SURLY Moonlander gets a `Trussplant` and other bikes in use update...

I try not to post bike tech type stuff much as a lot of people who visit here are not cyclists but here is a post for fellow bike geeks and those that like to fiddle around with stuff...

First though, i had a comment on a Youtube film i did last week saying;  `you must have some money to have all those bikes and that garage`...

Believe me i earn well below the average wage.
I have not had a wage rise for 6 years now...
Yes i do own a house but pay a mortgage that will last till i am 65... so no chance of early retirement, and i have no pension...  I am single and have to pay for everything myself...
I bought the garage and did the garden 9 years ago with the money that should have been spent on modernising the house when i moved here, only the windows were changed,
My house needs new carpets, modern more economical heating, exterior walls repaired and painted and a new bathroom...

I drive an 11 year old car with 110,000 miles on it, I do not go out wining and dining - i spend about £10 a week on cider, I do not go out to the cinema or nights out drinking, I have no smart clothes for an interview or a funeral, I have an old school TV,  No SKY TV,  Not been out on a date for years,  Fatbikes don`t seem to attract female cyclists around here...

Great advert for a dating site eh?  lol   (Fatbike Love.com -:) )

And despite what some people think i do not spend that much month to month on my bikes, last year an average of £100 per month, i try and cycle everywhere to ride my bikes to save petrol and my bikes are my one thing i have along with a metal detector, a Go Pro Camera, 6 year old PC, £80 compact camera, decent outdoor clothing, camping gear, some good books, music and a big box of maps... and Family and friends and memories...

But you know what? more money would not make me enjoy riding my bikes any more around East Lothian, or make me meet more friends. I have met the best friends riding Fatbikes here on the coast,
Were all from different walks of life with different lifestyles, but all just the same when out riding Fatbikes, That is what i love about these bikes, is there addictive draw from all walks of life... Life is Good

I don`t/cannot save much every month and always skint at the end of the month but been like this for so long now it`s just the way it is... and loads of people are living the same way...
Life is too short to worry about materialistic stuff and you gotta get out there and enjoy your hobbies and interests...

Rant over...

With the way cash flow is at the moment i am not building the MK 1 Grey Pugsley for now with the Jones fork. So i used some of the parts bought for the build on the Karate Monkey. the bars and stem bought are on the Moonie, and the Thumbies, drive chain and cranks on the Pugsley.

Just gonna run with the Moonlander for full on coast riding,
Pugsley on NATE tyres for coast and trails
Karate Monkey for local trails and general ripping about
The old Muddy Fox Courier for work/shops/dirty bike
And still got the Klunker and old stuff, most of which cost me next to nothing and stuff i just tinker with. I will post up more on the other stuff soon...

The repainted Grey Pugsley frame has been hung up on the living room wall for now...

So what to do with the Jones steel Truss fork i bought second hand a few months back?
It is the FAT Truss fork and can take the 5" tyres on 100mm rims,
Mmmm... -:)

Operation Trussplant;
First things first and a cycle on Friday afternoon into Town to see my Dad at the Nursing home and then go get some cider for the weekend... -:)

I still have a Hope Fatso 135mm width front hub to fit to the Surly Moonlander,
Surly fat bikes use 135mm wide front hubs with a 10mm diameter axle end (standard MTBs have 9mm front and 10mm rear axles) and also rear brake fitment.
This was adopted by Surly when the Pugsley was first produced to allow swappable wheels, such a cool idea even if you never need to do it!

So the Jones Truss fork has a 135mm width hub space and has a 9mm drop out and front brake fitment - the same as a regular 100m MTB front hub, just a wider hub at 135mm

There is a limited choice of hubs to fit the Jones fork, Paul`s Components WHUB (wide hub)  and  Jones own hub... both over £150!  for a front hub!
The Hope Fatso hub is only £65, but the axle is 1mm too big for the Jones drop outs at 10mm diameter, so how to fit it?, simples...

Prob to the horror of most Jones Owners i gave one side of each fork tab a tickle with the angle grinder,
The Hope hub now fits snug, just the powder coat being broken but not worried about that and touched it up with fast drying Smoothrite.
The Hope hub will get laced onto the Moonie front wheel soon but for now will use the stock wheel with SURLY hub.

A 5mm disc spacer by Carver  Bikes would then aline the disc perfectly with a 0mm caliper mount, so the Disc Spacer was ordered last week from BIKEMAN  in the USA and it arrived on Thursday, superb service Bikeman!

Reading the instructions that came with the fork it appears to use 2 upper headsets...

With the Moonie fork and Hope headset removed i then fitted the Cane creek headset that came with the fork,  i decided to fit a spacer to take up the gap between the Forks yolks underneath to retain the same height at the front end.
Quite fiddly to slide in the spacers but got it together eventually. Added the disc spacer and changed the brake caliper mount and it all looked sweet!...

Only thing was some play in the lower headset, tighten the whole thing down to stop it and the headset was then too tight ,  worn lower bearing?, not enough steerer spacers packed between the fork yolks?
Not sure but it was getting on and the cider was kicking in so i slept on it and would look at it the next morning...

I rebuilt the whole lot the next morning and still the same issue, no matter if the spacers were jammed real tight or just a snug fit... good to keep all your old headset spares for doing jobs like this...

I decided to remove it all again and knock out the lower part and fit the top half of the Hope headset previously fitted to the bike, i used a Hope spacer under neath and added to the height to compensate the lower height of the Hope headset, then again slide in some steerer spacers to make it a snug tightness...

Sorted! no play and perfect tightness...

The fork axle is approx 10mm closer to the BB than before, riding around the street it feels fine, I can lower the stem if need be, it will take a few positions to be sorted probably.
Rubber covers off 20mm hose clips cut down to size and cable ties made stops to prevent the fork hitting the frame...

Now just to wait for this evenings low tide to reveal today's playground...

So 4 good bikes have now become 3...