Microshift Acolyte 1 x 8 Group set; possibly the best budget/bombproof Fatbike Beach riding drive system?...

 

Top marks to Microshift for bringing out a 1 x Group set for mountain bikes at an affordable price;

Shifter £12, Cassette £30, Rear mech £30,

It may be marketed at those new to off-road cycling and on a budget, but there are plenty of folk out there - myself included who been riding off-road for years who have sat up and took notice of this newly released group set, and i am one of those folk that frankly want to buy bike parts that last and are good value, and stuff like weight and what is in fashion come later...

I`m not sure when this new 8 speed 1 x 8 wide ratio Group set will be available here in the UK but I`m on the waiting list for getting my hands on it as this could be the ideal bomb proof set up for coastal cycling as being wide ratio 8 speed allows a stronger rustproof 8 speed chain and a Surly Bikes stainless steel chainring to be used with this set.  

Coastal cycling is not just along flat beaches like mainstream cycling magazines seem to think, maybe because it is a lot easier to take photos one handed when on a flat beach that on soft sandy single track, or tackling rock fields and slabs exposed at low tides. And reliability and value for money are high on the list when using a bike in such environments. strength and reliability are foremost, while at the same time not expensive to replace all come into play when choosing a group set for your bike to suit your budget,

My past experience of over 12 years of coastal cycling on Fatbikes has taught me that Shimano`s Alfine internal Gear Hubs (IGH) looked like a good choice in the early days on the early Fatbikes with its mech free drive chain on steel sprockets - including the much proved Surly stainless steel chainring and KMC stainless chain. I also tried single speeding Fatbikes,  but it is akin to owning a Landrover to drive off road without having a low ratio box of multi range gears. The Internal Gear hubs don't like to be submerged in salt water (they seize eventually) and they need a chain tensioner on vertical frame drop outs, and are a bit fiddly to remove easily on horizontal drop outs like on my own Surly steel Fatbike frames. An IGH also puts a lot of weight right on the back wheel and makes bike shifting a bit different when your unweighting a bike -say to hop on rocks etc...  

So despite being the oldest remaining part of bicycle part design the humble derailed chain drive is an easier choice - make sure  the chain is rust proof of some description and use a good Dry chain lube so sand does not stick to it for obvious reasons. 

So I was always going on about not needing 11 and now 12 speed 1 x set ups for coastal cycling and happily settled with 10 speed group sets with everything available from Microshifts good value 11-40t cassettes on a small tucked in Derailier like the Shimano ZEE, to their 11 - 46t cassettes on regular length rear mechs. 10 speed stuff has become cheaper with the bike industry chasing the latest must have stuff (at an increasingly ridiculous price). 

I have said to friends for years `why don't you get a wide ratio 8 speed group set at a budget price?`...

Well folks careful what you wish for!, here is a wee film...

So watch here for some of this stuff getting used and reviewed riding in the harsh coastal conditions when it arrives in the UK, I will be trying it as a kit and with also with a  Microshift 8 speed thumb shifter along with rust proof stainless chains and stainless chainring. I think it will be bomber at the price..

More soon...

£600 bikes... Sunday catch up spannering...

First summer solstice for years i have not done a bike ride, weather was cool, cloudy, also weekend on at work so into work early,  so had no real get up and go to go ride all night,  So instead i spent the Sunday spannering on some of the bikes,

I have two bikes to still build up, the Surly Karate Monkey since i stripped most of it`s parts to build up the Surly ECR frame, and the Dawes Ultra Galaxy

I planned to build the KM up today having looked out all the needed stuff from the parts bins once i did some other stuff but by the time i did the other jobs on the list i left building it for another evening....



£600 bikes; 

All my bikes use older cheap Shimano Deore/Sora  type 9 speed drive trains and cheap used Avid BB7 brakes and secondhand parts sourced on eBay. It can be done if your patient and wait...
Yes i have been lucky having been given an offset 29+ Offset Krampus wheels set from Tyler after he came to the first Forth Fat, also good friend Gary B has given me a lot of spares too, but apart from the first Pugsley, then the Moonlander all the bikes i own have `evolved` over the last few years, and will no doubt keep evolving!...
Once a certain age all these types of bikes fall to a base level of value, of around £600,  enough value for a bike that will be parked outside shops, cafes etc, not worried about thembeing scratched etc either, they are just bikes after all, and built to be be ridden and enjoyed.
I could sell all 6 of these Surly  bikes and own one new bike like a Pugsley with spare 29+ wheels but then i don`t have the variety of bikes for cycling here in East Lothian,

With the ECR now rolling i am letting a Pugsley go, and one Pug will remain as a 29+ - as basically this is my Surly Krampus for now, but i still really want a full blown Krampus!...

