Krampgrease or Instigatgrease - new rim choice for my Carbon Beargrease



Carbon Beargrease with 29+er wheel build

Since buying my Salsa Carbon Beargrease i have been toying with the idea of some new rims. The bike comes with Surly Rolling Darryl's as standard which have performed without fault but are heavier than my old Surly Marge Lites. I want to shave some weight off and make the wheels spin upto speed quicker. I looked at the Marge Lite again but then found some Northpaw-s 26" x 47mm rims - SPEC -  

Designed for fatbike riders who ride year ’round, Schlick Cycles developed the 47mm Northpaw-S rim to address a lack of avalability of a similar sized rim in our market.

European fatbike riders have known about the benefits of narrower rims for all-season fatbiking for several years and now that advantage is available to the US market.
Our first rim offering is made specifically for Symmetrical Fatbikes using the 170mm rear and 135mm front standards. With an offset spoke pattern these make incredibly strong wheels.
The Northpaw 47mm rim is 120g per rim lighter than the most popular light-weight 65mm rims available and works great with the new, lighter-weight fatbike tires like the 45Nrth Husker Du, Larry Lite and Nate Lite as well as the Black Floyd for an excellent urban assault ride. (Not recommended for BFLs)
Rim Specs:
• Hub Drilling: 32
• Wheel Size: 26″
• Tire Type: Fat Clincher
• Color: Black Anodized
• Brake Compatibility: Disc Only
• Width: 47 mm
• Rim Material: Alloy
• Valve: Presta
• ISO Diameter: 559 / 26″ mtn
• ERD 547
• Weight: 550.0 g

Then i toyed with the idea of Surly Rabbit Hole 29+" rims but it meant buying new tyres, tubes, cassette etc as im going to keep my standard wheels and not strip them down.
When looking at the Rabbit hole i noticed that they also come in a 26+ x 50mm option - SPEC

A 26˝ version of our 50mm Rabbit Hole rim. Run tires as small as 2.3 or 2.4˝, or as large as 4˝ to get yourself more traction, simple suspension and float than you can get with standard width rims. Our semi-single wall design maintains rim strength and rigidity without adding significant weight. All our rims use a dual-row spoke hole design, allowing one rim to be built on-center or offset, depending on the type frame you’ll use.

Hub Compatibility: 32h hubs
ETRTO*: 559mm
Weight: 600g
Color: Black anodized or polished silver
*Tire bead seat diameter

That would make a 520g saving for a pair of rims ! This would also open up the width of tyre choice from a 2.75" dirt wizard right upto my 4" 45NRTH's. Surly are also going to release a Knard 26" x 3" tyre soon. I will keep my existing wheels set up as i want to run a Bud on the front at some point.

Onto the rim strips - one choice really - Surly Rim Strips - SPEC -

We also produce PVC rimstrips for our Marge Lite, Rolling Darryl, Clown Shoe and Rabbit Hole rims. Choose from red, white, blue, orange and good old black. All are sold singly.
Fits Width 38mm 50mm rim

Hubs - another pair of Hope Fatsno as they come in bolt through option now and Sram XD freewheel as well - SPEC -
Fatsno Front hub Tech Specs >

• Sealed Stainless Steel cartridge bearings throughout
• Machined from forged 2014 T6 aluminium billet
• Available in 28, 32 and 36 hole drillings
• Conversions available for QR, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm axles
• Standard 6 bolt disc mount
• 135 and 142mm axle length
• FDS and RDS (Front and rear disc spacing) available
• Colour Black, Silver, Red, Blue, Gunsmoke and Purple
• Weight: 255g

Fatsno Rear hub Tech Specs >
• Sealed Stainless Steel cartridge bearings throughout
• Aluminium cassette body
• 4 Pawl Ratchet mechanism
• 40 point engagement (9 deg)
• Machined from forged 2014 T6 aluminium billet
• Available in 28, 32 and 36 hole drillings
• Conversions available for QR, 10mm bolt in, 10mm and 12mm axles
• Two hub widths available 170/177 and 190mm
• Available to suit 10sp Shimano or Sram XD cassettes
• Standard 6 bolt disc mount
• Colour Black, Silver, Red, Blue, Gunsmoke and Purple
• Weight: 170mm - 367g

Westbrook Cycles are building them up and have my rims and tapes but waiting for the hubs from Hope. When they are built i will do a follow up blog.

