Rohloff Gravel and Road Bike with Disc Brakes
Rodriguez Makeshift Sport HighlightFor almost half of a decade now, Rodriguez Bicycles has been the number one builder of Rohloff equipped bicycles in the United States. The evolution of our offerings has been rapid, and still is. This one marks a bit of another big evolution in Rohloff Speedhub bikes as well, so I thought I should highlight it and show you all where the technology is going, and some of the 'cool factor' features of this sweet ride.
1.) Shifters
Traditionally, Rohloff equipped bikes require the use of a grip shifter designed for use with a flat bar (mountain bike style bar). In the touring bike world, we have lots of customers who like flat bars. Those who prefer drop bars have been left with 3 options, none of them attractive to the high-performance roadie.
Option 1.) Special Handle bars
The 'cleanest' way to mount the Rohloff shifter on road bars was a special handlebar that allowed the shifter to mount at the top of the bar. This looks pretty good, but the special bars are heavy, and the shifter takes up room on the bars that most people want to use for extra brake levers, lights, computers, and other accessories.
None of the above pleaseThe 'cleanest' way to mount the Rohloff shifter on road bars was a special handlebar that allowed the shifter to mount at the top of the bar. This looks pretty good, but the special bars are heavy, and the shifter takes up room on the bars that most people want to use for extra brake levers, lights, computers, and other accessories.
2.) The Doohickey
Our most popular option has been the Rodriguez Doohickey. The Doohickey mounts the shifter under the stem for easy access, looks pretty clean, and allows for any bar (including light weight bars) to be used. It also allows lots of room for accessories and extra brake-levers (lots of our touring customers like this).
3.) End of bar
The 3rd option was to use a special extender that would allow us to mount the shifter into the end of the handlebar. Some people find it inconvenient to reach this way.
The high performance road rider likes modern, integrated shifters like one would find on any modern racing bike. This means shifters that are integrated into the brake levers. This has been one of the main stumbling blocks of the Rohloff Speedhub for some people.
Well, now it's possible to use modern, integrated shifters and this bike has them! With the help of the Gebla Rohbox kit, this bike is able to use standard SRAM carbon brake/shift levers with the Rohloff Speedhub.
For the rider that loves their Campagnolo or SRAM integrated shifters, we can now use them with the Rohloff hub. On this bike, the right hand shifts to lower gears, and the left hand shifts to higher gears (it can be visa/versa if you like). If the grip shifter has been one of your objections to the Rohloff, now you can have the best of both worlds.
2.) Wide Tires (up to 45mm)
We are also finding that most of the folks that want a Rohloff road bike like the one pictured are planning for an 'every weather' style of riding/commuting and gravel grinding. So, the ability to run wide tires, even with light wheels, is a definite must. This is like our Phinney Ridge but with Rohloff.
3.) Gates Belt Drive
For some reason, a lot of people think that we don't build Rohloff bikes with the Gates belt drive. This is not true. This bike uses one, and we build a lot of these with the Gates belt drive. I think the reason that people think we do not use the Gates belt drive is because we educate people about some of the benefits and limitations of doing this. That doesn't mean that we are against them. Not everything is always better in every way. So please, don't take our attempt to educate as a 'non-recommendation'. We build several bicycles with Gates each year, and have for about a decade now.
The Gates belt drive is a fine product, and we're happy to use them for the customer who wants one.
4.) Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes
Another popular feature with this type of bike is the new hydraulic disc brakes. Again, another cool feature that's maybe not for everyone, but for the right person these are fantastic! They work great in all types of weather, or even if you find yourself riding through a stream.
Do you have a dream bike in your future?
Contact us today to talk it over. Who knows, maybe you're bike will be next in one of the largest collections of detailed bicycle photo galleries on the internet.
C'mon! Take a gander at the photo gallery of this bike....if you dare. Or at least enjoy some of the photos below:
