Prospector (Complete Rohloff Standard Bike $4675)

Regular price $2,500.00
Unit price
per 

Prospector (Complete Rohloff Standard Bike $4675)

Regular price $2,500.00
Unit price
per 
Complete Bike Deposit

Frames are in stock now. Complete Bike lead times are currently around 4 weeks

The Prospector is our timeless and rugged expedition mountain touring bike, designed around the stalwart Rohloff Speedhub drivetrain. It’s a bike designed to be reliable, tough and field serviceable in the harshest of conditions. In the face of ever changing bicycle part standards and the integration of exotic materials, the Prospector is built to last and to buck the trend of short product cycles and throw away upgrade culture. We believe that the most important features of a reliable expedition bike are a comfortable fit, a tough frame/fork, strong wheels, reliable components, and as much tire/mud clearance as possible.

While the Prospector is derailleur compatible, it was designed specifically around the Rohloff SPEEDHUB, a 14 speed internally geared drivetrain that has proven itself to be supremely dependable and capable. We've been using Rohloff hubs on our tours for over a decade and tens of thousands of miles through sand, mud, snow and at elevations of up to 18,000' without issue.

The Prospector has several features that separate it from other expedition bikes. We use the best chromoly tubeset available, it's oversized, heat treated, multi-butted with integrated gussets, and it's custom drawn just for the Prospector. A Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket offers half an inch of bottom bracket height adjustability, custom cast dropouts work seamlessly with the Rohloff hub, and a hollow chainstay yoke maximizes every millimeter of mud and tire clearance to round out a complete package that can take you anywhere in the world with confidence.

What's new with the current batch of Prospector frames?

We added 10mm to the effective top tube length on all sizes, to work even better with the swept back Persuader bar that didn't exist when we first designed the Prospector. We also added a 150x15mm thru axle fork option.

Prospector Fork Options

We have three steel fork options for the Prospector: If you don't plan to run suspension, go with options 1 or 3.

1. 135mm Quick Release fork with rear disc spacing: The original fork that we offered with the Prospector, uses the same spacing as the frame, allowing you to run two rear wheels on the bike, useful if you run the bike singlespeed and want to run two different gear ratios. Wide hub flanges produce an incredibly strong wheel with great spoke triangulation.

2. 110x15mm Boost thru axle: Allows you to swap between rigid and suspension forks without needing to build a new front wheel. Lots of hub options, but narrower hub flanges don't work well with fatbike rims that have offset spoke holes, they produce a wheel with little to no spoke triangulation, but work great with non offset rims.

3. 150x15mm thru axle. The modern fatbike front hub standard. Lots of hub options, wide hub flanges for great spoke triangulation and super strong wheels. You can swap this fork with something like a RockShox Bluto in 80-120mm of travel. 

Complete Bike Purchase Process

We will build complete bikes in the order that deposits are received. Our standard build as shown is $4675, some upgrades are possible based on parts availability. When you place your $2500 complete bike deposit, your name goes on a frame and you get put into the build queue. We will contact you to finalize the build spec when your build is a few weeks from starting, and the invoice for the balance due will be sent when your build starts. 