Bikes now will be;

2 x Fatbikes;  4" tyre Alfine Pugsley and 5" Surly Moonlander

2 x 29+ bikes;  Surly ECR and Surly KramPug

2 x 700c Road bikes;  Surly Cross-Check  and Dawes Ultra Galaxy

2 x MTB`s;  Surly Karate Monkey 29er  and 1985 Retro Muddy Fox Courier



Surly ECR;
The ECR is maybe worth a bit more than £600 with the new frame set and brakes, but it will get ridden and scratched etc like the rest,
After running out of gearing in places on the Capital Trail with tired legs after many miles i have now swapped out the 26tooth inner chain ring for a regular MTB 22 tooth, it will climb nearly anything now with this!...

Surly Cross-Check;
a 39t chain ring was bought last month to replace the 48 tooth to lower the gearing for off road use on the CC,
The full lenght mudguards will be coming off this bike soon to use on the Dawes Ultra Galaxy, along with fatter tyres going on for doing a spot of Roughstuff riding...

Needs a chain tensioner too so i tweaked one to fit with a bit grinding and the Dremel to fit the lock washer...

Alfine Hub Pugsley;
All wee jobs but all been needing done a while now, like the Bottom Bracket on the old Pug has a bad chain line and needed the drive side spacer removed...

The On One square taper 100mm BB i bought used for £20,  They don't get good reviews on the Internet-`too heavy`, `naff bearing`s etc...  Once you swap out the bearings for some decent ones i think it is actually a pretty good BB esp for a budget Fatbike build. Pity no longer for sale as were only £40 new...

Spacer on non drive side now and chain line a lot better...

Pugsley frame swaps;
Time to sell another old Pugsley as adding the ECR to the fleet i don`t need 3 Pugsleys.  In fact i will only be running the old Pugsley on the beach now as the Pumpkin Pug will be left as a 29+ KramPug  99% of the time...

The Green frame set which i bought off friend Gary B has been powder coated Olive green and looks ace,
It is a `Snow blind`  white frame so there is no need to loosen and move the rear brake calliper to remove the wheels.
I like tool free wheel removal for when sticking the bike in my wee car...
The strip and swap over took a couple of hours, bars with all controls cables, mechs, and brake callipers attached came off as a whole saving time...

Olive green frame ready to rebuild...

Next up!
Same strip down with the KramPug...

This frame when rebuilt will be up for sale, Orange stickers removed as my own stickers not available here in the UK,

Proper Pumpkin Pugsley now!
Headset pressed in it was then a case of rebuilding all the KramPug parts on the green frame...

Nearly finished, needing the finishing touches...

Orange stickers!...

Other bike built; ready to sell;
So another old Pugsley that is already sold for £600.  I could sell £600 Pugsleys all day long...

Finishing touches to the Pumpkin Pug were install some Rivi Nuts for mud guard and bottle cages...

And ready to go...

Meanwhile Mowgli was flat out snoring in the garden! lol...

Will hopefully get the Karate Monkey 29er built up soon, and finally the Dawes Ultra Galaxy...

More soon...

1974 Dawes Galaxy Tourer; saved from the scrap heap and brought back to life...

All the internet cycling talk on the places i hang  out is about carbon fatbikes weighing blah blah blah, and Tour de France coming to the UK soon...
Both of these are of little  interest to myself...With my fatbikes all sorted now for what i want/need with all options covered with the 29+ 3" Surly KramPug,   4" Surly Pugsley, and 5" Surly Moonlander..

Drop Bar 29er and 700x35;
As for drop bar bikes-get them offroad! it`s a hoot!

This year`s plans were to get the drop bar bike stable sorted out.
With no interest in a pure road bike with no off road ability the Genesis Cdf is an ideal budget Commuter/CX bike if needed-or to be precise a detoured home from work road bike...
And for more MTB type riding the Surly Karate Monkey 29er with it`s Woodchipper bars is proving to be a fun bike...

Cheap `Dirty bikes` for work...
Though to be fair i prefer using old bikes for work, bikes of low value, not washed that often and just keep the chain lubed. Bikes worth next to nothing that can be left locked up outside the shops, over night at my girlfriend Francis`s house etc, If they can do some easy off road riding on trails to and from work and the shops then all the better.
The old mid eighties Peugeot Triathlon has been used nearly every day to cycle to work and is still a great old bike to ride...

The Peugeot is nice indeed to ride but with cx tyres on there is no room for full lenght mudguards, time i get to work in winter my feet are caked in muck off the farm roads i cycle. Also it is not designed to carry weight in rear panniers as i have discovered!, so not much good for shop runs after work. So it has went back to its stock build as it came from my big bro and  a wash and chain clean it will be hung up in the man cave to ride the odd summer evening...

