Perhaps you recall from a few years ago a group of individuals who rode their bicycles over and along the continuous ridge of mountains that run north to south, the continental divide created by the upsurge of clashing tectonic plates along western flanks of North and South America.

They called their effort Riding The Spine.

We have been fortunate to hear back once in a while from some of them. In one case, a few years ago, Goat was in Argentina with something of a mechanical and wrote to ask if we could send him what he needed to get fixed and moving. I put together a care package and sent it off but it failed to arrive. Our man behind the scenes, Tanner, did some ace detective work but got nowhere with Argentinian customs. Goat was appreciative anyway and appeared nonplussed and amiable. I did not hear much after that. A few days ago I got an email from Goat.

good day
hope all is well

l am by chance in argentina again
and it turns out the stuff you sent
did finally arrive...

only about a year too late

didnt really make sense to try to take it back to the US with me
(l´m not bike touring at the moment)

so a friend (bambucicleta.com.ar) and l
whipped up what is probably the only fat bike in south america

thought l´d send a photo

I wrote back with encouragement and questions and he responded:

right on

l didnt get to ride it
frustrating though that is
(the problem with being on car time)

had to leave 6 in the morning after finnishing it at midnight or something
the polyester resin needs to cure for a while to reach full strength anyway

l´ve been in patagonia walking not biking
trekking with my mom
in all the famously beautiful places down here

then went for a week or so to visit some friends in argentina
which turned into a week or so of bike building
with a little bike riding thrown in

now l´m off to canada for a bit
whre l will meet up with a fellow fatlongbike tourist
and we will see what happens...

as for the patagonao bamboo fat bike
l´m concerned that the seat stays will be a little bit anoying
too close to the path of the legs
especialy in the non drive side

hopefully the recipient shreads it

rock on
goat

And so begins another chapter. More news as events warrant.

            Wheelies are neat-o. That's just a fact. But being able to do even a little wheelie is more than just cool. After staying upright and riding with no hands, being able to pull the front end up is the most basic skill you acquire if you are an aspiring rider and not just a casual one.  I'm not just talking about 'mountain bikers' either. Getting your bike's front wheel off the ground when you want to comes in pretty handy in all kinds of situations, on all kinds of bikes, and it never becomes less handy, no matter what other skills you develop as a rider. You’ll always find places where it’s useful to lighten the front end and lift it over something without stopping. And I have noticed that lots of people don’t know how to do this, including many people who ride a fair amount. You don’t need to wheelie to ride a bike but knowing how expands where and how you can ride. Lots of people reading this can already ride a perfectly respectable, full-blown wheelie, but lots of people reading this are riders who cannot do a wheelie of any sort. This essay covers the basics of how to get up and over curbs, logs, and lots of other small obstacles.

            The idea behind the rolling curb hop is mainly weight distribution with some leverage on the pedals to help. Remember: a saddle is a perch, not a La-Z-Boy. You move around on it as you ride, sometimes standing up slightly, keeping your weight balanced against the terrain and inertia. You hold your body steady, suspending your head and torso with your arms and legs, allowing the bike to move somewhat independently beneath you.

            A rolling curb hop goes like this: A few inches before the obstacle shift your weight back a little on the saddle. Pull up and back on the bar while gassing the crank (I usually like to have one of my feet just past top center so I can gain maximum leverage) and, if all goes right, the front wheel comes off the ground. Hey presto! It doesn’t have to be for a long time or very high off the ground. Just enough to get the wheel on top of whatever you’re trying to traverse. With some practice nearly anyone can learn to do this reliably and safely, except some physically or developmentally disabled people, recumbent riders, unicyclists, the extremely aged, or Luby’s mom, who always seems to end up on her back. Hey-O!

            A good way to begin your road to wheelieing (wow, that word is a handful, isn’t it?) if you’re a novice rider is to find a small ledge to go down. Stand up slightly and shift your weight back a bit while approaching it at a ninety degree angle or thereabout. Let the front drop and follow along. Get a feel for it. This is to encourage an awareness of weight distribution.

            Next find a smooth, unobstructed strip of terrain on which to practice, preferrably flat, like a parking lot or a long driveway. Go forward at a slowish pace. Shift back on the saddle and sit up a little. Press sort of hard on the pedal. It should be in a lower gear, but maybe not the lowest. Pull the bar toward your chest. Don’t forget to keep your weight shifted back.

            Practice that a bunch. Experiment. Different balances and intensity of effort in these areas will gain different results. Don’t worry, you’re not going to fall over backwards at this stage of the game, but if it makes you feel better then keep your finger on the rear brake lever. This is your bail out button and if you squeeze it the front wheel will drop to the ground. Most people are frightened of getting the wheel off the ground. There’s no reason to be. You can do this. After practicing this a few sessions you will begin to get your wheel off the ground briefly and more or less reliably.

            Next, find an obstacle located in a safe, traffic-free place. Up a curb from street to sidewalk works well if you’ve got one of those, because it's a decent height, it’s a common challenge for many people, and it goes from one level surface to another. If you don’t have that, however, don’t worry. Find anything you can ride over or onto that it is maybe 4 to 8 inches high.  A branch, a flat rock, a low porch.

            Now do it. Ride at it. Don’t go too fast, you can work up to that. Get your finger on the rear brake lever just in case. Stay loose. Line your feet up where you want them. Watch your approach. Don’t close your eyes. Get ready, lean back, and….

            O.K., so now you’ve been practicing and you’re getting the front wheel up. Once you’ve got the front up and over, stand and move your weight forward a bit to lighten the rear wheel. Let it track or bounce lightly up and over. One fluid motion, from sitting with weight shifted back to not quite standing. Sit back down.

            Now see there? Look at you.