Reviews
Frame MaterialChainstay width is 140mm, crank arms must have 144mm inner width, 24mm spindle recommended
Rack/Fender CompatibilityRack and fender compatible, three bottle mounts on frame triangle
ForkUnicrown Chromoly steel with 135mm quick release, 110x15mm thru axle (thru axle included) or 150x15mm thru axle (thru axle included), upper and lower rack mounts, fender mounts, triple bottle cage mounts on fork legs, internal dynamo wire routing
Max Tire Clearance26x4.0", 27.5x2.8-3.8˝ and 29 x 2.1-3.0˝, individual tire and rim combos affect tire clearance
Headtube44mm I.D.
HeadsetRecommend EC44 lower cup. ZS44 upper cup.
Bottom Bracket73mm, threaded English (1.37˝ x 24t) Phil Wood Eccentric Insert. M8 cupped point set screws (8mm x 1.25 thread pitch)
Rear Axle135mm quick release
Seatpost Diameter31.6mm
Dropper Seatpost CompatibilityInternally routed for dropper post
Seat Clamp (included)35mm
Drivetrain CompatibilityRohloff or 1x derailleur drivetrain recommended
Brake Compatibility51mm I.S. disc caliper mounts, 180mm max rotor size, minimum 160mm rotor
Fork Axle to Crown483mm
Fork Steer Tube Length300mm
Rear dropoutsVertical with integrated non-driveside Rohloff OEM slot and replaceable derailleur hanger, 135mm quick release or bolt-on hub spacing compatibility; features threaded M5 and M6 eyelets for fenders and racks
Chainring clearance1X Boost, 1X Super Boost
Crank clearanceChainstay width is 140mm, crank arms must have 144mm inner width, 24mm spindle recommended
Frame GeometrySmallMediumLargeExtra Large
Effective Top Tube Length600mm620mm640mm660mm
Seat Tube Length15"17"19"21.5"
Head Tube Angle69.5°69.5°69.5°69.5°
Seat Tube Angle73°73°73°73°
Bottom Bracket Drop*58.5mm58.5mm58.5mm58.5mm
Chainstay Length*456mm456mm456mm456mm
Head Tube Length110mm130mm145mm160mm
Fork Length482mm482mm482mm482mm
Wheelbase1128mm1149mm1170mm1191mm
Fork Offset53mm53mm53mm53mm
Stack608mm626mm640mm655mm
Reach414mm419mm444mm461mm
Standover**772mm806mm837mm871mm
Recommended Rider Height5'2"-5'7"5'6"-5'10"5'10"-6'2"6'1"-6'7"
Recommended Rider Saddle Height63-69cm68-73cm74-81cm80-88cm
* Bottom Bracket Drop and Chainstay Length measured at the center off the bottom bracket shell.
** At center of top tube with a 27.5x2.8" tire measuring 730mm in diameter.
Tumbleweed Prospector Standard Build
(Parts subject to change based on availability)
Part Description 
FrameProspectorDesert Sage or Midnight Blue
ForkSteel Unicrown110x15mm, 150x15mm or 135mm QR
HeadsetCane Creek 40ZS upper, EC lower, 30mm Crown Race
CranksetShimanoBlack Super Boost
ChainringWolf ToothBlack, 32t Direct Mount
Bottom BracketRaceFaceBSA Threaded
Front HubSchmidt SON28 Black 32 hole Dynamo
Rear HubRohloff SPEEDHUBBlack, 32 hole, Quick release 16t cog
Quick ReleaseShimanoBlack
RimsTumbleweed Black 27.5" 40mm Internal Width
SpokesSapim RaceBlack 2.0/1.8 w/Brass nipples
Brake LeversAvid FR5Black
Brake CalipersAvid BB7Black
Cables and HousingJagwire Pro CompressionlessStainless Cables, Black Housing
Disc Brake Rotor AdaptorsTektro20mm front and rear
Front RotorSRAM Centerline180mm 6 bolt
Rear RotorRohloff180mm 4 bolt
ShifterRohloffOEM grip shifter
TiresMaxxis Rekon27.5x2.8"
ChainSRAMPC971
GripsErgon GP1Black, Rohloff Shifter Compatible
StemZoomBlack 31.8mm 4 bolt
HandlebarTumbleweed PersuaderBlack Alloy
SeatpostKalloyBlack, 31.6mm Diameter, 410mm Length
SaddleWTB Rocket WideBlack, Steel Rails
Tubeless Parts Tubeless Sealant, Valves and Tape
Headset Spacers Black, Aluminum
Can the Prospector fit a tire wider than 4"?
4" is the widest tire than can fit with the symmetrical 135mm dropouts and 73mm bottom bracket (with a Rohloff). We definitely maximized every millimeter of tire clearance with those constraints, and 4" is as wide as it goes. The bike also fits 27.5+ and 29+, so you have a ton of options depending on where you want to ride.
Can I use a belt drive system with the Prospector?

Technically it’s possible to run a belt drive on the Prospector, but you’d need to have a framebuilder add a split in the frame to accommodate it. Compared to a derailleur drivetrain, the simple singlespeed style setup of a Rohloff drivetrain requires almost no cleaning, just the occasional wipe off with a cloth and a little bit of chain lube.

We don’t recommend a belt drive for the type of riding the Prospector is designed for. Belts work, but they do nothing at all better than chain drive.

  • Belts last longer than chains, but the parts cost 10x what chain drive parts cost (Which also means that it’s crazy expensive if you just want to change your gear ratio on a belt drive bike)
  • Belt tension is finicky, chain tension is forgiving
  • Belt alignment is critically important, chain line is forgiving
  • Belts squeak and require lubrication just like chains (belts use a silicone lubricant)
  • Belts are not repairable, chains are easily repaired on the side of the trail if necessary
  • Belts are not available in any bike shops so you must always carry a spare while touring
  • Belts are delicate, if they are twisted the wrong way while being stored the fibers can break and the belt can fail.
  • Belts are not easily recyclable (if at all), chains are steel and can be recycled.
Can I run drop bars on the Prospector?
Sure, just keep in mind that the reach of the bike was designed around wide flat bars, so you’re gonna need to run a really short stem to make drop bars feel comfortable on the Prospector.
Will there ever be a Pinion version of the Prospector?
There are no plans at this time. The Pinion gearbox requires a completely proprietary frame due to the unique gearbox mount. I feel that for touring the Rohloff offers more benefits since you are still able to swap wheels out for a derailleur drivetrain in the case of parts failure. Also, with the Pinion drivetrain you are still reliant on a freehub mechanism in the rear wheel, which is a common point of failure. All the Pinion bikes that we’ve tried have excessive slop in the pedal engagement, sometimes as much as a quarter turn of the pedals, which makes technical climbing really challenging.
Can I run a suspension fork on the Prospector?
Yes, go for one with 100mm-120mm of travel and around 51mm of offset.
What’s the warranty on the Prospector?
We compiled the relevant frame/fork specs and warranty HERE

Rohloff

The Prospector was designed specifically around the 14 speed Rohloff internally geared drivetrain, a fully sealed transmission with a wide 526% gear range that has been proven to be reliable in the harshest of environments, with many reaching more than 100,000 miles.

Phil Wood

The Prospector is built around a 73mm eccentric bottom bracket made for us by Phil Wood, to allow for easy chain tension adjustments and provide up to 1/2" of bottom bracket height adjustment to enable various wheel/tire combinations.