Custom steel + Rohloff + Gates carbon belt + S&S couplers
 

Baron Bicycles, the small Seattle custom bike builder, posted this new dream commuter on their blog this weekend:

http://www.baronbicycles.com/blog/po...nd-rohloff-hub

I think one of our frequent posters here owns a Baron Outsider, I just wanted to let him know that his bike is now obsolete so he needs to get down here and order another one...:)

That is absolutely gorgeous. The one thing I might add to make it a truly awesome and tricked-out ride is a dynamo front hub and lighting.

It's a shame there's still no good way to use the Rohloff shifter with drop bars.

That bike looks amazing. I love the frame design and the belt drive setup looks pretty snazzy too. Chris_W is correct though: a high-end commuting machine like that needs a dynamo hub + lighting.

re: drop bar (b/c i'm no fan of the hubbub myself)

sure there are. you just have to have a drop bar that comes apart in the center (and they make those in Germany, among other places, for Rohloff enthusiats).

there are other solutions, too (especially for those who just want the on-the-hoods ride without need for the deep drops). for mine, i used this: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

I've been tootin' the Baron horn for almost a year now. Geoff the founder of Baron is a cyclist's cyclist. He races road and cross, commutes and gets around by bike, and even delivers bikes when possible with a special trailer that he pulls with his bike. When he's not doing any of these things, he's cycling distances for pleasure. His passion is very evident in his line of bikes. As for mine now being obsolete... naw. I use mine for more than commuting, and the components I spec'd on mine reflect my needs. All the same, I wouldn't mind having one like this as well.

Here's mine:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173450

Wow ... that's a gorgeous bike, but it's also some good photography to accentuate the look.

son32
 

Thanks for the kudos. It was hard to mail off to Germany; i wanted to keep it for myself.

The ride has a Schmidt SON32 front hub...

Photos are by Kevin P. Casey

I always liked the idea of belt drive, but it seems like a lot of people have problems with it.