Falling behind a little here, people. I have great intentions late at night forgetting the fact my internal clock won't be fooled by the tasty food and drink I can't avoid colliding with in Japan. Ending a night of partying at 2am here means it's high noon yesterday back home. But I just can't seem to sleep past 7am local time. I ought to go to bed early on account of it. Oh well. You have no idea the sacrifices we at Surly make to ensure you're entertained. As popular myth states, the band played on as the Titanic sank. I have no idea how that relates. I'm listening to Japanese techno. My beer is getting warmer by the minute so I better get cracking.


Day 3 was staged for more press time and a riding event. From the left, going clockwise, that's Noz, Ross, Rie and Shigei. Noz and Shigei are from Bicycle Magazine. Ross is Ross the Xtracycle guy; maybe you recognize him from flyers at your local post office. Rie is owner of Motocross International, the outfit responsible for the thriving Surly market in Japan. This was taken at an informal press interview held at Jonathan's -- the Japanese equivalent of Denny's, remember? Yeah.


It was decided we should do less talky and more pedaling. A fine idea indeed. Noz wanted photos of us guiding our longtails through the city. We happily obliged.


In interest of keeping a finger on the pulse of cycle trends, I present the hub scrubber. It's a big deal in Japan. Maybe it is in the States as well but I live in a cave. I can see the benefits since this simple apparatus ensures your fans will be able to read the brand of hub you're rolling, whether you clean your bike regularly or not. I would very much like to see one of these after a couple of months during a MN winter. Ice polished hubs, anyone?


A wall of vending machines. I know, I'm stuck on the vending machines. Get over it. Wait till I blog the showering toilets. Seriously though, I'd be fun to spend a month living out of vending machines in Japan. That might sound stupid but don't steal my idea. Now I just have to convince the wife and kids.


Noz was our Tokyo guide. He knows every alley and street. He's also one hell of a photographer and has become quite adept at whipping that rather large, expensive camera around while pedaling his fixed gear through the tight and narrow streets of Tokyo. Ross had another idea -- tow the bike and give Noz a ride so he could get all the action shots he needed without having to pedal.


Most residential streets in Japan are the width of alleys in the Midwestern US. After a winding route executed urban assault style, we arrived at Tokyo Tower. Its 333m of glory dwarfed Snack's 2m of stature most profoundly. He needed something to put him in his place. This year the tower celebrates 50 years of dominating the Tokyo skyline. Rie was kind enough to treat us with tickets to the observation deck up top.


On the way to the entrance of the tower, mopping brows and fanning our sweaty tees, I posited a timeless question -- What's a tourist attraction without the token acrobatic monkey? All of a sudden, there he was -- a trained monkey with his human prop doing tricks in the plaza. If it weren't for the dude with the headset, this monkey might actually go somewhere in life. He had skillz. Quick -- toss him a fixed gear bike!


Noz attempts to show us where we came from, where we are and where we're going on a map with no street names. Beauty. It was an awesome day however, and all we had to do was explore Tokyo aboard two Big Dummies and a Radish. Not a bad way to spend a day at work in my opinion.


This ain't Mpls. From the air Surly's hometown resembles a sheet of graph paper -- easy as hell to navigate except for the occasional lake that interrupts street flow. By contrast, Tokyo is a dense city, don't you think? Still, I am amazed how they make use of every square meter. Building tops are cultivated with grass and gardens or used for athletic courts and many other purposes. From up high I was also struck by the amount of green space in the city. It's really quite beautiful/


Meet Noppon, a lovable and thoroughly indescribable critter greeting young and old alike at the tower. The benevolent soul inside the costume has way more patience for stupidity than I would have. But enough silliness, we had a picnic in the park to get to.


Peter and Ross load up provisions en route to the party. I've become accustomed to commuting on my Big Dummy almost every day. The convenience of hauling anything I want whenever the need arises is a privilege of sorts, one that I frequently take for granted. Normally I fly with a Travelers Check. Without a doubt it's an awesome bike to have along for the ride. But enjoying the convenience and plush ride of the Dummy in a location far from home has truly been a treat.