Fixie Winter bike;
And my forth drop bar bike is the Pearson `Touche`  fixie/single speed  i was given by my big bro.
I have hardly ridden it as it is a size to small, and so i am searching for a secondhand steel 56cm Single speed frame set capable of taking 32mm cx tyres and full lenght mudguards. There is a lightweight rear rack for this build now for the lightweight panniers for carrying water proofs from the old Peugeot!...
This bike is ideal for mid winter when a bike gets hung up unwashed daily while covered in crud...

Long time ago in a Galaxy far far away...
I owned an early 1990`s  Dawes Super Galaxy- the classic tourer...

With hind sight i should never had sold it and bought a good set of wheels for it which is what it was needing, this bike may still be cycling about Dunbar with a trailer by the next owner...
I sold the bike to build this Salsa Fargo, my idea of an ideal drop bar commuter/off road 29er;

That was a lovely bike, but i did not give it a long enough chance to show its potential and blamed it`s harsh ride from a stiff frame set designed to carry a lot of lugged on far flung adventures i will prob never afford to do...
However although an expensive itch i wanted to scratch  the bike i ended up with all the spec on has proved perfect for me here in East Lothian- the drop bar Surly Karate Monkey in the above pics, more flexi and whippy frame set lends itself better to riding trails unladen...

Not one bike needed but two;
I have since realised your better with bikes for work, and bikes for play. Since buying the Genesis Cdf i have realised your better with MTB crud catchers on a play bike and full lenght mudguards on a cheap to build drop bar bike that can also do the shopping and  light trails.
This is because a good bike is too good to leave locked up outside pubs, cafes, supermarkets, and my girlfriends house etc... for that best have a bike so dirty and hideous no one would dream of trying to take it!

£1000 max, and £100 max;
I last spent a lot of money on a bicycle 2 years ago when i paid £2000 on the Surly Moonlander. I have since then decided i will not spend over £1000 on a new bicycle and £100 on a work bike-give or take a few quid...
Each amount is enough for what is at the end of the day just a bicycle fit for purpose-whatever that purpose is intended to be...
For £2000+ nowadays i would be buying a bike with an engine in it if i had the money!


A Plan;
To quote Baldrick from Blackadder i had a cunning plan...



Time for a plan, something that is capable of 32cx tyres and full lenght mudguards for mucky winter country roads and suitable for carrying  panniers loaded of shopping and still steer ok on the road home.
Its going to be another `dirty bike` so needs to be a cheap build.
It was staring me right in the face...

Friend Donald bought this Dawes bike for £5 from Sam Burns scrapyard at Prestonpans here in East Lothian a couple of years ago and thought i may make something of it.  It was destined for scrap and it would have been lost forever..

I hung it on the wall of the man cave after stripping it of all the knackered components and stuck the reusable parts in a box of spares.
Sure enough it has come about time to build this up and give it a new life...

The Dawes Galaxy was first produced by Dawes in 1971 as an affordable tourer and has become something of an icon English tourer. This frame has 1974 on the chain stay...

The bike was complete with right angle bent wheels!  and in a right state. I stripped it down and kept was was usable;
Frame, fork, headset
Stem and handlebars and brake levers
Crank arms with chain rings
Front and rear mechs...

Time to spend a little bit of money;
SJS Cycles is a good shop for old and odd stuff, i got the right size 68 x 122mm square taper bottom bracket to replace the knackered rusted loose ball BB,
new crank bolts,
and down tube gear shifters...

Cost; £16

Headset bearings were ok but i managed to drop some out the bottom race and they rolled under the work bench! lol,  so ordered some on eBay for £2.50 and also order some PlastiKote spray on ebay
Cost; £10
Total; £26

Frame has quite a bit surface rust and could have done with more sanding and some primer and more sanding, but this is a work bike and will be a dirty bike, so just removed the worst of the rust...

After an hour it was wiped down with brake lec to de grease it and hung out side for a few coats of spray...

Grease on the headset cups, inside the BB and seat tube would be wiped off once the paint hardened. It was left over the weekend while we were away down south...

I needed complete wheels and could have spent a plot of money here. You get what you pay for with wheels. Not to say cheap wheels are not good. These hybrid wheels will be fine  and have a nice wide 26mm rim and came with the screw on sprocket in the price. I took the 34 tooth 1st gear option. These came from The Wooly Hat Shop and were £35 the pair, happy to get another at this price every other year or so...
Cost; £35
Total; £ 61

I stripped the hubs and repacked them with waterproof grease. Do not plan to strip these again...

Added some cloth rim tape, had this roll for years, but nearly used up now!...

