Bicycles and motorcycles have helped each other evolve since… well, since someone stuck an engine in a bicycle. Disc brakes, the threadless headset, triple clamp forks, the list goes on. The belt drive is a more recent development to leap from a motorbike to a bicycle and now continues to pursue a path of its own — thanks in part to the Czech Republic’s SingleBe Bikes.
Tomas Kutin began building his own steel 29er mountain bikes in 2011 to provide the market with an alternative to the Gates system. After refining his proprietary belt drive and testing it with local riders, Tomas is focusing more on the frame building aspect of SingleBe Bikes. This is the first model, the SingleBe BTW 1.0 — a light and stable TIG welded 29er trail bike with a single-sided paint scheme.
There’s six more frames in the works, to be constructed from Reynolds 725. One frame is destined for the 2013 UCI Cross Country World Cup to be held in the Czech Republic, which is certain to stand out from the sea of carbon fiber frames. Another will be built around the 650b wheel standard, as Tomas believes it will become the next benchmark.
Follow SingleBe via their Facebook page and check their website for more details.
PS: I’d like take this opportunity to welcome The Spoken’s latest sponsor, Ass Savers, to the family. Ass Savers are removable, portable fenders from Sweden that are made from recyclable polypropylene — a clean design that’s guaranteed not to ruin the lines of your beautiful bike.
