Bikes in use for 2014; Update

Update of the bike collection in use, and plans for this year etc...

Genesis Cdf 13;

The new Genesis Cdf 13 for commutting (except winter-have a winter hack for that) and cycling  around our countys country roads and venturing off them with some Green laning and roughstuff, also be doing some gravel grinding in the local Lammermuirs...

Plans; I want to ride more old lost roads and document them in pictures or film. Prob do some bike packing trips too and make the most of the bikes speed for  getting the miles in...

Surly Moonlander;

2 years old now the big Moonie is still for myself the ultimate beach bike for soft sand and rock crawling here on the east coast. It takes where a 4" fatbike can be ridden to new levels of float on soft sand and grip on exposed rocks at low tide here on our coast with it`s huge 5" tyres on 100mm rims. The thing is just total nuts when you start pushing it in places regular MTB`s would never go or struggle to the point of being no fun at all. 

I cancelled the idea of building a new Surly Pugsley with the Jones steel truss fork i have. And being my "Treat bike" have put the Truss fork back on the big Moonie...

Plans; Last summer i did what i wanted and rode the big Moonie at the dunes of Faraid Head at Durness.

This year it will be on the coast as usual riding the real soft trails through the dunes and rock crawling where it`s extra float excels compared to the regular 4" Pugsleys i have...

Purple MK 1 Surly Pugsley;

Now with a retro theme the Mk 1 purple Pug is built up as a spare bike/lend bike for my girlfriend Francis or friends to ride. I still have some Surly Gumwall Nates to fit when they arrive in the UK next month...

Plans; Just to keep on trucking with the old Pug as it always has done here on the coast and trails!...

Surly KramPug;

My original Grey Pugsley that was the first Pug in Scotland before i got the chance to buy an unused Mk 1 Purple frame set was given a new lease of life when Tyler from Surly Bikes gave me the offset Krampus wheel set after he and Eric came to FORTH FAT Fatbike Gathering in April 2013.
Recently i built the bike up to show that a fatbike can be built cheaply using fatbike secific parts that are now turning up secondhand  at good prices in classifieds;  Sub £500 Fatbike build
Now the bike is back with the Pumpkin black and orange colour scheme as it was when it was built up after FORTH FAT Fatbike Gathering as the 29+ with Krampus wheels offset built. I called the theme the Surly KramPug,  Time to use this bike again like this and also as a regular Fatbike with 4" rubber!,
The bike now also has a set of Surly Large Marge 65mm ; Hope hub fat wheels so can also be a regular fatbike as it has been used since the start of the winter...

This bike is my favourite bike to ride and is my `go to bike` now. Being a Mk 1 frame the same as the Purple Pugs the grey frame also has the non dropped top tube-not as good for crown jewel clearance when the taller 29+ wheels are fitted but i have a frame bag to fit both Pugs and it is also bigger than later Pugsley frame bags...

I have front and rear racks for this bike but want to get a seat post bag and handlebar bag for bike packing.

The spec of both the Pugsleys are cheap and cheerful with Shimano 9 speed  2x9 Deore LX gears, steel cassettes,  and Truvativ cranks with steel chain rings. BB7 brakes,
Low value fatbikes-ok to lock up outside cafes and  pubs in daytime. While the purple Pugs has Nate tyres, the black Pug has a smoother Endomorph rear/Larry front combo-better for road riding-this bike does the odd commute and shopping run for cider!.
Two wheel sets on one bike is great for weekends away and summer hols etc with the car- 2 bikes in one, 5 mins to swap the wheels and were rolling 29+, these just roll and roll on trails...

 The Surly Monkey Nuts are needed in the chainstay to clear the front mech with the 29+ wheels fitted-this depends on the make of cranks/front mech you fit, i`m leaving them in for now on both wheel sets...

Plans; Beachriding, trail riding, odd trail centre days out, bike packing, hauling firewood with the Fat BOB trailer- you name it and a Pugsley can do it!, some bikes i own are more mission specific-like the Moonlander, but the old Pugs is a great bike. 

Surly Karate Monkey 29er;

This Surly is my 2nd Karate Monkey 29er. I admit to hardly using the bike since i got the 29+ wheels as they as a lot more suited to xc around here with their increased tyre float, comfort,  and roll on our coastlines sandy loam trails.
I pinched the gears and rear hub off the Monkey swapping it to single speed from the KramPug and it has remained unchanged. It is built with "Hand me down" parts having been robbed of most of it`s nice parts but it is still a great bike as it is in SS mode.

