Surly Big Dummy
Mike let me know that Tree Fort Bikes is clearing out Surly Big Dummy frames for just over $600USD. Their online store is showing all sizes in stock – although that could be incorrect. Anyways if you are looking to build up a Big Dummy this is a sweet deal.
Josh's sweet Big Dummy
Josh is selling his gorgeous Surly Big Dummy cargo bike. Details are below – pls contact Josh directly about this sale as I am not involved in this transaction beyond helping a friend out with some coverage of his sale.
Please contact Josh at joshmaus “at” gmail “dot” com if you are interested. He is located in the Boise Idaho area.
Custom pianted Xtracycle parts look awesome.
Photo: Mauricio Babilonia on Flickr
Although not the first custom longtail fatbike [check out the Chupacabra] this bad boy from Banjo Cycles is the most refined. I don’t have much in the way of details yet, but thought I’d share these photos for the fat tire freaks out there.
Sharon's Upgraded City MTB
Like a lot of people my girlfriend Sharon owns a decent mountain bike and his no interest in mountain biking. Living in the middle of a large city she has many cycling opportunities, but the slow uncomfortable mountain bike doesn’t encourage her to try and use it to get around. I’m a big advocate of getting the right bike for the job, however, there is no point investing $1000+ unless you have validated you have a serious desire to actually incorporate cycling into your life. Since Sharon’s Burning Man bike was stolen I figured it made the most sense to upgrade her mountain bike for use as a city bike this summer and then make it her new Burning Man bike at the end of the summer. If she uses it a lot over the next few months that would justify the purchase of a new city bike and all the mods we made are useful for cruising the playa at Burning Man.
Jandd Grocery Panniers
In an earlier post I mentioned buying some Jandd grocery panniers for Sharon’s bike. These have turned out to be an excellent choice for her cargo needs. They fold flat when not in use and with open tops are super easy to simply drop stuff in and then grab it as needed. They offer no security or weather protection, but this bike is not going to be ridden in the rain and the panniers detach so easily they can come in with her if she locks up the bike for a while.
Jandd Panniers Top View
I mounted the Jandd grocery panniers to a Filzer PR-2 rack I bought at MEC. You can also see in the photo above a Planet Bike Superflash rear blinkie for night riding.
Terry Ladies Cite X Saddle
Not surprisingly the skinny hard racing saddle that came stock on the bike didn’t make her butt happy so I replaced it with a wider ergonomic Terry Cite X saddle. So far she has been happy on rides up to 1hr. As her range expands we’ll consider trying out a Brooks or some other saddle as needed , but for shorter trips the Terry seems to work quite well and needs no attention.
Revised Cockpit and QR Wicker Basket
The cockpit need some work to make it more comfortable so I replaced the flat MTB bar with an ergonomic Thorn Comfort Bar MK2 and added Ergon Grips. For style and utility I installed a quick release wicker basket – which is great for holding items that need easy access or for a fashionable run to the market.
Typically I would have installed some BMX platforms to round out the contact points on this bike, but it already had some decent platform pedals installed that we’ll wear out before upgrading.
Fat knobbies aren’t useful when cruising around town so I swapped in some Schwalbe Big Apple tires in the 26 x 2.15″ size. Inflating them to a moderate pressure yields a reasonably fast and comfortable ride. I saved the knobbies and will reinstall them for Burning Man and possibly move the Big Apples over to her new city bike if she gets one and it has 26″ wheels. I wouldn’t mind trying these Big Apples on my Surly Big Dummy at some point if Sharon doesn’t need them any longer…lol…don’t tell her I covet her tires!…=-)
2.15" Schwalbe Big Apple Tires
I’ve tried to be low pressure about biking. I ride to her place 99% of the time rather than drive since it’s only 15 blocks or so. I also ride to appointments, parties etc… and walk as much as I can. I figure being a positive example is more effective than nagging someone. So far I’ve been pleased that she’s used her bike a fair bit…including climbing the steepest hill in downtown without stopping as well as some fun night rides home from parties. She has even decided to store her bike in the front lobby so it’s easier to grab on the way out rather than haul it up and down to the basement. Sharon has talked about commuting by bike and I’ve offered to ride with her all the way to work in the mornings for company and to provide encouragement & mechanical support!
It will be interesting to see what happens now that she has a bike that is both comfortable and useful. As Mugatu says…”…girls on bikes are soooooo HOT right now!…”….=-)
RANS' crank forward cargo bike in action.
If the Surly Big Dummy intrigues you, but you want/need something different in the way of ergonomics RANS has continued to develop its crank forward cargo bike design. RANS’ crank forward bikes move your weight rearward and lower down onto a wide comfy seat. The lower position means you can get your feet flat on the ground at stops while remaining seated. For many people this translates into a natural and comfy ergonomic position.
