I haven’t built a whole lot of Rohloff Speedhub equipped bikes but I find them to be a curious challenge. Every builder seems to have their own way of handling the dropouts, the shifter, or the nuances of cables and routing. The last one I made was a travel bike outfitted with couplers and fenders. Joe’s bike was a little different in every way.
Aside from the Rohloff hub, Joe wanted to go with integrated lighting, a USB charging device, disc brakes, a rear touring rack, a small handlebar rack, and the KOGA Denham Bar. I was a little apprehensive about the handlebar but it really fit well with this style of touring bike.
I wanted it to be subtle even though the bike has all these features. I fabricated the cable guides for the rear disc brake and Rohloff and tucked them away on the non-drive side. The bi-laminate headtube is also unassuming for the amount of work that went into it (and the seat cluster as well). The solid light blue almost hides the lug-like shorelines until you see it in the right light. The blue, although featured prominently, isn’t too flashy. And the heavily modified twin plate fork crown is a blog entry in itself.
Regarding shakedown rides: Usually when one gets a new bike (especially one that is custom built from the ground up), it gets a decent shakedown ride. I define a shakedown ride as a 20-30 mile jaunt on mixed terrain to settle in the components. It is also a time to make any small adjustments (cable tension, spoke tension, saddle height, rider compartment, etc.) before committing to any long rides. Well, Joe rode this bike’s shakedown ride on the 874 mile Land’s End to John o’ Groats route traversing the UK from bottom to top! Technically I didn’t get the bike to him until the second day of his ride but still, it’s a great way to break in a Brooks and a Rohloff. This totally blew me away. I’m sure I will get a full report from him soon. Hats off to you, Joe!
Joe’s 650b Rohloff touring bike
August 28, 2019
I haven’t built a whole lot of Rohloff Speedhub equipped bikes but I find them to be a curious challenge. Every builder seems to have their own way of handling the dropouts, the shifter, or the nuances of cables and routing. The last one I made was a travel bike outfitted with couplers and fenders. Joe’s bike was a little different in every way.
Aside from the Rohloff hub, Joe wanted to go with integrated lighting, a USB charging device, disc brakes, a rear touring rack, a small handlebar rack, and the KOGA Denham Bar. I was a little apprehensive about the handlebar but it really fit well with this style of touring bike.
I wanted it to be subtle even though the bike has all these features. I fabricated the cable guides for the rear disc brake and Rohloff and tucked them away on the non-drive side. The bi-laminate headtube is also unassuming for the amount of work that went into it (and the seat cluster as well). The solid light blue almost hides the lug-like shorelines until you see it in the right light. The blue, although featured prominently, isn’t too flashy. And the heavily modified twin plate fork crown is a blog entry in itself.
Regarding shakedown rides: Usually when one gets a new bike (especially one that is custom built from the ground up), it gets a decent shakedown ride. I define a shakedown ride as a 20-30 mile jaunt on mixed terrain to settle in the components. It is also a time to make any small adjustments (cable tension, spoke tension, saddle height, rider compartment, etc.) before committing to any long rides. Well, Joe rode this bike’s shakedown ride on the 874 mile Land’s End to John o’ Groats route traversing the UK from bottom to top! Technically I didn’t get the bike to him until the second day of his ride but still, it’s a great way to break in a Brooks and a Rohloff. This totally blew me away. I’m sure I will get a full report from him soon. Hats off to you, Joe!