shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel

London Bike Show 2017: Shand Cycles

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Born and bred in Scotland, Shand Cycles is a small UK manufacturer that’s been kicking around since 2003. Starting with humble beginnings in the back of Steve Shand’s shed, Shand Cycles is becoming a well known name amongst the British custom bike scene. The company produces 29in hardtails, plus bikes, bikepacking mobiles, touring bikes, road racers, and gravel machines, and offers a highly bespoke service for customers who want a personal touch when it comes to geometry, ride quality and aesthetics.

Late last year, Chipps published a factory tour piece on Shand Cycles, after we visited the small frame builder to see how their bikes are produced from a collection of steel tubes, to the final showpieces you see here. We then caught up with Steve Shand at the London Bike Show, and got a little trigger happy with the camera after being wowed by some of the paint jobs being exhibited at the show. You can check out the virtual video tour down below, where we chat with Steve about what’s new in the line.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
It’s Big Bird from Sesame Street!

The Bahookie and the Drove are two very similar models in the Shand line. They’re both designed for 29in mountain bike wheels and tyres, but the Drove comes with a drop bar, and the Bahookie comes with a flat/riser bar. We’ve got a Drove on test at the moment, and you’ll be able to read the full review in Issue #112 of Singletrack Magazine.

The big news from Shand however is that the Drove name is disappearing. Instead, there will now simply be two different versions of the Bahookie – one with a drop bar, and one with a flat/riser bar. This simplifies the range, and Shand is offering increased versatility by offering multiple options with head tube heights and top tube lengths for the Bahookie, depending on what kind of setup the customer is after.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
The Bahookie and the Drove are now one and the same. You’ll be able to get the Bahookie in drop bar and flat bar versions.
shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
This lovely yellow Bahookie was on display at the London Bike show with a Rohloff 14-speed gearbox.
shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
A straight 44mm head tube offers compatibility with tapered fork steerers. Love that metal head tube badge!
shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
All Shand steel frames are handbuilt in the UK, and painted in house too.

Designed as an off-road bikepacking adventure mobile, the Bahookie can be had with regular 29in wheels and tyres, or with fatter 27.5 plus tyres.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
The ultimate adventure bike?

At the London Bike Show, Shand had a chubby Bahookie on display in a rather stealthy army grey colour that looked rather dashing with a chunky carbon fork on the front.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
Chubby tyres, singlespeed belt drive. Boom.

This model was setup as a singlespeed, complete with a belt drive and a Schwalbe Nobby Nic/Rocket Ron tyre combo. If you want simplicity and ease of maintenance, in doesn’t get much more pure than this.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
Trick modular dropouts from Paragon Machine Works.

Thru axle dropouts come courtesy of Paragon Machine Works, with a very subtle split in the frame allowing for the fitment of the belt. The dropout design is such that multiple configurations are achievable. Want a Rohloff? Your wish is Shand’s command. Prefer external gears? Thy will be done. Love the idea of the simple singlespeed winterproof setup? You got it!

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
Curvy handlebars from Jones.

For maximum niche factor, the chubby Bahookie was equipped with big sweep Jones H-bars. Super comfortable, and surprisingly stable in the rough. (See the current issue of Singletrack Magazine for Barney’s review of the Jones plus bike that features the same bars).

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
Tension the chain with discreet machined eccentric bottom bracket cups.

Eccentric bottom bracket system is used for a neat and discreet way of tensioning the chain/belt in the singlespeed configuration. Machined alloy bottom bracket cups come courtesy of Problem Solvers.

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
*Mmmmph* … Hottest bike on show?

Ok, so we couldn’t help ourselves. But this was by far and away one of the hottest bikes on display at the London Bike Show. The Shand Stooshie (while also having the best name out of the range), is a gravel/adventure road bike with disc brakes. This one was setup in a 650B configuration, with WTB road plus tyres that measure 47c wide. Are modern road bikes basically turning into mountain bikes?

shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
That navy blue and orange colour combo – PWOAR!
shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
Wanna get mushy with the Stooshie?
shand cycles london bike show drop bar rohloff belt drive gearbox steel
And how’s the colour-matched fork? Stunning. Dead lovely. Purely belter.

If you want a closer look at some of the Shand Cycles range, then get your peepers on the video below, where we take you on a virtual tour of the booth at the London Bike Show.

For more details on the Shand range, hit up the Shand Cycles website for more information.


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