            My lovely and talented better half learned to hop curbs under this program. She was a strong and enthusiastic, if somewhat undisciplined, rider when I met her. And she, like many people, can get quite anxious when it comes to activities that seem likely to invite personal injury. But she kept at it and in about a month she could do it every time she tried and no longer worried too much about falling. By the end of summer she was ascending every curb she encountered with confidence.

            Things slow down a little when you finally get the hang of it. You will never forget it. You will have one of those full mind and body memories of it. You will need never again fear a curb when there is oncoming traffic, objects on the trail, or whathaveyou. You’re superfly. Now go get ‘em, tiger.

This is a public service announcement from Surly Customer service.

We like to start our Mondays with an empty email inbox so we delete all the emails that are sent over the weekend.

Don’t ask us for free stickers on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

If you want us to ignore you, start your emails (or conversations) off with “You guys should…”, “Let me give you some feedback on the build spec for the…”, “Why don’t you guys…” or “I have a great idea for you”

Any email with any of the following words or phrases in it will automatically be deleted: gnar, gnarly, rad, gotcha, just sayin, stoked, epic, seriously, it is what it is, bro, shred, good faith, you know, ASAP, extreme, kudos, redonkulous, same difference.

If you call us while you’re stuffing your face with a bag of chips you will get hung up on.

What’s voicemail?

If you took the time to find our email address or phone number on our website why couldn’t you click your mouse 2 more times to find out what type of hubs come on the Pacer?

Your opinion is wrong.

If you swear at us on the phone be ready to hear our impression of a drunken sailor.

Will the (Insert tire name here) and (insert rim name here) fit on the (Insert bike co. name here that’s not Surly) frame? We have no idea, why don’t you ask (Insert bike co. name here that’s not Surly)?

The moment the word “Rohloff” is mentioned you should be able to feel our eyes glaze over.

No. We’re not going to sponsor your ride across the country/state/mountain range by sending you a free bike. We don’t care how kick ass of a blogger/photographer/writer you think you are. If you were that great, you wouldn’t have to ask.

Go ahead. Talk shit about us on “the forums”. Tell everyone how crappy of a company we are because we wouldn’t warranty your Steamroller with a seized seatpost that was left chained up outside of your dorm room for 5 years straight. See where that gets you. 

The most important part of this acronym – ETA - is ESTIMATED. Shit happens. Boats sink, trains derail, production slows, things don’t pass QC, we changed our mind, the color sucked, dock workers strike, planes crash, blizzards, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, pirates.

The name is Surly. What did you expect, Flowers and fucking unicorns?

Don’t forget to vote.

Have a nice day,

Off

If you give a man a fish (and he lives in Wisconsin) he will batter it, deep fry it, make a dozen or so brandy old fashioneds, and eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he'll hang out in the john reading Cabela's catalogs until his legs go to sleep.

Lots of people look at the lavish lives we lead here at Surly and wonder aloud,"How do you suppose I could garner a titch of that awesomeness in my own existence?" They think (and this is all, of course, hopeful conjecture), "Is the kind of fun they have up there in the Twin Cities something I can buy?" "Is there an app I can download?"

The answer, friends, is that you can have it, and it's free - or at least really cheap. Today I am going to divulge two of my secrets to cycling happiness - and I'm giving it away for nothing. No catch.

The first is an idea we had for an official Surly product, oh, about seven years ago give or take. We thought we'd package up the Surly Event Kit and sell it for, like, $1.38. Our follow-through kind of blows though, so I'll just tell you what was going to be in it because it never happened.

Say you'd like to put on some sort of bicycle event - maybe even a competition - with your friends and some of their friends? How do you do that? Our Surly Event Kit was going to look something like this:

Paper plates for number plates, zip ties to fasten the plates to handlebars, a Sharpie to write something hilarious on the number plate - like a number or a crude sketch of genetalia, and a notebook. That's it. People sign in, you give them a number plate, they put it on their bike, and you're on your way to event management stardom. This was all going to come in the obligatory Surly brown paper bag packaging, but, like I said, that would have required work. With this, all you have to do is convince people that your ideas are fun. That's not hard at all.

"But don't I need insurance?" "Don't I need barricades and a police presence?" Goodness no. Just remember rule number 3:

Rule number 5 is also a very good rule.

Any questions? Good.

The next freebie you get today is all about the aesthetics. We don't do custom work here at Surly. Whatever ugly color we've dreamed up is the one we put in the box and the one that gets to you. From there, though, you get to do whatever you want with it. Make it yours. Put that ugly orange anodized shit all over it if you like. Nobody's taste matters but yours.

But, there's something that a lot of people forget when it comes to post-transactional visual modifications - the headbadge. I mean for real, it's the front of your bike, man! It's the last thing your derby victim sees. It's your duty to make it memorable. Now, you could go out and spend some dough on something truly awesome, or you could DIY that shit and be done. If the latter is your game, then I've got another kit for you:

That's a nice Land's End catalog I yoinked from the recycling and a National Geographic with a kickass bear on it, a pair of scissors, and some packing tape. Magazines and catalogs, as you may know, are full of pictures because Americans hate to read. That anti-intellectual pea-soup we call a culture just did you a big favor, bro. It got you a new headbadge. Leaf through those glossy images and pick the one that really tells it like it is, cut 'er out, and do a full-coverage tape job on your headtube. Bam.

And that was there waaaaay before any interview with Mr. "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry I got caught" thank you very much.

So, there it is. Two ways to get amazing for only a few dollars. Don't say I never did anything for you.

-Skip

So I got to spend some quality time today riding the old pug, across/around/above the beautiful Lake Nokomis, here in cold-ass Minneapolis; 1 degree with negative 23-degree wind-chill. 

Truth be told (why would I lie) I love riding in the cold and snow. The only part I hate is the part where I am getting ready to go out into it.  Dread, is the word.  It’s funny how despite the fact that I truly love the ride, I dread going out into the cold so much that it keeps me from doing it sometimes.

