I transferred most of the parts from the first Big Dummy sample to the latest, greatest version.



Look Ma, no sidehack. I finished assembling the Dummy last Thursday morning at 7:30am after working on it for 14 hours. I intended to install the outrigger when I started the project, but decided to try riding without it. It was a struggle getting on the bike, because me flexibility is still lacking. But once I got on, all was well. It felt so good to be back on two wheels again. Singletrack is where it's at. The sidehack is fun and challenging, but it's taxing on the upper body. And it takes up a lot of space. That's a good thing on the road, because I can take the lane. But it's a bit too wide for the bike paths I commute on.

The Ride 2 crank shortener came off the left-side crank on Monday. I have gained enough flexibility to ride the 175mm crank again.

This new Dummy sports 24" Large Marge wheels, front and rear, shod with 24 x 3.45 Hoggy G rubber. The tires don't actually measure out to 3.45" wide or tall. But they are plenty fat, and they have a very round profile. The O.D. is about 25.75 inches, so the steering geometry is close that of a bike equipped with 26" wheels. Note: I had to chop off the canti bosses to make room for the wide rims.

I'm still diggin' the Rohloff rear hub. I have a few thousand kilometers on it, and it has worked flawlessly the whole time.

The 42t x 110mm BCD Surly chainrings came into stock last week, so I can finally have my all-steel drivetrain: steel chains (of course), Surly stainless steel chainrings on both sides of the crankset, a Shimano freewheel on the Stokemonkey motor, and a steel cog on the Rohloff hub. This drivetrain will last longer and provide more efficiency than one that utilizes aluminum cogs and/or chainrings.

The Stokemonkey has a new 36V 12AH NiMH battery that lives in a frame bag in the front triangle. I prefer to put the battery closer to the front of the bike, so the front wheel sticks to the road/trail better in the turns. I used to mount the battery on the front rack, but that requires a little more muscle to turn the bars. This new configuration is better.

No this is not the stock color. But we have picked a color...finally, and we'll reveal our choice in the near future.

The purchase order is in, and the Big Dummy is scheduled for production. Expect 'em to show up late November/early December if all goes well. We apologize for the delay, but we're sure you'll appreciate the improvements we've made prior to the first production run.

Cross-Check complete bikes are now in stock, both Misty Mountain Grey and Deeper Shade of Black colors are available. To tall people, sorry, but the 62cm has not materialized yet. ETAs on those will be posted here when we get that info.

If the mass exodus of Long Haul Truckers from here earlier this month was any indication of the demand for these, they probably won't last very long. So go talk to your bike shop person today if you were thinking about getting one.

Product Developement Updates

Big Dummy- Our Xtracycle compatible cargo frame is coming along well, although a bit behind schedule. We just received our 3rd set of prototypes last week, so I've got enough miles on it to know all the small changes made from the 2nd to 3rd protos was successful. One thing I'm very excited about is the geometry of this framset, as I can go from no-handing 5 city blocks to weaving through traffic to tight singletrack to hauling 15 gallons of beer with equal performance results. Dave is building his up as I type, so I hope he gives it the fist-in-air of approval soon.

Kipchoge Spencer, co-founder of Xtracycle, once asked why I don't ride it everyday. I chuckled, because at the time two or three hauls a week was enough to get everything I needed to/from everywhere I went. But a few months after that conversation, I found myself over the long bike every single day. Not only was it fun to ride, but it wasn't that much slower than my Long Haul Trucker and it allowed me to randomly pick stuff up on the way home, which seemed to occur at least every other day. When you have the right tools, you'll find a way to utilize them. It's to the point where if I had to give up all my bikes except one, I'd keep the Big Dummy.

Mr.Whirly- My grandma referred to things that took a long time to evolve as "slower than molasses in January". The same could be said about our upcoming crankset/bottom bracket combo. The bad news is we're probably not going to see this crank until, you guessed it, at least January. We've been riding our prototypes since early spring and I've got about 3,000+ miles on mine with very good results. A few tweaks here and there, getting the final production tooling dialed in and we should be OK to start production. I really like the versatility, durability and overall aesthetic of this crank. So despite the slow developement time, I'm quite excited about this coming out. We hope it's worth your wait.

In Memory Of Eric Lappegard

We were saddened by the news this morning of Minneapolis-based messenger/artist/friend Eric Lappegard's passing. Eric's nickname was Vegan Ninja, and he wrote a regular comic strip titled "schmapples" that he showcased on his website.

His family also set up a Caring Bridge website to track his progress. You can read about him, see pictures, and read many messages sent to he and his family by those who loved him. You can also send a message to his family if you feel so inclined.

The people of Surly send our condolences to the Lappegard family and all who enjoyed Eric's wit and charm. He will be missed.

New Stuff You Can Waste Your Money On Now In Stock!

We just received some new soft goods, so now that we've done our part we expect you to do yours.

The first item is a new T-shirt. It's called the Midnight Flowers shirt, but all you'll need to remember is that they come in three styles: Kid's (Youth) S, M, L Women's (grrrls) S, M, L and Adult(dudes) S, M, L, XL. $20 There are a variety of colors as well, so hopefully some of them will make you happy.





