Just ordered an Instinctiv X9 with a pinion box and twistgrip with belt drive.... Your video's were a massive part of ordering it, I hope it's as good as it looks🤞🏻
If you prioritise riding without worry of your bike in any condition and not having to waste time cleaning and oiling chains. Exact shifting all the time, shifting when not moving you will love it. To me the twist shifter is straight forward to use and the logical choice. You will start to time your pedalling with the shift in no time. Looks like you are getting a bike to tackle some fast downs so the gearbox will take all the abuse you plan you throw at it 👍🏽
That is true you are always more cautious. It is not a problem touring as I am never too far away from my gear but I have a cheap bike for commuting etc when you need to ride around urban areas and nip in and out of shops. Does defeat the objective of having one all year bike for everything.
Gorgeous bike, absolutely gorgeous. What make are the carbon rims - Hope, Hunt or other? Are the tyres 3 inches wide and how much clearance is there between them and the frame? I don't think the negative is too much to worry about. Sounds like they would more likely be candidates for E-bikes if they'd never heard of Pinion or Gates Belt equipped bikes.
Hi, many thanks 🙏 the rims are Whisky really nice. The tyres are 27.5+ x 3”. They are Terravail Conronado. They do four versions of each of their tyres Black and Tan and light/supple and robust. These are the tan/light and supple and they feel ace! There is about 1cm either side of the tyre at the front and rear. 👍🏽
What a beautiful place! Thank you for such a nice review of a bike that is very diffucult to “meet in person”. I just wonder if it feels “heavy” like… a heavier cruiser rather than mtb with light components (?)
Hi, Pinion gearboxes are a bit heavier than derailleur components. The Tout Terrain Scrambler weighs about 13kg and the Outback is about 15kg. Have in mind both the frames are steel and the outback has suspension forks . About 1kg to 1.5kg would be saved with Carbon forks. You won’t find them on racing podiums but that is not what they are about. They are designed to last a lifetime with no maintenance other than the oil change every 10,000 km which takes minutes and they work flawlessly day after day in any conditions. The fact you can change gear without turning the pedals is something I take advantage of quite regularly when navigating single track. I would definitely recommend trying a gearbox before buying a bike. If you are interested in trying one if you let me know where you live I will see if I know of where you might be able to try one.
The nearest I can see to you would be in Germany….. Good excuse for a holiday :) I bought one from Belgium once and rode it home….. A little adventure 👍🏽
The 12sp has a 600% range v 636% over the 18 the steps between the gears are still equal and are not big at all. 600% is still massive compared to the 500% a 1x12 system would give you. People go for the 18sp for loaded expedition type touring and the 12sp for mtb rides and bike packing. The 18sp is about 500g heavier or something like that. If you are are using it for mtb rides and bikepacking trips I would probably go for the 12sp. I have both and there is not much between them. I like a 29er for getting over obstacles and the speed once you have cranked them up. But now you can have a 27.5 plus is good for more cushion which is interchangeable with 29, but you need two wheelsets and a frame that states it can take 27.5 plus and 29. My Outback was in that category, most 29ers are nowadays. Most 27.5 plus games will take a 3x27.5 up to 2.8x29. With a Pinion it is very easy to swap wheels as there is no mess involved with a oily chain if you go for the gates belts as well. Plus the rear wheel has a standard hub, not a hub that has a freewheel/rachet/ etc so that makes it a bit cheaper as well.
Thanks for this video. I am looking at getting either an Outback or a Scrambler but Tout Terrain tell me the waiting time is anything from 6 to 12 months, which will sadly not work for me as I aim to be going to SEAsia around May. Do you know of any dealers in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter) which have one of these two bikes in stock? :)
Hello. Tout Terrain don’t have any UK dealers anymore as they seemed to have moved to a direct sales model. Plus when I checked last month they have even removed England off the list in the configuration tool as one of the countries they deliver to. I think this is Brexit related. I may be able to help you out though if you like the colour of the blue Scrambler and you are after size medium. As I have so many bikes. A few Pinion and Rohloff and others my Scrambler has only been used for the videos and done about 20 miles top and being completely honest you would not tell the difference between mine and a showroom bike. If you buy new you also have the 20% import tax that you pay to the UK government. I had to pay that. So if you are interested you could buy mine and save yourself a good chunk. If you want to discuss this further send me an email djugroop@gmail.com or call me 07702785923. I can give you a list of parts and close up pictures etc. 👍🏽
I think in another video you mentioned that if you could only have one bike it would be the Scrambler? Is that still true, you seem to ride the Outback quite a bit, I’m trying to decide between the two. I do a mix of both road and off road riding and want to do more bike packing, between the two what do you think? I don’t care about riding in groups on the road so don’t necessarily need more top end speed
I am still waiting for the Scramblers to arrive so can’t answer this 100% at the moment but if the Scramblers are like other ‘gravel’ bikes I have ridden I can ride these types of bikes on singletrack etc, but there limit is with technical steep singletrack, both up and down. So when I say if I could only have one bike it still would not work in about 10% of the terrain that I would ride. So that is where the Outback comes in. Some sections of rides where you need a proper mountain bike. As I get most of my satisfaction from riding long touring miles that take in a variety of terrain with maybe long toad sections in between that is why for me the Scrambler would get more use. I look at the Scrambler as a really good steady touring / bike packing ride for when the terrain is going to be really mixed but nothing too bum clenching. For us around where we live there are lots of road sections to link up Bridleways etc. The Scrambler would probably get more use but I won’t be getting rid of the Outback anytime soon. So it really matters about the terrain you plan to do your touring. If you are going to be holding on and going on a great roller coaster ride then the Outback may be the one.
