Custom Fat Bike - Design

I spent some time this week toying with my fat bike design, mostly with the free version of BikeCAD.  Here it is...

There were 3 or 4 versions of this bike created over the last week, and I feel confident with the numbers on this frame.  There might be a couple very minor tweaks, but those will be small changes in things like the headset stack height or stem angle.  Overall this is the final design.

I'm trying a few unconventional things here, in particular the long chainstays, tall head tube, and the matching 71 degree head and seat tube angles.  This frame should be a good fit for how I ride, how I plan to build the frame, and my physical proportions.  I do wish the Salsa Enabler fork came with the 350mm steerer that is listed on the Salsa website (the steerer is actually 300mm).  I think a lot of other tall riders would appreciate more height up front, and I doubt shorter riders really care if they are cutting an extra 50mm off the top.

One of two blog posts this weekend; scroll down to see the completed custom rack for the 1x1.

Custom Rack #1 Complete

Last weekend I finished up the custom rack for the 1x1... final filing and sanding of joints, a good wipe down, then a rattlecan paint job...

The seatstays and part of the chainstays are now matte black, versus the somewhat glossier black on the rest of the frame, but I don't really care.  Some more dirt and mud and no one will hardly notice.

The whole thing turned out better than I expected.  I don't have the highest hopes for the durability of the paint job though... it already has some scratches down to the primer due to a couple sticks getting caught in the rear wheel on the rack's maiden voyage.  For my frame project I'll likely be looking into local powdercoaters.

Rust

A lot of locals will know exactly where this photo was taken, simply by the color of my tire...

Earlier in the month I spent half a day riding the Mahnomen Unit of the Cuyuna Country State Rec Area.  This was my first time hitting singletrack in 2012, and there is no better place to take that first off-road ride of the year than Cuyuna.  It was a gorgeous day, with low humidity, temps in the 60s, and sunny skies... I couldn't have asked for a better day.

I decided to change it up a little this time... before I left town I switched the tires, cog and chain on the 1x1, turning it back into a true mountain bike.  It is quite a bit lighter than the fat front Fargo and I figured Cuyuna is as smooth as it's ever going to be, so now would be the time to ride it singlespeed and "truly" rigid (with no huge front tire to smooth out the ride).

It will be interesting to see how Cuyuna develops... will it stay pretty much the way it is now, or will it gradually get rougher like the major trails in the metro area?  Cuyuna has a few things going for it compared to the metro trails... it isn't located near a highly populated area, it's so big that it spreads users out over a large area, and most of the soils up there create a tough, hard trail surface.  Local metro trails, with their high usage and easily damaged treads, age much quicker than a trail like Cuyuna.  My hope is that it will continue on near its current state, which is fun and fast for riders on both rigid and suspension bikes.  As with most MN trails, suspension is fun to have, but isn't really necessary at Cuyuna.

I started the ride with what I feel is the toughest climb at Cuyuna (Crusher and Miner's Mountain), and I began to think bringing the singlespeed was a mistake.  Thankfully, once on top that feeling changed.

By the end of the day I came to the conclusion that riding a rigid singlespeed at Cuyuna is a perfectly good option for me, and with the exception of a couple climbs, I had no issues with being under or over geared.  Singlespeeders in better shape should have no problem with any of the climbs there.

It was a great (half) day of riding... in my opinion this is the best singletrack in Minnesota.  Great trails surrounded by beautiful scenery.  One of my favorite areas is Mucker Mountain; the forest there just has a great feel about it...

While I usually take it a bit easier when riding solo, Cuyuna has a few sections that tempt you to push the limits a bit.  I do like the fact that when I'm alone I can stop and take pictures whenever the urge hits.  I hope to make it up to Cuyuna at least once more this season.  And one of these years I'd like to come up in the fall to see how the scenery changes (and avoid the heat and bugs of summer).  

If you are within a couple hours drive if Cuyuna, you should really make the trip...

Custom Rack #1 - Final Brazing

This weekend I finished the brazing work on the 1x1 rack...

