Isolation Cycle 84; Peffersands - SURLY Pugsley Updates...

4 Weeks ago...

Thinning down the Fatbike fleet and selling two Pugsleys, both i have owned a for a while and been well used but maintained as you will have read about here on the blog,
Both bikes have been sold locally and will soon be seen with their new owners...

The green bike sold shortly after and both bikes could have sold a dozen times over with the interest..

Down to four;
With 4 bikes remaining i  am now riding two old and two new bikes,

My original pugsley was set up as a single speed a couple of months ago, but i have not really been using it as such so decided to retro fit all my old parts onto this one bike and make more use of it again,

Rear wheel was rebuilt with the spare Shimano Alfine 8 spd Internal Gear Hub (IGH). full `Big O Manufacturing` mudguards, the IGH Thumbshifter i have, and those Nito Moose bars...

G took the Moonie and we cycled to Tyninghame, i guess you could call this a `Fat Retro` cycle!...

With yellow lines the full lenght of the access road to the still closed (on date of of ride and writing this post 9th June) is going to be a money earner for Traffic Wardens when it reopens,
Personally it serves folk right for irresponsible parking here prior to the lockdown...

In bloom...

Onto Peffersands beach and all quiet, not looking forward to the car access reopening to be honest and the return of hoards of people, their litter and dog poo left, and the irresponsible camping behaviour of trees cut down etc...

Been a peacefull couple of months in the bubble here...

One last thing to change once back home on the old Pugsley was the handlebars as they proved far to low on the old Pugsley with 4" headtube despite extra spacers, back on with some old riser bars...

Wee film of the ride, Song is `Inform - Educate - Entertain` by Public Service Broadcasting,





More soon...

Greenlaning...

I do enjoy cycling old roads, they are old links often from remote areas to villages and towns, or once served a specific purpose in a previous local industrial era.
This old road skirting the eastern side of Gosford Estate linked the farms of Spittal and Lochill, and a nearby Quarry at Redhouse Dean with the village of Aberlady. it may have been used by residents of the farm to attend school or church in the village, and probably used by those also attending dances in the village Drill Hall or nights out in the village pubs...

Leaving Aberlady the old road is an access track to Hungry House on the Estate which is straight ahead on the picture above as the route of the old road turns left to follow the field edge,
Hungry House is now undergoing a rebuild but you can read about some of the houses history and possibly it`s most well known local tenant - the former Gamekeeper here in a previous blog post;

Hungry House

Some of the green road is indeed green by mid summer! handlebar height vegetation took some battling to cycle through!,  geared bikes would have clogged cassettes here but an Alfine Internal Gear Hub (IGH) with direct drive chain means no issues with getting through here...

The road soon passes through `6 Acre Wood`...

Then out along the side of a field again, past this old rusting style for a long gone fence...

Before nature preservation grants the track here was overgrown and walking here as a teenager i kicked an old tin in the long grass, picking it up i kept it and years later via the Internet i learned of this tins story and how it had belonged to someone who served in the horrors of WW1,
You can read about the tin here on a previous blog post;

An old tin with a story...

Across the burn

Onto a harder track now...

Ahead the present main road and Railway past the farms..

First though a short workout through long grass...

Again the Alfine hubs drive chain had no problems with wrap from grass...

And the final climb up to the end of our old road...

Journeys end...or start to an old road that is lightly used these days...

Wee film of this old road, Song is `Wash` by Phontaine


Surly KramPug IGH;  Green Lanes (1) from coastkid71 on Vimeo.



Moving on and a mile east on the present road to Ballencrieff, and look at this Wheat field flattened  with the recent wet weather,  starting to see many fields like this in the last few days...

Another harvested Winter Barley field...

Along the road is another old road across to Myrton,
Here is another wee film of the green road from Ballencrieff across to Myrton,
Song is `Fragments` by Thievery Corporation


Surly KramPug IGH; Greenlanes (2)  July 2019 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

The old Gullane Branch line is seen clearly here where it has not been ploughed up,  thinking it could be possible to ride the entire line on harvested fields if they are all cut at the same time, don`t think that has been done before...

Good bike this for this type of cycling with the raised bottom bracket  an inch higher giving more pedal clearance and loads of tyre clearance for mud with 29+ wheels fitted, and no mech to clog with undergrowth but also gears,

It earn`s it`s keep well...

More soon...

Return of the Green Pugsley!...

Updated!

