I was wondering if you had any suggestions on my current project/tour. I see everyone blogging and commenting on fat bikes as a way to get to places that snow covered or sand covered or muddy, or as touring to far away places. My focus is a little bit different, it is how to use a bicycle as a vehicle. My normal bicycle is a Bike Friday Silk with a rohloff belt drive because I live in NJ across the river from NYC and a folding bike is the only bike allowed on any form of public transportation at anytime. So I can get to most places with a combination of bicycle/subway/ferry/bus/train. When I started to go out to Long Island, it was accesible by train (LIRR) and bicycle, however two areas were limiting me with my current bicycle: the beach, and the forest. The hamptons has approximately 40 miles of almost uninterrupted ocean beaches from Shinnecock canal east to montauk point. They also have probably 200 miles (very rough estimate) of trails, many of which are 300 or more (possibly indian trails) years old. So I did what any normal person would do, I bought myself a bicycle (vehicle) that would allow me to access these two area: a fatbike. I decided to test buy the original, tried and true fatbike, the Surly Pugsly. I bought it Friday evening from the premier fatbike shop on Long Island, if not all of the East Coast, Cycle Haven in Oyster Bay, NY. The owner Derrick set me up with a Surly Pugsly at a good price and about an hour later I was pulling the bike off the bike rack and Riding down the beach from Gin Lane, Southampton all the way to Mecox Bay. To make a long story short...I took the bike everywhere I couldnt be before...along 25 miles of the Paumonak Path all through the wooded sand dunes of the Hamptons and realized that the Pugsley, although perfect for me would suffer from the abuse I would put it through. I love a steel frame, however I feel Titanium would serve me better to be able to scrape it up all day long through the woods and then be able to ride it along the beach without having to worry about salt getting into frame and corroding it. In the same token, the derailer system is adaquate except for when you begin to spend more time fixing it, or worrying about breaking it. In the past year I have put about 5,000 miles on my Bike Friday with rohloff belt drive, and those are the only two things that havent given me any trouble. I cracked the frame, cracked the crank, blew up countless tires, had the forks and front wheel run over by a bus... So i figure that would get me through the woods and to the beach without problems. Also, if I plan on starting this project in the winter I will require lights. I didnt put a dynamo hub on my bike friday because I ride it in a more urban environment, however my (dream) fatbike will include a Schmidt Son front hub dynamo so that I will never have to worry about having a headlight. When its dark in the woods or on the beach, its dark. To compensate for the added weight of both these hubs I plan on having carbon tubeless ready rims, because a fat tire is never fun, but a fat tire in an inaccessible area, possibly affected by tides can be dangerous. To round out the build I plan on putting Jones H bars on and hydraulic disc brakes along with a sealed durable crank shaft. Do you have any suggestion on how to get some support for this endeavor either in the publicity area or from manufacturers, especially the ones whose products I trust and use. My basic premise is the bike/fatbike as vehicle that will take you to where you want or need to go, and that it has led me to many beautiful places which my photographs attest to.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:49:01 +0000
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