There are a lot of things like that in my life.  Once I’m in the middle of doing them, I’m in heaven, but when it comes time to get ready I find my preference waivers over to playing video games with Jethro.

Anywho, none of that has anything to do with why I’m writing this today.  I just like to ramble.  The point of this whole thing is really the pug.  It’s not really the old pug, it’s really pretty new, and it’s showing off some pretty cool stuff that we brought in this year.

Here’s a picture.

Many of you are probably aware that we sometimes do small runs of colored rims, like the orange ones on the bike that came out this year.  Now don’t get too excited about those, cuz we’re sold out and not making any more.  Something you can get excited about, however, is the decal kit on the bike.

See.

This year we did decal kits for Pugsleys and Moonlanders that match the wacky colors we did with the Marge Lites, Rolling Darryls and the Clown Shoes. Orange, Yellow and Silver. (the Orange is on the Pug)

We sort of got the idea from our trips to Japan.  The riders over there like to really spruce up their bikes, and we think they look pretty cool.  Custom paint jobs, matching tape, some of them even get custom decals made.  The bikes are no less Surly, they’re just all matchy and flashy.  Something that many riders really like.  Also something that many riders hate.  But we can’t all be happy all of the time, unless we take Jethro with us everywhere. Here is one of those cool Japanese bikes I was talking about.

And here is what I looked like when I got back from the ride.

So if you like the decal kits and want one, you can order it through your local bike shop.  If you don’t like them, you can order many other awesome things through that very same shop. 

So get out there to that shop and order something, and while you’re at it, ride your bike dammit!!

Somehow this phrase always brings a smile to my face. I know that I am going to experience great snow, beautiful scenery, killer mountains and a lots of fun. One of the many cool things about my job is I get to travel to awesome places, meet new people, talk about Surly and even ride a bit.

This November, we cooked up the idea to host a demo/party in the mountains of Colorado along with one of our dealers, Salvagetti. Here is the poster Wood created.

It took us a while to get off the ground, but some Bloody Mary’s helped that cause. 

We toured some interesting bike shops while visiting with our dealers. Our first stop was at Cycle Analyst and I was amazed by the endless categorized archive of vintage bike parts.  

Next stop was Happy Coffee for some kick you in the pants coffee, followed by delicious Sushi at Go Fish then ElDiablo for a couple of Coronas.

From there went to Trve Brewing Company to get supplies for the party. Trevor was amazed and delighted to find it was a heavy metal brewub. It was hard to get him out of there and I was diggin’ the beer. However, another keg was needed for camping so it was on to the Great Divide Brewery, which was a much larger operation but pretty cool in its own right. But what kind of keg should we get? We’ll just have to try them. With another keg tow we were off to Salvagetti to build up the Moonlanders and Krampi we had shipped.

The folks at Salvagetti were kind enough to put us up for the weekend where we sat around the fire and drank whiskey. Next morning we loaded up the bikes, played keep-away with a Knard, got some breakfast and went off to the mountains.

Gotta stop off for some beef Jerky and supplies. "Pardon me sir, do you have any grey poupon?"

We set up the demos and got the standard comments from folks. “Geez those are some big tires!", "Don’t you go slow on those things?”, "Aren't those things heavy?" My standard reply is “ride them." That is what changes people’s minds. There was not one person who wasn’t smiling after thier ride which is extremely rewarding to me. Many of them were surprised how the well Krampus performed on the trail and others had no idea that  Moonlander or Pug are much fun to ride.

Then it was time for lunch supplied by Basic Kneads. Yep, a wood fired pizza truck, bikes, camping, and beer= Baaaad Ass! It didn’t even bother me nearly getting shot by on overzealous deer hunter. 

We camped out that night and had a great time with all who came to hang out. Whiskey, fire, keg beer and more wood fired pizza. The Pizza oven was in operation all night. Some one even had bacon candy . Basic Kneads indeed. 

The next morning had freas made tortillas, eggs, bacon, and fresh pressed coffee for everyone. Afer getting fixed up right, I finally got to ride later that afternoon. The trails up there are pretty rad for a flatlander like me. The scenery alone made the ride. I did not want to leave but we rounded up everything and I was on the plane the next day. Thanks to Scott, Maggie, Phillip, everyone at Salvagetti and Basic Kneads for heping us put on a kick ass event. Who knows we could be commin’ to your hood next.

I made a litte slideshow with music from Woodtekr. 

See you guys on the water. 

I don’t know about you but I prefer to buy things of quality and pay more up front rather than buying cheap stuff that doesn’t last.  That might sound like simple common sense except that buying something that lasts a long time, maybe even a lifetime, usually costs more than something that doesn’t.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know it’s not possible for most of us regular folk to buy the best of everything, and I’m not saying that we can or should in every case.  I have made many purchasing mistakes in my time, and these mistakes inevitably led to me having buyer’s remorse and going on a bender.  Not long ago I went the cheap route on a used turntable bought on craigslist, and paid the price in trying to work through numerous issues with it.  After finally reselling it I ended up buying the turntable I should have bought in the first place, for about three times the price of the craigslist bargain.  I could not be happier with the new one.  Money well spent.  Bottom line is we have to choose which things we are willing to spend more on to get the best quality. 

