Crazy Idea: Update

Back in mid-June I showed you dear readers this "sketch" I had for the old Singular Buzzard. If you missed the introduction to my nutty thoughts, you can go back and read them HERE. 

The short story, in case you don't go back to read the first post on this, is that I wanted to rebuild the Buzzard, but not as a trail bike. I am going with a "bikepacking/Pugsley" idea, where the rear and front wheels will be interchangeable.

The first order of business was to rebuild the single speed rear hub I have, which was laced to a 26" Marge Lite rim, as seen in the image above/left here. (depending on which platform you are viewing the blog on)

Then, since I wanted to reuse the On One Chunky Monkey 29" x 2.4" tires, I had to clean out all the old sealant. Let me tell you, there was a lot of 'skin to peel' off! But it came out swell, and the tire looked great, even if it is about a dozen years old! By the way, I will have to do the same with the rear, but I haven't gotten around to it quite yet.

With the tire cleaned up, and the 29" Dually rim rebuilt onto the single speed hub, I had to re-tape the rim, and I decided that for now I would insert a tube. This will press the tape down nice and evenly onto the rim's inner walls, and suffice for the time being to test out the idea. If things pan out, I will set up the bike tubeless, or maybe I'll go TPU. We will see when, and if, I get to this point what I decide.
 

The second mock-up looks more promising. I think I am warming up to this idea!

So there is what I have so far. I like what I am seeing now much better. A few points to note here:

• The seat height is correct, so I am happy with the saddle-to-bar drop I am seeing without adding more spacers. The fact that this fork was made for a first generation titanium Mukluk helps in that the steer tube was extra long.
• Speaking of that Enabler fork, this is the key to the entire idea being worthwhile, in my opinion. The context here is that Salsa, for better or worse, based the first iterations of their fat bike on the Surly Pugsley, which had as one of its central ideas the interchangeable front and rear wheel feature. This was done to allow for a "bail-out" option where a failed derailleur or frozen up free hub could be swapped out as an entire wheel assembly for your front wheel which would have a single speed free wheel mounted, or a fixed cog. (Or if you went with only a rear brake, both fixed and free wheel single speed options!)  This meant that the Enabler fork was designed with a 135mm, rear brake specific, quick release drop out spacing. The same as the rear of the Singular Buzzard. 
• The Velo Orange Utility Bar and Utility Rack will be utilized for water bottle mounts as well as cargo-carrying duties. The original set up on the Buzzard was predicated on a MTB usage which was based upon the assumption a rider would be using a hydration pack. This one-bottle set up was not going to cut it as a bikepacking rig, so the additional capacity for the Utility Bar and Rack to handle water bottles is a boon here. Obviously the Enabler Fork also adds two water bottle mounts. So water carrying needs are all covered here.
• I will make use of a Topeak rear seat bag/dry bag carrier for more cargo capacity when necessary. I will also be looking to add a "gas tank" style top tube bag.
• The drive train will be a 2X 11 speed set up utilizing an XTR shifter and  rear derailleur which I was gifted by N.Y. Roll. (The current STX rear mech will be replaced). 

There will be a lot of details to take care of before I get this thing up and running, so I am far from the finish line with this project. However; I am encouraged by the outcome so far. If you have any comments or suggestions, I would welcome them.

Stay tuned.... 

Two Things

 Saving Brooks:

Well, as I wrote some time ago now, I have been working to save this Brooks B-72 saddle from the edge of dry-rot oblivion.  It has been quite the process with multiple applications of Proofide and some rudimentary 'blocking' attempts to bring back some semblance of form to the formerly dried out chunk of cow hide.

The results are encouraging so far. I have been letting the saddle sit to dry out some, with occasional buffings. I also have to finish up taking care of the undercarriage, now that things are looking as though this activity will be worthwhile to do. 

Now, this might be the hardest part of all - What bike do I put this on? Plus, because this saddle uses a dual rail design, a sandwich clamp is used, which means I have to use a headless seat post. This limits how I can use the saddle, but fortunately I happen to know a place that has an alloy 27.2mm headless seat post on hand.

The B-72 requires an application where the rider sits more upright, so my gravel bikes are out, and probably so are my three fat bikes, which don't make sense anyway from the standpoint of cold, wet weather usage. Yeah, this may be something for someone else, but I would like to enjoy the 'fruit of my labors' for a little bit! 

 

Still work to do under here....

The cracks did not go away, but they are only in the upper layer or two of the hide, so I think this should work out fine, although it doesn't look 100% great. There is evidence here and there which I noted while restoring this saddle which leads me to believe it was originally black in color. If I am correct, then the condition I found this saddle in is even more remarkable as it did not look black at all when I saw it first. Far from it! I thought it was a honey colored saddle at first.

Well, whatever color it was when new, I am about ready to ride this saddle and see how it feels. Stay tuned for this and more about the saddle soon.