RANS has posted more info about the Hammer Truck on their website here.
Loading up the Hammer Truck
Use a nickel to spread the lower portion of the clamp.
Check out the Xtracycle Blog for a useful tip on installing Watchamacolars on a Big Dummy. Since the tubing of the Surly Big Dummy is larger than the Xtracycle sub-frame the lower portion of the Watchamacollars is a very tight fit. By using a nickel to spread the lower part of the clamp you can get it on much easier.
Good tip!…=-)
$4.20 V-rack clamps for your Big Dummy
If $39 for 2 Watchamacollar V-rack clamps is too rich for your bank account you can’t get the seatpost clamps pictured above for $4.20 each after discount. They are slightly larger than the tubing on the Big Dummy so you’ll need to wrap the area you are clamping with some tape to get the right fit. A reasonable compromise given the cost savings.
$19.50 V-rack clamps from Xtracycle
Watchamacollars in action:
Watchamacollars securing V-racks to an Xtracycle
Note that the Xtracycle Watchamacollars have a built in o-ring to keep water out of the Big Dummy/Xtracycle sub-frame. So if you use the DIY clamps and live in a wet area you’ll want to use something like some inner tube to keep water out.
Photo: James Tworow
A typical Saturday in Calgary found us rolling across town in search of smooth pavement to longboard and a delicious brunch. The Big Dummy wasn’t even maxed out. We had room for one more passenger! Good work Surly…=-)
The Big Dummy is up for the job...
After sitting idle all winter in the corner of my apartment I decided it was time to unleash the Big Dummy for its first ride of 2009. I needed to drop off a Dahon Mu P8 test bike at Bow Cycle so Kurt rode the Dahon and I trucked along on the Big Dummy.
more fun than should be legal...=-)
The right pedal fell off before I had managed 10′ on the Big Dummy – apparently I hadn’t gotten around to finishing the job of installing it sometime over the winter! With that small incident taken care of we rolled the 15kms to Bow Cycle enjoying a lovely spring day in Calgary.
Rebecca on the move...
On the way back from Bow Cycle I towed Kurt on his longboard for 15kms. Strangely enough this is an ideal arrangement for both of us…he gets to ride for a really long time with no pushing and I get a better workout…=-)
Angela goes hands free...
We stopped at Eau Caire for a drink and to people watch. When we ran into Rebecca and Angela of course they had to try out the Dummy.
Towing Rebecca...
I’m looking forward to lots of good times on this bike….=-)
Titec H Bar
I’ve had Titec H-bars on my Surly Big Dummy since last spring and used them on my Pugsley for a a couple months. On the Big Dummy they are pretty much ideal. They give you a wide hand position to control heavy loads as well as a few other options to give you the ability to switch things up on longer rides. The stretched out “aero” position is nice for long road rides or tours. I think I’d like some of Jeff Jones new variants on the H-bar even better, but I can’t quite allow myself to spend $500-$600 on a set of handle bars. I do hope some of these designs get licensed by Titec and we see $100 aluminum versions someday soon.
Pugnacious H Bars
I’m not as sold on the H-bars for the Pugsley. On one hand if you are cruising, touring or generally riding around on non-technical trails these bars are excellent. However, as I ride more technical mountain bikey trails I’m not as fond of them. I think a standard MTB riser bar you give me more control and let me throw the bike around better. This is mostly due to the fact that with my Alfine shifter and Avid brake levers I can’t brake effectively from the far outside of the bars [cross bar forces you to mount the brake lever well ahead of the grips and shifter] so I end up moving my hands inboard to reach the brakes reducing my comfort and leverage. Jeff Jones doesn’t recommend Ergon Grips on these bars and in fact I don’t think he’d be stoked about my setup at all so perhaps that’s the issue not the bars themselves. Having said that I love the Ergon Grips and Alfine so my options are limited. I’m not quite at the point where I care enough to actually swap in some riser bars to confirm my theory, but I might get around to it this summer. One way to make my H-bars work better on the Pugsley is to get the brake levers closer to the grips. The Avid v-brake levers on there now are non-adjustable. I’ve got some Shimano SLX hyraulic disc brakes waiting to get installed. They have an easy reach adjustment so I’ll be able to dial things in a bit. The riser bars will give me more control, but at the expense of all those comfy hand positions so it’s not a clear cut decision.
A Big Dummy complete is now $2450
The Surly Blog reports that the MSRP for a Big Dummy complete bike is now $2450 down from $2700.
CETMA is making an interesting looking cargo bike that is designed and built in the US. The video above talks about some of its features and you can read this BikeForums.net thread for more info. I have to say the bike looks a bit ungainly to me compared to my Big Dummy, but it has grown on me since I first saw it. I’ll withhold judgment until we get some independent reports about what it’s like to haul a load with the CETMA rig.
Either way I think it’s great folks are trying new designs for practical bikes.
