tout terrain Pinion + Rohloff Testing - 3000% gear range

April 1, 2018 - Gundelfingen, Germany — After combing through endless emails in their customer support inbox from riders asking whether they should choose a Rohloff Speedhub or a Pinion gearbox for their next tout terrain bike, the R&D team at the German bicycle manufacturer along with Cinq innovations have built a prototype bicycle that contains the shockingly simple answer to this modern-day paradox. “Why choose one or the other when you can have both?” asks project manager Damian Bradley as he downloads the speed and cadence data from the modified City model bike in their facility’s test lab. The bike uses two prototype ’double’ Cinq Shift:R units, a Pinion gearbox, Rohloff 500/14 Speedhub and a Gates Carbon Drive system with 118-tooth CDX belt and 50T by 24T front and rear sprocket combination. “This gives you a 3000% gear range and 168 gear combinations,” explained Bradley, noting that while not all of the gear combinations are likely to be unique, the number sounds really impressive. The tout terrain team calculated that with a steady cadence of 90 rpm, the bike will progress from under in the lowest gear to in the highest combination. “Suffice to say that this should appease everyone from loaded bikepackers to land-speed record chasers,” Bradley mused. When pressed about whether this bike will might actually come to market, he was noncommittal. “I am sure there are a host of technical reasons why this is a really bad idea, but right now the biggest thing holding us back is what to name it.” To suggest a name and see a video of the bike in action, visit one of tout terrain’s media channels: #gcnhack