Local early Sunday morning ride on the Beargrease

The forecast was not looking good for today and the only dry period was first thing so was out the door for just after 7am. Wanted to stay local and try and get back before the heavy rain was forecast for 9-10am onwards. I headed down into Durham for local loops around the river banks and near by woods etc. Again it was cold, damp & misty but i was turning the pedals. After 12 miles and just starting to head home the heavens opened early and the last three miles home uphill, into a headwind it was pouring down. By the time i got back in was was soaked and frozen. Not to worry will do my man flu a world of good. Below are a few pics from the ride -

Castle surrounded in mist

 

Crown Court

Riverside next to the Old Racecourse

Local trails back to brown slop again

Strong smell going through the woods from the wild flowers

No views from the top of Trod today

Too early for Ice Cream this morning - closed

Check out the rain in the puddle, it was chucking down on the way home

Fresh Goods Sunday - Part 1 - Park Tool PCS-10 Repair Stand

This is Part 1 of a 4 week Fresh Goods Sunday report. I have one repair stand which was bought many years ago and has served well. It has been used to build many a bike over the years and was used to carry out a vast range of repair jobs, but the one problem i have got is it dosent fold down so storing it is a problem. Time for a new one which can fold away for easier storage - there are numerous different manufacturers / models on the market but i choose Park Tool - PCS-10 model. Its listed features ticked all my requirement boxes and was on special offer at the time of buying. The rrp is £150 nad paid £97.87 inc next day delivery. When it landed it was a smallish box with plenty of loose parts. I thought it might have come pre assembled just to fold out. Not to worry, approx 10mins later it was assembled and tested. Its not a lightweight stand but feels very stable and sturdy in use. Angus tested it out with Arrans BMX but not done any repair jobs yet. I will report back on how it performs in a few months time. Below are some photos of the stand. Here is Park Tools blurb - 

The PCS-10 has all the features of our popular PCS-9 Home Mechanic Repair Stand but with special upgrades to make set up, take down, and use faster and easier. The PCS-10 works well with many recumbents and bikes with odd shaped tubing.

Cam-type clamp allows single action clamping of tubes 7/8” to 3” (24mm to 76mm). Clamping pressure is fully adjustable and jaw covers are replaceable (part #1185K)
Quick release height adjustment (39” to 57”, 99cm to 145cm)
Folds to 41” (104cm) for portability and storage
Three-point leg system with reinforced center yoke for superior stability
Base when open forms a triangle of 36” (92 cm) x 36” (92 cm) x 45” (115 cm)
Composite top tube for smooth 360-degree clamp rotation
Spring buttons lock folding legs in place
Exclusive receiver pod accessory system integrated into the top tube and height adjustment collar to allow easy installation of PTH-1 Paper Towel Holder
Approximate weight 25 lbs
NOTE: The maximum weight holding capaicty of the PCS-10 is 45 kg (100 lb.). However, this assumes the weight is centered over the legs

PART 2 - to follow next Sunday

 

Whitby to Scarborough Cinder Track on the FAT BIKES

Firstly apologies for the lack of blogs over the last 3-4 weeks but i havent had time to do any cycling as my sister bought a new, or should i say old house that needed a fair amount of work to bring it upto modern day standards before she could move in. So it was a full rewire, full new heating system, new kitchen, new doors/skirting/architrave/curtain rails, demolish cupboards, redesign the ground floor layout inc walls down and a new wall up, plastering and all new flooring throughout. On top of that i have had serious man flu for the last two weeks that i cannot shake off but finally got an appointment at the docs of friday pm so have some stronger horse tablets to take. Today was the first day from working a 12+hr shift so had a day out down to Whitby. A couple of years ago me & Angus did the Whitby to Scarborough Cinder track route but we had a massive headwind all the way out and the track was very washed out and rough. The signage was very poor but was a sunny day. Today Arran joined in with me and Angus so we had all three Salsa Fat Bikes out. From the start it was misty and cool but dry, as we rode out from Whitby onto the exposed coastal sections we had a strong headwind yet again. The leg out was very tough going and big puddles everywhere. One thing we did notice Sustrans have put up new signage and was alot easier to follow this time. Were were planning about a 10+ mile outward leg then turn and head back to Whitby but a couple of miles past Robin Hoods Bay Arran was flagging so we turned and headed back. Once we climbed back out of Robins Hood Bay we stopped for a quick refuel and then it was a fast blast back to Whitby with a lovely tail wind. Once we got changed into warmer/dry clothing it was time to head to the chippy!  

Lined up and ready to go

Over Whitby Viaduct

Old carriages converted into b&b, bike hire & cafe as well

Sun even tried to get out at one point

Sea Harr over Robin Hoods Bay in the distance

Even a tarzan swing to play on

Time for a refuel, still misty

Coming back into Whitby now

We just landed and the steam train was just leaving

It was Goth weekend, some strange people kicking around the streets

Time for fish and chips

Not many brave soles on the beach today, it was baltic down there