It's a lovely day in Gotham, 60-some degrees and sunny. I actually got too warm on the ride in this morning! Have an hour to go before I can leave and it's looking beautiful out there still. Going to wind the route east of normal tonight, try to find Nick, Sov, Mia, et al for Bridge Club (beers on the bridge by the creek), then home for burgers on the grill and a beer on the deck. I love summer.

We're not really known for producing products simply based on the requests of all you fine people, but we listen and make note of it. We've even made modifications to framesets by popular demand, like adding downtube shifter mounts and rear racks braze-ons to the Cross-Check frameset, for example.

But we keep getting this pesky request to add disc tabs to the Long Haul Trucker and Cross-Check framesets. The official answer is "NO". How are you going to mount a rack or fenders with a big huge disc caliper in the way? Do you realize the dish on a disc specific wheel is not as laterally as strong as a non-disc wheel? Are disc brakes even necessary or do you really just want that fancy factor on your bike? And what would you do if you needed spare parts for your disc brakes while you were out touring across the countryside? Do the many folks that find cantilevers or v-brakes completely adequate want a bunch of disc tabs all over their simplistic frame?

That's my rant. I think disc brakes on touring bikes are stupid. Who knows, I may regret saying that someday, but right now it's a dumb idea. Maybe we all just need to learn how to set up cantilevers properly. Maybe I'm just crabby and should go home now.

Brother David and I headed up north to the shores in Lake Superior this weekend with some friends and our Pugsley bikes to ride some multi-use trails this weekend. Of the 5 of us, there were two Pugsley frames, three custom built Evingson frames, four sets of Large Marge rims and four sets of 3.7" tires. The trail conditions Sunday night had some crunchy snow, fairly packed down and easy to ride. There was enough moonlight that you didn't need to use lights and we went for 2 hours. As I pedalled, I'd look over at somebody and say "this is so F'ing cool". Just putzing through the woods in the middle of the night, moonlit trail, nobody to bother us, mild temps and a couple stops to test the Surly flask. Needless to say, we slept well that night.

The next day a camera man from the local NBC station met us and filmed the entire day for an outdoor program that will air this fall. While he drove a motorized snowmachine and set up the camera, we'd ride around until we met him, check out the footage, then ride to another destination on the trails. It was so warm, I was just wearing some wool jerseys without a jacket. We were able to stay out all day and we got some great shots of us ripping downhills and just casually floating through the woods.

This weekend made me even more of a big tire bike fan, as if I really needed it. The Pugs, rims and tires rocked! If the tires would hit some soft slush, they would predictably slide a bit until they caught some tracks, then keep going straight. We tried riding no-handed, which was totally possible. I think my tire slipped twice going uphill, only because I was experimenting with higher tire pressures. We rode with anywhere from 16 psi to about 7 psi throughout the weekend. 12 psi seemed just about right. I used every gear on my 22/32/44t front chainring set up with 5 cogs from 15-30t and 7-speed thumbshifters.

I'm a little bummed out our winter is almost over because we'd like to do some winter camping rides. There are also some bed and breakfast accomodations along the trail that might make for a more comfortable night of sleep. Everything is on track for these beasts to be ready around July.

Things N Stuff
actually, just two things...

>>IMBA Midwest Singletrack Summit is coming up fast, like in 2 weeks. It's in St. Louis this year, home to McGruff. Watch yourself or you may go dowwwwwwwn.

>> The Single Speed World Championship '05 website has been slow getting going, but that's o.k. because, well, it's single speeding. Can't rush the good stuff. There is now a course map posted on the
website, so pop a beer or slam a dram and dream a little dream.

I'd almost forgot that yesterday was another Hallmark holiday. The kind where people celebrate by wearing green clothing, stupid plastic green hats and stupid green plastic beads They hang up stupid green shamrock ornaments, drink green beer and pretend for a day they know who St.Patrick was.

I didn't care about the holiday until my friend Colin, an Irishman by heritage, invited me over last night for corned beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread all made from scratch. Damn it was tasty! Perhaps it was the food, company, triple IPA and irish carbomb that was hitting me just right. But now I suddenly understood the meaning of this holiday. Just getting together and doing stuff you should do every weekend was what it was all about.

Then I had to wake up this morning, slowwwwlllyyy. Our mild winter and entire lack of snow was about to change. We were in the middle of a snowstorm and I couldn't wait to jump on Pugsley and pedal the fumes out of my groggy head. There was a light dusting of snow as I started out, just enough to create a little bit of traction with a little bit of drift. 'Cross tires would've hooked up to the pavement below just fine, but not after we get off work tonight. I rolled over some moonscape looking snowmounds created by the plows at the end of a parking lot and enjoyed and new white landscape.

It's completely dumping right now with about 3" fresh on the ground and 5" more by the end of the day. We just got another 20" prototype Pug built, so Joe and I are riding home, the long way! These are the days when the Pugsley/Large Marge/3.7" tire combo can be described in one word, empowering.

Have a nice day, wherever you are.

