All our bikes are designed to be maintenance friendly. The absence of derailleurs results in lower maintenance, but some upkeep remains required. After wet muddy rides, we recommend to rinse your bike with water, avoid directly spraying the bearings under pressure. The chart below offers guidance on maintenance intervals based on our experience and manufacturer’s data. Depending on where and how you ride and in what conditions, maintenance intervals may need to be adjusted.
Belt and Sprockets – The GATES Carbondrive system is optimized for mountainbike use and functions very well under very muddy conditions. The belt drive system does not require lubrication, just an occasional clean up. There are a few basics that should be taken into account when installing a belt. The belt should never be twisted or folded tightly. The belt contains carbon fiber strands that run length-wise and provide tensile strength. This can damage the carbon fiber strands and lead to premature failure of the belt. If proper tension of the belt is not maintained it may skip a teeth on the rear sprocket or run off the rear sprocket altogether. In the unlikely event that this does occur, never remount the belt by forcing it onto the sprocket. Instead reduce the tension by turning the eccANTer (for Rohloff) or the axANTer (for Pinion). Reinstall the belt again and reapply the correct tension. More info can be found here.
11ANTS bikes are geared for the average biker. Other gear ratio options are available, please check below table to find the best gear ratio for your fitness level and intended use. Our standard set-up is, of course, coloured in orange. Are you interested in another gear ratio? Check out the Gates carbon drive belt calculator
| Bike | Front Sprocket | Rear sprocket | Belt Length | Center to center (mm) | Gear ratio |
| ANTelope | 50 | 22 | 118 | 448 | 2.27 |
| 46 | 22 | 115 | 443.5 | 2.09 | |
| 42 | 22 | 113 | 444 | 1.91 | |
| elephANT | 46 | 22 | 118 | 460 | 2.09 |
| 42 | 22 | 115 | 455 | 1.91 | |
| mANTis | 46 | 22 | 115 | 443.5 | 2.09 |
| 42 | 22 | 113 | 444 | 1.91 | |
| pANTher | 46 | 22 | 115 | 443.5 | 2.09 |
| 42 | 22 | 113 | 444 | 1.91 | |
| tarANTula | 32 | 32 | 113 | 445.5 | 1.00 |
| 32 | 30 | 111 | 443.5 | 1.09 |
Brakes – 11ANTS only uses brakes by Hope Technology – they have an excellent track record of low maintenance, excellent braking power, modulation and longevity. Their design philosophy of incremental improvements of an already well-designed products aligns very much with ours. The sintered brake pads are hard wearing and deliver good braking performance. The organic pads provide better performance still, but wear out more quickly. 11ANTS fits sintered brake pads on all bikes. Besides regular cleaning and occasional pad replacement little maintenance is required. More technical documentation, including how-to videos can be found here
Gearbox – The Rohloff gearbox requires an oil change every 2 years or 5,000 km, whichever comes first. The Pinion oil change interval is 2 years or every 10,000 km. For proper shifting, the shifter cables need to be a bit slack, such that the gripshifter has a few mm of play on it. Beyond regular oil change and replacement of belt sprockets, little additional maintenance is required. More technical detail on how to replace oil, shifter cables and perform trouble-shooting for Rohloff can be found here. Technical info for the Pinion gearbox can be found here.
Bearings – Hub, headset and bottom bracket bearings are sealed units. We recommend an annual inspection of all bearings, except those in the Rohloff and Pinion gear boxes. Bottom bracket bearings are Enduro ABEC5, spares can be ordered in our webshop. Headset and hub bearing spares can be ordered from most web shops or Hope dealers.
Dropper post – 11ANTS bikes can be optionally fitted with a dropper post. Cleaning your dropper can be done with some water and soap. Avoid high pressure spray. Avoid using de-greaser on the moving parts. After cleaning apply a light coat of silicon spray to ensure smooth operation. Once a year oil the actuator cable and grease the pivot of the remote. Apply a light coat of carbon paste when fitting the dropper or normal seat post to bike’s frame. More details can be found here
Fork – Most 11ANTS bikes are fitted with DT Swiss or DVO forks and shocks. Exceptions is the elephANT fat bike, which can be fitted with a Rockshox Bluto. Both types of forks require an annual service which can be done at official service centres. For DT Swiss these can be found here and here for Rockshox. Additional technical info for DT (here) and for Rockshox (here).
Wheels – Wheels should be occasionally checked for spoke tension and straightness. All wheels are hand built by Wheel-Tec and carry their warranty and crash replacement conditions. The wheels come with a life-time spoke breakage warranty and a 2-year crash replacement (subject to conditions). More details here.
Torque settings
| Group | Item | Torque setting (Nm) |
| Stem | Face plate | 4 |
| Top cap | 5 | |
| Stem | 4 | |
| Brakes | Caliper | 10 |
| Disc | 12 | |
| Levers | 5 | |
| Post mount | 10 | |
| Seat post | Post frANT | 9 |
| Seat | 5 | |
| Bottom bracket | eccANTer | 15-20 |
| Carriers | Bottle cage | 5 |