A month or two back Gern (Blanston) wrote a blog about our new jerseys.  Yes, we have new jerseys.  Duh.  You read that blog entry, right?  They are 100% merino wool, full front zipper, rear dual-entry pocket with zippers, thumb holes, double-stitched seams and cut long for cyclists who actually ride.  Since the day I got mine last November I have worn it every day.  I mean literally every day.  I have put my jersey on after showering in the morning and haven’t taken it off until going to bed at night.  Several times I have slept in it.  I have worn it multiple days on the bike, I wear it at work, I wear it when I run to the liquor store, to the gym, to the drug store and to the local watering hole.  I wear it for every thing.  Just ask anyone who knows me and they will attest to the fact that I have been spending a lot of time in my new jersey.  I have changed the rest of my clothes daily of course (except my blue jeans, which should almost never be washed).  I have never washed it, as wool shouldn’t be washed often like other materials.  It looks a bit dirty in spots, but it does not smell.  
Our new jerseys cost $150.  That’s a LOT of money, especially when one considers other merino wool cycling jerseys that can be purchased for nearly half that amount.  But I can tell you with 100% conviction that our new jerseys are worth every penny.  And for comparison, I can tell you with 100% conviction that the previous iteration of our jerseys (which cost nearly as much) were not worth the money.  Many of you who bought one probably agree with me on this.  They were nice the first time you wore them, but they were not well made and did not hold up to the stresses that hard-core cyclists demanded.  The new jerseys are not like that.  They are meant to be worn all the time.  And one thing that you might not have heard is that we did a women’s cut as well.  I bought one for my wife and she has also worn hers every day since she got it.  Ever heard the saying, “when mommy’s not happy nobody’s happy”?  I’m a big believer in this.  By giving my wife one of our new jerseys I’ve made mommy happy, and I remind her of this every time she’s not happy, with mixed results I must say. 

My closet is full of other wool cycling jerseys by a number of manufacturers including  a few old Surly jerseys.  I can honestly say that those jerseys will never again be worn by me as long as I have our new one to wear.   The only thing that will get me to take this thing off is warmer weather.  Hopefully by then our new short sleeve version will be here.  Either that or I’ll be cutting the sleeves off this one.

The quality of our products is something we take very seriously here at Surly. We’ve hung our hat on having a low warranty return rate and providing products that work. We are not infallible, however, and that’s why we have a warranty policy. If we made your stuff wrong, we’ll make it right within the confines of that policy – and we’ll do so as quickly and efficiently as we can.

Recently, we’ve seen a small percentage of our Snowblind White Pugsley frames that have developed small cracks where the seat stays join the seat tube. None of these has separated completely and no injuries have occurred due to this issue. If you have a white Pugsley frame take a look at that spot and most likely you will see nothing. If that’s the case, continue riding and getting rad.

If your frame should show these small cracks, take the bike back to the bike shop where you purchased it, or call us if contacting the shop is not possible. We’ll get you going again as quickly as we can.

We strive to constantly monitor the quality of our products and update designs as the need arises. We know that when you spend money on a Surly that you have expectations of durability, functionality, and good times. Our pledge to you is that we’re on it, we are in a state of perpetual improvement, and we appreciate that you’ve chosen to hitch your circus wagon to our goofball train.

Let us know if you ever have any questions about the things you have that say Surly on them. Call us at 877-743-3191 or e-mail us at derby@surlybikes.com.

Thanks,

Eric “Skip Bernet” Sovern

Surly Person of Interest

For those of you that read my last blog post about Surly CS and understood it for what it was, another failed attempt at humor, then you need to read no further. For those of you that didn’t get it and sent hate mail to my boss telling him to fire me, well, I’m here to tell you that I’ve intercepted those emails and they’ve been deleted with the rest of the email we got in over the weekend. I cannot be stopped!

Did you really think we’d delete all of the emails we get in over the weekend? That’s just a fantasy we all share here. We answer every email we get; it may just take some time before you hear back from us. You may not like that answer but at least you’ll get one.

Go ahead and ask for free stickers any day of the week, I don’t care.

Please tell us all the great ideas you have about how we can improve our products. I was especially fond of the whole using a “chain saw blade attached to the cog to power the 1,000,000 candle power light” idea. That was 25 minutes of my life well spent.

We know that time is a precious commodity. If you feel the need to call us and chat about the gnarly single track that you just shredded while you’re on your lunch break, please feel free to do so. We don’t have anything better to do.

Email works better for me than voicemail. Just sayin bro.

I DO understand that our website can be a bit “challenging” at times to navigate. If you can’t find something please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

You might be surprised at the volume of requests we get for sponsorship. What we’d like you to do is email us a detailed plan. We’d like to know what you’d like from us, what you plan on doing with it, and what we can get from it in return.

We read “the forums” just as much as you do-we’re a bunch or bike nerds just like you are. Very rarely have we felt the need to reply to any form of trash talking about Surly on those forums. Those types of things have a tendency to work themselves out on their own.

I’ve got nothing against Rohloff at all with all of their geary thingys and what nots working their internal magiks. They scare me, but they’re pretty damn cool. If I could afford one, I’d ride one.

We’re not going to swear or yell at you over the phone. We’ll wait until we’ve hung up.

Honestly, we take customer service here pretty seriously. We give a shit about the products we make and we’ve always stood behind them. We play fair and we’d like to believe that we’re more honest and open than most of the other bike companies out there. We care what you think about our bikes and we do listen to the feedback we get about them. We dig you and we can’t thank you enough for riding our bikes. Most of us have worked at bike shops and we understand what that can be like. We’ve also been consumers from time to time and we’ve all got our fair share of shitty customer service experiences. I hope that Surly is never in one of your customer service horror stories. If you ever have a problem or a concern about anything that has “Surly” on it please let us know.

No one told me, or asked me to write this. Sometimes my sense of humor is not always recognized for what it is. I don’t care if I offended you. What I do care about is Surly and I don’t want any one of you to get the wrong idea. You people make Surly it what it is. Sometimes it’s a drunken train wreck and sometimes it’s a well lubricated machine but most of the time it’s somewhere in-between. If I did offend you, get over it.

One last thing; I know you wouldn’t forget to vote. After all it’s your sacred right, right? So don’t be an asshole and vote! Surly loves you.

Can I go home now?