Confession time -- until this trip I hadn't ridden a stock Big Dummy complete. The thing was solid right out of the box. Although it is one size too small (as demo bikes they needed to fit the customers who'd be riding them so we went with smaller sizes) it didn't feel uncomfortable. Sure I might add a longer stem but it was more than acceptable as is. Dealers and consumers alike commented on the quality of parts spec and overall durability of the bike.


Surly bling, Japanese style. Noz customized his Steamroller headbadge by applying dots of gold metallic sticker material. The King headset doesn't hurt either.

This is a Surly -- a Steamroller in fact -- but I didn't recognize it at first. Custom fade paint job on the frame is accented by the matching rims and custom anodized New Hubs. This is not out of the ordinary among Surly nuts in Japan.

This is a Cross-Check belonging to the wife of the Steamroller owner. Again, stripped down with a custom paint job and every bit of matching pink anodizing that could be found. It's flattering really to visit a place and meet riders who have created rolling art from our frames and parts. In contrast, I met a fellow who was riding a stock beef gravy brown Cross-Check that he'd just bought that day. He loved it and was thrilled to simply be riding a Surly. He'd obviously been anticipating the purchase for a while. Aww shucks ... cut it out, people. We're not worth it. Seriously.

As the bike pile grew and the hot sun began to set, Ross decided it was time to show off a few rope tricks as a preamble to the longtail races. After he wowed the crowd, we devised an out-and-back course and signed up teams of three to perform all kinds of stunts during progressive heats to determine the champion.

The ever vigilant and dependable Shuji-san (the gentleman who shuttled us and our bikes between three cities during our visit) shows off the grand prize -- a Mr Whirly crankset. Better than a t-shirt or hat, this bait ensured we could justify all levels of abuse toward our willing contestants. Such unsportmanlike conduct included mock "pit stops" where we held a team back while pretending to change wheels and adjust components. It further digressed into running head-on toward and screaming at riders. All the while the poor souls were faithfully attempting to surf laps across the bumpy field and change riders relay-style at each leg. Being one of the jerks organizing a race sure beats competing in the race itself. Especially when it's organized by such jerks.

Our lovely runners-up, these ladies excelled at surfing and bested their male competitors in all but the final match. Yeah -- the women kickin' some dude ass on the Big Dummy!

However, in the end there could be only one team. This member of the winning team looks a little excited to have earned the Whirly crank by means of a fair-and-square draw from the smelly cycling cap. Incidentally, when he picked that shirt to wear for the day I wager he had no idea he'd be the Big Dumb champion of Tokyo. Isn't it ironic, dontcha think?

A year ago, I purchased some Velocity 650B rims and 40mm-wide Panaracer Fatty Rumpkin tires. The intention was to convert my fixed-gear Pacer (built with Karate Monkey dropouts) to a 650B bike. Well, that never happened. And I’m glad it didn’t, because my geared blue Pacer is better suited to use the 650B format.





The Pacer fork doesn’t accept 40mm-wide tires, so I swapped it with a Steamroller fork. The axle-to-crown height of the Steamer fork is 3mm taller, and the offset decreases by 7mm. The trail measurement changes a bit, but the resulting geometry (61mm of trail) feels just fine for a bike of this nature. There’s plenty of room for the "big" tire in the Pacer frame.

Smaller rims (584mm ISO standard vs. 622mm) require longer-reach brakes. The DiaCompe Mod 750s work great for this project. The pads (Jagwire Cyclocross cartridge-style pads) sit toward the middle of the brake arm slots, so I have a lot of room for adjustment.



The initial rides with the new wheels…commuting to and from the office…proved successful. My conversion had not been done in vane. The increased comfort, provided by larger air volume and lower pressure, was very noticeable compared to the 700 x 28mm Rivendell Ruffy Tuffys I’d been rolling to that point.

