Ruby the Big Red Pony

This is the bike I call Ruby. It's generically known as a fat bike, a kissing cousin of the Surly Pugsley. Designed by the folks at Chain Reaction Cycles in Anchorage, it's built to the shop's specifications by Sapa Extrusions, an aluminum fabricator in Portland, OR. Sapa also make frames for Titus, Santa Cruz and others, and the build quality is quite good.

Like the Pugsley, it accommodates the 4-inch wide Surly tires using a wider bottom bracket spindle and shell, and by offsetting the rear dropouts 17.5mm to the right. This moves the drivetrain outward and allows for a full 3x9 setup without letting the chain rub on the sidewall of the tire. The compromises are a much wider Q factor and a purpose-built rear wheel.

Ruby currently uses a steel Pugsley fork with standard 100mm front hub spacing. This makes getting the front wheel on and off more of a challenge (an inflated tire can just be squeezed between the brake caliper and the other dropout, if the wheel is angled properly.) I might eventually go to the 135mm symmetrically-spaced version that Surly introduced this year.

Here's a full build list:

Crankset	Bontrager Big Earl with ISIS splines, 175mm arms; bashguard/32/22
Bottom Bracket	FSA Platinum DH CrMo BB, ISIS - 100 x 148mm
Pedals	Shimano SPD PD-M515 clipless
Front Derailleur	Shimano XTR E-type bottom-pull with Problem Solvers 'Cross Clamp Pulley
Rear Derailleur	Shimano Deore DX medium cage
Shifters	Shimano 8-speed bar ends on Paul's Thumbies
Cassette	11-28t 8 Speed
Chain	KMC 8 Speed
Hubs	Shimano Deore XT 32 hole 6-bolt disc (M755 front, M756 rear)
Spokes	Wheelsmith Stainless Steel 14/15
Rims	Speedway Cycles Uma II 559 x 70mm
Tires	Surly Larry front, Surly Endomorph rear
Brakes	Hayes HFX Mag Hydraulic Disc with 160mm rotors
Brake Levers	Hayes HFX Mag
Headset	Cane Creek S2
Handlebar	Titec H-bar
Stem	80mm Threadless alloy, 4-bolt faceplate
Grips	Ergon
Saddle	Brooks B.17
Seatpost	Easton Havoc 30.9

This is kind of a big dorky bike, but I really like the way it rides. Considering how massive the wheels are, it's really pretty responsive.