The Karate Monkey 29er is 2 years old now and still rides real smooth,
the 07 LX shifters and mechs are great- a nice solid gear change and the mech is still solid with no play, Being still on the original drive chain and 3rd chain it was all getting a bit old, so its been fitted with Shimano XT (steel)chainrings,
Shimano LX (34t) cassette and XTR chain,
i use the LX cassettes as although heavier than XT they last a lot longer.
The XTR chains i like as they dont rust..
I fitted new Superstar Flat pedals,
Superstar if you believe what folk write on MTB Forums (a lot write a lot of clueless rubbish) have had a lot of bad press in there early days, i have been buying there sintered brake pads for a while and at £24 for 4 pairs (£15-£18 a pair for O.E pads) there a bargain and there sintered pads work great. i just fitted 2 of there Brake Discs at £9 each to the pugsley as well as there pedals and its good value and a few friends are buying there parts with same positive view...think `Tesco Honey nut flakes cereal`...same factory's as originals in different packaging...
Also fitted a white graphic kit as only £12 and looks a lot better than black graphics on the Chum Red colour (color if your reading from USA)...
And a 2nd Jandd frame bag like on the Pugsley,these are ace for tube,pump,tools and food and a camera and more...
As you may know off road cyclists are always on about chain lubes and which one to use for which conditions etc..
I am a big fan of Squirt Chain lube for all year round use and especially for beachriding, on a rust proof chain its excellent and there is no build up of grime and muck or wet or dry sand,
I have had a few free things via writing my blog and films and posting on forums which has been really nice of folk and last Autumn i received some degreaser and bike cleaner from Carl Hutchings of the UK Squirt Lubes Distributor IN2Dust to try out..
Carl is a former competitor and record holder of the Alaskan Iditarod Winter snow race and a good friend of the builder of my pugsley Jake Law, who has built all my wheel builds since building my Pugsley. If you want an offset pugsley wheel built give Jake a buzz as he has done several offset wheels now...
Most folk if they get something free write all about it being an excellent product even if it is not,
i would if i thought something was rubbish say so...
how ever Squirt lubes chain degreaser and bike cleaner is really good, i used the chain degreaser on both new XTR chains before applying Squirt lube and its good,
also its bio degradable so no worries about it going down the drain which is a good thing,
And there bike cleaner (which is a watered down version of there degreaser) is good,
leaves your bike clean with out white streaks and it has a citrus scent which is nice if you hang your bike in the Kitchen like i often do!.
With my oldest most comfy brooks saddle refitted the 29er is ready for long summer days out and about...
It has been a busy last week in the Man Cave most evenings...
with an approx 4000 miles of mostly beach riding its time for another refit for the pugsley and it has been in Dry Dock for 2 weeks...
The Pugsley rear wheel was stripped to have friend Jake replace the damaged Alfine Gear Hub with the Hope pro 2 rear hub which was originally on the bike,
i still had the XT shifters,XT rear mech and XTR front mech so i bought a 36 Tooth 9 spd cassette for nice low gearing, also bought a steel hope free hub as i destroyed the alloy original which had a corroded alloy XT cassette `salt welded` onto it, now i can coppergrease it to prevent this again...
I stripped the frame and fork then `raw ed it to the bare metal using a brass wire brush on the Angle grinder which removed all the surface rust around cable guides etc, stripped of paint you can see how well Surly frames are made, very neat welds...
Then it got 2 coats of Industrial `Craig & Rose` Red Oxide Paint, it`s what the Forth Road Bridge is painted with so good enough for the Pug...
a light sand before a spray with a can of PJ1 paint...
New SKS bearings fitted to the Phil Wood BB,
New XT gear and brake cables, Hope Headset,Superstar pedals,new tubes,stainless allen bolts, and lots of grease and copper grease,
Just waiting on replacement stickers and all done,
What colour is the pug now?
Brilliant. Black bikes are best.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Looking forward to more pictures of the now black Pugsley.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you paint it - would a powder coat not have given a harder finish?
ReplyDeleteif its painted i can add /weld bottle brackets etc... and the cost would be a 1/4 of a new frame, my next replacement pug frame will be plastic coated from new...
ReplyDeleteI see, if you plan to keep modifying then it makes good sense. I overhauled and old GF frame and kitted it out for xc touring. I got a powdercoat from a local shop + it is quite a good hard finish but it can be scuffed. I should have spent more and got a lacquer finish but I didn't want a shiny frame. Keep posting on the pug ;)
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