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Greg’s Smitty with Rohloff Internally Geared Hub and Gates Carbon Drive

I’ve got the original fork back on my Smitty after spending several months playing around with the Lauf suspension fork. I really liked that fork but it has quite a bit longer axle-to-crown length that the Smitty was designed for so I was keen to get the handling back to where I like it.

For what its worth, I really like the Lauf for an urban assault bike and I had a ton of fun with it on the Smitty. Someday I may build a Smitty frame specifically corrected for the Lauf so I can maintain the handling I like from the stock fork.

The Rohloff Speedhub is the heart of the drivetrain on my Smitty and it is a gem! 14 equally spaced gears covering the same range as a 3×9 MTB drivetrain and completely sealed from the elements. I’ve been running it for over a year and I love it! I think it is simply the best drive system for an urban bicycle (or for a beach fat-bike for that matter!) that you can run.

If the Rholoff is the heart of the drivetrain the Gates Carbon Drive Belt is the sinew that ties the pieces together. Probably not anatomically correct but the Gates belt is a great way to transfer drive power form the front cog to the rear. It is virtually maintenance free and stays nice and clean for those times I am wearing long pants. My beach fat-bike also has a Gates belt and that one is put through some of the harshest conditions I can imagine. Submerged in Lake Michigan water, with all the sand you can imagine, and it performs flawlessly.

The rest of my Smitty has parts from some of the best manufacturers in in the industry including a Moots seatpost, Chris King headset and bottom bracket and the unique Watson titanium handlebar shown above. Love that thing! Oh, that shorty Thomson stem was from the Lauf setup but I’ll be stretching that out just a bit very soon!

This Smitty is one of may favorite bikes and over the years I’ve decked it out with lots of really great parts. I’d like to say it is done but I do like to fiddle…