Updated incoming product ETAs:

• Karate Monkeys- brown or black in all sizes- should be the last week of April/first week of May
  
• Stainless chainrings- all sizes- first or second week of April
  
• Cogs- all sizes- mid May
  
• 24" Large Marge rim- last week of April/First week of May
  
• Nice Racks- front and rear- last week of April/first week of May
  
• Flasks- probably end of April
  
• Long Haul Truckers, Cross-Check framesets, Pacers, 1x1s, Steamrollers in most sizes- last week of April/first week of May
  
• Pugsley, the 3.7" tires and the offset spoked Large Marge rims are still on pace for a July arrival
  
• Special surprise coming this spring too. Don't ask, you'll find out soon enough.
  

These are estimates, so don't cry if you were waiting for something that wasn't here when I said they might be here. We're doing our best to get these things available to you and sometimes we all just have to wait. Thanks for being patient!!! Now go drink some green beer.

Our cozy merino wool jerseys finally arrived and should be in stock by the end of the week. Thanks for waiting.

We just got some Cross-Check complete bikes in stock today. Sizes 46-58cm in both the black color and dark green color. Thanks for being patient.

I had been riding the purple Pugsley show bike, from Interbike, as a geared rig since it got shipped back from Vegas in October. I set it up as a 3x9 system, at first. Then, I simplified it by removing 2 cogs (11t and 12t) from the cassette and the outer chainring. I replaced the middle 32t chainring with a 36t Surly stainless steel unit to get a little more top-end gearing. I ended up with 22t /36t chainring mix and a 14t-32t cassette....a 2x7 system. That drivetrain has served me well for a couple thousand miles.

I have a new blue geared sample bike (final pre-production prototype), built up a lot like the purple Pug was, but pimped out a bit more. So, my purple rig got stripped of its excess and converted to a single-speed....well, I guess it's actually a multi-speed that requires loosening the wheel in the dropouts and moving the chain around to change gears. I was curious to know if I could push those huge rims and tires around without the use of shift-on-the-fly gear options. I wanted some on-road off-road gearing versatility, so I installed 33t and 36t rings on the crank and 17t and 20t cogs on the XT freehub body...a dingle. The 33t x 20t combo keeps the wheel in the same dropout location as the 36t x 17t location (33+20 =53, 36+17=53), so I don't have to mess with the rear brake, if I change gears ratios.

My geared Pug drivetrains have utilized disc brakes. I decided to simplify and lighten the single (dingle...whatever) by using traditional cantilevers. I'm using Tektro Oryx cantis with Kool-stop salmon mountain pads. The stock Tektro pads kinda suck; they are hard...more like slick plastic than sticky rubber. Kool-stops almost always add some performance to a traditional or linear-pull cantilever brake system. Generally speaking, the weight difference, per wheel, between discs and cantis is 200-300 grams. Of course, weights vary wildly depending on your choice of componentry. Most of the time, you can knock a pound or more off your rig by nuking the discs on both wheels. I was more concerned about making sure cantis would work with the 3.7" tires (necessary product testing) than I was about saving weight. Cantis are less susceptible to damage from Wednesday Nite Ride derby antics, too. So, how do they work? Very well. As strong as discs? Nope. But, they don't howl or ting or click like my discs sometimes do. Are they strong enough? Yep. I'm not taking them off until I find a better cantilever rim brake.

On Wednesday morning, I put the chain in the 36t x 17t position for my commute into the office. At first, the gear felt tall, even with 180 cranks, but I soon got used to it. My rear tire is one of the heavier samples...1920 grams vs. 1260 grams of the front 60tpi tire (the choice for production tires). My geared rig is adorned with 60tpi tires, front and rear. As you'd expect, I did notice a difference in acceleration due to the increased rotating mass of the rear wheel. As it turns out, my commute time was about the same as it is on my geared rig. That makes sense. My single-speed climbs are generally faster than my geared climbs, and once they are up to speed, those 29" O.D. tires tend to roll at a good, consistent clip.

On Wednesday night, I switched over to the 33t x 20t combo for the Wednesday Nite Ride. We usually end up off-road, at least for a little while, so I opt to gear low and spin more on the road in order to ride more of the off-road stuff. That gear proved to be perfect for the ride. We rode icy singletrack, icy alleys, and icy streets. Andy was riding his 3-speed (3 chainrings coupled to a single-speed freewheel) Pug with 30tpi Surly tire samples (1360 grams). He was running 10 psi; I was at 25 psi. Both Pugs handled the icy stuff pretty well. Andy's low tire pressure gave him a noticeable advantage off-road and it didn't seem to slow him down on the road. I eventually dropped my pressure down below 18 psi after an unplanned 180 on the trail. I like 18-20 psi as an all-around pressure for on/off-road rides. My 1x1s have been my weapons of choice for 95% of the WN Rides and single-speed rallies I've participated in over the past 6 years, but I'm optimistic that the Pug is going to be a strong force on future rides...year 'round.