Plans; Prob going to fit an Shimano 8 speed Alfine internal gear hub and a cheap suspension fork later this year to make the bike more versatile...

Hack Bikes; 1985 Peugeot Triathlon, and 2010 Pearson Touche Fixie;

2 bikes i have been given by my big brother...

The Peugeot he bought when at Uni in the mid 1980`s and raced. I started using it a year ago after it had hung in the man cave for a few years...

It makes a great winter hack and i ride it nearly daily this now with the country roads  caked in mud and road salt!, yep, that`s a tarmac road! lol...

A dirty bike is great as it just gets hung up. All i do is fit a new 8 speed chain before winter and lube the control cables and it is good to go...

The Pearson Fixie i picked up from my big bro up in Stirling last November...

It is a 54cm frame and a size too small but it is ok to ride short distances. It is the pub bike as ideal to lock out side on narrow pavements with its narrow drop bars.
If a Ned attempts to steal it he will be in for the biggest surprise as he sprints off up the street. then backs of peddling and the cranks keep on going lol!!!...

So that lot will keep me rolling through 2014...

Room for one more...

With a cancelled new fatbike build after deciding to buy a new drop bar disc brake multi purpose bike i have a small pile of nice fatbike build specific  stuff...

Pair of Surly Marge Lite rims (powder coated white),

Pair of Surly Nate tyres (Once the Gumwall Nates arrive),

Phil Wood 100mm Square taper Bottom Bracket,

Middleburn square taper crank arms,

Problem solver front mech mount and Shimano 9 speed front mech,

Shimano LX 9 speed trigger shifters,

Hope Fatsno 100mm front hub,

Surly Moonlander inline fork if needed,
BB7 brakes, bars, stem, seat post, 9 speed drive chain,

A Fatbike build kit, just needing a 170mm  Fatsno rear hub if an in line hub is needed, i  can have a  Hope Pro 2 rear 135mm hub built once i get a hub shell.

So going to see if any manufacturers would like a frame tested and reviewed. There is a lot of new Fatbikes and frames coming out available here in the UK. Many though have not been ridden and reviewed by owners of fatbikes already who have a base line to compare to...

Maybe something will turn up in 2014...

Genesis Cdf 13; Half Century ride-and first impressions...

Time to get some miles in on the new bike!
Saturday dawned cold and clear with a frost and a biting cold wind, i decided to have a more local ride on the new bike rather than head up into the Lammermuirs for some gravel grinding with that biting wind blowing.
It was midday by the time i got going. A morning spannering with fatbikes swapping this and fitting that, more in the next blog post.
I pulled on some leg warmers under shorts, a base layer, short sleeve top, Gillet, Endura waterproof gloves, Shimano boots, and thinking i would be warm enough opted to leave my Endura MT500 booties-i would regret that later in the afternoon!
First things first was that the rear 24t  9 speed cassette is too tall- you were right Pedro!, as i climbed up the Garleton Ridge road in first, standing up in the soft mud into the wind the bike wheel spun!, i will fit a 28t ShimanoDeore cassette soon.
The day was a lovely blue sky with the green and brown of the countryside at this time of year...

Pic heavy content as i was quite excited at getting out on the Cdf!!!
The Ridge road...

Down to cross over the river Tyne and take to the the country roads-what East Lothian has in abundance...

Bike was buzzing along at an easy speed...

Big sky day in East Lothian...

Down into the Moorfoots-below our Lammermuir hills...

22mph with the cold tail wind!...

Love it out here, at last i have the perfect bike for today's kind of ride...

I love old roads and their history. The Herring Road was an ancient crossing from Dunbar to the Borders...

Zoomed in you can see the rutted pack horse trails still to this day. Another day trip to do soon...

Time to go off road!...

The Three Bridges woods are lovely. The bridges are always real greasy in winter!...

Garvald Village...

West from Garvald and a short steep climb brings you past Carfrae Farm...

And superb views...

And a notorious corner...

The steep incline and sharp bend was put to good use in WW2 by the Garvald Home Guard...

A building which would have been camouflaged in summertime held a nasty surprise for any invading German vehicles that would have come up this hill...

This is a type of Flame Fougasse...

The brick structure was a tank of oil and diesel, when an enemy convoy approached the bend a valve would be opened and this pipe which led to the road would flood the road with the flame able mixture which would then be ignited with a flare gun or similar...

Here is a drawing of the idea by local historian and a friend of my dad, Jack Tully Jackson...