On the 16th, I loaded up the Carradice bags (same configuration as the last off-road outing) with camping gear and hit the dirt river trail, keeping 60psi in the tires. The Pacer hauled ass on the hard single-track and performed admirably when the trail got soft and loose. The inverted Fatty tread hooks up well on dirt and gravel, but doesn’t add noticeable drag or noise on hard surfaces. This set-up is going to live on the Pacer for a while. I like it.

The potential downside of 650B-equipped bikes is the availability of tires and rims, compared to 700c and 26” (559mm ISO standard) formats. But several companies are promoting and supporting this wheel size…Rivendell, Panaracer, Schwalbe, Pacenti, Velocity, Rawland, Kogswell…so this will likely be less of an issue in the future.

How was camping? Awesome. Thanks for asking. The river trail is a bit overgrown, and my legs burned and itched, for a while, from contact with the stinging nettle. That generally subsides with a little time and a cold beer. If that doesn’t work, I give it a little more time and crack another beer. Cool evening temps meant perfect sleeping weather. And few mosquitoes were out harassing me. A huge dragonfly did stop by to hang out while I was eating lunch, but she wasn’t causing any trouble. We chatted about the weather, shared recipes, and joked about Sarah Palin. It was nice.



The breadpan stove fits in either Carradice bag, so it was the fire containment vessel of choice for this outing. It doesn’t have a baffle, and it isn’t airtight. But it draws (air) well and burns hot. Good enough for heating a lean-to and boiling water. I used the Hex Fly over my Hennessy hammock. I’d forgotten how big it is. It adds some weight, compared to the stock asymmetrical fly, but I like the increased protection when it’s windy or raining.



Overall, the new bike configuration did what it was supposed to do, and the camping gear du jour kept me comfortable and happy. This one goes down in the books as another successful session in the sticks.

Hey -- Tom Waits ain't the only one who's big in Japan. Considering the fact that some of our own friends and family can't even stand us, why should Japanese cyclists regard Surly with any greater esteem? Maybe it's because we just keep coming back. In reality, a major reason is we have a kick-ass distributor who has taken the time to help dealers and media understand what Surly is all about. Finally, somebody gets us?

This is my second Surly trip to Japan. Before I came on board the entire crew invaded the main island two and a half years ago. From the photos it would appear those guys had a grand time exploiting the kiddie rides and famously omnipresent vending machines of this fair land. I have a few notes myself, and, in uncharacteristic Surly blog fashion, thought I would provide you loyal readers some "live" updates from the field.

First, a bit of background. The primary purpose of our trip is to promote the Big Dummy and the cargo bike movement. "Movement" might be a strong word. Wow, are we talking revolution here? If you own a Big Dummy I need explain nothing. If you're still sitting on the fence, suffice it to say that lots of people everywhere are already cranking everyday loads, commuting, carousing and just plain livin' it up via long bike. But for many, a Big Dummy sounds like a specialty bike, an extravagance.

However, some of the hurdles that customers in Japan encounter are similar to those elsewhere. The bike is large; Where do I store it? (That's a big one in a country where garages are unheard of except for the wealthy.) A cargo bike seems like a specialized bike to add to the collection; How can I justify it?

These are well-founded questions. I have my own answers but this trip has served to teach me that others think the same: 1) If something is personally important, one will allocate the space/time/resources to accommodate it; 2) Impressions of something often change once you try it and see firsthand its value. We're here to talk to dealers and media and also to attend a couple of shindigs where folks can ride the bikes.

Fun stuff from the land of the rising sun. No promises this will be a regular series over the next week. Also, apologies up front for the date stamp on the photos. I just picked up a new camera and am still getting used to reading the directions.

Fresh off the plane, and having successfully fooled immigration and customs, it was time to quench a powerful thirst. Chu-hi is heaven in a can, available at a 7 Eleven near you. Well, not near you, but near us here. And thank the stars for that.

Twelve hour flight? No sleep? Hungry? Well, shut up and get to work! We had to swing by a most gracious dealer, FIG Bike, in Shinbuya to put the finishing touches to our Big Dummy demo bikes. Here Peter takes color coordination to a new level by matching stoker grips to his Magic Carpet.

