multi-speed geared rear hubs and belt drives for touring
- Thread starter ecareken
- Start date
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HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
My mate rides a Trek with a Gates belt drive but it a Fixie, perhaps Trek do what you are wanting?
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
I think you will have great difficulty in buying off the shelf a bike to your required spec.
One CC member is very pleased with his Woodrup Chimera belt drive with Rohloff. Search on the forum for posts by Vernon.
here is one
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/i-am-now-committed.91015/#post-1628655
One CC member is very pleased with his Woodrup Chimera belt drive with Rohloff. Search on the forum for posts by Vernon.
here is one
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/i-am-now-committed.91015/#post-1628655
RecordAceFromNew
Swinging Member
- Location
- West London
In terms of the usual suspects, Dawes offers Alfine on their Nomad, and Thorn offers more than one models with Rohloff.
Cush
Veteran
- Location
- North Cumbria but still a Geordie
Done a fair bit of homework on this one. Among the "just affordable" i.e £1,000-£1,500 and have found it difficult to find a tourer with Alfine 11 and disk brakes, best bet at the moment appears to be a Charge Mixer, which I am hoping to try out in the next week or so, Dawes do a Nomad but no disk brake, this is discounted down at Evans at the moment. Ghost all so do an Alfine with disk brakes but that has a dynamo hub, Milk also do one and it looks good but they are based in Essex, which is a bit far for me to travel. Planet Ex can not supply Alfine 11 at the moment and Trek have stoped importing the Soho with Alfine 11. Hope this helps
Santos Bikes from the Netherlands specialise in the belt drive/rohloff combination: e.g.
http://www.msgbikes.com/Santos-Bikes
Also Tout-Terrain from Germany:
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/shop/index...8&get_ol_id=2&get_gl_id=81&get_sgl_id=247#a81
Both have a number of UK dealers IIRC...
http://www.msgbikes.com/Santos-Bikes
Also Tout-Terrain from Germany:
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/shop/index...8&get_ol_id=2&get_gl_id=81&get_sgl_id=247#a81
Both have a number of UK dealers IIRC...
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Belt drive needs no oiling and is clean. I've bought a hybrid (trek Soho Dlx) which I've had a couple of months and the belt is completely clean and very quiet. I am very pleased with it so far and would certainly consider a touring bike with a belt.
The main downside is the weight of the hub gears but you'd get that with a chain and the belt is itself lighter than a chain.
The Koga Signature range can be specified with belt drive/Rohloff too:
http://www.koga-signature.com/en/Custom-Order-Bikes
They have several UK dealers.
http://www.koga-signature.com/en/Custom-Order-Bikes
They have several UK dealers.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
With this it's best to look at some existing specs and then making some extensive lists of your requirements and prioritise them. The big decision is how tough and how load capable you need it to be and is it a tour specific bike or are you thinking bikes for life that are good for unladen riding as well. The Thorn website, along with Peter White cycles, are good sources of info. I don't agree with all of it but it's detailed enough to let you understand the underlying arguments. Reading about Vernons Chimera is a good reference it is a well thought out bike. My new tourer/allrounder should be ready soon, frame is being finished off as we speak. These are my choices and reasons they may not be to everyones taste:-
frame - a custom Burls titanium frame with the geometry a mix of the Surly LHT and the Thorn Mercury. In terms of versatility I had the frame done with Paragon Rocker dropouts, disc brake only and cable routing for derailleurs or a Rohloff. This allows chain tension via moveable dropouts, the moveable parts are replaceable inserts so you can choose derailluer/non-derailleur on the driveside and rohloff or normal on the non driveside. They put the disc caliper on the chainstay so, unlike sliding dropouts, you can have normal rack/guard mounts. The clearances are up to about 700x60(29x2.2") though it will be run with 700x40 in general. The geometry specs a longer TT for use with flat bars(actually Jones Loop Bars) and the tubing is oversized to take the strain, at 29er level. The chainstays are longer 445-462mm depending on dropout position as I wanted stability and comfort over 'nippy handling'. The frame has 3 bottle cage mounts and a long head tube to allow me to get a more upright position.
forks - I'm waiting on a set of the new Surly LHT disc forks, I prefer them aesthetically to other steel disc offerings and they have low rider mounts. Though the overall frame and fork geometry is towards rear loading and with unladen riding in mind as well. Some traditional tourers will have quite short trail numbers for the front end to improve handling under load. My trail numbers aren't that short and should work with light front loading and unladen riding. But I have considered the possibility of different forks, maybe providing better laden front handling, if there is ever the need.
parts - disc only rohloff rear and SON Delux dynamo front wheels married to Supernova front and rear lights. Big mudguards that can accomodate up to about a 700x45 tyre, I like more clearance between tyre and guard than some. Avid BB7 MTB mechanical disc brakes with Avid Speedial 7 levers and Goodridge compressionless cable outers. The Loop H bars offering multiple hand positions and taking the standard Rohloff twist shifter. Shimano square taper BB and crankset with Thorn steel SS specific steel reversible chainring and outer bashguard. Thomson Elite seatpost, Brooks saddle and the other frame fittings are Hope, stem, seatpost clamp, spacers, headset, etc.