Off

Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily the views and opinions of Surly Bikes. These are just the views and opinions of just one asshat who has nothing better to do than delete your emails and voicemails because he’s fired up on grandpas cough medicine. Deal with it.

Hi there.  My name is Ben Oliver.  Since I’m the newest employee of Surly I thought I’d write an introduction for everyone to read so when you talk to me on the phone you’ll know what to say to really hurt my feelings.  Really, I’m not particularly spruced up about writing an introduction about myself since I’m so boring, but ever since I started working at Surly the number one question I have been asked is “Bro!  How’d you land that sweet sweet Surly job?!”  While my official title here is “Lower than Whale Shit in the Ocean,” (at least that’s what it says on my business cards) my day to day tasks will be mainly Customer Service related.  I may or may not answer the phone when you call and I may or may not write you an email back in response to the email that you write us.  I will never just send you an unsolicited email to ask how you are doing.  That’s your Mom’s deal and it’s all she has keeping her going.

I don’t really have a good answer to the question of how I got this job, but just because you woke up unsure of how you got someplace doesn’t mean you didn’t end up there because of choices you made the previous evening.  In a lot of ways, I couldn’t have ended up anywhere else.  My options are very limited in life because I do not fit the traditional definition of the word, “Talented.”  Also, I just really like bikes and of all the totally awesome memories I have of good times partying on bicycles, I was on a Surly.  Who wouldn’t want to throw themselves against the Mill like Conan for the same people that helped facilitate all of those good times? 

I’ve worked in bike shops my entire adult life, spent many years on the road working for some professional cycling teams, and I just wanted to work for Surly that entire time because I thought they seemed pretty cool.  I finally realized you won’t get hit by a train if you aren’t standing on the tracks so that’s what I did, metaphorically speaking of course.  Now, I don’t condone anyone standing on train tracks despite how fun and interesting that can be, and if you can manage to not sleep on any park benches or ever get punched in the face, I’d recommend that too, but  sadly that is no metaphor.  I guess the takeaway here is that if you can dream it, surely you can do it. Just keep at it, Slugger….  And above all else, have fun getting wherever you end up.  But also, you should at least try to be an astronaut first.

Somehow this phrase always brings a smile to my face. I know that I am going to experience great snow, beautiful scenery, killer mountains and a lots of fun. One of the many cool things about my job is I get to travel to awesome places, meet new people, talk about Surly and even ride a bit.

This November, we cooked up the idea to host a demo/party in the mountains of Colorado along with one of our dealers, Salvagetti. Here is the poster Wood created.

It took us a while to get off the ground, but some Bloody Mary’s helped that cause. 

We toured some interesting bike shops while visiting with our dealers. Our first stop was at Cycle Analyst and I was amazed by the endless categorized archive of vintage bike parts.  

Next stop was Happy Coffee for some kick you in the pants coffee, followed by delicious Sushi at Go Fish then ElDiablo for a couple of Coronas.

From there went to Trve Brewing Company to get supplies for the party. Trevor was amazed and delighted to find it was a heavy metal brewub. It was hard to get him out of there and I was diggin’ the beer. However, another keg was needed for camping so it was on to the Great Divide Brewery, which was a much larger operation but pretty cool in its own right. But what kind of keg should we get? We’ll just have to try them. With another keg tow we were off to Salvagetti to build up the Moonlanders and Krampi we had shipped.

The folks at Salvagetti were kind enough to put us up for the weekend where we sat around the fire and drank whiskey. Next morning we loaded up the bikes, played keep-away with a Knard, got some breakfast and went off to the mountains.

Gotta stop off for some beef Jerky and supplies. "Pardon me sir, do you have any grey poupon?"

We set up the demos and got the standard comments from folks. “Geez those are some big tires!", "Don’t you go slow on those things?”, "Aren't those things heavy?" My standard reply is “ride them." That is what changes people’s minds. There was not one person who wasn’t smiling after thier ride which is extremely rewarding to me. Many of them were surprised how the well Krampus performed on the trail and others had no idea that  Moonlander or Pug are much fun to ride.

Then it was time for lunch supplied by Basic Kneads. Yep, a wood fired pizza truck, bikes, camping, and beer= Baaaad Ass! It didn’t even bother me nearly getting shot by on overzealous deer hunter. 

We camped out that night and had a great time with all who came to hang out. Whiskey, fire, keg beer and more wood fired pizza. The Pizza oven was in operation all night. Someone even supplled bacon candy. Basic Kneads indeed. 

The next morning we had fresh made tortillas, eggs, bacon, and fresh pressed coffee for everyone. Afer getting fixed up right, I finally got to ride later that afternoon. The trails up there are pretty rad for a flatlander like me. The scenery alone made the ride. I did not want to leave but we rounded up everything and I was on the plane the next day.

Thanks to Scott, Maggie, Phillip, everyone at Salvagetti and Basic Kneads for heping us put on a kick ass event. Who knows we could be commin’ to your hood next.

I made a litte slideshow with music from Woodtekr. 

See you guys on the water. 

So 2012 was quite a year eh? Too bad I can’t remember much of it. I really was hoping for a fancy apocalyptic shit-show to go down so I can test my bug out bag, finally make that decision about which bike I take with me as I flee ensuing mayhem and live out all my Mad Max fantasies on The Road…but I guess I’ll have to settle for more droning hum-drummery of law and order. What I did really enjoy last year more than the release of the Kate Middleton photos, the “Fiscal Cliff”, Hurricane Sande or the presidential debates? Some REALLY good records got released. Now most folks around here know me as a metal head and while I won’t deny that this is true, I also collect a wide variety of strange and delightful records from a vast array of musical genres. So I though as I sat here at the home office that I would do a roundup of what I found to be my 9 favorite releases of 2012 (yeah 9. Everybody does 10. I’m doing 9, deal with it). By the way, do you know what the best thing about working from home is? It’s not the proximity to the fridge or the liquor shelf; it’s the clothing optional dress code. Think about it.