The weinman levers were a bit stiff. Some 3-in-1 oil and worked them loose. The lazy brakes were removed too...

These callipers were really stiff so also soaked over the weekend in 3-in-1 Oil...

New cable adjusters and cable clamp bolts were bought on eBay for £5
£5
Total; £66

New headset bearings were fitted packed with WURTH Graphite Grease...

Headset tightened with the old King Dick Tools flat adjustable that i have had since a kid to do this job. If you own one of these then you will appreciate the quality of these old tools...

Wheels on i fitted the alloy mudguards i purchased Here on eBay...
£18
Total £84

Along with the Topeak rack i already had bought for the Genesis Cdf but not fitted...

Looks like enough room for the 35mm cx tyres!

Original stem in, mudguards were bolted up with allen bolts until the callipers were ready to fit...

Back to the callipers;
Once freed off i removed the original brake blocks as they looked very rusty, one had to be sawed off...

Happy to bin them as i had a set of Shimano blocks that came in a box of parts when i was given the 1973 Moulton...

The rear rack mounts were cut down  to fit and some 10mm stainless P clips used to attach them...

Callipers on with the new brake blocks...

Original rear mech, due to an 8 speed cassette fitted i had to drill and bolt on the rear mech to fit the rear wheel as rearward as possible to clear the lower cassette ring and also for the 32m cx tyre clearance...

Front chain stays had to be filed out to to fit the 10mm bolt through axle (previous quick release was 9mm)

Some stickers on eBay were added, i then sprayed the frame with some satin clear coat PlastiKote spray to seal the stickers and the sating finish hides a lot of rough finish on the paintwork!...
£6
Total; £90

The Bottom bracket was added, the 62mm x 122mm needed is on the left in the pic, a regular MTB 73 x 113mm on the right. It went on no prob with the clean frame threads...

The cranks added. the steel rings will prob last forever as long as the chain is replaced before it is worn...

The plastic gear cable guide refitted under the BB...

And instead of the old original front mech i fitted a Sora bottom pull mech i originally bought for the Salsa Fargo build. Good to use up some more spare parts lying about on this build...

The down tube gear shifters were fitted, proper old school!...

I bought these plastic cheap Oxford pedals for the build but decided to use a pair of MKS Sylvan pedals i had bought for the Genesis Cdf but not used as i decided to ride that bike on my Time clip less pedals so these were spare. But i will add the Oxford pedal price to the build as i bought them for the build. Maybe these will go on later anyway...
£6
Total; £96

£6 for a Shimano 8 speed chain on eBay-love the cheaper price of the older size bike parts!...
£6
Total; £102

The chain went on-i used a Sram 8speed quick link as i prefer them, and also because i have a bag of them!...

Cables on, mechs set up then cables re tensioned and cut to lenght and crimped...

The 34 crawler 1st gear will come in handy climbing out of North Berwick loaded with shopping in the panniers!...

Brake cables added...

Nice neat line of the rear cable with it`s frame cable lugs...

Next some brown bar tape from eBay...
£12
Total; £114

I added some foam to the bars before the bar tape. Cut in half and along the top and on the drops...

Retro budget commuter built for £ Approx £115!...

Just the job of swapping over the commuting stuff from the old Peugeot to the Dawes, tyres are already done...

Dutch Horse shoe lock, these are a great idea...

rear light...

Front blinky and the old Hope H.I.D lamp - it is still going!!!...

Frame pump with large P clip around head tube to support it...

Ping ping! :)

And a quick test ride to the shops for a bottle of cider to bed everything in and make some adjustments once back home...

As usual when i build a bike the seat is too high, front mech need a tweak, and hub cones tightened slightly after i re greased them!...

First commute;
And the bike rode fine, with it`s 58cm top tube this relates to a modern Large frame...

It has loads of room and a very low bottom bracket, i will need to watch this on the road cranking round sharp bends!, and off road- prob caused by running 700c wheels in a frame designed for 27" wheels...

It fits me fine on the old `elbow to middle of stem` measurement...

Post work detour home;
I detoured home on Becky`s Strip Byway and then south on the John Muir Way...

Waterproofs on but the rain was easing...

Becky`s Strip Byway has seen a lot of cyclists in recent weeks, hard packed single track now. I wonder if East Lothian Council will keep the Byway mowed?, they never mowed it for the John Muir Centenary a few weeks ago when many flag bearing cyclists crossed over towards North Berwick!...

Back along the John Muir Way, everything is greening up in the woods...

Rain off so loose the waterproofs into the pannier...

Yep for a cheap build this is an ideal bike for work, shopping, and a spot of Roughstuff!...

Good wee bike, for a great commute to/from work...

Esp when the weather clears like this...

More soon...