When deciding on this spec I probably considered and researched everything you will look at. I decided against belt drive and Alfine 11 as I felt they were both too new and teething problems are still appearing. Also I have a fair amount of experience of hub gears with chain drive and I didn't feel I had a need to move from that to belt. The 700c decision was based on aesthetic preference, it's a big frame(615mm ETT) and knowing that I wasn't planning any severe condition touring. I also have my 700c wheels built at Wheelcraft in Scotland and I trust Big Als wheelbuilding skills, I gave him my size and intended use and he built me wheels he felt would work. If I'm really honest the rohloff over A11 decision included the fact that you get QR with the rohloff and also the option of a red hub.
If you search around here, CTC, YACF and MTBR you'll find lots of threads about tourer builds covering every consideration...I know I've read a fair proportion of them
frame - a custom Burls titanium frame with the geometry a mix of the Surly LHT and the Thorn Mercury. In terms of versatility I had the frame done with Paragon Rocker dropouts, disc brake only and cable routing for derailleurs or a Rohloff. This allows chain tension via moveable dropouts, the moveable parts are replaceable inserts so you can choose derailluer/non-derailleur on the driveside and rohloff or normal on the non driveside. They put the disc caliper on the chainstay so, unlike sliding dropouts, you can have normal rack/guard mounts. The clearances are up to about 700x60(29x2.2") though it will be run with 700x40 in general. The geometry specs a longer TT for use with flat bars(actually Jones Loop Bars) and the tubing is oversized to take the strain, at 29er level. The chainstays are longer 445-462mm depending on dropout position as I wanted stability and comfort over 'nippy handling'. The frame has 3 bottle cage mounts and a long head tube to allow me to get a more upright position.
forks - I'm waiting on a set of the new Surly LHT disc forks, I prefer them aesthetically to other steel disc offerings and they have low rider mounts. Though the overall frame and fork geometry is towards rear loading and with unladen riding in mind as well. Some traditional tourers will have quite short trail numbers for the front end to improve handling under load. My trail numbers aren't that short and should work with light front loading and unladen riding. But I have considered the possibility of different forks, maybe providing better laden front handling, if there is ever the need.
parts - disc only rohloff rear and SON Delux dynamo front wheels married to Supernova front and rear lights. Big mudguards that can accomodate up to about a 700x45 tyre, I like more clearance between tyre and guard than some. Avid BB7 MTB mechanical disc brakes with Avid Speedial 7 levers and Goodridge compressionless cable outers. The Loop H bars offering multiple hand positions and taking the standard Rohloff twist shifter. Shimano square taper BB and crankset with Thorn steel SS specific steel reversible chainring and outer bashguard. Thomson Elite seatpost, Brooks saddle and the other frame fittings are Hope, stem, seatpost clamp, spacers, headset, etc.
When deciding on this spec I probably considered and researched everything you will look at. I decided against belt drive and Alfine 11 as I felt they were both too new and teething problems are still appearing. Also I have a fair amount of experience of hub gears with chain drive and I didn't feel I had a need to move from that to belt. The 700c decision was based on aesthetic preference, it's a big frame(615mm ETT) and knowing that I wasn't planning any severe condition touring. I also have my 700c wheels built at Wheelcraft in Scotland and I trust Big Als wheelbuilding skills, I gave him my size and intended use and he built me wheels he felt would work. If I'm really honest the rohloff over A11 decision included the fact that you get QR with the rohloff and also the option of a red hub.
If you search around here, CTC, YACF and MTBR you'll find lots of threads about tourer builds covering every consideration...I know I've read a fair proportion of them
I know that you've got some specific requirements, but I can't help but wonder if those mean that you have missed the bigger picture. The differences between the Dawes Nomad and the Charge Mixer are pretty significant and I'm not sure, hub and discs aside, that I'd be considering them as alternatives.
Cush
Veteran
- Location
- North Cumbria but still a Geordie
You are probably right Norm but it will be only when I try them out that I will be able to compare them, normaly I would have settled for the Dawes (the Khara Kum has served me well) but I do like the idea of disk brakes which can not be fitted to the Nomad
Enjoy the test ride. 
The Mixer is a lovely looking bike but I'd expect it to be fairly "bum-up" and twitchy for any distance.
Then again, I'm approximately 1.3 million years old (carbon dating is the only form of dating I've done recently
) so that could just be my stiff back talking. 
The Mixer is a lovely looking bike but I'd expect it to be fairly "bum-up" and twitchy for any distance.Then again, I'm approximately 1.3 million years old (carbon dating is the only form of dating I've done recently
) so that could just be my stiff back talking. 
Cyclesense
Active Member
- Location
- Tadcaster
Hi ecareken
Whereabouts are you?
I have a Koga Signature World Traveller equipped with Gates Belt Drive Rohloff which is available for demo..
regards
Dave
Whereabouts are you?
I have a Koga Signature World Traveller equipped with Gates Belt Drive Rohloff which is available for demo..
regards
Dave
Soltydog
Legendary Member
- Location
- near Hornsea
I have a belt drive hybrid & my biggest gripe is the crank lengths. Mine are 165mm compared to 175mm on my 'normal' bikes & its noticable 
Not got round to looking at replacement with longer cranks, but not holding my breath that they are available. I suppose its only a problem if you have longer legs like me
Not got round to looking at replacement with longer cranks, but not holding my breath that they are available. I suppose its only a problem if you have longer legs like me 
