Was played this morning, it was called snowplow dodging! ;))
I shoveled twice last night, the last time was at around 9:30. I awoke and looked out the window to see it looked as if I didn't even touch the sidewalk or the driveway!! Perfect!!
It should be a most joyfull pedal to work! I left the tire presure at around 8 PSI. and headed off to work. Wow we got I'd say at least 10" of heavy wet snow!! I found some fresh tire tracks and made my way slowly to work.
In my 3 miles into work I encountered 9 snowplows, one guy I knew, he flipped me the "bird", and yelled "Sacco you're nuts"!!! I replyed we all know that already, and pedaled on. Lol
7 waited for me to make my way by them slowly, and 1 really needs to find a different job!!
Maybe he just needed some sleep, but he gets a "come on man" just the same!!
I haven't been riding too much because of my long hours at work, but I do take the round about way to and from work!! It's not the same as going for a good long snow ride, but such is life!!
My Larry and Endo are sitting at Bikes On Howard waiting on me to get down there, I think this will be the week!!
Peace
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
More Snow!!!
A fresh fluffy 6" of new snow greeted me as I stepped out the door this morning at 4:30. I could almost tell that I shoveled after work yesterday!! ;)
Beside the odd tire tracks, and the late night snomo riders, I was making some more fresh tracks!! 11 degrees.... -9 with the wind. It really wasn't all that bad, then again what could be bad about listening to the Fat tires crunching the fresh snow??!!
There's a nasty rumor about a foot of snow on turkey day..... Hmmmm.. :))
Now I think I'll wait for a good cold snap, then put the new rubber on. I hear that the Endo's are out of stock for a bit. I'm waiting on Calvin to get back to me on that one. It just may be Larry's all the way around!!!
Peace
Beside the odd tire tracks, and the late night snomo riders, I was making some more fresh tracks!! 11 degrees.... -9 with the wind. It really wasn't all that bad, then again what could be bad about listening to the Fat tires crunching the fresh snow??!!
There's a nasty rumor about a foot of snow on turkey day..... Hmmmm.. :))
Now I think I'll wait for a good cold snap, then put the new rubber on. I hear that the Endo's are out of stock for a bit. I'm waiting on Calvin to get back to me on that one. It just may be Larry's all the way around!!!
Peace
Monday, November 22, 2010
From The Horses Mouth... Hence Surly's Blog
Surly Spew
#14 - Pugsley
What Makes Pugsley So Weird?
It all starts with the tires. Big, fat tires, particularly run at low pressure so they flatten out a bit, provide more ground contact and better traction than any standard tire. It allows the tires to ride over the top of soft stuff. It’s the same way snowshoes work: spread the load out over more surface area and you stay mostly on top of the snow instead of sinking way down into it. It’s this theory that drove the design of the Pugsley: a bike you can actually ride not just off road but where there is no road or trail, without tearing up the earth, without sinking into the snow, sand or loamy soil, and without having to get off and walk.
To accomplish this, you need big tires (and with really big tires, it helps to have really big rims too). Standard frames simply are not designed for really big tires (anything 3.0” or larger, and most frames don’t even accept tires this big) because most people, for most riding, don’t need the float and don’t want the weight of big tires. But in certain situations, big tires are the best way to get around. So to use really big tires, you have to make a frame’s seat- and chain stays wider. And to keep the chain stays as short as possible (so it handles like a bike instead of a truck; in other words, the Pugsley is responsive and maneuverable despite it’s bulky look), and as well to help gain chain clearance (more on this in a second), you also need to use a wide bottom bracket. We went with the widest standard BB out there, a 100mm shell (most bike frames use either a 68 or 73mm shell), because our Endomorph tires are a whopping 3.7”.
Now then, you’ve made a frame capable of running really big tires, but even with the wide BB, you’ll still have chain clearance issues. Our tires are so wide that in terms of chain line they overlap the innermost gears. In other words, when running in the easy gears (closest to the frame), your chain will hit your tire. Not good.
So what to do? Well, we curved our seat and chain stays right of center, and the wheels for the Pugsley need to be built offset to match (in other words they’re dished, but the opposite direction from normal). This gave us all the chain line we needed. Rear end solved.
Which brings us to the fork. On your average fork, the crown is either as wide as, or narrower than, the hub. In order to allow not just tire clearance, but snow and mud clearance too, the fork for a bike such as the Pugsley would have to be much wider at the crown than at the hub, and front hubs are narrower than rears which amplifies this difference. Making a fork with a wide crown with legs that pinch down at he hub works o.k., but it creates problems getting the wheel in and out, and as the Pugsley is designed and built to be a true adventure bike, it seemed sensible to us to design the fork spacing so it would accept a rear hub (135mm mountain hub standard), thereby achieving good clearance without the pinched look while allowing the front and rear wheels to be interchangeable.
