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 gear system is ideal for bicycle touring for a number of reasons:
– It has a wider range of gears than almost any drivetrain (636%), giving you both small climbing gears and high gears
– The gear system is fully sealed away from the elements and is rated for over 60,000km use
– It’s easy to swap out the entire gear system if there is a failure
– There are small gaps between each of the gears
– You can run it with Belt Drive
Bikes with Pinion gearboxes aren’t cheap. And they’re still mostly limited to the European market. You’ll find complete bikes starting from €2799 (US $3100), but the €4000-5000 (US $4400-5500) price range is a more common price point.
You Can Read All The Nitty-Gritty Details About The Pinion HERE
![Santos Travelmaster 2.9 Pinion](jpg/santos-travelmaster-2.9-pinion-touring-bike-80x46.jpg)
Custom Bikes
If You’d Like To Learn More About Pinion Gearboxes Head HERE
AZUB recumbents make excellent trekking recumbents with Pinion 1.18 gearboxes. I’ve ridden through Eastern Europe, the interior of Iceland, the backroads of Costa Rica and through Patagonia (August, 2015 thru March 2016) with this setup. Happy to send deets and a manufacturer photo of the build.
Aside: Pinion gearboxes can be retrofitted to existing recumbent framesets via the use of a boom adapted with a Pinion mounting bracket.
#recumbentRepresent! ;p
Nice compilation of Pinion based bikes – but in my opinion the most “esthetic”, high spec and light weight of pinion based touring bikes are the two I bult with Justin Burls two years ago 🙂
Want to know more just get in touch !!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – those are some beautiful bikes, Bobby!
A question about these, compared with Rohloff or standard derailleurs. With the gearing at this end of the chain drive, is there not a much greater variation in the amount of tension in the chain? With a standard drive, if you pedal at a consistent power, the force in the chain is constant whatever gear you’re in. But with a Pinion box, running in a low gear, the force on the chain will be much higher, surely, because of the mechanical advantage of the box. Is this going to reduce chain (or belt) life, or make it more susceptible to snapping?
Hi Chris. I’ve not heard of any reduced chain or belt life (I’d guess the tolerance of a chain or belt is much higher than the increased loading from the mechanical advantage), but I’ve forwarded your question to Pinion to see if they can provide any information on the topic. Alee
Hi Chris. Pinion have informed me that the tension is higher on the lower gears, but as the chain/belt runs in a straight line the wear life is still exceptional, in comparison to a normal derailleur system. Hope this helps. Alee
Thanks for the info, Alee. Now I just have to decide if the extra 700 euro (and 500g) is worth it! I’m thinking of a Tout Terrain 5th Avenue. One other consideration, as I posted in the earlier article about Pinion, I wonder if other people will think there’s a motor in that oversized bottom bracket?
There’s no need to worry about what other people think when you’re instantly shifting up and down your 636% gear range. 😉
I’d like to add the Schindelhauer Wilhelm. A true beauty with minimalist looks and superb quality, priced from € 5.000 http://www.schindelhauerbikes.com/out/pictures/master/product/1/wilhwlm_alu-pure.jpg
Thanks for the suggestion, Alexander. Although I like the bike, unfortunately the Schindelhauer doesn’t meet the the touring and trekking criteria!
Hello, I’m looking at the pinion gearbox as an option for an ebike build…
What I need to know can the front chainring be fit with a freewheeling action for a mid Mount drive?
I own an entry level Trek “hybrid”?! and I very much like the idea of replacing both derailleurs with an internal gear box at the crank end instead of the hub end.
Everything I read about so far talks about requiring a compatible frame.
Is there any way to do this without a compatible frame?
Or what is the best entry point for getting just the frame, gearbox and keeping the rest of the parts from my existing bike?
I’ve never seen or heard of it being done, but maybe get in contact with Pinion to double check.
There is no way to get a crank-based gearbox without having a compatible frame. The cheapest way to get the Pinion gear system is to buy a complete new bike. You’ll find that framesets with a gearbox tend to be around the same cost as a complete bike; this is because the frame, fork, cranks and gearbox are the four most expensive components!
Hi Alee,
After some internet research, I can’t recall having seen any Pinion bike from big manufacturers like Specialized, Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Scott, Canyon.
Any thoughts?
Even surprisingly, the austrian KTM seems not showing the Life Lontano P18 on the 2017 catalog.
Antonio
I’m writing 9 months after your last reply about the Pinion. Did you got it? If so, how has it been? 700 euros extra are certainly not cheap, but since the Gates belt drive doesn’t wear the sprockets and it’s said to last about three chain changes, it could be evening out at the end. After all, when the common drivetrain wears out you would need to change the chain, cassette and front rings.
I still haven’t decided! I did go to Germany to have a test ride, but this was in Frankfurt where there are no hills to properly test the gears. Although the staff were very helpful, all the bike shop could offer was a ramp down into an underground car park and back up again! I did think that the Pinion box was a bit big and ugly (compared to a Rohloff). As to the belt, it looked very nice but costs more than three chains, and with a Rohloff there’s only one cog & chainring to change anyway. So no advantage on cost grounds, only for aesthetics and cleanliness.
A few answers:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/1-question-whats-keeping-the-gearbox-down-2017.html
I’ve been eyeing the Schindelhauer Wilhelm and it does come with an option for front and rear racks as well as mudguards. It seems like this might make it a viable touring bike? I’d be curious for your thoughts. Wonderful site btw!
Essentially, it’s a really ‘sporty’ frame design. The steering is likely to be twitchy, the wheelbase is short and the chainstay length is exceptionally short (about 4-5cm shorter than ideal, which generally results in ‘heel strike’ with your panniers). The maximum tyre size also looks to be around 32mm.
While I have no doubt that you can tour this bike successfully on roads, with that kind of money you’re better off compromising less, and finding a more touring-specific bike. 🙂
Thanks Alex! I appreciate the feedback. Perhaps the Hi-lite might be a better pinion option. I’m a sucker for pretty designs.
Not a single fully among them?
I guess they think Pinion transmissions are not useful for enduro or downhill activities?
Not for a bicycle touring application. I’d argue that the Pinion gearbox is best suited to enduro and downhill mountain biking though. 😉