And here we are in no particular order, Trevor’s 9 crucial cuts of 2012:

feedtime – “ The Aberrant Years”

Not a 2012 recording but rather a massively awesome recap on the legendary Aussi  rock band’ s first four records all done between  1985–1989. It’s a great release because once you hear these dirty and minimal chugging tracks you will need to own all of it and this 4LP set just about covers it. Now I think I’m going to go blast this in the garage and start up my motorcycle for the hell of it.

Swans – “The Seer”

M. Jira’s masterfull and masochistic second release after this band rose like a phoenix from the ashes after years of disbandment. Definitely keeping some of the baroque compositions he was arranging with the Angels of Light outfit but sonically brutal and repetitive like the classic Swans you already love.

Bell Witch – “Longing”

DOOOOOOOOOM from the grim waterlogged wasteland that is Seattle. The best tracks are the same ones that were on the demo but the newer stuff is quite good too albeit more like a weird slow-core indy tone vs. Doom metal. I don’t even know how many times I have listened to this while answering emails about fat bike ETAs and Krampus pre-orders. The riffs in this cut remind me of the theme song from “Dune” by Toto.

Soft Moon – “Zeros”

Another absolutely perfect record from this Bay Area post-punk-industrial-dance mastermind Luis Vasquez. Sounds retro without trying too hard, also not riding the wave of shitty drum machine rock that seems to dominate the airwaves right now. Almost like New Order meets Wire with some Suicide mixed in. HOT GLOOMY DEATH  DISCO!

GOAT – “World Music”

If this track and accompanying bizzaro video doesn’t have you hopping on your bike and full-on sprinting to your area independent record store to grab a copy of this mind blowing and heady release, you should probably check your pulse. I don’t like picking absolute favorites but, this one…whew! The other thing that blows me away is that this group is from Sewden…and this is their first release?!?! It just doesn’t make any sense. They must have sold their pasty white souls to some demon or voo-doo shaman priest of funky rhythms.

Led Er Est – “The Diver”

More cold-waveish post punkery from this Brooklyn trio. I suppose this could come across as another drop in the bucket of groups trying to resurrect the magic of the late 70s-early 80s European underground sound… but there is so much more going on than you can pick up on just one spin through the album; weird sounds, brooding synths and effects flush out the simple beats, guitar noise and haunted vocals creating an otherworldy experience.  “If weather was a woman would he love her still?” I still have no idea what that means but I like it.

Moonbell  – “Moonbell”

Blissed out and atmospheric shoe-gaze dream pop. Beautiful stuff. This is one of my favorite records to listen to at the end of a long day when I need to be teleported to some far off mountain vista, like the one on the cover, planted down on a patch of soft grass and be lulled off to sleep under a starlit sky…or just pass out on the floor.

Ash Borer – “Cold of Ages”

I have not been a huge fan of USBM from the beginning for what I felt to be a lack of originality but these days more and more acts have been popping up that catch my attention. Still no one can touch the masterworks laid down in Norway in the late 80 s and early 90s but as the black metal genre has exploded and spawned a bazzilion sub genres and blended styles the creativity and experimentation has yielded some fine specimens. Take for example this release by the Northern Californians: Ash Borer. Nothing could make one more pleasant and agreeable in disposition as sunny northern California right? WRONG! Haunting and moody atmospherics give way to pummeling depressive metal shreddage! I don’t care if it’s 73 degrees and beautiful out, I’m frostbitten and grim on the inside and that’s what counts!

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan – “YT//ST”

Technically released 2011 but the small LP pressing didn’t really make it into circulation until last year. These two Canadian gals present their “Noh-Wave Opera” masterpiece consisting of pounding rhythms, soaring vocals and prog-psychedelia with a pop sensibility. This record is so good you can just put on repeat, sit back and enjoy…or dance around your living like a monkey in an oil fire. 

For all of you out there that ride flats in the winter, you know it is especially hard to find a good boot that has all the different features you want.  One of those key features is a sole that works well with a pedal.  The large tread in a winter boot causes the pins on your pedal to float between the tread bloks.  This causes your boot to slip around and forces you to hunt for a foot position, while riding, that interfaces with the pedal pins better.  This is annoying.

I wear a pair of Columbia Agent-X boots for most winter riding.  They have a slim profile, really wide spacious toe box, they're waterproof, relatively warm, and they are pretty easy on the wallet.  Not a bad choice in my book.

However, like most other boots, the tread lug is too aggressive and deep to work well with platform pedals.  So, about a month ago I decided to try and fix this.  I figured that if I could just cut off the tread lugs on the boot, the pins in the pedal would dig in to the flat rubber sole.

Fortunately for me, I have a tire groover that I picked up for modding tires a while back.  It gets wicked hot and the u-shaped blade slides right through rubber.  It was the perfect tool for my experiment.

After breathing burnt rubber for a while, I chopped off pretty much all the lugs on the front portion of my boots.  I left the lugs on the rear because they don't touch my pedals and I figured the extra grip might come in handy while walking around.

The result has been great so far.  The boot definitely hooks up with my pedals far better now and I can feel the pedal a little better through the sole.  I was nervous about the loss of traction for walking, but I haven't really noticed it.  Plus, I figure that I want these boots to work best when I am on the pedals, not walking around, so I am willing to compromise.

I don't know if this modification would work for everyone, but I am going to continuing doing this with future riding boots until I find a decent sole out of the box.  If you can get your hands on a rubber cutting tool of some sort, you should give it a try as well.  Good luck.

Also, my buddy Jed is rad.

Sometimes I sing in the shower......and then record it.