Old Roads and Maps;
More old roads to ride. straight on is an old road that joined another that is not in use anymore...

I love old roads, i also love Old Maps!...
The modern OS maps are great, I have all of Scotland!, they date quickly though with the Wind Turbines and tracks being built everywhere, also many old lost and unused roads are not shown on them...

Old maps from the 1940`s to 1960`s show most of the unmaintained roads, some were once metalled and in use as main thoroughfares until the coming of the motor car, these maps show you where to go explore...

On the 1963 OS map of Dunbar you can see the track above, the point going in the same direction...

The point shows the track along side the field boundary...

Then we join the other road, hardly any use here these days, though someone is walking it...

Looking at it in the same direction on the map...

While behind me the field i just came around. Parallel to the wall is the track that once went on to Carfrae Farm...

And here that is on the map...

The track is walled here in the wood. 14 ft if you pace it across, a common size of old roads...

Here on the 1965 OS map the road here is shown as Minor road, but it is also 14ft wide!...

Starts to get boggy as it approaches the other old road here through the wood that is still used by farmers/gamekeepers etc...

Here is why this last road is not in use, it`s blocked off, could have been done to prevent illegal fly tipping...

Ahead to the west the other track which comes out on the present B6335 road from Gifford to Duns...

While North comes out on the present B6370 Townhead to Papple road...

North it is!, there is still a metalled surface underneath...

What a lovely old road...
Hey lets hope Sustrans don`t see this and want to concrete or tarmac or put some rubber surface down out here! lol...

The old road comes to a crossroads with the B6370, the road is still signposted!...

Great views over the county form here at Townhead...

Om nom nom... -)

I planned to drop down into Gifford on the Spare Nought trail but i could here guns firing, there was a shoot on, so spun down the road to Gifford...

North of the village and more off road around Fawn wood...

And riding another old road west the artistic artifacts here...

A picture of all seasons...

This track is very wet, the narrow cx tyres are good here as they cut through to the metalled surface underneath. Bit of a bumpy ride in places compared to say a 29er with no tyre cushioning...

Still a lot of ice about through, my toes were getting cold now...

Along some of the long gone Pencaitland to Gifford railway line...

Great single track south of here...

Click Here... for  a film i did here a while back with the old Tachyon SD camera. Need to return with the KramPug and get an HD film!

Moving on and the old road up to Blance...

Then west for a couple of road miles to Glenkinchie...

First another green road near East Saltoun...

Here another track joins from the west...

And a trail follows the road down hill in the wood...

Metalled surface gets washed out further down...

Last hour of daylight, and that magic hour of light before sunset...

East Lothian Whisky...

Sun is going down quick, about another half hour to go until sunset...

Never been around Glenkinchie Distillery on a tour, but been down here many times, the Kinchie Trail...

Fallen tree followed by a section of slop slowed things down a bit!...

Onto the railway line path and flat out down past Pencaitland towards Orminston-racing the sunset!...

Be off road all the way to Penston now, a good 5 miles...

Pedal pedal pedal!, this bike is ace fun on the wind dust!...

Quick stop for a pic, more Soreen Malt loaf and water, then up to Penston...

End of the off roading for today. I was going to ride down to Longniddry via more old roads from Macmerry, then from Longniddry take the railway line path up to Haddington but my toes were like blocks of ice! lol

Quick spin along to Haddington in the cycle lane of the A199 (the old A1 road), cruising at 22mph with the westerly wind that was dropping now, Temperature had never been above 5 Celsius today and frost in the shade never shifted, it was 3 Celsius riding home...

Despite not leaving the house until midday i clocked up a half century-take a half mile!, this bike eats up the miles!, it is ideal for a ride like today, which is what i planned to do with it along with commuting...

Will wear those Booties next time though!. my toes were frozen!...

First Impressions;
This bike has to be the best value for money bike i have bought.
At £700 (£200 off in Xmas sale) it is only £200 more than i paid just for a previous steel disc braked, drop bar frame set-the Salsa Fargo!. And for around here riding unladen it is a far better bike as a lot more comfortable, and lighter, and faster on those 700x35mm tyres.
The bike fits me like a glove. I was not sore after 50 miles and 3 3/4 hours riding.
The ride off road is a bit bouncy compared to my 29ers but the increase in speed on the roads and climbing ability if you stand up is superb.Only the tall gearing needs a cassette change for where i am riding.
I also seemed to stay very clean despite avoiding the slippy middle cambers on the old roads and riding through the centres of puddles.
More green laning and exploring other places to come! -)