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Interbike 2012: Spot Brand Whips Titanium to a Cream w/ New Belt Drive 29er

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2013 Spot Brand Cream titanium Gates belt drive 29er hardtail mountain bike

Spot Brand’s new Cream is a titanium belt drive 29er that replaces the Rocker frames for 2013.

The Cream gets a stiffer front end with a custom headtube that’s machined inside and out, and the downtube is bent to spread the distance between it and the top tube for better stiffness and more confident handling. At the rear, the seat tube is cut with a curved plate welded in to shorten the chainstays by providing a nook for the rear tire to nest into.

More nifty features, and a steel version, below…

2013 Spot Brand Cream titanium Gates belt drive 29er hardtail mountain bike

They designed new cable guides that accommodate 1, 2 or 3 hoses/cables. This streamlines the frame quite a bit and works with anything from just a brake line to a fully geared bike.

The chainstays are bent a bit right where they cross the tires. In conjunction with the cut seat tube, founder Andrew Lumpkin says it’s nearly twice as compliant as the Rocker when seated. Stand up, though, and it’s plenty firm for hammering.

2013 Spot Brand Cream titanium Gates belt drive 29er hardtail mountain bike

$3,400 retail for the frame, as shown it’d be a little over $7,000. Claimed weight is about 20lbs with some pretty fat 2.35 tires.

2013 Spot Brand Cream titanium Gates belt drive 29er hardtail mountain bike

There’s also a steel version (not shown) called the Honey Badger that’s just $900, a $300 price drop from the Rocker Steel. It has a crenelated (indented) down tube at the head tube to increase stiffness without using a gusset. Several builds with or without the Gates Belt Drive will be offered, too.

2013 Spot Brand Cream titanium Gates belt drive 29er hardtail mountain bike

Notice the OS titanium Spot handlebar? It’s a new piece that’ll be offered next year with a 7° bend and 700mm width.

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Mark
Mark
11 years ago

spot + titanium +belt drive = shudder to consider what that would cost.

Mark
Mark
11 years ago

then I realized it’s in a photo caption… doh.

Roy
Roy
11 years ago

Mavic hub on a single speed? What did I miss?

Gillis
Gillis
11 years ago

Unrelated question: do all belts have that tread on the outside (3rd photo)? I’m just wondering, I’ve never noticed it before. Anyone know why its there? Is it a centertrack thing?

MB
MB
11 years ago

Frame price is ridiculous. My fully custom American made Ti 29er frame was far cheaper and even as a complete bike was cheaper with better parts (Ti drivetrain, custom Ti bar, etc).

I do like the cable guides…

junkshow
junkshow
11 years ago

Agree with MB, cable guides are awesome.
My center track belt is smooth on the outside (and smooth in a lot of other ways too.)

Chris
Chris
11 years ago

@ Roy:

Looks to me like it’s just a Crossmax with cassette spacers.

JC
JC
11 years ago

@ Gillis – I asked the Gates people about this at the show and it’s new to the Center Track belts, but was standard on the old belts. I don’t want to steal the Bike Rumor staff’s thunder on this subject, so I’ll let them explain.

EricNM
EricNM
11 years ago

I know it’s a relatively minor deal in the grand scheme of things, but does anyone else loathe the new name as much as I do? How does one get stoked about this bike with this name?(As in, “Boy, can’t wait to ride my Cream?”) Yuck.

FLY
FLY
11 years ago

I think it means you will – insert name of bike here – when you ride it. Looks sweet, love the handlebar and what a simple and elegant solution to cable guides, good work SPOT.

gino
gino
11 years ago

Those cable stops are pretty neat, but not unique. The Kona Raijin has triple stops like that.

Maekong Mike
Maekong Mike
11 years ago

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the grooves in the outside of the belt are for less flex resistance around the pulleys. At 20 lbs., this bike is amazing. Question is, is it $7000 worth of amazing?

Rusty
Rusty
9 years ago

To those complaining about the price: Try getting a custom made bike frame with this head tube, animal leg seatstays, and the track cuttout seat tube and see what it will cost. Even the shape of the seatstays varies to tune the ride, something that a custom builder would be lucky to duplicate – not to mention charging an arm and a leg for it. Suffice to say there is a LOT of technology in this frame that cannot be easily duplicated by your favorite custom builder.

My stable rotates a LOT so I get time on a plethora of bikes. I currently own a Rocker and a Honey Badger and I can state emphatically that the Honey Badger completely destroys the Rocker it replaced. The difference between the two is night and day. In fact, the Badger is the best riding steel frame I’ve ridden, which says a lot. It is SUPER compliant, handles laser sharp, tracks like it’s on rails, climbs like a billy goat, and rides like a dream – especially when coupled with Spot’s carbon fork.

To have this same frame in ti is a dream come true. Having just had a Cream frame in my hands yesterday I can say that it is a work of art. The workmanship and finish is outstanding. They are offering it in a raw finish as well as painted, but why anyone would want to cover up this beautiful work of art with paint or powder coat is beyond me.

This frame is well worth the cost, and a good value considering a ti frame is for life. I’ll be ordering one as soon as they are available.

Jeff W
Jeff W
9 years ago

Nice bike. But, $3400 for the frame and $7000 for the complete bike!??? I am sorry, but I cannot see the justification for the price tag on this one. I have heard of a “Blinglespeed” before, but this one would have to called a “Ridicluouslypricedspeed” IMHO.

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