This may not seem like such a big deal, but messy conditions can wreak havoc with your parts, particularly in extreme cold. Freewheels or freehubs that work fine the rest of the time, for example, can fail and just spin with the drive pawls open when it’s cold enough to freeze the grease inside, and when you’re in the middle of the arctic at 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, this sort of failure is not just annoying but quite dangerous. Having a spare operational wheel can mean the difference between getting out under your own steam and leaving on a Life Flight helicopter.
Now, since the frame is offset to allow chain clearance, the wheels need to be built offset of center too (note: we offer several varieties of Large Marge rims, and some are asymmetrically drilled specifically for use on the Pugsley). We curved one of the fork blades to accommodate the wider hub and offset rim. Problem solved. It may look cartoonish, but we didn't make it that way to draw stares or to be goofy. There is a method to our madness. Function first.
#14 - Pugsley
What Makes Pugsley So Weird?
It all starts with the tires. Big, fat tires, particularly run at low pressure so they flatten out a bit, provide more ground contact and better traction than any standard tire. It allows the tires to ride over the top of soft stuff. It’s the same way snowshoes work: spread the load out over more surface area and you stay mostly on top of the snow instead of sinking way down into it. It’s this theory that drove the design of the Pugsley: a bike you can actually ride not just off road but where there is no road or trail, without tearing up the earth, without sinking into the snow, sand or loamy soil, and without having to get off and walk.
To accomplish this, you need big tires (and with really big tires, it helps to have really big rims too). Standard frames simply are not designed for really big tires (anything 3.0” or larger, and most frames don’t even accept tires this big) because most people, for most riding, don’t need the float and don’t want the weight of big tires. But in certain situations, big tires are the best way to get around. So to use really big tires, you have to make a frame’s seat- and chain stays wider. And to keep the chain stays as short as possible (so it handles like a bike instead of a truck; in other words, the Pugsley is responsive and maneuverable despite it’s bulky look), and as well to help gain chain clearance (more on this in a second), you also need to use a wide bottom bracket. We went with the widest standard BB out there, a 100mm shell (most bike frames use either a 68 or 73mm shell), because our Endomorph tires are a whopping 3.7”.
Now then, you’ve made a frame capable of running really big tires, but even with the wide BB, you’ll still have chain clearance issues. Our tires are so wide that in terms of chain line they overlap the innermost gears. In other words, when running in the easy gears (closest to the frame), your chain will hit your tire. Not good.
So what to do? Well, we curved our seat and chain stays right of center, and the wheels for the Pugsley need to be built offset to match (in other words they’re dished, but the opposite direction from normal). This gave us all the chain line we needed. Rear end solved.
Which brings us to the fork. On your average fork, the crown is either as wide as, or narrower than, the hub. In order to allow not just tire clearance, but snow and mud clearance too, the fork for a bike such as the Pugsley would have to be much wider at the crown than at the hub, and front hubs are narrower than rears which amplifies this difference. Making a fork with a wide crown with legs that pinch down at he hub works o.k., but it creates problems getting the wheel in and out, and as the Pugsley is designed and built to be a true adventure bike, it seemed sensible to us to design the fork spacing so it would accept a rear hub (135mm mountain hub standard), thereby achieving good clearance without the pinched look while allowing the front and rear wheels to be interchangeable.
This may not seem like such a big deal, but messy conditions can wreak havoc with your parts, particularly in extreme cold. Freewheels or freehubs that work fine the rest of the time, for example, can fail and just spin with the drive pawls open when it’s cold enough to freeze the grease inside, and when you’re in the middle of the arctic at 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, this sort of failure is not just annoying but quite dangerous. Having a spare operational wheel can mean the difference between getting out under your own steam and leaving on a Life Flight helicopter.
Now, since the frame is offset to allow chain clearance, the wheels need to be built offset of center too (note: we offer several varieties of Large Marge rims, and some are asymmetrically drilled specifically for use on the Pugsley). We curved one of the fork blades to accommodate the wider hub and offset rim. Problem solved. It may look cartoonish, but we didn't make it that way to draw stares or to be goofy. There is a method to our madness. Function first.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
1st Tracks!!!!!
i was up and shoveling, and letting the little shit-machine out at around 7 a.m.
i was cooking breakfast for everyone by 8:45.
Then i heard "honey would you go get me a paper", i think my ears went up like the dogs when it hears something it likes!! LOL
Then i also heard don't be gone for 6 hours!! Damn!!! ;)
i pedaled to the local Holiday Station store for the paper.
this is a little stretch (about 2 football fields long), near our house.
Then it was off to a small local lake, (about a .10th of a mile south of our house), that will get pedaled on for sure this winter!!!
I think my new tires will be sitting at my LBS till the end of the month, or if we have some really cold weather. Man, i'm one happy camper!!
Peace...............................
i was cooking breakfast for everyone by 8:45.
Then i heard "honey would you go get me a paper", i think my ears went up like the dogs when it hears something it likes!! LOL
Then i also heard don't be gone for 6 hours!! Damn!!! ;)
i pedaled to the local Holiday Station store for the paper.
this is a little stretch (about 2 football fields long), near our house.
Peace...............................
Snow!!!!
