Another New Bike (Sort of)

Last spring and summer I did a lot of thinking about how many bikes I own and whether I need to own as many as I do. So I wrote up a matrix of bikes (which will be the subject of another post) and decided that the slot currently occupied by my old garage sale winter beater could be filled by something better and more versatile.

So I looked at what was available and settled on getting a Surly Ogre, with the idea of building it up with parts I already had. Surly had begun ED coating a number of their offerings in 2012, so I emailed to ask whether the Ogre was ED coated, and ended up getting one of the first ED Ogre framesets to arrive in the states.

I also decided to give singlespeeding a try, since maintaining a derailleur drivetrain in the winter can be quite a chore. Because conditions can vary widely, I came up with the idea of creating a dual-singlespeed with two rings on the crankset and two cogs on the cassette body.

So this is what I came up with:

• Ogre frameset, size Large, tan

• Front wheel: Shimano DH-3D71 dynohub with 160mm Centerlock rotor, laced to a 32h Sun CR-18 rim with butted spokes. Handbuilt by my LBS.
• Rear wheel: unknown Shimano 6-bolt disk hub with 160mm rotor laced to an Alex rim. This one was a gift from my neighbor, who took it off some Specialized hybrid.
• Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Winter

• Crankset: Suntour XC Pro square taper 36/34t on a Shimano BB-UN-72 bottom bracket.
• Cogs: 17/19 Shimano 9-speed cassette pair for the moment, will replace with Surly when I decide on a final gear combination.
• Chain: from the parts bin.

• Headset: FSA Pig
• Stem: generic takeoff from a Kona
• Handlebars: Nitto Albatross CroMo 560mm

• Seatpost: Easton alloy 2-bolt (taken off my GT Peace)
• Saddle: Bontrager RLX 146mm

• Brakes: Coda-badged DiaCompe SS-7 levers pulling Avid BB-5 road calipers (the latter suck and will likely be replaced with TRP Spyres)

• Lighting: first-generation Schmidt Edelux headlight with B&M DToplight XS Plus taillight
• Fenders: Planet Bike Cascadia 29er (purchased new and worth every penny)
• Rack: Bontrager BackRack S Disc, gifted from a different neighbor.

That's the current build. My other wheel options include:

• current wheels with Clement MSOs or really any 29" tire I have around.
• Speed Disk wheels with Clement MSO 40s, Big Apple 2.35s or Nokian Extremes
• 26er XT/Rhino wheels with Freddies or Vredstien Black Panthers

I also have an Alfine dynohub and a Salsa Delgado that might become yet another front wheel.

The most unusual feature is a second stem and a bit of 1" aluminum tube from the hardware store to make an accessory mount for lights, etc. A 1" star nut holds the Edulux.



Rides really well so far. Can't wait to see how it does over time.

The Gravel Rig

(Trans Iowa 2014 configuration)

This is Woody Anne, my 2000 model year Surly Cross Check. It's the bike I've been riding the most for mixed-surface adventure rides and gravel events, including Almanzo, Dairy Roubaix, Trans Iowa, Heck of the North, Gravel Metric and more recently the Ten Thousand.

Really, she's nothing all too special. My parts choices are mostly based on wanting high functionality and durability at a reasonable cost. This usually means simple, yet effective. A full component list is available below for hardcore bikegeekery, but in a nutshell it's a 2x8, drop-bar cross bike with a good wheelset.

Anybody who knows me knows that I like this bike quite a bit. It's stable but lively, I've been fitted on it so that it's very comfortable, and I have little doubt about its durability. Even though I originally ordered the dark blue frame with the 1" headtube, I've really grown to like even the color of this one.

Here she is, all set to make our first attempt at Trans Iowa:


Note the custom headlight mount, which replaces one of the headset spacers.


No plans to replace this one for the foreseeable future. Might switch out the bars for a set of Salsa Cowbells at some point. The current spec:

Frame: Year 2000 Surly Cross Check, TIG-welded double-butted Reynolds 631 cro-moly steel.
Fork: Matched, with lugged crown and 1-1/8" steerer

Wheels: Shimano 600 8-speed hubs, Velocity A23 rims, Wheelsmith stainless butted spokes

Crankset: Shimano SLX touring 170mm arms, RaceFace 38t single-speed ring; 29t granny
Bottom bracket: Shimano XT external
Cassette: Shimano 12-30
Front derailleur: Shimano Altus top-swing, top-pull
Front Shifter: Shimano stem shifter mounted on a clamp on the left side of the seat mast just below the top tube. Cable runs directly to the derailleur.
Rear derailleur: Shimano SLX short-cage with alloy pulleys
Rear shifter: Shimano 8-speed bar-end mounted on a Paul's Thumbie on the top section of bar just to the right of the stem.
Chain: Sram PC-851

Brakes: Tektro CR-720 with salmon pads
Brake Levers: Cane Creek BR-5 and Cane Creek Cross-tops

Headset: Chris King NoThread Sotto Volce, silver (recent addition)
Bars: Ritchey WCS, 42cm, 26.0, ergo.
Stem: Bontrager 100mm, 25˚ rise
Seatpost: Ritchey WCS alloy 27.2
Clamp: Surly Constrictor with Surly cable stop
Saddle: Currently a Brooks Cambium

Typical gravel loadout: Medium Relevate Tangle bag, Relevate Mountain Feedbag, Planet Bike Lunch Box, Planet Bike seat bag, Garmin 500 or Touring Plus, Lyzene HV mini-pump, Zefal bottle cages, Banjo Brothers map case.

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.

Fat and Happy

I posted quite a while back that I was working on a new thing codenamed Project Why (which morphed into Project Why Not?) but have taken my sweet time getting around to finishing it. Well, here it is:


This is what I plan to ride in the DDD adventure race (or in my case, adventure ride) in January. My goal is mainly to finish.

For you bike geeks, it's a Motobecane 600HT aluminum frame with a Surly Pugsly 100 fork, Snowcat-ish 48mm trials rims, 2.4-inch tires, 1 x 8 drivetrain, Titiec H-bars, and Shimano DH-3N70 dynohub/Schmidt Edelux lighting (taillight to come.)

I have to say that this thing is quite the brute to pedal and it steers like a mattress, but the good news is that it holds a line on loose gravel in a way that suggests it will do very well in the snow. I'm guessing that we'll soon find out.