Saturday saw a lot of friends come together for a cycle up into the Hill foot trails south of Haddington and we had a fun day, a real mix of bikes and everyone commented on just how dry the ground is, absolutely bone dry, hardly a puddle!, we rode around 19 miles at a leisurely pace and their was a cafe stop early on at Gifford village.
Getting my health back on track and getting out cycling again off road (gently!) is good for the soul,
And i don`t think i will ever again take for granted what i can do, and will now always appreciate these good times shared with friends, family. and especially with M,
Thanks to the friends who could make it, you made the day, and was a lovely day out,
Here is a film of the ride,
Song is `Thank You Space Expert` by Mogwai
February has been quite amazing outdoors with high pressure weather, often with frost in the mornings and dry clear sunny days with the bluest of skies and record breaking temperatures up to 15 Celsius here and it was recorded a lot warmer further south,
Days like this are great to be out on the coast and this day i took Jake Dog to Tyninghame a walk and friend Dave came along...
Frozen Peffer estuary,
A favourite view at Tyninghame
Dave flew the drone along the coast from Ravensheugh to the Peffer estuary and back along the coast, capturing the stunning views and the rhythmic wave patterns,
Here are some stills from the footage...
I edited up the footage, ideal for a BOC (Boards of Canada) fan movie,
This track is `Amo Bishp Roden` (chosen by Warp Records Co-founder Steve Becket, on Warp 20 (chosen)
So 6 weeks after my Cancer Op and all going well and a few weeks before that a big box arrived from HQ...
The new updated Surly Pugsley 2.0 frame set!...
There was mixed views by Forum readers on this Fatbike/frame set`s release as it was not following the latest trends of making Fatbikes like Enduro Mountain bikes with slack head angles and ability to fit suspension forks and dropper posts etc...
But if you want a Fatbike to do that your in the wrong market as the new Pugsley has took the original concept of a fat tyre bike to go anywhere any country however remote and get you back and they added a few basic tweaks using 12 years of Fatbike and Surly development...
You can read Surly`s own words on this remake of the classic original production Fatbike Here...
Things i like include;
The bridge brace tube gone from the seat tube to top tube,
Ability of reversible wheels again,
Rear rack mounts centralised,
Huge front triangle allowing a 4" wide frame bag so carry any container or bottle etc...
Loads of mounts for bottles and racks etc,
Tall head tube,
Ability to fit the latest new 4.3" tyres -nearly the same ride height when 29+ wheels fitted
The last `like` was the icing on the cake for myself as the 4.3" tyres being higher than 4" tyres meant a tweak to the BB height, which then also results in only a slight increase of a half inch or so when you fit 29+ wheels, this all made for the perfect `KramPug` build,
And it also looks lovely in `Yam Orange`...
There is also a Roholf Internal Gear Hub (IGH) mount on the rear drop out if your well healed,
but i planned on a lot cheaper option (£150 compared to £1200) Shimano Alfine 8 speed IGH...
Choosing a Large rather than medium frame size also gave more cockpit room for my plan to use my Jones Loop bars...
The build was mostly used parts with a few new items and it would be a retro style build with black and polished componants with proven items i like including Cane Creek headset, VP square taper Bottom Bracket, old XT cranks, Avid BB7 cable operated brakes, Brooks C15 saddle and Ergon grips,
Basicly all the things i have come to like about riding Pugsleys for over 10 years now...
The Alfine IGH i bought several years ago for a Surly Cross-Check my brother now owns, the Surly Rabbit Holes rim i bought new when they were reduced to £60 each, they used to cost twice this, and had been under the bed waiting for a build like this...
Wheels built first and cheap HALO spokes i have used several times now and they cost around £12 for 36 spokes a pack from `Derek Cycles Online` shop via eBay, i mention this shop as they are always real quick delivery and never advertise items they don`t have in stock...
Both wheels were checked and centered in a spare offset Pugsley fork before a final tension...
A salsa `Flip Lock quick release seat clamp added as had it sitting spare and no doubt a lot of friends will want a ride of the new Pug once out on the trails
Shimano assembly grease was used as parts were fitted, the Avid brakes stripped and Copper greased as was the BB threads, brake cables silicone coated before assembly, all the usual stuff i do when i build a bike...
All new Surly stainless chainring held on with Stronglight bolts and a stainless steel KMC chain along with steel hub sprocket for a bomber drive chain...
One issue i came across was the Alfine IGH serrated axle washers with the locating tab to prevent the hub axle rotating (and possibly loosening the cup and cones) contacted the spacers that come with the frame set preventing the wheel being tightened,
I found a solution by creating an oval in some old Surly Tugnut chain tensioners i had which then allowed the hub axle to slide back and forward for chain tensioning...
Tyres were set up split tubed `Ghetto tubeless` though i did not need to wrap foam this time as the Surly Dirt Wizard tyres were a tight enough fit to inflate with the track pump, you can look at an earlier post of how i do this Here...
Built and first ride around to check all ok...
Older size Medium KramPug on left the new Large KramPug on the right...
Along with my Surly Wednesday that sports suspension forks and dropper post the new KramPug adds to my 29+ fleet and will make a great camping and exploring bike, this is to me better than the Surly ECR as wider Fatbike frame bag, loads of tyre clearance so no wheels rubbing if you smash out two spokes, and i now prefer a 100mm BB width to 73mm BB`s...
i have since added a rear rack- a cheap Edinburgh Bike Co-Operative MTB rack, and swapped out the underneath Salsa cage for a regular bottle cage...
Build film,
Song is `Hope` by Max Cooper
And first proper cycle on the bike and it rides lovely...
I live in East Lothian, S.E. Scotland.
I fill my time with my hobbies, interests and passions. Often cycling along the coast here. I ride steel bikes with big wheels, I like to enjoy all interests of the coast, Its scenery, wildlife, local history, with my other interests in art and music when out and about...
I was diagnosed with Relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis in August 2018, it`s early days but i plan to continue to live my life as i have and show that having a medical condition like MS does not mean you need to stop enjoying your life,
Please excuse the bad grammar, i am working on it!