Love,

G. Funk

Hi I’m Phil and I’m a breeder.  Some of you may be breeders too and you may relate to my dilemma.  If you aren’t a breeder, don’t tune out because someday you may also succumb to the natural laws of nature to breed and the information you gleam from this post may prove beneficial in your future endeavors…

My daughter, like most kids her age, very much likes to read books and listen to bedtime stories.  Well, I have found that these stories were initially a fond reminder to my personal days of yore but after like the 500^th time through Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Bambi, etc….the stories became a little dull and mind numbing to continue each and every night.  So, using the interwebs, I sought out ways to make the evening ritual a little more interesting and found that the kiddo thoroughly enjoyed what I found.  The first time I read the Pee Little Thrigs she laughed through the entire story.  So, if you have this same nighttime ritual, I suggest giving this a try…Archie Campbell tells it the best but you can make it up on the fly.  Enjoy and goodnight.

http://youtu.be/o0Os2IGDXM8

The following is a recipe that I’d like to share with you all.  There are many variations on this recipe, but the common theme can be boiled down to the ingredients listed below (you might even have some of these around).

This recipe will make bikes that are great for fun in the snow, fun for the dirt, fun grocery getting, and general fun having –I couldn’t recommend it more and hope you’ll enjoy it, too.

Please follow the recipe carefully, and like Julia Child always said, if you’re afraid of butter, use cream!

Start with one (1) Pugsley frameset – any color and size will do.

Add two (2) Marge Lite rims.  Bring a nice sixxer down to your wheel builder when your stuff comes in so they do a good job for you.  Use whatever hubs and spokes you feel like.

Two (2) Nate tires (front and rear).  This is important so don’t skimp!  I know they can be hard to get, but they are worth it…  *Note – For summertime use, please substitute two (2) 26” x 3.8” Knard tires.

One (1) single speed drivetrain – 33 tooth up front, 19 tooth in the rear (or so).  No need to get aggressive here – this gearing is about perfect for powder, wheelies, and powder wheelies.

One (1) 720mm or wider bar with about 11 degrees of sweep- just try it for a while before you cut it down – you’ll be amazed at the results.

One (1) 70mm length stem, max!

One (1) set of sweet flat pedals – the grippiest you can find.

Brakes and grips to taste – go as wild as you dare, here folks.

(Commence the banging of pots and pans and the fluttering of chickens in the background)

Take all of these ingredients and fill in the rest with whatever you have in the pantry.  Throw them in a crock pot with a healthy dollop of grease and wait for the magic to begin…

This week a bunch of the Surly crew headed north of Minneapolis to Bob's hunting shack.  Snow crapped out on us, so riding was limited, but we had a good time shooting beer cans in the woods and brainstorming in the shack

Greg's mind was blown.

Saturday, I broke free from the shack and motored over to the Cuyuna Lakes area to check out the Whiteout event and hook up with my buddy Carl for a ride.  From the sounds of it, the fat bike race was a huge success and lured in over 100 riders to compete.  Well done CLMTB and whoever else helped organize this event.

http://cuyunalakesmtb.com/posts/whiteout-mini-gallery/

http://cuyunalakeswhiteout.com/

They had a pretty cool ice drag race on the lake in town.  No burnouts, but it was still pretty cool to see guys give it the beans down the straight and check out all the DIY studs.

Can you find the Yeti?

For those of you that don't know, the Cuyuna Lakes area trails are great in the Winter and Summer.  Carl and I stuck to the Yawkey trail system Saturday and the trails were awesome.  Little ruts in the corners to hook the tires and velvety smooth rollers down the straights to keep the flow.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/sra00302.pdf

Thanks to Trevor for letting Carl borrow his yellow steed for the day.

The single speed Pugsley is my winter ride of choice and it definitely shredded here.

Now go ride your bike.   

This week a bunch of the Surly crew headed north of Minneapolis to Bob's hunting shack.  Snow crapped out on us, so riding was limited, but we had a good time shooting beer cans in the woods and brainstorming in the shack

Greg's mind was blown.

Saturday, I broke free from the shack and motored over to the Cuyuna Lakes area to check out the Whiteout event and hook up with my buddy Carl for a ride.  From the sounds of it, the fat bike race was a huge success and lured in over 100 riders to compete.  Well done CLMTB and whoever else helped organize this event.

http://cuyunalakesmtb.com/posts/whiteout-mini-gallery/

http://cuyunalakeswhiteout.com/

They had a pretty cool ice drag race on the lake in town.  No burnouts, but it was still pretty cool to see guys give it the beans down the straight and check out all the DIY studs.

Can you find the Yeti?

For those of you that don't know, the Cuyuna Lakes area trails are great in the Winter and Summer.  Carl and I stuck to the Yawkey trail system Saturday and the trails were awesome.  Little ruts in the corners to hook the tires and velvety smooth rollers down the straights to keep the flow.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/sra00302.pdf

Thanks to Trevor for letting Carl borrow his yellow steed for the day.

The single speed Pugsley is my winter ride of choice and it definitely shredded here.

Now go ride your bike.   

Tires

Riding a good tire is a lovely thing to experience. A good quality, conditions-appropriate tire run at an appropriate pressure for the terrain and rider actually helps one ride more confidently and comfortably. There are five basics to consider when using a tire. These are the things primarily contributing to a tire's performance. 

• Tire Pressure

This is a very important aspect of regular maintenance and the single easiest way to tune any ride. Tire pressure can be altered to tweak what you want from the ground and your bike. Appropriate tire pressure depends on rider weight, tire size, and riding style, which considers speed and rider finesse. If you are not already experimenting with tire pressures you should be.  A tire run at high pressure will feel faster, partly because of lower ground friction due to decreased footprint and partly because of terrain feedback transmitted though the tire instead of absorbed by it. But a high-pressure tire will not conform well to the ground surface and, being hard, it will harsh your ride. Conversely, running pressure too low will result in a wallowing, slippery feeling ride and an increased risk of flatting. There is a window between these extremes wherein you can actually ride just as fast or faster than you can at high or low pressures because your tires are conforming to the ground surface and absorbing static from the terrain without fully deforming. Riding high pressures often results in less traction and comfort, reducing one’s ability to flow efficiently. So it behooves the regular rider to play around with different pressures in different tires on different terrains.

