Return of an old friend... Pt 2

I got my original Pugsley frame back from friend Eddie who has done a good job on the respray considering it being winter and not in a central heated building!...

I gave it a T cut before adding the decals..
Here it is!

Massey Ferguson Tractor Grey, a close enough match to the original Surly Thunderbird Grey...

The repair looks fine and should be room for a Saltire graphic on there!...

Its not powder coat but its painted, and it was free by a good friend, who will be getting some beers out in the local pub soon for his time and passion -:)

The build;
Selling my Karate Monkey i have no 29er now and this is where this bike is going to fill the gap in the fleet.
Thanks to the new Surly Rabbit Hole 50mm rims with offset holes i can build a strong rear offset 29er wheel,
I can also run with  the Surly Pugsley frame with 29+ 3" Knards.

I  bought the Jones Steel Truss fork that popped up on the classifieds of the UK Fatbike Forum.
I have always liked the idea of these forks and as riding ridged on my fat bikes this is a fork i want to try out. I bought it originally for the Moonlander, but the Moonie rides just fine as it is...

So its going on the Pugsley project...

I can adjust the height of the front end around 25mm moving the spacers above or below the head tube, so i can raise the BB height slightly for running lower wall height 29er mud tyres.
I also have a frame with a slacker head angle than the previous Karate Monkey, only 1 degree but i am used to slacker head angles with my other 2 fat bikes.
I can fit my frame bag as was originally bought for this very frame and it is identical to the purple frame.

So a frame set that takes all sizes of fat  i need;
29er 2.3 mud tyre
3" 29+ Knard tyre
A wheel swap and can run 3.7 fat tyres
Even the Moonlander front wheel will fit in the truss fork -:)

The build will take a few months as i only have cranks and BB, all my spares have been used up.
Also Rabbit Hole 29er rims are not due in the UK until early summer.
The build will be all silver/polished parts,
That includes the rims (tartan rim tape of course)
Hope hubs, stem, seat post etc...
2x9 XT - i need 22t front 36 rear 1st gear for climbing,
Microshift thumbies,
BB7s
Need to source another old Brooks professional saddle...

The usual build of stuff i like, i don`t want to add up the cost!, frightening!, i will just buy some stuff monthly until its rolling...

A do it all bike that will see a few different builds and keep my bike buying fetish on hold for a while...

A bike with a mix of Pugsley fat bike/29er/ 29+/ Krampus xc type bike, if such a thing exists,
No one else has seen a window for this it seems, with the Krampus being marketed as a `fun play` bike...
Wide Gearing ratio, big frame bag capacity for bike packing stable proven fatbike geometry, it makes sense to myself...

This will probably be the bike i ride across to Holland  from Belgium next year in 2014 on the 70th Anniversary of  `Operation Market Garden`
I will be tracing the route my bloodline Grandfather - a Gordon Highlander fought in 1944 as the Allies tried to break through to Arnhem. I will try to follow the route day to day on the dates of his regiments journey through Holland,  and i will visit my Grandfathers War Grave in Venray and lay his medals at his graveside he earned but never saw... this will be a perfect bike for the trip...


29x3" (29+) ;
Its the light weight 29x3" Surly Knards on the light 50mm rims i want to give a try...
Law Cycles demo Krampus; Rabbit Hole 50mm rims...

And 29x3" Knard tyres...

These i think are really what most people wanting a fatbike but who have no interest in riding on the coast or Moorland peat bogs would be better off with, esp for trail centres...
The Surly Krampus is looking like a fun bike to ride reading new owners reviews.

I cannot post a customers bike on line before they see it - as are the rules -:),
Dave would not let us see the whole frame anyway!, but we did see the BB and yolk, and the fork,
looks lovely!...

Law Cycles here in North Berwick is building 2 Krampus kits this week; a customers and a demo bike which Dave says i can take away for a good test and make some film riding the beast, so be a blog post coming on that!...


The Grey Pug will satisfy my bike building for a while...
Well maybe as this bike will maybe see another frame swap in a year or two and the grey Pugsley will finely be hung up and retired, but it has some fun to be had yet...