Fresh goods

It has been a busy week in the shed, with all the bikes requiring some sort of attention.

The Ragley Bluepig has been kitted out with new winter tyres - Specialized Storm controls sould keep it rolling during soggy season. I fitted a longer stem, which although "uncool" these days, has really improved the feel of the bike & weight distribution. With the short stem & slack head it was way to easy to lift the front when climbing.it now feels like a great set up for the trails round here now, fun bike for winter trail centres, dog walking ect.

The EX8 has had new full length cables fitted, some brake issues repaired & wheels straightened. This bike has been neglected since the fatbike arrived. I was planning to sell it, but hopefully I will get some trail miles on this week & find the love again. But I do think it would make a good deposit on a Surly Moonlander, hmmm...

The 907 had been broken after only 300 or so miles. The BB decided to die due to sand & crud working through the seals onto the bearing races. After a wee wait in sourcing a replacement, I have made some extra dirt seals using waterproof grease & amalgamating tape. So far it is holding up well & I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work at keeping winter out of the BB! I have also replaced the granny gear with a deore 22t, as it is a bit thinner than the old one that came with the bike, it was causing chain suck when riding in really dirty conditions. So far it seems to be working.






The really big news in the Fatbike world is the arrival of my new tyres! I believe these are the first set to arrive in the UK after I imported them direct from Alaska (Thanks to Bill & James at Fatbikes.com)

These have been causing a stir, becasue the Nate if the first Fatbike mud/trail tyre & the Big Fat Larry (BFL) is now wider, 4.5" if fitted to a 100mm rim.

The Nate is going to be fantastic for winter mud conditions. The open tread pattern provides really amazing levels of grip & is excellent at clearing mud. Not to mention it looks mean

This is Nate next to 2.35" Maxxis Righroller





The BFL looks to be a great tyre also. The thing I have noticed most during my short test, I ordered both tyres in 120t tpi & they have much more feel than the 27tpi, you really notice the difference.





Mounted up on 80mm flattop rims they come in about 104mm, but for me, most important is the are a good bit taller. This means I should be able to run these at a lower pressure & not have to worry about pinch punctures.

I chose this combo as I ride a variety of condition, Nate is going to rock when it comes to traction, BFL, should provide a good bit more float when run really low.

I did notice that Nate doesn't roll quite as well as larry in soft condition, which comes as no surprise TBH. Seem ok on harder trails. Have to wait to see how it gets on the beach.





And here is a short film of the swamp testing I did with bike & dog! Really greasy mud under that water, but the bike handled it fine...well almost!

Finally, I also got another set of lights to see me through the winter. These 2 plus my head torch now gives me 3000 lumen's for 6 hrs riding. Bring on winter!