Gearbox transmissions have been designed for use on mountain bikes for years now, but they have yet to catch on in the industry at large. They offer numerous advantages over a standard drivetrain, including higher durability leading to a much longer life due to the enclosed design, the ability to shift when not pedaling, better chain retention, and the opportunity to run a belt drive with a geared system. The latest units are also 12-speed systems, with a massive gear range.

The downsides include being significantly heavier than a standard drivetrain, and having more drag while pedaling from all the gears that are constantly engaged.

Still, many of us are sick and tired of tearing derailleurs off, replacing worn out parts, and dropping or breaking chains. The gearbox could be a great solution to many common drivetrain problems.

See Also: “Video: Are Gearbox Mountain Bikes Any Good?“

As I cruised the Eurobike expo in Germany, it was apparent that many smaller European brands are much more open to the idea of gearboxes than American brands, as I spotted them spec’ed on several mountain bikes. While it’s possible that the wet climate in places like the UK helps the popularity of gearboxes, I noticed them spec’ed on several display bikes kitted with full bikepacking bags and designed for that use–obviously playing on the durability and relative simplicity of the system.

Here are 8 gearbox-equipped mountain bikes I spotted at Eurobike 2016, organized in alphabetical order. Be sure to click through to check out all of them… number 8 is one of the coolest!

Bergwerk Murunatan

This steel hardtail sports a Pinion gearbox with a belt drive system and a classic singlespeed dropout tensioner. A RockShox fork handles suspension duties up front, with Shimano XT spec’ed for the brakes.

BikeBauer

This new model from BikeBauer is a full-fledged enduro bike with a gear box and a belt drive system. Belt tensioning is handled with a pulley system very similar to the Nicolai, tucked safely out of harm’s way.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find this exact model on BikeBauer’s website. It looks similar to their ION 20 Effigear design, but on their site, that model is pictured with a dual crown fork. The model I spotted was spec’ed with a Cane Creek DB Inline rear shock, Hope wheels, and an SR Suntour Durolux fork.

As with many other brands, BikeBauer offers several more gearbox mountain bikes, including the Helius AC Pinion, ION 18, and the Nucleon EVO (a very interesting DH bike gearbox design).

Caribou Pro Frames E-Go-Plus

Despite having “E” in the name, this is not an ebike. Rather, it’s a 27.5+ hardtail with a Pinion Gearbox and a belt drive instead of a chain. The frame is made of aluminum and weighs a claimed 4lbs–no word on complete weight.

The bike pictured here is kitted with a RockShox Fork and Duro plus tires.

Cavalerie Anakin

The Cavalerie Anakin, out of France, is developed around an Effigear gearbox—another French brand—not the widespread Pinion. With 160mm of travel front and back, this is one of the longest travel gearbox bikes that I spotted at the show. With a 66-degree head tube angle, the geo on this enduro rig looks pretty modern.

The model that I saw on display was spec’ed with a belt drive in a very clean design, with no extra pulley tensioners—unusual for a full suspension gearbox bike. The belt is tensioned with the dropouts, similar to some singlespeed frames.

The rig I saw was spec’ed with Enve wheels, a BOS Kirk shock, and a Formula Thirty Five fork. According to Cavalerie’s website, the Anakin can be built down to 13.64kg (30lbs).

While I didn’t spot them at Eurobike, Cavalerie also offers a 185mm-travel freeride rig, the Squirrel, and a 200mm-travel full-blown DH rig, the Falcon–both with gearboxes.

Ghost Roket X

The Ghost Rocket X is a 27.5+ adventure bike that’s designed to stand up to long-term abuse. Ghost is obviously playing on the gearbox’s longevity and durability in this application, due to the lack of an external derailleur to break.

However, the low-hanging chain tensioner dropping down below the bottom bracket seems like an absolutely horrible idea to me. Going to go wheelie over a log or a rock? Forget about it! This wasn’t the only gearbox setup I saw with this tensioner design, but I have no desire to even test this, let alone buy one. This seems to eliminate the durability benefits of the gearbox design.

The Roket comes with an aluminum frame, 130mm RockShox Yari fork, SRAM Guide brakes, 2.8″ Schwalbe tires, Race Face Arc 40 wheels, and a KS Lev Integra dropper post. Total weight is claimed to be 32.6lbs.

MSRP: 3,499 Euros, or $3,896 USD.

Ghost H AMR X

The H AMR X also plays on the idea of being an adventure bike, but with 140mm of suspension travel front and rear, some people may not be too keen on bikepacking with this rig. However, it does have some quality componentry, with a RockShox Pike RCT3 Solo Air fork up front, a Cane Creek DB Inline Coil in the rear, SRAM Guide Brakes, 2.8″ Schwalbe plus tires, an SP Hub Dynamo, Race Face Arc 40 wheels, and a RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post.

Unfortunately, it has the same poor chain tensioner design as the Roket X.

With an aluminum frame, claimed weight is just over 36 pounds… and that’s without bags.

MSRP: 6,000 Euros, or $6,682

Nicolai Helius GPI-techline

The Nicolai Helius GPI-techline is a pretty sleek-looking full suspension design that utilizes a Pinion Gearbox and a second pulley to tension the belt drive. Unlike some other designs, this tensioner is tucked up high, above the lowest point of the front chainring, which should prevent any ground clearance issues.

The bike I spotted was spec’ed with a RockShox fork, shock, and Reverb dropper. It comes with 27.5″ wheels and 140mm of travel.

The Helius starts at 6,699 Euros ($7,484 USD) and goes up from there.

While I didn’t spot it at the show, Nicolai also offers the a gearbox rig in a longer-travel package: the ION GPI-techline pro, with 155mm of travel. This bike begins at 7,399 Euros ($8,267 USD) and goes up from there.

Zerode Taniwha

The only carbon bike I spotted with a gearbox, not to mention the only carbon full suspension bike–with long travel, no less–the Zerode Taniwha (pronounced tani:fa) was an instant head-turner. Zerode is a small one-man brand out of New Zealand, but that doesn’t keep them from producing an incredible-looking bike! While Zerode now uses Pinion gearboxes, the owner of the brand began by making his own gearboxes years ago, before they became slightly more readily available as they are today.

Chain tensioning is handled by a double roller system, but is smartly tucked up higher than the front chain ring and out of harm’s way.

The model I spotted was spec’ed with a Fox 36 fork, Fox X2 shock, Shimano XT brakes, and a KS Lev dropper post. According to Zerode, the carbon model I was looking at weighs in at 13.6kg (30lbs).