OK, so if you were reading yesterday, you will know that today’s post features a bunch of stuff that I am getting rid of. For money. All the charity stuff is gone, but I can assure you that the prices are tantalizing, you know I like nice things… Some of this stuff I will be sorry to see go, other stuff can be replaced. But for now, it makes the most sense to let it make someone else happy being used, rather than making me unhappy and broke by sitting dormant.

The Trundleraptor

Shocked? Well, they say last in is first out, and this is true. This bike is fun as fun can be on snow, and has definitely saved my mental bacon, but where I am headed, this bike is unnecessary. Know I’ve been geeking out on it’s replacement…

Build spec is: 20″ Pugsley frame + fork, DT370.Surly hubs laced to Rolling Darryl 85mm rims with DT Super Comp spokes, alloy nips, Nate knobby tires, Surly Mr Whirly cranks with xtra wide spindle to clear those huge tires, WTB Vigo saddle, Thomson seatpost and stem, Easton EC70 bar, SRAM X9 shifter and derailleur, Avid Elixir CR brakes. Oh, and a very rare Chis King purple headset. It’s sort of a maximized Pugs, and I’d like $1500 for it. Would like to sell it locally as shipping this beast would be a small fortune.

The Gozarian

Yup, seeing as how all the cool places I used to travel to ride are going to be within a day’s drive, I won’t need this frame any more.

$650 – worth it for the S&S couplers alone. Plus you can run a belt on it if you are so inclined. The frame is a large Niner SIR9, modified to be single speed only.

SRAM XX 2×10 group

$1200 OBRO and you can tell me what size rotors (180/160/140) to send with it. Brakes are the World Cup model. Crank is the BB30 version, cassette is the 11-36t, and includes a new in box BB30 bearing set up. Very, very low miles on this group.

Rock Shox Reba SL

Enduro seals, fresh rebuild and oil. 159mm or ~ 6,1/4″ steerer. $200

Formula  Oro Pro brakes

No rotors, used but twice. These are good stoppers and are perfect for riders with smaller hands. They didn’t work for me ergonomically, so they got stashed in a corner a long time ago and forgotten about. $150, remember – no rotors.

All of this stuff is good stuff that needs a good home. I take Paypal or ca$hmoney. If anything here tickles your fancy, please let me know and I can arrange to have it in your hands as expeditiously as possible.

And if this ins’t enough stuff, I’ll probably find more to post tomorrow, along with another announcement that is completely not bike related.

 

 

I’d say so. In fact, the last day of 2012 was pretty darn good. The saying goes “out with the old, in with the new”, and this was the case for me in terms of my vehicular transportation. Face friends know that my car was backed into and dented pretty badly, enough for $1200 worth of repairs to the door. Well, the Saab was a good car, by far the best I’ve ever owned, but she was getting  a little long in the tooth. 8 years is a long time to have a car, I’d say I got  my money’s worth. With insurance check in hand, I decided it was the time to make my move. On Dec 31st, I bought a 2006 Toyota 4runner. I am stoked.

Also got my first good trundle of the year in. Mandy and I headed out on the VAST network near the old homestead, our goal to see how close to Middlesex Notch we could get in the amount of daylight we had to work with. Conditions were pretty good, a little soft, but manageable. The snowmobile tracks are definitely packed down enough, save for a few spots that required some walking. The terrain was rolling, with a few rotten fall line climbs, but hey, these trails aren’t designed with bicycles in mind.

cheers big ears

It was a pretty grueling slog on the way out, mostly uphill, but we stopped at a nice little clearing and hoisted a couple of PBRs that I had stashed min my jersey pockets. The trail kicked up pretty sharply just beyond, and with an hour of daylight left, we figured this was a good turn around point. As it was mostly up on the way out, it was mostly down on the way back. Riding the Trundleraptor fast is pretty exhilerating. You never really can be sure that you will have grip at any given time. The best practice is to have a good attitude, and be totally OK with ending up in a pile on the ground (I did).

dropping in

when I says woah, I mean woah!!!

All in all it was a good outing, and the ride definitely fueled some winter bike stoke in me. My brain got to thinking about some sort of ridiculous snow bike enduro… Oh yes… I’m hatching some sort of hair brained, night time, point to point race, involving bacon, booze and likely, fire. After all, you have to do something in VT in the winter to stay sane.



 

I hope everybody had a safe transition into the new year. For many it represents a time to make changes to their lives and routines, to make better choices, or to put the past behind them. It’s a manifestation of change. I think it is important to take a mental inventory of one’s experiences over the last 12 months, and figure out what the plans and goals for the next 12 might be. My “resolution” this year is a little different. I plan on getting FAT.

Yes, I’ve dabbled with these bikes before, but now I see just how fun they really are. It’s all about fun anyway right? The first demo Pugsly showed up on Friday, and was promptly built and ridden around the snowy parking lot. A few laps around the cemetery convinced me.

Fat bikes are their own beast, requiring special frames, special wheels and have a different set of rules when building them from the frame up. I’m going to learn all this when I put together the large demo bike this week. I’ve always felt that you get a much deeper understanding of how a bike is put together when you do it from scratch. And we all know how much I love geeking out on bike stuff…

It’s more than just another bike though. It is a vehicle for outside activity, when you could be holed up inside someplace wishing it was summer. They are a lot more versatile than you think too. The folks over at drunkcyclist took a trip down the Baja Peninsula on fat bikes loaded with panniers and gear. Talk about getting out there. The fat tires work well on a variety of terrain, making these bikes a lot more versatile than you would think.

I’ve always said “ride big wheels”, and well, these suckers are pretty big. I’m looking forward to spending some more time on 2 wheels this winter.

 

A while back, I built my first set of snow wheels for my friend Mike. He is having a custom built Walt Works made for him, which should be finished in a couple of weeks. He brought in the finished wheel with tire installed.

This thing is big, and very cool looking. It almost makes me want to jump on this whole snow bike band wagon, but another bike is really the last thing I need.

What you might notice, is that there are little tiny studs in the tire. The tires don’t come that way, Mike spent about 10 hours on a drill press, drilling, then inserting these tiny set screws into the tread blocks. There is something like 240 screws in the tire, he clearly didnt have anything better to do…

Because the set screws are so small, they don’t really add that much weight to the tire, the whole thing weighs about 8 lbs. Mike modded an Ignitor a couple of years ago, and the screws actually do a good job of staying put, and giving a little bit of extra confidence on icy surfaces. I may have to try this sometime…

With Mother Nature up to her cruel tricks again, we got about 8″ of heavy wet snow on Sunday afternoon, as part of a fluke mid April winter storm. Nothing will stand in the way between me and my grill though…

The snow gradually turned into rain, and then the wind picked up. 30 mph breezes with gusts up to 70 mph. It stopped raining in the early afternoon, but the wind was relentless all day. Despite the power outages, and the extra work it created with downed trees and other mayhem, it did help to make the snowbanks disappear. The roads are pretty dry up here, and if it stays like this, we’ll be riding again in no time.

I finished the big silver RIP9. Here are the pictures.

A shot of the green King front hub and headset framed my the DUC.

The matching rear hub. The rims are Stan’s Flows with Panaracer Rampage tires.

The bike came in at 28.59 lbs, without pedals. Not bad for an XL frame.

Also in the shop today, we finished up a new Karate Monkey. This is a big bike. It’s owner is 6’7. The wheels don’t look that big on this bike at all.

I’ll have more stuff to show and tell tomorrow, so come on back!