Reader’s Ride(s) – Brian’s Rohloff 9:Zero:7

Brian from across the lake in Holland, MI shot us this story about his Rohloff equipped 9:Zero:7.

I love single track MTB, but good trails are about an hour drive. My back yard has 2+ square miles of dune trails that deposit on to an undeveloped stretch of prime Lake Michigan shore. I have run these trails for years and when I bought my first fat-bike, a Mukluk 2, a whole new world of fun opened up. I have been riding fat-bikes for 2 years now. Most of the riding is on sand dunes and beach, but in the winter you mix in snow and ice. One thing that I have learned -sand, water, and especially snow make for havoc on drivetrain. Although I like to tinker on bikes, I do not like cleaning them and hate failures while out riding. Thus, I have explored internally geared hubs (IGH). Initially, I built up a 9:Zero:7 and paired it with Nuvinci N360 and Gates carbon belt drive. That was nice, but I did not have the low end needed to get up some of the steeper dunes. So, I built up a 14-speed Rohloff SpeedHub with 135mm adapter for my Mukluk 2 and I found a good match. It is a rock solid hub that gets all the gear I need low and top. Great ride, but I still had a chain. So, I bought another Rohloff and paired it to 9:Zero:7 sliding rear drop out with the Gates belt drive. The Rohloff is $$$, but it will likely out last me. I never miss a gear and you can shift with out pedaling. So, when you stop on a hill, just a twist and you are in that low gear you need immediately. I don’t think twice about going out on wet sanding trails or even dipping the bike in the lake. I spend my time riding not cleaning or adjusting.

Brian, Holland, MI USA

• 9:Zero:7 with sliding rear dropout
• Gates Carbon Drive CenterTrack Belt
• Rohloff Speedhub
• Carver Carbon O’Beast fork
• Salsa Pro Moto 2 Handle Bars
• Avid Elixir 7 hydraulic brakes
• Surly Clown Shoe 100mm Rims
• Salsa Mukluk 2 32h front hub
• DT Swiss comp spokes
• Husker Du 4″ 120tpi tires (sometimes run BFL as well)
• Race Face Turbine seat post
• Salsa Pro Moto stem
• Cane Creek 40-series headset
• E Thirteen crankset
• Pure V WTB seat
• Trusty old TIME ATAC pedals, (Welgo platforms in the winter)

Do you have a fat-bike build you are particularly proud of? Would you like to tell our readers about your experiences? Let us know with a note to readersrides@fat-bike.com and we’ll make you famous!