It is just a hair off-kilter due to the lower struts being slightly different lengths, but it isn't noticeable unless you really look carefully.  Overall I think it turned out well.  I got it all mounted up this morning, and even took it for a test ride this evening...

The DIY braze-on jig did the trick, but in the future I think I'll come up with a different way to hold both rack braze-ons to the seatstays at the same time.  I'm also planning to change the jig so it can hold two water bottle braze-ons so they are aligned and spaced correctly... that'll be much easier than doing each one individually.

The rack and frame need a bit more filing and sanding to get them all cleaned up, but after that they'll be ready for a matching matte black paint job.

On a side note, I finally got out on some singletrack this week.  I was able to spend a few hours riding the trails at Cuyuna while the family was at the cabin.  I'll have a post (and pics) later in the week.

Custom Rack #1 - Lower Struts

The custom rack project for the 1x1 is coming along nicely.  I spent some time Friday attaching the lower struts, a brace across the seam of the deck, and the threaded tab for the rear light...

The rack jig worked just as I had hoped.  It held the deck and supports solidly and since it was mounted in the Park stand I was able to move the rack around enough to access all sides of the joints.  Pretty slick, if I do say so myself.

Earlier in the week I made a simple braze-on jig... it worked fine for the tab, and I'm hoping it'll work out for the frame braze-ons too.

Next weekend I hope to get the braze-ons attached to the frame, finish both the upper and lower supports, and have the whole thing cleaned up and ready for a matte black rattlecan paint job.

Perspectives... Just Ride and Reveal the Path.

On Thursday I attended a couple local bike events... the world premier of the movie, "Reveal the Path" and a book signing for Grant Petersen's "Just Ride".  The book signing was at Hiawatha Cyclery, and they threw a party in Grant's honor.  When I showed up there was a good sized crowd hanging out talking about bikes, eating, and drinking beer.  It was a fun time, and I wish I had gotten over there a lot earlier.  Unfortunately the book signing part of the night didn't start until it was too late (at least for me).  I ended up leaving my spot in line and heading over to the Riverside Theater for the movie premier.  I should have stayed at the book signing instead.  It was a poor choice, and I'm still a bit pissed at myself about it.

That said, I enjoyed the movie, I really did... but it just didn't quite do it for me.  It had great scenery and cool locales, but the underlying themes and attempts at provoking thought seemed superficial and contrived.  I'll probably watch it again if it goes to Netflix, but it isn't worth buying (unlike "Ride the Divide" which is awesome... I highly recommend it, and I'm NOT an endurance racer).

It was also interesting to attend both of these events back-to-back on the same evening... in particular the different perspectives toward riding and gear, and the general mentality of the event hosts.  On one hand you have Salsa and a group of globe trekking adventurers, and the other you have Grant and his down-to-Earth practicality.  I have to admit Grant's comments and perspective is a breath of fresh air in an industry full of marketers pushing the extreme.  Cyclists are a diverse group, and these two events showed it.  Personally I think I fit somewhere between the two... but I'm finding myself leaning more and more toward the utilitarian versatility of Rivendell than the "adventure by bike" brand philosophy of Salsa.

I actually wrote two posts today... scroll down for an update on the custom rack for the 1x1.

Custom Rack #1 - Deck

I spent a bit of my Saturday brazing the deck of the rack for the 1x1...

It turned out about as good as expected.  I'm not sure of how strong it is, but there is brass in all the joints and it feels solid.  I think I'm still getting the joints too hot since I'm burning the flux.  But in the end, it all cleaned up fairly well...

I also made some changes to the rack jig so it's a bit more adjustable.  This is a work-in-progress and I'm sure the rack jig will change throughout its life.  In its current form it should be able to hold any supports/mounts that I'm planning for the 1x1 rack.  There are two more components I'll be adding to the deck... a brace for the butt joint at the front of the deck, and a light mount for the rear.  Then it'll be ready for the supports that run to the frame.