Fin's fully loaded Big Dummy...
I’ll let the Cycling Gypsies describe themselves:
“Welcome to an experiment in progress. 12 legs atop 6 six wheels; a circus show, commandeering attention everywhere we go. Two mentally disturbed humans, and two mentally disturbed dogs, taking a beautiful detour from the so called ‘real world’. Anchorless, wanderers on the open road, with a path directed by the handlebars of a bicycle. A simple life propelled forward out of necessity and wanderlust; food, water, warmth, shelter, and the never-ending horizon. As weather-makers in this increasingly hot, flat, and crowded world, we can’t think of a better way to experience its beauty and enormity, than one pedal at a time.”
Paco says being a dog on tour can make one very sleepy!
A Surly Big Dummy, a Surly LHT + trailer, 2 dogs, a European bike tour reported with great journal entries and beautiful photographs – what’s not to like?
Zoa and her passenger
...checking in with his co-pilot
Johan sent me these photos of his Big Dummy carrying precious cargo. I wonder how many BDs there are in Sweden?
...his 2 month old is blissfully ignorant of how cool Dad's bike is he just enjoys the smooth longtail ride...=-)
Nice build Johan…have fun with your Big Dummy…=-)
...a family affair
Of course when I was hauling the really big loads I had my hands full and couldn’t take any photos…=-)
RANS' new longtail
RANS has put the Hammer Truck up on their website with specs. Sounds like production models will hit the street in early 2009 so we’ll have to wait a bit to see what owners are saying, but the concept looks promising.
All photos: RANS
Originally posted on my Big Dummy Blog – April 2008
So fresh and clean!
Big Dummy Spec:
Originally posted to my Big Dummy Blog – April 2008
Planet Bike Cascadia ATB Fenders on my Big Dummy
I mounted some Planet Bike Cascadia ATB fenders on my Big Dummy recently. They look great and fit the 2″ Marathon XRs well.
Rear wheel
The rear went on easily without any modifications and fits the BD frame perfectly. The fender struts are touching the BD frame so I’ll put some electrical tape there to keep them from rubbing through the paint.
Front wheel
I mounted the front fender to the mid-fork braze ons – avoiding the disc brake caliper entirely. However, PB provides hardware to get you around the caliper if you want to use the lower mounts.
DIY adapter used to lower front fender
One issue I ran into is the massive amount of clearance in the BD fork means that if you mount the fender to the fork crown as you usually would you end up with a huge gap between the fender and the tire. It looked goofy so I made a small bracket from a scrap of metal to lower the fender closer to the tire.
Photo: Riding the Spine
Goat – from the Riding the Spine Crew – had a custom long tail bike built that can run super fat 3.7″ Surly Endomorph tires. He has put it through some serious thrashing on their ride down through the Americas. Click here to read more about the Chupacabra.
Very cool! it’s like the child of a Big Dummy and a Pugsley…=-)
Photo: Riding the Spine
Cruising downtown Sunday AM
When the street is too rough for longboarding surf the dummy.
Uphill?...no problem I got a Rohloff under the hood!
...sometimes your relatives are Big Dummies...=-)
Great track by a bike powered band – the Ginger Ninjas!
Flatboarder's Surly Big Dummy
Flatboarder has been putting his Surly Big Dummy through its paces this year in the mountains of Austria. His blog has a new look [all the cool kids are switching to WordPress...lol..=-)]. Even if you are not a Big Dummy fan you should check out his posts as he tries out gear that’s interesting and useful to many practical cyclists – plus his tour photos are a lot of fun.
Flatboarder has been punishing a Shimano Alfine IGH on his Big Dummy while touring and MTBing in the mountains this season. His success with this IGH gave me the confidence to fit one on my Pugsley.
photo: Getty Images
[naturally Santa rides a cargo bike!...=-)]
Rohloff - fine German engineering for bikes!
One problem with buying a Rohloff hub is that there are a TON of options to navigate if you want to get the right hub. In this post I’ll run through the options to let you know what works and what I chose.
Colour:
To make your life easier here are the part numbers you can use to ensure you are getting exactly what you need when you order your Rohloff hub:
Originally Posted on my Big Dummy Blog – August 2008
Photo: Todd Fahrner
Todd Fahrner [Clever Cycles] recently completed a ~200mile camping trip in the mtns with his family using two Stoke Monkey equipped longtail bikes. He has a write up here and photos here. He used the two electric assist systems to help get these big bikes up some very steep mountains. This allowed a family tow tackle a challenging ride that would not have been possible if they had to pedal the entire way. For folks that have partners who aren’t hardcore cyclists this might be just the solution to get your other half out on the road with you.
I’ve posted a Big Dummy review over on my Bow Cycle blog for anyone who wants more dumb content…=-)
Big Dummy on the very wet Dempster Highway
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