...and now I can breathe.

Oh boy. Lots of stuff has happened since the last post. Let's jump to it.

I got my Surly built and it went much better than I had expected. I ended up using a Sram Rival cyclocross drive train kit. This included cranks, bottom bracket, chain, cassette, rear der, front der, shifters, avid shorty 4 cantilever brakes, and all the cable and cable housing. I really like the functionality of the group set and it was pretty affordable as well. I bought a basic kalloy seat post and put my B-17 special saddle from Brooks on there. It has been exceptionally comfortable for me right out of the box. For handlebars I went with the Salsa bell lap, I like the ergonomic grip section in the drops plus I like how they shoot away from the bar kind of like their wood chippers. I used my front wheel off the old bike that came from Handspun at QBP, it is a Mavic touring rim with a Deore XT hub and straight gauge spokes, so it is heavy but bullet proof. One of the fellows from work hand built my rear wheel. For the rear I went with a DT Swiss 350 laced with straight gauge spokes onto a DT Swiss TK540 rim, basically another bullet proof wheel. Heavy, but indestructible.

My original thought was to have the mechanics at work build up the bike for me but due to financial limitations and a desire to learn about my bike I opted to put it together myself. So I had the guys at work chase the bottom bracket threads and shave the paint out of the head tube area as Surly is renowned for using a metric shit ton of paint, which is a good thing in my opinion. So after that I took the frame home and started slapping parts on it. I started with the bottom bracket and crank set, then put the cassette on the rear wheel. However I then realized I should have probably done the head set first so I took the crank arms and bottom bracket off and cleaned all the grease off of them and took the frame back to work and use the head set press and then took it home and re-installed the bottom bracket and crank set. Next was the wheels and seat post so I could hang the bike from the work stand. From that point I added the brakes and front/rear ders. Then I added the chain and measured and cut the cables. Last but not least was wrapping the bars.

It was actually a lot of fun and challenging for me but I learned a hell of a lot. I did an alright job even, when I brought it in and had it checked over it was really just minor derailleur adjustments except I had routed the chain on the outside of the cage of the rear derailleur as well, oops. Other than that it went great and I have put on almost 500 miles on it so far. I wish it was more but I have been busy with other things which are now done so now I can make more time for riding.

Once again I have fat bike fever. I think I have finally come down on the side of the Surly Necromancer. I like that it comes with the Moonlander fork and has the Darryl's rather than the Large Marge rims. More float. Another bonus in my opinion is it comes standard with a 36/22 Mr. Whirly Offset Double crank set, which makes a lot more sense, I dig it. Also the Surly, unlike any other readily available fat bike comes with vertical dropouts which allow for a single speed conversion if one wanted to.There are just a ton of options that appeal to me with the Surly over the Mukluk or 9ZERO7s. I like options and I know I like how steel rides now, it might be a little heavier but I can live with that.

That is all I've got for now. My goal this week is to ride at least five times this week. I'll post back with an update later.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

I have got a lot to report for this post so bare with me.

First of all as I had mentioned last month I got a job as a sales person at Freewheel Bike in Eden Prairie and I love it. I have been doing well and learning a ton about bicycles, parts, the bike industry, and all the different types of cyclists out there. I really like Freewheel because they don't discriminate against any type of cyclist. They are not road snobs or extreme mountain bikers or hipster fixie riders, everyone is welcome. I think I am a good fit there and that it is a good fit for me. I have never had a job that I actually loved to go to.

Second my girlfriend finally got a bike! It is a Trek 7.5 FX. It is more like a road bike with flat handle bars than a hybrid. It has a 2x9 drive train with pretty decent components and she is able to ride it much easier than her old billion ton pink Target Schwinn. She is excited and I am stoked for her. This will be a fun summer.

My bike is trash. The Dawes Lightning Cross that I paid $450 for on bikesdirect.com is finally dying. I knew it would happen sooner than later but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly into it's second season. However, I've got over 6k miles on it so I suppose I have totally gotten my money's worth. So what am I going to do? I am going to do a custom build. This is something I have toyed with in the past but it has always seemed so expensive. So now that I get an awesome discount it is way more within my reach. I am going to do a Surly Cross Check with the Sram Rival cyclocross group. I am still figuring out the wheels but I think that I can use my nice Mavic rim with the Shimano Deore LX hub front wheel that I have, at least for now and I am kind of leaning towards a DT Swiss rear wheel. There is a lot of buzz about how awesome their wheels are. More on that later.

I'm nursing an injured back right now and hopefully will be back in commission by this coming weekend. As for now I gotta head to the chiropractor before I head to work.

That's all for now.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I didn't forget about this blog, I have just been super busy. I may have made Dean's list this semester so obviously that is a big time suck. I also have not been as active on the bike as I would like. Things have changed a lot however.

I recently started working at Freewheel Bike in Eden Prairie, this is huge for me. It has restored my love after a dreary winter and spring. I am still working at the coffee shop but that will end soon. I am biking there today actually, hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can bike to the bike shop too.

My girlfriend is still on the hunt for a new bike. We are looking at the Surly Ogre, she is afraid of the drop bars and I don't really blame her. That or she is looking at the Novara Safari from REI. Both of them are nice steel frames but I feel like the Safari would be more enjoyable to her, as it is lighter and probably much easier to ride.

Frustrations.

I have caught fat bike fever again as well. Every time it snows I just wish I had a fat bike, I reckon that no one would see me for days at a time. I ride by a giant pile of snow and I think to myself "That would be fun to ride over.". It will happen some day.

After I fix the fenders that I messed up I should be good to go with the road bike again. I did ride it roughly 32 miles to work last Friday and it was good to be back on the road. I was surprised to find it only took me about an hour to travel 16.5 miles, that is pretty good time for me as far as I know.

I am considering selling the mountain bike so I can put some of the money into a new wheel for the road bike and put the rest into the savings for the fat bike. I am also looking for a rig for the girlfriend, she wants to try biking this summer and who am I to say no?

Leave of absence.

After extensive riding on the single speed, I have found that it is in fact too short for me so that is out.

I had taken the road bike down for repairs when I got my new front wheel. Deore XT hub and a Mavic rim, very nice wheel, I will be getting the rear to match it very soon. In the mean time I have replaced my brake pads, brake cables, and handle bar tape. I also disassembled the drive train for major cleaning and slapped a new chain on there. The new wheel will have to be nine or ten speed compatible, because should I ever want to upgrade my rear derailer nine or ten speeds is the only game in town any more really. Which is fine, I just don't currently have the cash flow to upgrade a new derailer and shifters. I also disabled my brakes from the STI levers that I never use and now they are controlled strictly by my "cross" levers on the flat part of my drops. I also put the finishing touch on the bike and added fenders, I am in the final stages of mounting them as I had to trim some of the V-brace ends up a little, but it is looking pretty slick as of right now and should be fully operational later today.

I think I'll ride to work on Friday. Should make for a good and fun test ride.