Winterizing: Ti Muk 2

 Today I'm going to walk you through my first stages of the Winterizing of my Ti Muk 2, the 2015 titanium Mukluk I have. This is my main commuter and adventure rig during the 'Dark Days'. 

Let's look at the image here of the back end of my Ti Muk 2. The Salsa Alternator Plus Rack  is the basis for mounting the Schmidt rear tail light which runs off the front SON generator hub. Note the red arrow. (You can click on the image to enlarge it). I ran the wires for the rear tail light through an old section of floor pump hose, using that hose as a conduit to protect the wires from the elements and from accidental snagging or scuffing which could damage the wires and render the tail light inoperable. 

Because I chose to route that conduit under the deck of the rack, my "fender" solutions have to go over the top of the rack. This worked okay for several years. However; the Dave's Mud Shovel rear flap cracked badly and I had to scrap it when I got the Ti Muk 2 out for this maintenance.  I decided to try a coroplast sign as a basis for making a rear mudguard. I've noted several other folks do this and those signs are cheap (usually free), and plentiful. Mine was a sign sourced from a roofing company. 

The yellow arrow shows a rusty chain. This will be getting replaced as well. More on that in a bit...

I cut down a strip of coroplast material for my rear mudguard. 

 Please understand I am not concerned about aesthetics when it comes to my commuter bikes. They just have to be functional. So, this bit of coroplast is going on there with all the signage intact and the slightly trashy look is fine with me. It'll keep the wet slush off me and the bike, for the most part, and this is the main goal here. 

Coroplast is tough, but easily cut, bent, and punctured with an awl. That last attribute is handy when trying to affix the strip I cut to the rack deck. I used zip ties through the holes I poked through the material and attached the new mudguard securely. 

This now allows me protection from the elements, helps keep the bike cleaner, and matches up nearly perfectly with the previously installed bit of mud guard mounted off the seat tube. (Yellow arrow)

I didn't want to extend the tail of the mudguard too far as it already shrouds the tail light to a degree, but that light will reflect off the coroplast some and possibly keep the eyes of drivers from being blinded behind me. I may end up with a trunk bag and if I do I may install an auxiliary light on the bag which would be higher up and not obstructed by my mud guard. 

Yeah....That chain is toast!

I had a pretty good run with a KMC Rustbuster chain which came stock on my 2014 Blackborow. That now needs replacing, so I may try to track down two of those chains to get the fat bikes squared away for chains for the near future. 

After the chains come in I will also do a sealant refresh. Last year I totally went through these tires and scraped out about five years worth of old sealant, so this year I'll just inject more sealant and be done with it. I'll likely make my own, in case you are wondering what brand I'm going with. No 'brand'. Just "MG's Secret Formula". (Put it in the blog search if you really want to know about it.)

After all of that I think I'll need to get around to addressing the 45NRTH pogies I use with this bike. The "gaskets" those came with weren't a good design, as they were too thin and flipped off while I was riding last Winter. I ended up stuffing rags in the openings to get by, but now it is time to come up with a better solution. 

And that should about cover everything I need to do on the Ti Muk 2. Stay tuned for further updates.....