If there’s one thing to be said for Boston’s Firefly Bicycles, they’re happy to try new things. While the trio of Tyler, Jamie and Kevin have produced a steady stream of exceptional world-class road-going weapons, a look through their list of recent builds will reveal some highly innovative and individual commuters, randonneurs and mountain bikes.
Like this one: unassumingly named FF-217. The owner serves in the US military and has the opportunity to ride over various international terrains. Kevin, Lead Frame Designer at Firefly, conjured up this machine that’s at home on the streets in Germany as it is on Iraqi dunes or Texas fire roads. FF-217 is a modern, military-grade, two-wheeled adventurer.
Given such an environment, the transmission and drive were required to be impervious to sand and dust. A Gates CenterTrack belt and Rohloff internally geared rear hub was the solution, with no greasy chain or derailleurs to coagulate sand and dust. The completely custom frame is constructed from titanium, Firefly’s specialty, which doesn’t even need to be painted to resist elemental effects.
You can contact Firefly Bicycles through their website. Special thanks to Tyler and Kevin for the photography and information; head to their flickr stream for more
