Well, it's official, I'm a sellout! Yesterday I traded-in my old 26" full rigid SS for a new rig complete with 29" wheels, and man, am I ever pleased with the end result!
I originally made the decision to go "big" a few weeks ago; however, I did not think that the change would occur so soon. Thanks to a couple of good friends, I managed to scrape together enough parts to build my newest steed; a full rigid pearl coffee (brown) Surly Karate Monkey.
The new Karate Monkey frame arrived late Monday afternoon, so that evening I spent an hour or so applying a generous coat of J.P. Weigle Cycles Frame Saver to the inside of my frame. For those of you that have never used this stuff before, I have just a few simple words of advice, "Apply this product in an extremely well ventilated area!" After nearly 19 hours dry-time, I grabbed my frame and fork and headed over to my buddy's place for a bike tear-down / rebuild party. Tearing my 1x1 down took no time at all, as my buddy has as many (if not more) tools than most bike shops. We made sure to inspect everything taken off the old frame for excessive wear; pleased to report that every single component was in tip top shape!
Putting the new bike together was a blast, in fact, I had forgotten how much I really enjoy tinkering on my bikes. After cutting the steer tube to the proper length, and installing the headset, we moved to the FSA BB and Middleburn Cranks. Next, we installed the rear wheel and adjusted the chain line. We got lucky on this one, as there was no need to shim the rear cog; everything just fell right into proper alignment. This was followed by re-tensioning and truing both wheels (before final installation on the bike). Lastly, we hung the old-school first generation HOPE MINI hydraulic brakes. Shimming the brake calipers was probably the most tedious task involved in the build, but fortunately my buddy Kevin has become a whiz at "finessing" these calipers into their optimal position, and so far there is no brake drag!
I originally made the decision to go "big" a few weeks ago; however, I did not think that the change would occur so soon. Thanks to a couple of good friends, I managed to scrape together enough parts to build my newest steed; a full rigid pearl coffee (brown) Surly Karate Monkey.
The new Karate Monkey frame arrived late Monday afternoon, so that evening I spent an hour or so applying a generous coat of J.P. Weigle Cycles Frame Saver to the inside of my frame. For those of you that have never used this stuff before, I have just a few simple words of advice, "Apply this product in an extremely well ventilated area!" After nearly 19 hours dry-time, I grabbed my frame and fork and headed over to my buddy's place for a bike tear-down / rebuild party. Tearing my 1x1 down took no time at all, as my buddy has as many (if not more) tools than most bike shops. We made sure to inspect everything taken off the old frame for excessive wear; pleased to report that every single component was in tip top shape!
Putting the new bike together was a blast, in fact, I had forgotten how much I really enjoy tinkering on my bikes. After cutting the steer tube to the proper length, and installing the headset, we moved to the FSA BB and Middleburn Cranks. Next, we installed the rear wheel and adjusted the chain line. We got lucky on this one, as there was no need to shim the rear cog; everything just fell right into proper alignment. This was followed by re-tensioning and truing both wheels (before final installation on the bike). Lastly, we hung the old-school first generation HOPE MINI hydraulic brakes. Shimming the brake calipers was probably the most tedious task involved in the build, but fortunately my buddy Kevin has become a whiz at "finessing" these calipers into their optimal position, and so far there is no brake drag!
The entire process took about 3-1/2 hours, and then she was all done. At 9:00 p.m. I threw a leg around my new 29er Karate Monkey and took her for a spin down my buddy's long driveway; I must have looked like a little kid riding his new bike on Christmas morning, cause that's what I felt like.As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." So without further ado, I present to you the newest addition to my collection; my first ever 29er.
4 comments:
damn, that looks GOOD!!!
me likey-
29er's are slow.
Hotie! Post ride report when you can.
Post a Comment