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Cycle Monkey had a busy three days in Sacramento during the 2012 edition of NAHBS. This year's show was the biggest to date with over 8100 attendees and 171 exhibitors. Friday was busy, Saturday was very busy, and Sunday was steady. There were many beautiful bikes on display, though we didn't get to see the whole show because it was difficult to get away from the booth.
We recently did this Rohloff-Schmidt conversion on a Spot Acme for a customer in Sausalito, CA. He regularly commutes into San Francisco by bike and was looking for a new ride that was lightweight and stylish. As with most of the customers that contact us, low maintenance, reliability, and functionality were important considerations for this build. With the many hills in the Bay Area, wide range gearing is critical, and the 3-4 month annual rain season makes a belt drive ideal and fenders a necessity.
This Ellsworth Moment was built for a customer in Walnut Creek, CA. He had been a long-time Ellsworth rider and was looking to replace his old bike with one that had more travel. The 160mm travel Moment offered this extra travel along with geometry suited for more aggressive riding. One of his riding buddies had been riding a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 for many years and this customer had seen both how reliable the hub had been and the advantages it offered for technical riding.
This Surly Ogre is a great example of an economical Rohloff build done for a customer in Ohio. He was looking for a no-fuss bike that he could ride off-road on his local trails and also take on long-distance tours. The Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 was a natural choice for the drive train. Having ridden a Big Dummy for several years, he was familiar with the quality and value of the Surly brand and looked to their new Ogre frame for his new bike.
When Schlumpf redesigned their clutch plates to make them compatible with fixed gear bikes, Neil wanted a unique frame to test/showcase a Speed Drive unit. The Brooklyn Machine Works Gansta Track frame fit the bill with its pierced top tube, box-section fork crown, and airfoil fork legs, seat stays, and chain stays. Only problem - the frame had no provision for a brake.
