Mountain bikes featuring the chain-replacing Gates Carbon Drive belt system are the top prizes in a national contest that encourages consumers to get their “Rocky Mountain Fix.” Two belt drive singlespeed mountain bikes from REEB Cycles will be awarded in the Rocky Mountain Fix contest, which is sponsored by leading outdoor lifestyle brands Kelty, Kuat, Oskar Blues Brewery and Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Rocky Mountain Fix offers monthly prizes including bikes, camping gear and bike racks all summer long, culminating with the grand prize: a REEB singlespeed 29er with Carbon Drive, a Tailgater camping setup from Kelty, a top-of-the-line Kuat NV bike rack, a lifetime subscription to mountain biking magazine Mountain Flyer, and a trip for two to Colorado for a bike camping weekend hosted by Oskar Blues Brewery.
“This is a great opportunity to position Gates Carbon Drive alongside these other innovative lifestyle brands and their active, outdoorsy audiences,” says Greg Vigil, Gates VP of marketing. “The fans and users of Kelty, Kuat, Oskar Blues and Mountain Flyer are the exact people that Gates Carbon Drive wants to reach.”
Rocky Mountain Fix will be promoted on the back of several million beer cans from Oskar Blues, an award-winning Colorado craft brewer. Selected Whole Foods and Kroger supermarkets will also promote the contest with in-store beer stacks, posters and displays that entice consumers to “Win a Gates belt drive 29er.”
Jordan Carr is the marketing manager for Club Ride Apparel in Sun Valley, Idaho, a former tech editor at Mountain Flyer Magazine and a ripping rider who enjoys blasting singletrack around the West on his SS REEB with Gates Carbon Drive. Carr sent us these images of a recent trip to the White Rim outside Moab, Utah.
“Riding with friends in beautiful places is why so many of us appreciate the simple yet elegant contraption we all passionately refer to as the bicycle,” Jordan writes on the Club Ride blog.
Amen brother.
And just to make you all jealous of Jordan’s life in Sun Valley:
Back home in Ketchum, Idaho, on the Cow Creek trail.
Stef Peels is a 47-year-old recreational bicyclist from Helmond in the Netherlands. He rides for fitness and fun as part of the team Mennekes in Black (MIB), a play on the movie Men in Black. The group rides every Sunday year-round. “We go in the sun, rain and snow, no exceptions.”
When Stef decided to replace his old mountain bike, he tested a belt drive Van Nicholas 29er and was hooked. But first he had to convince his wife that he needed a new bike. “She accepted and I was ready to go. Yes!”
Stef decided to get a Van Nicholas, a Dutch brand that specializes in titanium frames. He did some research and determined that a Carbon Drive would be a great low-maintenance option. He worked with his local bike shop, Cycletrend Nuenen, a Van Nicholas dealer. Stef decided to get a custom Zion Rohloff 29er with Carbon Drive and Lefty fork. “When it was finished I saw the bike and I was really satisfied.” The bike is “a real eye catcher.”
Thanks for sharing your story, Stef. Happy riding and keep in touch!
Redline’s Monobelt is “an affordable alternative for the masses.” That’s the word from Bicycling Magazine tech writer Michael Yozell, who has been riding the belt drive singlespeed this fall and winter.
The bike is an offshoot of Redline’s popular Monocog singlespeed. But both bikes draw heavily from the company’s BMX heritage. Even the straight lines on the Monobelt resemble the Redline BMX bikes I grew up with. Like those bikes, our test bike model uses 4130 chromoly pipes and has the company’s distinctive triangular gusset at the headtube junction. The bike has plenty of contemporary updates, however, including slider-style dropouts and hydraulic disc brakes. There’s a 100mm Reba RL fork up front and the 29-inch wheels will never be mistaken for those of a BMX bike.
Yozell calls the Gates Carbon Drive “the power plant of this unique bike.”
We’ve been fans of the system since it was first introduced in 2007 and the latest versions have a groove on the (sprockets) to improve alignment, reduce dirt build up and prevent the belt from sliding off. The system worked flawlessly. The bike’s slider dropouts made it easy to set up and maintain, and it proved quiet and trouble free, even after several flat tires led to multiple wheel changes.
What’s a world champion trials rider do when his favorite riding spots are covered in snow? When you’re Marco Hosel, you grab a shovel, dig out a course and go for it. Check out the video, White Balance, which shows some sick riding skills. And how about that bike? A belt drive Nicolai Argon with Rohloff internal hub for no snow buildup.
