Fat lace fun! Been busy with life, but finally got around lacing up the Clown Shoes for my wife's custom Moonlander build. Thread trailing spokes appropriately for braking or drive sides. Using black Sapim Race DB spokes w/brass nips: laced up 3x, zero offset front, 28mm offset rear (Ordered 263mm spokes at 50 cents each at Danscomp.com, free shipping after $30 with code 44R1) Sight check though front rim valve hole: Hope Pro 2 EVO Fastno hub label Sight check though rear rim valve hole: DT Swiss 340 hub label Fun comparo between the 3" Surly rim strips and 15mm Zipp road rim strips. It's about 5x wider! After tension/stress relief/final true, the wheelset will get shod with Bud and Loud 4.8" combo.
Looking forward to seeing them mounted up. There's nothing like a nice set of hand laced wheels. And thank you for taking the time to line up the logo's with the valve holes; it's a nice detail. Nice wheels!
Thanks! I prefer to hand lace my own wheels and get them to very tight tolerances. Maybe a little OCD, but provides peace of mind once done right. Speaking of OCD, the non-drive side of the rear wheel just got relaced, because the crossing spoke can be seen through the valve hole (due to the alternated trailing spoke direction on the rotor side). After repositioning the spokes one flange hole over, it's perfect now. Here's the new unhindered view of it with parallel spokes adjacent to the valve hole: I'll post the completed build once it's done and I'd like to join an STR fatbike group outing someday.
Somebody buy this: http://www.expeditionportal.com/exp...e-worlds-most-famous-expedition-bicycle-.html $10,700
The complete story is worth the read. The bike has literally been all over the globe. http://lacemine29.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/end-of-era-for-me.html
Fat Tubeless - Bud & Lou on Clownshoes I'm not a fan of tubes or ghetto tubeless method, so looked for a unique solution for fat tubeless. After a little bit of R&D, the fat tubeless/run-flat setup is ready for action. Prep rims by filling drain holes. Tape up the rims using 3M 8898 wide tape. Apply Gorilla Tape to seal at overlapping sections. Add Stans tubeless valves. Find suitable closed cell foam that is wide enough to fill the valley. It must be stiff and thick enough to be slightly taller than the rim flange. Install the foam onto the rim. There must be an 8-10mm of gap on each side of rim flange to allow for the tire bead to sit into. Punch a small hole for the valve stem. Make one pass and firmly tape the butted ends together with a long section of tape. Mount tire onto the rim with soapy solution. (Initially, you just need a floor pump with this setup and nothing fancy like a big compressor.) Temporarily deflate the tire and remove the tubeless valve core. Add tubeless sealant of choice (8 ounces per tire using home brew worked for me) and then reinflate. Do the "Stan's Shake" several times and set on the side. Add air and repeat several times until fully sealed. It's gonna see some trail action soon!
I saw you mention in another thread that you did the 25 last year. There was another fat biker who did the 50... I assume he finished the 50. I last saw him on the Bell Trail by the "Hunting lodge" on the way into Caspers. Steve
Question for all you guys who bought fat bikes the last couple years - now that you have had them for a while, how much do you actually ride them? And do you ride the fat bike because its really fun, or do you ride it because you bought the bike and feel like you have to use it, or perhaps because you have to ride it now if you had to give up another bike to get it? I'd love to have one but I don't think I would ride it enough to make it worthwhile. There are a few places I'd like to explore on one - ie Anza Borrego, Baja, beaches, etc. But aside from that I'd be riding it on some of the local trails that I'm bored of, just to switch things up - but that seems like a novelty that will soon wear off. Doesn't seem like we will ever have snow again to ride on.... Thoughts? The price of one isn't a big deal for me, I just hate buying stuff that will sit around and not get used a lot.
You ask a really interesting question, one of which I've thought of often. Here's my story- I'm a 45 year XC guy. I've been riding bikes regularly since the 80's. Single speed, full squish, hardtail; I own them all. I bought my fat bike last March, and have since put (as of this morning) 1650 miles on it. My other MTB's have seen less than 500 miles combined since March. There are only a couple trails that I've been on that were a bummer because they were just too technical, but the reality is that they would have been too technical on my "regular" bike too. Aside from that, my fat bike enjoyed bombing down the Luge on Monday, has been to Santiago Peak several times via Maple Springs, HTT, and Holy Jim. (HAB gets you into shape quick) I'm a regular on Tijeras Creek, and Bellview out to Caspers too because they are my home tracks, and since I'm pushing a fat bike, the quick 1.5 work out is amazing. I ride my fat bike because it's really is fun. It's super stable and, it's an amazing work out. Personally, I think the downfall of the fat bike is that it's too much work for most people. If I was a weekend warrior, I don't think I'd enjoy it as much because it's a lot of bike to push. It's like riding a single speed; you have to be a special individual to really appreciate and love riding a single speed. And, you have to be in pretty good shape to really enjoy it. Same goes for a fatbike. Thing is, the more you ride one, the stronger you'll get. And when you jump on your "regular" MTB, you'll feel like Superman, although even with a 2.2 tire, it feels like your riding a road bike in the dirt. lol So far, my Mukluk has been the best all around trail bike I've ever owned.
For me.....this is what fatbikes are for. Taking you places on a bike that you wouldn't be able to go otherwise. Snow, sand, bushwacking......beaches. For everything else I've always been left feeling like I was riding the wrong tool for the job(like.....using a hammer when what you need is a screwdriver). As such....I ride mine maybe 5 times per year. Usually 2 or 3 big trips to somewhere.....and a few local shakedown rides.
That makes sense. If you only have one bike and it is a Fat bike then I can see riding it everywhere. But it sounds like for most people in So Cal it is an additional bike. If it makes people happy have fun. But for most of our trails there are better tools.
Like what bconneraz said, I constantly marvel at the relative girth of the tire and the super all-terrain aspect of it. It is the extreme opposite of my other XC setup bikes and it's fun just to mess around riding the familiar trails nearby. Of course, with the wheel/tire combo of the Moonlander being over 15 pounds, it provides a great workout on those punchy climbs and maneuvering it at speed through fast singletrack. Although fun, it's not the best bike to seek PR's on Strava and I prefer to ride other bikes for local group outings so I won't fall back from the pack on long climbs. Since I built mine for the wife to ride as her "beach cruiser", I've ridden on the beach with it and it's amazing how relatively effortless it can roll through sand. If it ever snows enough, I'd like to roll up to Santiago Peak. It is my anti-Strava fun bike and it's a great addition to the rotation of bikes that I ride regularly. If you got room in your garage and the budget, then it'll be the most interesting bike you own.
Thanks for the replies! I'll have to think on this. I spent the last couple years trying to reduce the quiver, so I'm hesitant to add any back unless I know I'll ride them.
Picked this thing up on Monday. I am very happy with her so far! I already have 46 miles on her at the Loop.