It was nearly midnight by the time we left the shop and we'd still not eaten. Fortunately the restaurant downstairs from the hotel was open. "It's like the Japanese version of Denny's," our host told us. I was practically delirious with jet lag and didn't care if I picked someone's half-eaten burger and fries out of a dumpster. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the waiter brought me this:

I don't think a Denny's in the US of A has this many vegetables in the whole restaurant let alone one dish. It became apparent I'd lost something in translation -- our host meant "like Denny's" in terms of a family style chain restaurant. We're worlds apart here people.

This morning outside FIG Bike rain was falling gently and the bikes were luring customers in. That's a 1X1 anniversary bike next to an Xtracycle Radish.

A customer rolled up on this burly Surly -- a Cross-Check sporting 42c treads and this interesting frame pack made in Berlin. Take my breath away ... the packs are pretty cool.

Soon, we sat down for some real work -- the first of three magazine interviews and photo sessions within the span of one afternoon. I forgot to mention we collided with Ross from Xtracycle on this trip. He and Snackey are shown here staunchly upholding our respective companies' media images.

But then the mags wanted actual images, so we mounted up and terrorized the streets of Tokyo while the photogs held the shutter buttons down. Three long bikes can pretty much clog any street in Japan.

Ross wasn't content to keep it in the streets.

As if that tomfoolery wasn't enough to bring the law, we thought drinking on the sidewalk might do it for sure. But so far no bail money will be expensed on this trip report.

And not to worry, Mom. We're cleaning up after ourselves. I promise.

The nature of my job often entails riding the hell out of the newest Surly products to test them pre- and post-production. It’s not uncommon for me to ignore an older bike for a year or two while the newer stuff gets flogged on a regular basis. Such is the case with my Tuxedo Blue Pacer.

I rode that bike for more than a year in all conditions…enough to break the drive-side Ultegra crank, shred a few tires, and wear out 2 drivetrains. But when the Karate Monkey protos came out, the Pacer got shelved, so I could focus on monkey love.

A rare garage-cleaning event occurred a few weeks ago, and the Pacer caught my eye, for some reason, as I shuffled my bike stock around. I took it down into my dungeonous basement shop, and looked it over. It needed a new bottom bracket, headset, handlebar tape, and wheel-truing, but, otherwise, it was ready to roll. So, I made the necessary repairs and got it back on the road. It didn’t take long to realize why I’d previously put so many miles on that particular bike. The Pacer is one of the sleepers in our line. It isn’t super-light, and it doesn’t really stand out in the crowd of carbon-fiber and supermetal wonderbikes. But it does possess a pleasantly ordinary geometry that lends itself to a day in the saddle and a toughness that allows one to stack on miles without worrying about catastrophic failure.

The Pacer was telling me that it wanted to go camping. I’ve done a couple overnight rides with it, using racks and panniers. But it seems more suited to rackless touring. So, I installed a Carradice Camper Longflap on the loops of my Brooks B17, a Carradice Nelson Longflap bag on my unorthodox handlebar set-up (you're just jealous, J-Dogg), and a small Jandd frame bag in the front triangle. That’s enough volume for a night or two on the road or trail.



After work, on Friday, I made my way down to the riverside single-track that points towards home. 700 x 28mm Rivendell Ruffy Tuffys aren’t ideal for some of the soft/sandy/rooty sections of trail…especially after a previous night’s rain, but that’s part of the fun. As a general rule, we tend to classify our machines and not give them the opportunity to play out-of-bounds. I wanted to find the limits of this “road bike”, and find some of my own limits as I rode through some challenging parts of my route. As it turns out, there were very few trials that completely halted forward progress. And when I hit hard, dry trail sections, I shifted into tall gears and made up for some slow sessions in the tough stuff.

After reaching a familiar campsite, I had time to set up my hammock and fill my bottles, from a ground water source, before the sun dropped out of view. The water needs to be boiled or filtered before consumption, but that’s not a huge issue when one has fire and time on his hands.



