P.S.I., which enables the bike to float over snow, sand, rocks, roots, or deep mud. Essentially, this bike is meant to power over any surface imaginable and has earned a reputation as a true all-terrain bike.

Rohloff SPEEDUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon drivetrain.