Having my cheap Pugsley with 1x10 gears and 4" Fat tyres and a 29+ wheel set i have been planning to return to two Pugsley`s again as i had before,
One to mainly use on the coast with 4" Fatbike wheels and with mech gears which will cope with the odd salt water emersion  - which Shimano Alfine Internal Gear Hubs do not like! (i and a friend have found this out to our cost) ,  and one with a Shimano Alfine Internal Gear Hub (IGH) which will mostly run as a `KramPug` with 29+. The Alfine hub is ideal for its low maintenance and long life of the meaty singlespeed drive chain which is ideal for a cheap to run bike,
I had the chance to buy back my green Pugsley again i had to sell a couple of years ago when a previous job saw me screwed out of wages and i sold it to a work colleague with a `first dibs buy back` if and when he wanted to sell it,

While i also had an alloy framed Charge Fatbike which is also offset rear wheel design like a Pugsley i could not fit my 29+ wheels due to lack of clearance so always knew it was a tempoary set up bike.
Then the chance to buy back my old green Pug came up from old workmate Ian who i now work with again and also a needy buyer for a Charge Cooker frame was local, so i sold the alloy frame Charge frame with a plan to sell some of  the parts to fund the Pugsley frame set - planned to not spend much on bikes this year and run what i already have...

So i sold the Pugsley`s Fat wheels which came with a Shimano Alfine IGH to friend Chris after relacing the rear wheel to a Shimano XT hub and i was soon ready to rebuild this frame set as a Hybrid style bike in the form of a 29+ KramPug.

You maybe watched the recent film i posted by Jeff Jones and his like for  29+ for a day to day bike,
I have used this size wheelset for a 5 years now and love them, esp when fitted with Maxxis Chronicle tyres, as  the roll is good on tarmac despite being a 3" wide tread.

With the Charge frame sold to local Phil who needed a replacement for his cracked frame, i still have the 9Zero7 fork to sell, and a load of other spares not needed for my bike collection,

I set about the build up this frame set how i wanted it last weekend...

Stripping the rear wheel i soon had the Alfine IGH laced on with a different length spoke (274mm)

Knackered pedals swapped out for some Disco Componants resin flat pedals with metal screw studs, The bike has a square taper On One BB fitted which runs smooth so will leave it in and will swap it out for a VP 100mm square taper BB (pictured) once it gets rough...

Front wheel went straight in as it should being an offset Pug wheel...

The rear once relaced with the IGH just needed the sprocket and gear changer stuff added...

First the disc side and the Shimano splined disc mount...

And then disc, tightened up...

 Then the drive side gear change mechanism...

With the wheel built ready a simple case of mounting and with the correct serrated washers i added a chain tensioner made for horizontal drop outs...

 MKS Track drop out tensioner...

The supplied Alfine axle nuts are these Acorn style nuts...

But i prefer these flange lock nuts...

Drive chain fitted was a half link BMX chain as ideal for getting the correct lenght to get the wheel mounted well forward,

Next to change the cockpit,  keeping the brakes and cables i added a 70mm stem and Alpkit  `Confictious` bars and Avid BB7 brake levers and Ergon grips...

These Sella Italia addles were on eBay for £15 free postage, an absolute bargain and i fitted it to this Pug build to get it broken in...

The Saddle even comes with wax and tensioner spanner for that price!.
I added some wax and melted it into the saddle with a heat gun...

 So then, an affordable cheap (compared to new similar spec bikes) run around bike with a low value to insure under normal house insurance, and be able to lock up outside cafes/pubs/Supermarkets yet be ideal for commuting, both on and off road...

I also have several boxes of spares for Pugsleys including 10 speed mechs, cassettes, IGH Fatbike wheel set, Square taper cranks and BB`s, BB7 brakes, four 29+ tyres, and five 4" Fat tyres. Also rear racks, Big mudgaurds, easy to source cheap hubs means cheap to run bikes!...
So, loads of stuff to keep two Pugsleys rolling on the cheap for a while...

Update;
After a a cycle i soon realised that the bash guard sometimes rubs on the wide BMX pitch chain,  i do like the bash guard as it will keep work trousers clean commuting etc, but had to go, so swapped the cranks for some old Suntour cranks previously on the alloy Charger Cooker build...

The drive chain is actually better and so runs smoother with these cranks too...

Alfine hubs usually take a bit fettling after building and i tuned in the cable length, yu do this in 4th gear and aline the yellow marks in the window...

My old Epic Designs from my 1st Pugsley is still going! despite a few cable tie repairs to zips, fitted on this bike now for tools in the lower compartment and loads of space allows waterproofs etc to be carried.
I also have a rack i may fit for panniers for shops, but  as it is this is ideal, and that bargain Sella leather saddle was suprisingly comfortable for it`s first cycle - i expected a backside like a baboon! but it`s ok, i also have a Brooks waterproof cover in the frame bag to look after it when wet,
All there is now to do is ride it and enjoy :)

More soon...