My breadpan stove would have fit in a Carradice bag, but I wanted to try something new. So, in lieu of a woodstove, I brought a piece of aluminum flashing to form into a bottomless chimnea-like heat reflector. Thin aluminum isn’t ideal for high-heat applications, but it lasted long enough to tell me some things for the next stove design.

As usual, I spent most of the evening stoking the fire, eating, drinking, watching traffic move up and down the river, and sketching shelters, stoves, packs, and other bits that I’ll build in the future. At 1:30am, I retired to my Hennessy Hammock.

I was in no hurry to break camp after waking up to a clear, blue sky and a light breeze. I made breakfast on my little Esbit stove and went for a hike at the river’s edge. Then I simply sat for a while and enjoyed the view from my campsite. Eventually, I got the Pacer packed up and pointed toward the deer path that gets me back to the main trail.

I didn’t really have a schedule to keep, so I moved down the trail at a leisurely pace and explored some off-the-beaten-path routes when opportunities presented themselves. I pulled into the yard at 5pm.

Noah had been home with Lynn all day, and he needed to burn off some kid energy. So, I immediately unpacked my camping gear, replaced it with my Jetboil stove, a cold beer (Surly Coffee Bender) and some dinner items, filled my water bottles, and got the little dude ready for a ride to a sunny spot along the Mississippi, south of downtown Minneapolis.

We rode, ate dinner, threw rocks in the water, and climbed around the riverbank before returning home as the sun set behind the city center.



This day will go down in the books as another awesome camping/riding/hiking session. I enjoyed every bit of it…the beautiful weather, the periods of solitude, the time with Noah, and the opportunity to play on one of my favorite bikes for a whole day.

The Pacer is going camping again soon…maybe this week, but with some component changes that will make it a little more dirt-worthy without compromising its road manners. Stay tuned…

Even if you're not a resident of the U.S. of A., you have probably been kept awake for days by the incessant clatter of fireworks eminating from every crevice of our fair nation. Sorry about that. Though we do seem to have an itch for blowing things up in other places, normally the explosives are kept under lock and key by authorities such as the Army, the ATF, and, for farmers needing to blow boulders or stumps from their property, the local Farm and Fleet store (who do in fact carry C4 and blasting caps for just such purposes). But no, normally we do not drink lots of beer and give children access to M80s, Whistling Dixies, Black Cats, and the like.
Nonetheless, each and every July 4th we like to throw back a few dozen cold ones and hand over the explosives to our teenagers in celebration of the anniversary of our independence from our colonial overlords the Redcoats (who are now known as Our Friends) over 200 years ago. The recipe doesn't make much sense to me either, but it seems to have worked for decades and decades, so why would we mess with success? The drawbacks seem to be (1) a few days of noise of global proportions, and (2) a hangover such that teenagers lighting firecrackers for days on end can't move us from our beds, couches, or floors. It being Monday, however, we have finally begun to drag ourselves in to work and are yelling at the kids to give it a rest already.

Thanks to Another Satisfied Pugsely Rider In Burke, VA, for the photo, which I think captures the Spirit of '76 in high style, even though nothing appears to be on fire or about to explode. Barbie, holding a beer, riding a Pugsley while waving Ol' Glory. Lee Greenwood would be proud.




Also: do you live in MPLS? Did you get a bike ripped off? Because someone found a Surly in the bushes in NE MPLS and would like to find it's owner. Copy and paste this into your browser: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/laf/1234180602.html

You don't have to be a Fleck or a Dave (see bike camping posts below) to enjoy good time bicycle participatory ridingness. Two stuffs you might enjoy coming up soon (MPLS local):

1) Bicycle Film Fest is coming up in like a week. Go to it. See movies. Cruise toward the fest on watever bike you choose to ride, joining up with more and more people on bikes as you get closer to your destination. Although you'd never know it by looking at the website, Surly is a main sponsor for the Minneapolis leg. Informations about films, schedules and locations may be found here.

2) Premier fine arts museum The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is hosting Bike Night At The MIA, part of their ongoing Third Thursdays series of events. Bikes, arts, entertainments, even beer, all packed into one spectacular evening. Go to it. The Eye Of Surly Commands you!