@@RidingBicycles thanks I’m thinking nothing to technical, more regular roads with gravel roads and maybe some single track and at some point maybe next summer to do the Great Divide MBR here in the States
I was hoping to do that route last year before covid…..Having seen the type of rigs on www.bikepacking.com that take on the Great Divide most of them are fully rigid dropbar bikes. Having seen Ryan Van Duzer video of it the terrain seemed more suited to a gravel type bike than the hardtail Priority 600x that he did it on which is a very similar bike to the Outback. In this Mexico section that he is doing now there seems to be lots of gravel tracks. In the first series from the USA border he was on a lot of tarmac at times. It is a tough call though if you are only after one bike cause I do like how the 3” wide tyres feel on the Outback when you are blasting down a hill, they do give you a lot of confidence
@@RidingBicycles thanks, I saw his video also, i was thinking the 600x looks nice also butI live around more road and towpath, hard pack gravel type stuff and will do the occasional trip like the Divide or something like that so maybe the Scrambler with the 27” wheels should be good for a variety of terrain? I wish we had a Tout Terrain dealer near by but both the Outback and Scrambler look sweet but really only want one bike as I already have a single speed Surly Karate Monkey that I could gear up, plus I will probably get rid of it after I choose one of the others. Thanks for the help, any last thoughts much appreciated?
Looks like it. I prefer the twist shifter anyway. More reliable. If you want to use the gearbox with dropbars looks for bars that have been designed to accept the different diameter or you could look at co motion or pilots twist shifter for drop bars.
I like a short granny gear , according to the "Sheldon Brown's gear calculator" my granny gear is 1,1 meter (28T chainring X 51T cog and 29x2,1 tires) How short is the granny gear of a Tout-terrain Outback ?
Hi, You have a range of 636% which means you can have that range wherever you want. Just like with a 1x12 set up with a 500% range you select where you want that range to be. With the Pinion you can have the easiest gear and the hardest gear. You dont need to make as much compromise because you have the massive range. I had mine set up with 32/32 cogs for a belt and the easiest gear would be easier than a 28/51 on a conventional derailleur. But you also get the hardest too. Cycle Monkey has some good tools for working out gear inches for Rohloff and Pinion. www.cyclemonkey.com/blog/calculating-gear-ratios-pinion-gearbox
Hello, I regrettably sold the bike, and it is one of my biggest regrets! I was thinking I would streamline my bike shed as I always have this idea in my head that I want to simplify my life and have one bike for everything, I now it would be a jack of all trades and master of none, but I think as I am getting older nearer 50 I am getting happier with that concept. But yes it was perfect on my Cairngorm Loop trip it was ace in the bogs around Calderdale shifting stays precise no cleaning or maintenance, the perfect system. BUT if you have a concern about having the lightest gear then a Pinion system might not be for you. Cost should not be an issue as modern drivetrains are just as expensive and need parts need replacing quite often when you ride everyday to work through winter etc like me. If you ride in groups and others are on super light machines you might have a paranoia that you are putting in more effort. If your priorities are just to ride without worry of your drivetrain and worry that you are putting it away wet or dirty. Safe in the knowledge that you can get it out of the shed and it will just work you can’t beat it. Frame wise for comfortable bike packing with a good geometry to enjoy a ride unloaded it was a nice bike. I am at the moment planning my next pinion bike but it will be a compromise with steeper head angles etc to be suitable for a commute too.
@@RidingBicycles Thankyou for your detailed reply, I am currently deciding between Rohloff or Pinion for my next MTB/bikepacker, deffo done with mechs/sprockets as ride in a lot of grim conditions..... heart says Rohloff but head says Pinion. Not a easy decision.
I have had two P.18 Pinion gearbox bikes, two P.12 gearbox bikes and two Rohloff bikes. I would say if your MTB style is jumping off stuff and getting air etc I would go Pinion. If your style is keeping both wheels on the ground then the Rohloff will also work. When I eventually have the cash I am putting a Rohloff and belt on my partners Salsa Fargo as she is a very steady rider. My reasons for the decision based on riding style is purely down to the weight distribution. With the Rohloff it is all at the back end. There are plenty of riders that ride extreme with Rohloffs but they have more style and finesse then me thumping down a decent 😂
The Rohloff has other advantages eg will fit on 99% of frames so you can take your pick of frames. You can always run a mech if you have the bits and want to swap back for a reason, but I can’t imagine doing that. Another plus for the Pinion is you can have multiple wheelsets and it is a doddle to swap between them. Multiple Rohloffs on multiple wheelsets gets expensive. That is the main reason for me going with Pinion again for my do anything Bike. I can have some wheels made for skinny tyres for the commute and some fatter ones for touring. And swapping them is clean and easy job. Whichever you go with you should be happy if you have had it with messing around with cable tension and dirty chains when the weather turns etc
Love it. For some strange reason you feel you have more energy at night. I did a video reviewing some HOPE night lights, they are really good but if kit.
