Surly KramPug 29+ Update; Salsa Woodchipper semi drop bars tryout...

One of my friends recently said how he likes no over lap in his bikes and their role, ie a specific road bike, mountainbike, tourer, fatbike etc...
That is fair enough, all bikes mission specific,
Then i have been thinking how my bikes have quite a bit of overlap and so a compatibility of swappable parts, that can be reused over again on other builds.
I like how all my currant bikes use 135mm rear Hope Pro 2 hubs,
1" 1/8th headsets
Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes,
9 speed gear group sets (single speed and retro bikes have 8 speed chains)

This has allowed me to rebuild bikes and new concepts with long term reliable (and re build able) parts that has kept things fun and the price of re builds down while messing around in the man cave.
For example, my Surly Moonlander has a gold 2006 Hope headset, Hope Bottom Bracket, and first year of production Hope Pro 2 rear hub that came form this 2005 Kona Cowan hard tail that i once razzed around Glentress :)

While the present Karate Monkey uses the original 5 year old wheels and LX shifters, head set, stem, bars from my first Karate Monkey...

And then the Salsa Fargo...

Some parts i keep and re use on other builds, some i sell on to help fund a new build, buy the odd complete bike every 3 years or so and my bikes keep evolving...


2 bikes in one;
A good example of this is the recent blog post on two bikes in one with the Surly Karate Monkey which has seen a few conversions from gears to single speed, back to gears with some drop bars and now a two bikes in one option with a MTB  suspension fork/MTB handlebar set up, and rigid fork/drop bar set up which can be done in a 15min swap over....

Riding offroad on drop bars;
Has been done for years, from cyclocross in the Fifties to mountain bikes, and more recently rigid 29er MTB`s.
I deft prefer to ride my 29er above with the drops to my 700c Genesis Cdf  budget cx bike,
The MTB tyres offer a lot more comfort and grip off road, though the 700c wheels are faster on tarmac and smooth hard pack tracks as you would expect it to be.
If your interested in  riding off road with drop bars here is an article on twentynineinchies.com

Fatter tyres = more comfort...
Now with fatter tyre bikes in general a lot of people have been enjoying a more `big wheel balloon tyre comfortable`  ride, and the whole drop bar adventure ride concept went public with the Salsa Fargo along with many home brew MTB`s with drop bars fitted, and a few folks have already built some 29+ drop bar bikes. My friend Steve now has a Surly ECR with drops, you can see his Flickr pics of the bike Here...

I would not hesitate to put Woodchipper bars on a Surly ECR 29+  if i owned one...

However i do have another very versatile Surly bike that was crying out to try out  my ready to fit Semi drop Salsa Woodchipper bars complete with stem,  brake levers, cables and bar tape...
The Surly KramPug of course!...

My drop bar set up was sitting complete with cables from when i took it off the Karate Monkey,
It took about 15 minutes to fit...

Strip off the frame bag, cut off the 4 inner gear and brake cable end crimps...

Then cut and remove all the cable ties...

And lift off the MTB bar set complete. take the rear inner gear cable and inner rear brake cable and thread them through the front outer cables. fit new cables to the rear gear and brake outer cables and all done and ready for re fitting when i want to go back to this bar set up on the KramPug...

Drop bar set up bolted on and then route the outer cables and thread through the 4 inner cables...

Cable tie the outer cables in place,  i am slowly getting through the 1000 cable tie pack  i bought a few years ago!...

Set up the Avid BB7 callipers by first loosening the aligning bolts, then Aline the calliper  by;
Screwing in both sides of the pad adjuster red dials until tight on the disc,
Tighten the alignment Allen bolts,
Then backing each red pad adjuster dial to get the required clearance,
Set and crimp the cable pull arm after a 1/4 turn,
Cut and crimp inner cable,
Repeat with front calliper and both brakes set up...

Frame bag back on and all looking good...

:)

Next day i rode the bike to work via a couple oftfarm tracks and it felt good, quickly up to speed when you stamp on the pedals...

And the low volume 29+ 3" tyres soak up all trail vibration,..

The Pugsley is a versatile bike indeed with all the 135mm hub options, and the wheel and tyre size options too. I need to try it soon with the drop bars on the regular 4" fat tyres...

Another de tour on route to work...

Some pics from last Sunday`s dawn cycle...

The drop bar KramPug 29+ is no snail on country roads...  :)

7am and an amazing morning with big skies...

And past Fenton Tower... and home for breakfast...

And thats a wrap for now...

More soon...