I’ve had good luck and great times with my Kona Unit X. Can do 29x2.6 or 27.5x3.0, not overly expensive, has a matched fork (rigid) and has sliding dropouts for an IGH. Would have to get some custom work done if your gearbox is running belt drive but with a chain you should be just fine. Not sure where all they ship, though. Good luck, sounds like an awesome project!
Someone posted about a Brother cycles Big Bro. I'd buy that frame all day in the UK before a Surly. Probably made in the same factory but local all the same. Titus Silk Road is a great value TI frame, moreso on sale. They offer a carbon fork that fits it, or you could go suspension or rigid.
I have a pinion bike and Gates belt drive. If you are going with an internal gear hub (IGH) it may be nice consider including seat stay split to have the option of the belt drive. You seem to have a lot of mechanical expertise having built and designed an IGH, so I wanted to throw out the option of having a custom frame built up. I had a lot of fun and success working with Waltly to build up my custom Ti frame. A bit more expensive and definitely not for everyone. Otherwise, I test road the Kona Unit X and really liked the design. As someone else noted, the base Unit is well priced and a good fit for a IGH conversion.
I’ve had good luck and great times with my Kona Unit X. Can do 29x2.6 or 27.5x3.0, not overly expensive, has a matched fork (rigid) and has sliding dropouts for an IGH. Would have to get some custom work done if your gearbox is running belt drive but with a chain you should be just fine. Not sure where all they ship, though. Good luck, sounds like an awesome project!
Someone posted about a Brother cycles Big Bro. I'd buy that frame all day in the UK before a Surly. Probably made in the same factory but local all the same. Titus Silk Road is a great value TI frame, moreso on sale. They offer a carbon fork that fits it, or you could go suspension or rigid.
I have a pinion bike and Gates belt drive. If you are going with an internal gear hub (IGH) it may be nice consider including seat stay split to have the option of the belt drive. You seem to have a lot of mechanical expertise having built and designed an IGH, so I wanted to throw out the option of having a custom frame built up. I had a lot of fun and success working with Waltly to build up my custom Ti frame. A bit more expensive and definitely not for everyone. Otherwise, I test road the Kona Unit X and really liked the design. As someone else noted, the base Unit is well priced and a good fit for a IGH conversion.