Thursday, February 25, 2010

Pugsley : Done

So just over two months later, the Pugsley is complete. I had a little trouble with the front hub -- I selected a Paul Whub that isn't compatible with the Pugsley fork. How big could the market be for a 135mm front hub that doesn't fit the only production bike in the world that uses a 135mm front hub?

Anyway, the bike rides quite well. The 100mm bottom bracket takes a little "getting used to" but seems OK. The tires a spectacular -- They float on snow unlike anything I've ever ridden.

The finish turned out pretty well. It;s all white with a very suble fade to light gray on the bottom. The effect is nearly invisible unless the bike is in the snow. The pure white of the snow makes the gray color really pop. The cranks, bashguard and rims are actually gray and the bars are all white. Ther are still a couple of things to do: find a better saddle, install white cable housing and figure out the final stem height so I can cut-down the steerer tube.

I almost got Kathy out for a snow ride last sunday but we were thwarted by a sticky shifter on her mountain bike. This is a common failure in really cold weather. I soaked it in solvent and lubed it up and it seems much better now. Maybe we can try again this weekend as there is an early forecast of snow on Sunday.