Here are a few photos of the purple pill. Purple Pill 1, Purple Pill 2
Cantilevers

Mr. Pugsley meet Mr. BMW

Apparently, Jim Cantolla, of Motorwerks BMW in Bloomington, was too busy to stop at stop signs this evening. I'm sure Jim is a very busy salesman. He's got shit to do.

I must have missed the memo saying that owners of large, expensive automobiles don't have to obey traffic rules. So, I assumed Jim was going to stop at the stop sign leading onto the south frontage road of Hwy 494 in Bloomington. I know, I know....one should never assume. Due to my foolish assumption, I was taken dowwwn by the front end of Jim's shiny BMW S.U.V.

I wasn't hurt seriously, so I got up ready to kick Jim's ass. I'm not a violent person, but my adrenaline had kicked in, and I was pissed. Luckily, Jim was apologetic and admitted to being deserving of a proper ass-kicking. His admission of fault and a $100 bill disarmed me. A semi-rational conversation ensued.

As far as I can tell, my new Pug (less than a week old) came out of the incident with only a few scuffs. I'll do a more thorough examination later. I have a nice bump on my shin...where the bumper smacked me...and a little soreness in my back. I got Jim's license number and business card; I'll hunt him down if I don't heal. He got off easy this time. A hundred bucks probably means very little to this guy....he had a fat wad of cash in his pocket, but I think the incident scared him a bit. I just hope he's more careful and law-abiding the next time he gets behind the wheel.

We've been out of stock on some frames and parts for a while and we're still awaiting some new items to come in. Keep in mind, the "E" in ETA stands for estimated. We don't know exactly when these products will be available, but this is just a guideline.ETAs:

Cogs in all sizes- We're still waiting to approve the final samples and we're hoping to see them in stock in May.
Karate Monkeys in brown or black in all sizes- We should see these around April/May.
Pugsley- we just got our first real prototype frames two weeks ago and have been riding/testing them. They look great and we'll post ride updates as soon as we get some more miles on them. We still do not expect them to be ready until later this summer, perhaps July-ish.
Tire for Pugsley- we also just got our prototypes of the big fat tire, it measures 3.7" and we'll get more ride/test info out in the next few weeks. These should be available around the same time Pugsley comes out to play.
Steamrollers in some sizes- Probably April/May.
Stainless chainrings in all sizes- Probably May.
Hubs in most styles/sizes/colors- many will go into stock this week!
Torsion bar- April or sooner.
Nice racks, front and rear- We're hoping for 2-2 1/2 months, perhaps May.
Wool jerseys in all sizes- Should be here in the next week or so from New Zealand.
Special surprise coming this spring too. Don't ask, you'll find out soon enough.
Again, these are guess-timates, so don't cry if you were waiting for something that wasn't here when I said they might be here. We're doing our best to get these things available to you and sometimes we all just have to wait. Thanks for being patient!!!

It was 60 degrees in Minneapolis on Sunday. Most of the snow is gone, so we've postponed our Pugley/Surly 3.7" tire testing field trip until we have time to drive north in search of appropriate conditions. We'll be in the office on Monday, afterall.

I built up a new Pug. Here are some photos of the shiny, new machine. The blue color is not stock....production Pugs will be Barney Blue Purple Sizzurple. The drivetrain is a 22t/36t (Surly stainless) chainring setup coupled to a 14t-34t 7-speed cassette (9spd 11-34 XT cassette with 11t and 12t cogs removed....don't need 'em). Modified 9spd downtube shifters, mounted to Paul's Thumbies, do a fine job of changing gears. One brake is all I need for riding in snow.

My purple Pug got put into single-speed service. It sports cantilever brakes, front and rear, now....less susceptible to damage vs. discs on the Wednesday Nite Ride. I'll post pics of it at a later date.

We'll be out of the office until Tuesday, March 8th while we get some Pugsley and big 3.7" tire product testing done. Hang onto your boots a little longer and we'll get some info and photos on this project in the next few weeks. Have a nice weekend.

Some nice guy from southern California asked me yesterday if it was cold here. "It was 10 degrees (F) this morning...", I replied. You could almost see him shiver through the phone.

"So you guys rides your bikes in that stuff?" he asked.

"Yup, all winter long", I routinely replied.

You could tell this guy probably didn't know how much fun a snowball fight, an ice ride or a day spent skibiking can be. This
video clip is from last winter's skibike extravaganza in Minneapolis. It's hard to see, but I almost hit a concrete picnic table and crowd of onlookers at the bottom. Can't do that in SoCal.

Congratulations to local fast guy Matt Evingson on his win at the inaugural Arrowhead 135 ultraendurance bike/ski/run race in northern Minnesota this past weekend. He finished in 28 hours, 56 minutes, was apparently 8-10 hours ahead of everyone else and never slept. What a nut! Pictured here with his custom Evingson Cycles frameset and the prototype Surly 3.7" tires. Looks likes it's time for a Leinenkugel or three.

Another cool photo from Alastair Humphreys



Makes you want to quit your job and ride around the world.