We have about 4" on the ground right now, about what i figured after watching the news this morning. it didn't start really snowing til around noon, and it's still coming down lightly right now.
the majority of the heavy wet snow came down to the south and east of here.
i'm saying thank you for that, because i hate shoveling this heavy wet crap!!! lol
anyway, no riding today, and this is the reason why!!! Grrrr....
Our new little shit machine....... Mojo.
this was taken today, late morning.
And this was about an hour or so ago.
the majority of the heavy wet snow came down to the south and east of here.
i'm saying thank you for that, because i hate shoveling this heavy wet crap!!! lol
anyway, no riding today, and this is the reason why!!! Grrrr....
Our new little shit machine....... Mojo.
this was taken today, late morning.
hopefully tomorrow, aaa today, i can ride for a couple hours. it was hard hanging around the house today, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do??!! anyway, winter is just starting, and we have plenty more to come!!! such is life!!
Peace..................
Thursday, November 11, 2010
WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT ;)) ;))
Local Severe Weather Alert for Hibbing, MN (55746)
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. * TIMING AND LOCATION: SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH RAIN...WILL SPREAD NORTH OVER WISCONSIN AND EASTERN MINNESOTA LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: SNOWFALL TOTALS THIS WEEKEND WILL RANGE FROM LIGHT ACCUMULATION OF AN INCH OR TWO...TO 8 INCHES OR MORE. ALTHOUGH THE LOCATION OF THE GREATEST AMOUNTS IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...THE BEST CHANCE TO RECEIVE 4 INCHES OR GREATER LIES EAST OF A LINE FROM ELY...TO HIBBING...AND MILLE LACS LAKE. * MAIN IMPACT: THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES FOR SOME LOCATIONS...RESULTING IN SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITY. IN ADDITION...THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES IN PORTIONS OF THE WATCH AREA...CREATING SLICK OR ICY ROAD CONDITIONS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... THIS WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW THAT WILL IMPACT TRAVEL AND COMMERCE. STAY CURRENT WITH THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND UPDATES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. * TIMING AND LOCATION: SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH RAIN...WILL SPREAD NORTH OVER WISCONSIN AND EASTERN MINNESOTA LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: SNOWFALL TOTALS THIS WEEKEND WILL RANGE FROM LIGHT ACCUMULATION OF AN INCH OR TWO...TO 8 INCHES OR MORE. ALTHOUGH THE LOCATION OF THE GREATEST AMOUNTS IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...THE BEST CHANCE TO RECEIVE 4 INCHES OR GREATER LIES EAST OF A LINE FROM ELY...TO HIBBING...AND MILLE LACS LAKE. * MAIN IMPACT: THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES FOR SOME LOCATIONS...RESULTING IN SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITY. IN ADDITION...THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES IN PORTIONS OF THE WATCH AREA...CREATING SLICK OR ICY ROAD CONDITIONS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... THIS WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW THAT WILL IMPACT TRAVEL AND COMMERCE. STAY CURRENT WITH THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND UPDATES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Holy Cow!!!!!
Was it nice today!!!!
60 degrees to the good, this time of year?? How could one not go for a pedal after work!!??
The only thing better would've been to have the day off!!
3:20 came and I was off!!
2 1/2 hours, and 12 miles later I'm ready for a shower, dinner and bed!!
All in all it was great to be out, thank you Cindi!! I love you!!
I spent the last 1/2 hour watching 4 deer frolic in a field about a mile northeast of our house.
What a way to relax after work!!
I decided not to get the Lake MXZ 302's, they would've been 3 sizes to big and I just thought that'd be too big. The price at Performance was outstanding, but not to be for me.
On the other hand, I dug out my TurboCat headlight, charged it, and got about 30 minutes worth of weak light....... Grrrrrrrr!!!!! lol
So $115 is going for a new battery for a bombproof headlamp!! (www.turbocatusa.com)
I'm still digging through boxes from our move over a year ago, looking for my NiteRider handle bar lights???!!! Will it ever end??!! Lol
Peace.....
60 degrees to the good, this time of year?? How could one not go for a pedal after work!!??
The only thing better would've been to have the day off!!
3:20 came and I was off!!
2 1/2 hours, and 12 miles later I'm ready for a shower, dinner and bed!!
All in all it was great to be out, thank you Cindi!! I love you!!
I spent the last 1/2 hour watching 4 deer frolic in a field about a mile northeast of our house.
What a way to relax after work!!
I decided not to get the Lake MXZ 302's, they would've been 3 sizes to big and I just thought that'd be too big. The price at Performance was outstanding, but not to be for me.
On the other hand, I dug out my TurboCat headlight, charged it, and got about 30 minutes worth of weak light....... Grrrrrrrr!!!!! lol
So $115 is going for a new battery for a bombproof headlamp!! (www.turbocatusa.com)
I'm still digging through boxes from our move over a year ago, looking for my NiteRider handle bar lights???!!! Will it ever end??!! Lol
Peace.....
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