Buzzard's Beginnings:

I mentioned the 'crazy idea' I had on Monday and I started to act on it yesterday. My first order of business was to tear down the fat bike wheel with the 135OLD single speed rear hub laced to it and tear down the original Velocity Dually wheel for the rim.

The Dually still had the On One Chunky Monkey 29" x 2.4" tire mounted to it, so I had to remove this, the tape, and the valve stem to gain access to the spoke nipples. When I tore off the tubeless valve tape, I revealed the Velocity build sticker, which they sign and date when the wheel was built and by whom.

I had forgotten how long ago this wheel came to me! 2013! That seems like a long time ago now. I wonder if "Austin" still works at Velocity USA. Anyway...

Once I get everything apart, I can measure the hub, throw the ERD and all the other pertinent data into the wheel spoke calculator, press "Calculate", and then find out if I have the proper spokes or no. By the way, I forgot the original spokes Velocity used in this build are bladed. Hopefully I can reuse some of those.

Brakes will be next up after this, and then a bunch of smaller details. I won't do the eccentric right away. I want to do a 'proof of concept' ride or three after my initial build is complete to see how the bike handles and all.Then, if I am satisfied the bike handles well, I will order the eccentric and install the thing. But if this fails, I will go a completely different direction. We will see... 

I should have an update on this one soon. 
 

Okay, I Have This Crazy Idea...

My idea is inspired by this venerable bike. 

Once in a while I get these crazy ideas for bicycles. Sometimes I act on them and you end up seeing the results here. Bikes like my Pofahl Signature, or the latest to be realized, the Honeman Flyer. 

Sometimes they remain in my mind never to be realized. Which, in some cases is probably a good thing! It doesn't help things when I have several frame sets around and lots of parts not doing anything. I naturally want to just find creative ways to put this stuff together and see what the outcome might be.

Lately I have had this idea percolating in my head which was inspired by the venerable Surly Pugsley. That weird, versatile, early fat bike option which had some unique design features. First of all, you could use parts from a hard tail MTB to build one up, including the hubs. Well, the rear hubs. See, the Pugsley was designed specifically to utilize two rear hubs so a rider could have a geared hub as the main drive wheel, and the front would be set up with a single speed free wheel 'just in case of emergency'. Say you whack the rear dangly bit off. Well, you simply swap wheels, utilize the Pugsley track ends to tension the shortened chain, (you did remember the chain tool, right?), and you can then pedal your way out of a tight spot.

This idea spawned my thoughts regarding my forlorn, but rare, Singular Buzzard frame. I was trying to sell it for a while, and I actually had some interest in it, which then pushed me over the edge to jump off and do this idea. (Apologies once again to the person who expressed interest)

Anyway, check this out. It's just a mock-up. A sketch, if you will. I'll explain after the image.

Okay, so here we have the Buzzard, a hard tail MTB with a kind-of slack geometry. This bike was designed just previous to the radical "long/slack/low" geometry craze we all know these days, so the head angle is not super choppered out, but it is slacker than older 29"ers. The top tube is not crazy long, but it isn't short. This is kind of a transitional design from the early "first gen" 29"er to what we have out there now. 

Now, it is not a typical Singular in that the frame is not single speedable. This is a critical factor in my idea. Fortunately Velo Orange makes an eccentric which accepts a 24mm spindle, two piece Shimano crank set. Now, the next critical piece is the front wheel. I happen to have this oddball single speed 135mm rear hub laced to a Marge Lite rim. This happens to work really well with this old Salsa Cycles Enabler fork I have lying around. The plan is to re-lace the red single speed hub into the old front wheel from this bike, which matches the rear wheel, and is a Velocity Dually. The rear is laced to a Velocity geared rear hub. Also of importance: The fork is a rear brake standard. So, I can use two rear hubs, one geared, one single speed, and if something went wrong on a ride? I could use the Velo Orange eccentric bottom bracket and swap wheels.

Crazy, right?  

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycles

Wilde, Cane Creek Team Up On One Inch Head Sets:

With the sub-culture of restoration of late 1980's mountain and road bicycles being quite popular now, and with a certain special project from Wilde on the horizon, Wilde Bicycles and Cane Creek have teamed up to release a limited time option to get yourself a Cane Creek 110 quality threaded headset in one inch size. 

Why Wilde Bicycles? Well, they have a project called the Side Quest which will be using these head sets. To get the MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) to green light the project, Wilde is offering the chance to purchase a one inch threaded headset from Cane Creek. 

The Wilde X Cane Creek 110ZN headsets will be offered in black or silver and the cost is projected to be $120.00 USD. The head sets will be a pre-book and should be delivered in October. 

