In 2010, the first Pinion gearbox was fitted to a bike that was cycled across the Himalayas. By 2012, the world's biggest bike trade show, Eurobike, had a handful of bikes built around the 18-speed Pinion P1.18 gearbox, impressing bike travellers – myself included. Today, over one hundred bike manufacturers build their frames around...
I've recently noticed some very inaccurate numbers being thrown about regarding the weight difference between gearbox bikes and derailleur bikes (hint – it's not even close to 3kg). In this article, I'll try to clear things up by calculating the precise weight difference between 11 common drivetrain options found on touring and...
You'll find a few touring bike creations from Joseph Ahearne's workshop already on CyclingAbout, but I always have time to feature another. That's because Joseph goes to great lengths to incorporate fine detail into each of his builds.
This particular off-road touring bike, sometimes known as an 'Outback', is a fine blend of modern...
Gearbox systems are becoming more and more popular on touring bikes. The most common form of gearbox is the internally geared rear hub, which has actually been available since the late-1800s. The earlier ones were a two-speed design, but these days we have the 14-speed Rohloff hub as our benchmark.
More recently you will find internal...
There's no doubt that Gates Carbon Belt Drive is an excellent drivetrain solution for long-distance touring bikes. I've got a belt drive touring bike AND a belt drive tandem sitting in my garage which both have 30,000km+ on their original belts. To put that into perspective, a standard derailleur drivetrain will rarely shift well after...
After recently featuring the wild Moots Snoots Antarctica fat bike, a few readers have passed on details of another bike specially built to take on some of the hardest conditions in the world.
In fact, Hank Van Weelden is just about to complete his Antarctica bicycle expedition from the South Pole to Hercules Inlet. While people have...
Page Street Cycles is a new venture for two Portland frame builders with over 50 years of combined experience.
You may have seen their names floating around: Joseph Ahearne and Christopher Igleheart. These guys actually share a workshop, tools, ideas and sometimes even lunch. After doing their own thing for so long, Page Street Cycles...
The modern derailleur system is a simple and efficient way to provide gears on a bike. You certainly can't beat it for price, weight, availability or repairability. But there are a few gearbox alternatives which reduce overall maintenance by enclosing a series of cogs within an oil-bath chamber. They're pretty fancy – people who use...
The Pinion gearbox is becoming more and more common on premium touring bikes around the world, as brands start adopting the tooling to match this gear tech to their frames. Did you know that this 18 speed gearbox is now available on over 30 different touring bikes?
The system is ideal for bicycle touring for a number of reasons:
- It...