The second item is a wool hat, made for us in the U.S.A by Walz Caps. There will be another style coming in a couple of weeks but right now we have the all black felted wool ones in S/M and L/XL sizes. When you enter this item into your replenishment software you'll need to assign a cost of $30 to it. The new style will be white with blue racing stripe, and it will be limited to around 200 caps. Once those are gone we'll have another new one for your consumption pleasure.



Happy weekend everybody. In the words of the immortal Kevin Cronin, "Keep pushin' on!"

Me and the lady, we had a plan. Get up early Sunday morning and go for a somewhat extended ride. Maybe 30 miles out, have some lunch, then ride back. Take as much of the day as we needed because most of the laundry was done and the rest of the projects could wait. No problem.

Well, there was one problem. For some reason the cat didn't want to get up. She didn't start walking on our faces and meowing at her usual oh-my-god-what-time-is-it hour, a time so early that in winter it's still completely, utterly dark. Instead she was all snuggled up and purring sweet. Like a dog watching you eat a sandwich, cats have the ability to turn on the cute when it serves them, which means we didn't stir. We were still stewing in the aftermath of the weekend and had not rested up from the previous work week. I remember getting up at one point to, uh, reconnoiter the bathroom and upon returning to the sheets I crashed back into the sleep of the dead and awoke several hours later at the crack of noon. ("Oh my god!" my brain cried when I looked at my watch, then slammed the door as it stormed out. It has not been heard from since.)
Not being easily detoured from our purpose, we spent the next 2 hours getting ready...I did some housework, went back inside and got my clothes on, made sure the water bottles were filled up, and I put the final touches on my lady's Cross-Check, a nice original blue one which has been a single speed the entire time she's owned it. We're headed out in a week or so for some sort of hilly 60-70 mile days and although she doesn't really need gears, I thought she might like a little something extra. Despite my early nostalgic insistence of the superiority of 7 speed thumbshifters, in practice this option did not suit her so we started over with 9 speed Rapidfire. Sunday was the day to try it out. The shifter worked smashingly, and although we put in about half the miles we had originally intended they went mostly flawlessly. We felt good. We got home, showered, and thought about what to do for dinner. I asked her how she liked the shifter. Her answer made my heart leap, my blackened lump of a heart, my oxygen-starved charcoal briquette of emotion. "Yeah," she said, "I can see where gears are good, and I'll use them on this ride. But honestly, it just doesn't feel as natural as a single speed. I'll never give up my single speed."

That's my girl. Baby, I love you.

The Scallywags Bike Shop, in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, is hosting a fundraiser to send mechanics to Rwanda in support of Project Rwanda. Win a Surly frame and other shiny things. Listen to music. Talk about bike stuff with fellow bike nerds. Donate $10 (or more) to a good cause.

Friday, July 20th

7pm

2011 21st Ave S., Minneapolis

The sidehack got transferred over to the Stokemonkey'd Big Dummy, and a Tandems East Ride 2 crank shortener was installed on the left side crank. The Ride 2 effectively shortens the crank 24, 41, 59 and 76mm. I have the pedal installed on the shortest setting. It's pictured in the second hole, but that felt too long. So I moved it to the first hole. I'll advance it toward the end of the crank arm as my flexibility increases.

The big rig and the body got tested over the weekend: 54km on Friday night/Saturday morning...23 of those with a squirmy, not-so-obedient, beer-infused 66kg Stan Beaver on the back. 20km Saturday afternoon with my 23kg son, Noah, on the back. And another 15km, solo, yesterday...running errands and riding because I can.

I rode into work today (25km) for the first time in over a month. My average speed was down a little bit, but I still managed to move along at an average 25kph. Not bad for a gimp on a heavy freakmobile.

No, my doctor does not know. But he won't be surprised.

I knew I couldn't handle the Thirsty Sevens ride on Saturday, but I wanted to be at the start to have a few beers and get some exercise on the way to and from the event. So I put the sidehack on the non-motorized Big Dummy, pulled the left-side crank, and clamped a fabricated CroMo peg over the bottom bracket shell f0r my gimp leg to rest on. I rode 6 miles that day...not that impressive in the grand scheme of things, but enough to thoroughly kick my ass.






The sidehack will go on the Stokemonkey'd Big Dummy as soon as I finish fabricating a foot peg for it. The left side crank and chainring have to stay on, because they're driven by the motor. So a different, more complicated solution will be put into place....hopefully soon. Some extra help, in the form of a new 13AH 36V NiMH battery, is on its way. The old battery is only giving me 8AH on its best days. I'll probably carry both batteries for extra ballast and a little more range, since the bum leg is simply hindering forward motion instead of it's usual role as a helper....well, except on downhills. The big hunk of meat does play a helpful role when gravity is in my favor.

7-7-07

Seven Beer Stops

97F heat

The Thirsty Sevens Fat Tire Brewery Tour proved to be a good day to be on the bike.

Slideshow Here

Long Haul Trucker complete bikes just arrived in stock. According to our fancy computer, it appears like there is significant demand for these and we know many of you have been patiently waiting for them while they've been out of stock. So if you want one now, order one now. I hate high pressure sales as much as you, but this isn't something you'll want to ponder over for a week. Now you know.

Happy 4th of July Everybody.