Specs:

● Fork type: 1" English threaded
● Stack height: 41mm
● S.H.I.S. Upper: EC30 / 25.4-24tpi
● S.H.I.S. Lower: EC30
● Crown Race: ISO (26.4mm)
● Machined from 7075 series aluminum
● ZN40 Sealed Cartridge Bearings
● Weight: 91g 

Get in on the action at www.wildebikes.com

Image courtesy of Merit Bikes

Czechoslovakian Company Merit Goes 750D Gravel:

Now you can buy a 750D wheeled gravel bike from Merit Bikes which they call, appropriately, the "Merit Jumbo 750d Gravel Bike". Never heard about 750D wheels? I last wrote about them in a "Two Things" post in July which you can read HERE. There are further links back to other posts I have written about these bigger wheels to be found there as well. 

Merit is a Czech based company and has been making high-end titanium and carbon bikes for gravel for a while now. This time they are offering pre-orders for October delivery for this carbon frame and fork gravel bike with the bigger 750D wheels being provided by WTB. They are currently the only manufacturer doing these bigger wheels and tires. 

The Jumbo comes in three sizes: Large, XL, and XXL. Obviously Merit feels this wheel size caters to a taller rider. For reference I ride a 58cm bike at 6'1". The Merit Jumbo size Large would work for me, but the others are way too big! 

The approximately $4,350.00 bike (at current exchange rates) features the aforementioned carbon frame and fork, SRAM Rival drivetrain, and Ritchey Design cockpit parts. The geometry is interesting as the bike is said by Merit to be able to handle 50mm wide 700c tires and wheels along with the 750D X 45mm WTB tires. The numbers on the geometry all are pretty spot on though with a surprising low stack height for the bike that would fit me. 

This, in my opinion, is going to be a litmus test for 750D wheels and tires. If more companies jump on this idea, WTB will not be the only game in town for these tires and wheels for long. But that all remains to be seen. Stay tuned....

Image courtesy of Velocity USA

Velocity USA Refreshes AERO Model:

Velocity USA announced on Tuesday of this past week that they have a newly refreshed version of their original rim, the AERO, out now. Velocity partnered with Arizona based Profile Precision Extrusion to bring a Velocity USA exclusive alloy for this new design. 

Velocity says on the webpage for the AERO rims the following: "6069 alloy offers improved resistance to denting and fatigue damage. Riders who are tough on wheels will enjoy greater impact resistance; those who pile on miles can expect a longer service life compared to traditional 6061 or 6063 alloy."

Velocity states that, besides the traditional offerings, they will have 36 hole and 40 hole versions of the AERO also. They also said all their Deep Custom options can be applied to this model as well, which includes some wild anodized colors and schemes. Stock rims will be available in Silver, Black, or Polished. 

Velocity states that this rim is optimized for tire widths from 28mm - 50mm and will be available in 650B and 700c diameters. The AERO weighs a claimed 500 grams each and is priced at $198.00 USD each. 

Comments: I gotta admit, when I saw the price for this rim I was a bit surprised. Apparently it is this new tougher alloy that makes the price what it is. I like that Velocity is trying this because it makes a lot of sense for heavier riders or touring/bikepacking applications where wheel failure is not an option. I'd gladly pay the price for that peace of mind. My only wish is that Velocity would do a wider internal width in a similar rim. Heck, just looking over their "gravel" rim range makes me wish that Velocity would do this with the entire range. 

As it stands now I am really only interested in using Blunt SS rims from Velocity for gravel. The inner rim width is a bit wider at 26.6mm which is kind of a sweet spot for tires in the 43mm - 50mm range.

Salsa Shows Off 2025 Cutthroat C Force XO AXS Transmisson Bike:

Salsa Cycles showed its latest incarnation of its long-running Cutthroat bikepacking/adventure/gravel bike. The elongated named Cutthroat C Force XO AXS Transmission (whew!) is set up with - obviously - SRAM's new 12 speed Transmission rear drive train components and an Eagle Transmission crank with a 34T ring onboard. 

You get a UDH compatible frame, and the "Road Boost" set up which allows a maximum 50T/34T crank set up. All that and the typical Cutthroat amenities you've become accustomed to at a price of  $7,499.00 USD. 

Comments: Well, what the heck is "Road Boost" anyway? Yep! Get used to seeing that as this is where we will start to see a move in gravel bikes away from the old 100mm/142mm through axle standard. Frame makers will adopt this "new" 110mm/148mm "road" spacing as a way to better accommodate the trend for riders to gravitate toward fatter gravel tires in the 45mm+ range up to 2.2" 29"er rubber. 

This all started with Shimano offsetting GRX 2.5mm outboard and then SRAM doing a similar thing as well to get better clearances for bigger gravel tires, at that time in the 45mm - 47mm range. But with the big switch to top-tier gravel riders riding 2.2" wide XC rubber on gravel bikes this "Road Boost" thing has legs and whether the meat and potatoes of gravel riders wants it or not, this is how the bicycle industry has always operated - At the whim and fancy of the high-end competitive fields in any discipline. They call it "progress", but it is really just another marketing tool in the end. 

Whether or not anyone likes it, it will be the next trend in gravel bikes. At least the comments sections of social media will be interesting for the short term future. 

Okay, that's a wrap on this week! Get out and ride those bicycles!