A gearbox bike,built around you.

A Pinion is an internal gearbox mounted at the bottom bracket of the frame, where the cranks attach. Instead of derailleurs moving a chain between sprockets, all the gear shifting happens inside a sealed unit at the centre of the bike. The rear wheel runs a single fixed cog, no cassette, no rear derailleur, no exposed shifting mechanism. Everything that changes gear is enclosed, sealed, and protected from the outside world.

Adventure riding means extended time away from bike shops, exposure to mud, rain, dust, and submersion, and conditions that destroy exposed drivetrains quickly. A Pinion removes most of those failure points. There's no rear derailleur to bend or rip off on a rock, no cables to corrode, no cassette to wear out in a week of wet riding. For multi-week trips or remote terrain, the reliability argument is strong. You carry fewer spares and spend less time on your knees fixing things.

It's heavier overall. A Pinion gearbox weighs around 2kg depending on the model, compared to a complete derailleur system at perhaps 600 to 900g. That's a real difference. The trade-off is that the weight sits centrally at the bottom bracket rather than at the rear wheel. A bike with a central gearbox handles more predictably under load than one with weight concentrated at the back. For a fully loaded adventure bike, that handling characteristic is noticeable and, for many riders, worth the weight penalty.

Very little. The gearbox needs an oil change every 10,000 km, and the mechanical shift version has gear cables to replace from time to time. There's no derailleur hanger to carry and no cassette or chainrings wearing out on a monthly schedule. Oil change kits are in the Auren store.

Yes to both. You can shift through the full gear range while completely stopped, useful at traffic lights, before steep climbs, or when you've stalled on a technical section. You can also shift under load, though easing off pedalling force slightly gives the cleanest shifts. On technical or stop-start terrain, this is one of the most practical day-to-day advantages over a derailleur system.

Both are Pinion gearboxes. The C-Line is the more accessible option, available in 6, 9, and 12-speed configurations, slightly heavier but reliable and well-proven. The P-Line is the premium offering, lighter, smoother, more precise, and available up to 18 speeds with a 636% gear range. The P-Line costs roughly twice the C-Line. The C-Line covers a lot of adventure riding at a lower cost. The P-Line suits riders where weight is a priority, or who want the widest possible range for loaded mountainous terrain.

Yes. Pinion requires its own bottom bracket shell standard, which needs to be built into the frame. You can't retrofit one to a standard frame. The gearbox also affects chainstay length and the rear triangle geometry, which a builder needs to account for from the start. A frame designed for Pinion from scratch handles the integration cleanly. It's not a complication, but it does mean the gearbox decision needs to be made before the frame is drawn up, not after.

Yes, and the combination is common on adventure bikes for good reason. A Gates Carbon Belt Drive paired with a Pinion gearbox gives you a fully sealed drivetrain with no exposed lubrication points. No chain oil, no degreasing, no chain stretch, no cassette wear. The belt wipes clean and runs quietly. The maintenance schedule for a belt-Pinion drivetrain is essentially: oil the gearbox every 10,000 km, wipe the belt when it's muddy, replace the belt somewhere around 15,000 to 30,000km depending on conditions. For long-distance riding, that's a significant simplification.

That's what it's designed for. The gearbox is sealed against water, mud and dust, so the internals stay clean when the outside doesn't. Exposed derailleurs are where wet and gritty conditions do their damage: cables swell, pivots corrode and shifting degrades. On long trips through wet seasons or sand, that's the difference riders notice most.

Depends on what you're doing. For day trips and weekend rides where a derailleur can be cleaned and maintained regularly, the weight penalty and cost premium are harder to justify. For multi-week expeditions, remote touring, or conditions that punish conventional drivetrains, the calculation shifts. Fewer spares to carry, fewer mechanical stops, more consistent performance over a long trip. The upfront cost is higher. The ongoing cost, in time, parts, and energy spent maintaining an exposed drivetrain in the field, can be considerably lower.

The frame and fork are $3,850 to 4,600, like any Auren frameset, and the gearbox is extra. Pinion gearbox sets in the Auren store run from $3,350 for the C1.12 twist shift to $3,950 for the C1.12i Smart.Shift with drop-bar shifters. Complete Pinion adventure builds start at $10,300. You get a pre-quote on the first call.

In Melbourne, Will services the bike, gearbox oil change included, at the Preston workshop. Elsewhere, the oil change is a simple job with a Pinion oil change kit from the Auren store, and a good local shop can look after the rest of the bike. Will is happy to talk you through it.