Been doing some tweaking to the KramPug cockpit...
I liked the look of the orange BMX grips but i get sore wrists riding any ridged bike what ever the tyre float and the latest Ergon grips are proving to be brilliant for comfort. I have these also on the Karate Monkey, and need to get a set for the Moonlander having swapped out its grips for the Pugsley after it`s grips sheared the lock bolt due to 5 years salt erosion...
Even with the improvement in grip comfort on my wrists the bars still seemed low with the fork steerer tube having been cut so low compared to what i prefer in bar height these days...
I can buy a fork steerer extender made by BBB but already have a home made one that has been proved reliable and safe. Remember these down hill headset locks from the 1990`s?...
Add this alloy spacer a friend made machined to 1 1/8th to insert into the steerer tube...
It was made to extend a fork steerer for my old Cannondale Uber V - a 6" travel frameset made from fitting a Raven CADD 4 Swingarm and a longer 190mm shock. It was bob free while climbing having the first generation of Fox Float air shock. low maintenance with it being single pivot it was perfect for our Trail Centres. We were doing this a few years before the Scott Ransom arrived and made claim to being the first 6" rear travel all mountainbike! -:)
I still have the 1999 Uber frame along with an older 96 4" Super V, tied up in the Man Cave roof...
If your thinking `that steere extension is dangerous` and `you should not be riding that` blah blah blah... well i rode this in a Rock Shox Pike fork for for over 2 years at Trail centres and its fine... 2 years of doing daft stuff like this...
Ah, those were the days... -:)
First thing is removing the star nut, quite tricky without a lenght of 6mm threaded rod...
I slid in a 16mm socket on an extender...
Then an old slide bar and hammered it out...
Then degreased it all with BrakeLek aerosol brake cleaner...and glued it in using Araldite, wiping off any extra...
Next day and an extended steerer tube!, i run the Stem clamped over the join...
And the ride height is a lot more what i like on a Pugsley nowadays...
Next morning and off out to ride some local trails...
Loads of greenery, with some bright colours away from the coast...
The trails are now in places overgrown with Brambles and Nettles...My shins are on fire tonight!...
The SURLY KramPug is perfect set up now with higher bars and Ergon grips. i rode nearly 40 miles today and was not stiff and sore this evening... a good sign!
Only bad thing is those Nettle burns keeping my shins warm this evening!. Think it will be the beach next ride!.
Someone was asking me to do some films of some of the trails we ride without editing them to show the entire lenght of each trail and how long they are. So here you go... Sometimes i think whole films shot from the chest mount can get a bit boring, but weaving single track through summer foliage does work quite well.
The chest cam - or as we call it the `Sports bra` works best following another rider, then you have two things to watch, the rider and the trail. The rider filming has to stay around 12 ft behind the rider in front of him though as he can quickly dissapear out of view with the fish eye lense of the HERO 2 Go Pro camera.
Good thing with chest cam films like this is that they take no time to edit, although each film still takes several hours to upload on youtube, i just rack em up then leave it to it...
These films from today's ride show why i own a SURLY Karate Monkey 29er and now the single speed SURLY KramPug. East Lothians coastline is amazing for Fatbikes, but we have some great single track around the coast as well as inland. The sand/loam base of the coastal trails mean they are ride able all year round. In summer they can get a bit soft where sandy if dry weather, why all my bikes run with dry lube on the chains. I still have found Squirt Lube to be the best as nothing sticks to it, even sand. Your chain has to be properly degreased before starting to use it, a mistake a lot of people do not do correctly.
I use paraffin and shake the chain in a screw on plastic container (Paraffin will melt the plastic brushes on chain cleaning tools). once done and running with Squirt lube i just use a chain cleaner with Nielson TFR (Traffic film remover soap for power washers) after every other ride. It has a slight caustic content and cleans up a nickle SRAM 991 chain squeaky clean...
The single speed is proving to be ace through long grass and undergrowth hanging over the trails. One gear means a lower top speed - a good thing on trails where you cannot see too far ahead. I also seem to regulate my breathing and not over heat as much as sometimes you just have to freewheel. The 32 x 18 gearing is ideal for these trails. This is mostly a similar loop from home i did on Saturday but cycled on minor roads to Seton Mains then returned to North Berwick with the tail wind...
All tracks are by Boards of Canada,
Need to click on the cog icon as usual to view in HD.
I hope you enjoy the ride, this is what we see, though of course we can also look around as we cycle...
Film 1;
BOC Tracks are;`Poppy Seed` then `Mukinabaht`
A trail down from Seton Kirk leading to the coast, then joining the John Muir Way east through Longniddry Bents. A bit soft sand in places for the KramPugs 3" tyres, but better than my regular 29er and its faster on hard pack and roads than my regular 4" tyre Pugsley!
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Film 2;
BOC Tracks are; `Kid For Today` (Ektachrome video (1963) then `Pete Standing Alone`
From Longniddry Bents No3 car Park at Fernie Ness east to Aberlady Village along the John Muir Way at Gosford Bay, a detour around Green Craigs woods then down into Aberlady Village. The trail above Gosford Bay is quite bumpy and hard to get a rhythm, and i find the fat bikes bounce a bit on this section of trails, and the 29er rattle you The Krampus rim/3" tyre combo is deft best here...
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Film3;
BOC Tracks are; `Spectrum` then `5-9-78` then `Rodox Video` then an unknowen track titled; `DEPP-068KY`
From Aberlady along to the Crusader Knights Tomb. I doubled back as the continuation of this trail south (Postmans Walk) is overgrown with nettles...
Following the John Muir Way it was into Gullane via Saltcoats Ruins...
Looks like bicycle parking is sorted for the upcoming Open Golf Championships... -:)
In Gullane Village i rode i rode up Hill road to the Millenium Cairn and filmed the descent to West Road. Cycling east to Dirleton Village and some film through the woods at Archiefield Estate...
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Film 4;
BOC Tracks are; `Buckie High` then `Tends Towards`
From Dirleton Village it was down the Garlic trail - filmed a few times before already but such a nice trail.
It joins the John Muir Way again in Yellowcraig. along one of many options through Yellowcraig woods then rejoined the JMW following it to Abbotsford Road in North Berwick Town...
See you next time...
