19 May 2016

Super Commuter: Independent Fabrications Club Racer with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, Gates Carbon Drive, and Dynamo Set-up


This custom super commuter is now climbing the hills of San Francisco, CA. The customer already rode with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 internal gear hub and Gates Carbon Drive belt, and while he really loved the drivetrain, he was less happy with the original frame. So, he came to us to discuss options for moving the Rohloff and belt over to a new frame. Besides wanting to re-use his drivetrain, the main goal of the bike was quick, responsive handling like his road bike to add a little excitement to his daily commute.

Independent Fabrications was high on his list due to the many choices available through their custom program, and he ultimately decided to go with a stainless steel Club Racer frame with a 3/4 paint job. We worked with him to spec the bike with commuting essentials, then dialed in the fit and got in touch with IF to work through the frame details.

12 April 2016

Surly Troll with S&S Couplings, Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, and Gates Carbon Drive Belt


This customized Surly Troll was built for a customer in Easton,Maryland who wanted a bike for travel touring and general utility use. He came to us looking to get Surly's newly released World Troller frame built up with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive. However, at the time, the World Troller frames had not started shipping, so we took a standard Surly Troll frame and modified it by adding S&S couplings, a belt drive splitter, and a new coat of white powder coat to get very nearly the same result with the additional feature of being belt compatible.




08 April 2016

Cycle Monkey Now Offering In-house Frame Modifications and Repair


We are excited to announce our new on-site fabrication shop. We will now be able to perform all of the standard steel or titanium frame modifications common on many of our builds as well as a comprehensive list of frame repairs. Having this workshop on site will reduce lead times for bikes being built in the Monkey Lab as well as expand our service offerings.


05 April 2016

Demo Bike: Lenz Lunchmoney Full Suspension Trail Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive Belt



This Lenz Sport LunchMoney is one of two new demo bikes that came about as a project to combine a Gates Carbon Drive belt drive and Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 internal gear hub with a full suspension frame. To accomplish this goal, we got in touch with Devin Lenz, who created one of the first - and still one of the only - suspension frames that is compatible with a tensioned single speed chain or belt. We worked with him on a few design details, then put in an order for a medium frame with 27.5+ wheels and an XL frame with 29+ wheels.



28 March 2016

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.