Friday 9 October 2015

Surly Krampus...Pt 1 - the build...

 Yeah i know the Surly Krampus has been rolling for 3 years now, and i`m last on the band wagon to get one!,  but i have been rolling for 3 summers now with a pair of offset built Krampus wheels on my Pugsley since given to me as a thank you present from Surly by Tyler at the inaugural Forth fat Fatbike Gathering. And since have been raving on and on about 29+ wheels for a ridged MTB being the way to go.
So much so i decided to break up and sell my drop bar MTBs and  go down the route of two other 29+ bikes having been so impressed by the Krampug, and this summer i built the Surly ECR.  My ridged 29er MTBs, drop bar Salsa Fargo and Karate Monkey builds have now morphed to these two bikes. One the ECR-a hub geared bike packing rig,  the other will be this Krampus-my go to MTB... I could live with just the KramPug but these two bikes will both ride quite different to each other,  the KramPug is still a great concept bike if your only going to own one bike and have a second wheel set.

I have only had two new complete bikes since my first Pugsley nearly 7 years ago, a Genesis CDF, and the Surly Moonlander,  The rest have been used frames built up with new parts, or new frames built up with used parts- as it will be with this beastie...

I finally got the Surly Krampus built this week.  Two wrong Cane Creek headsets posted from two different shops and confused replies from the shops as to what it was i needed, Cane Creak advertise the 1" 1/8th to 44mm lower external headset, the shops advertise it, yet both sent a 44mm  1.5" headset with no crown race and reducer adaptor. One shop said this product does not exist-even though they advertise it!, and as i told them it is supplied on the complete Krampus bike!,
Anyhow thanks to friend Mike who advised to just go with a Hope lower external
Headset  with a Hope  Tapered Adaptor,  Ordered from CRC on Saturday and it arrived on Monday afternoon.

Rest of the build was a new Shimano SLX/ZEE  1 x 10 drive chain on Squirt KMC chain,  and used parts...
The Ghetto (split tube) wheels came from the Surly ECR after i changed that to an Alfine drive,
Brakes and Deore cranks came from the Surly Karate Monkey 29er i split to sell the frame.
Big wide 875mm bars came off the Moonlander, stem and grips were parts gifted from kind friend Gary B,
Seat and seat post from the Pugsley, it now sports a cheaper Race Face post and older Cambium saddle also from the KM....



The needed headset,  used an external incase i want to fit a suspension fork in the future...






Steerer tube marked...


Reduce by 5mm and cut...


Star nut fitted...


And front end on...


Safe to pour another now the vital correct sawing done on the fork!...



These crank arms will be replaced by some ZEE cranks in the future as these may bend riding this bike hard with no suspension...


The MTB world is now going 11 speed.  This is my first 10 speed bike!!!...









Front brake is my regular size 160mm,  Krampus bikes have a 180mm,  Do i need a 180mm up front?, i don`t think so for around here,  i can ride my other bikes as fast as i can on 160mm`s, we will see in time...





New build gets to stay indoors...


Only been ridden around the street so far, I know how it will ride having ridden several  friends bikes, and looking forward to some out of the saddle honking along trails type riding..
I am beach riding tomorrow on the Pugsley with friends,  maybe Sunday it will get it`s legs stretched...


More soon...

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