It’s good to play around with pressures, but not all tires will do well at low pressures. Small volume tires require higher pressures simply to sustain distance between the rim and the ground, but larger volume tires operate within a lower range of pressures than smaller tires. Larger tires, since they can be run at lower pressures, tend to flex more. Many casings can prematurely deteriorate if they experience too much flex over time. Using an extreme example, fat bike tires, we had issues with the sidewalls of our early Endomorph 3.7" tires. They tended to deteriorate at the places of high flex in the sidewalls under heavy use. Some people running tubeless tires experience the same issues using tires designed for use with inner tubes. We are now on our 4^th or 5^th casing design, a unique, purpose-specific casing construction resulting in responsive tires that enjoy a longer, more predictable life, but it took deliberate study and design to solve the issue. Which brings us to point number 2...

• Casing

The casing is the round structure of the tire, onto which a riding surface or tread is applied. It is constructed of fabric embedded in rubber. The wall thickness and casing construction of your tire will determine a lot about how your bike handles. Thick-walled, low TPI (threads-per-inch) tires generally will not conform as well to the ground and tend to be heavier. Conversely, a super thin-walled casing tends to be less durable than thicker-walled tires. Casings interplay directly with tire pressure, so play around with tire pressure to test casings for feel, resilience, and grip. I prefer round tires, rather than flattened or egg shaped profiles. I have found some very respectable low- to mid-range tires that work very well and feel great to ride. Good options are out there at all price levels for most cycling genres.

• Tread

Hey, guess what? Different tread patterns are designed to accomplish different things. A tread appropriate to the terrain will aid in your control and enjoyment. A widely spaced tread will shed mud and pull you through soft stuff. A stepped lug will claw its way up uneven surfaces. A tightly spaced pattern of knobs will roll faster than its larger, sparser bothers and sisters. Some treads are nothing more than textured surfaces. Treads may be optimized for front or rear use, for steering or traction, and may be designed to be mounted with the tread facing a certain direction. Rubber compounds vary too. Some compounds are 'stickier' and wear faster. Some are harder and wear longer but do not grip quite as well. Sometimes different compounds are used at key places within the same tire. Most tires will get you there one way or another.

• Aspect Ratio: Tire Shape and Rim Width

Tire size and rim width are intimately intertwined. Tires are designed to be a certain shape in order to maximize the characteristics of their design, and this shape is partly determined by the rim width. Messing around with tire/rim combinations will change the shape of the tire slightly by spreading it out or narrowing it at its base. Put a wide tire on narrow rim and it billows out over the sides too far and becomes prone to folding over especially at lower pressures. Put a narrower tire on a wider rim and it flattens out, sacrificing not only distance between rim and ground but its ability to perform as intended, potentially affecting the handling of the bike. Look at this picture that our product manager Adam drew:

The tire on the narrow rim will tend to pivot more where it meets the rim under sideload like cornering. I.e., it will rock more, even at higher pressure, than the one on the wider rim. But the picture is a bit misleading. The same size tire on a wider rim will not stay nice and round, but rather deform somewhat flatter and wider. All that said, rim/tire ratio is not absolute. The relationship operates within a range of possibility, leaving room for experimentation. Extreme combinations may make safe and secure mounting of the tire difficult, but as you advance as a cyclist it’s interesting to play around with different combinations in order to achieve various handling characteristics.

I recently put some 2.1” tires (intended for rims somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30mm wide) on some 50mm Rabbit hole rims. They mounted fine. They even look o.k. There are a bit more square than they were on the narrower rims but the sidewall height is decent and the tread is still rounded. Tempting. They feel good going straight, but I’ll probably throw some 2.3s to achieve a more rounded shape and improve their cornering. I will use them on my Karate Monkey.

I also have 3.8” Knards on 82mm Rolling Darryl rims. The Knards were designed around 65mm Marge Lite rims but the extra width of the RDs doesn’t distort them much. The Knard is still round, with plenty of height, and because of the extra width they do remarkably well in soft, shifty conditions such as the snowpacked roads we’ve got around here these days. Nate3.8s would be nice too, especially in softer, snowier areas.

• Weight/Rotational Mass

Big tires weigh more. That weight is at the outside of your wheel. The more weight at the outside circumference, the greater inertia carried in your spinning wheel. Heavier tires require a bit more effort to get rolling and keep rolling however, and more effort to stop than lighter ones. A set of 29x3” Knards can be a lot of fun but will also require more noticeable effort over the course of a ride compared to lighter tires. This isn’t to say heavy is necessarily bad…heavier tires also carry more inertia and can help pull you through rolling terrain. When the goal isn’t plain old speed that extra mass can be put to good use too. Fat bike tires and rims have more rotational weight than their non-‘fat’ counterparts but you don’t notice it too much when you’re riding in snow or sand because they’re designed to maximize control in these conditions.

In conclusion, I’d like to put one more exclamation point on the idea of TIRE PRESSURE. Check your tire pressure regularly. Play around with different pressures. Ask your friends what pressures they run. Ask your local shop. Start trying pressures you’ve never tried before and take note of what happens. If you don’t have a floor pump with a decent gauge for the love of God go out and buy one. It’ll last you a long time and is the single easiest way you have of dialing the ride of whatever bike you own. And get a good portable pump too. Love, Mom.

Well, I think we’ve made good progress today. Now go out there and think about this stuff as you ride.