Once more but with feeling!

Early this summer I bought a 1x1 frame set off craigslist. Specifically I bought a Race Face crankset with a Surly 1x1 frame set attached to it. The plan being, upgrade the crankset on my 1x1, and sell the frame set for what I had into it back on cl.

oh the plans of mice and men.

I brought the parts home and commented on the nearly new condition and my loving wife says "I would like a 1x1 too." Which is the truth. She's always borrowing my bike. rides it everywhere. 

So with a heavy heart I said goodbye to the crankset and we started collecting parts.

I had a gordo rim built around a schimano hub, but not disc. It came with the Instigator, which I switched to disc last summer, but had just picked up a new wheel for. SOOO, this dust collecting double walled beast of a rim made the cut for a new bike. So I tore that apart and rebuilt it around an sram x9 cassette hub. I built a second gordo rim onto a shimano disc hub with a three leading three trailing spoke pattern.

We went with bb7 brakes, partly because I am familiar with them and partly because the older 1x1 frames don't have brazons that play nice with hydraulic brakes. Mostly the familiar bit. I didn't think of the compatibility bit until I was actually running the cables. My fear of change seems to have saved me headache for a change. I called it a win.

Geared at about 2.15x1 the bike is a little high for riding single track in Lebanon Hills, but great for ambling around the city. No stalling on those crappy hills St. Paul has every four blocks. We had some 2.25in Kenda tires handy.  I'd like to put something a little nicer on like nevegals or minions, but that'll be later. 

The bike is light and zippy. The wheels feel great. She really likes the new bike, and now we have black and white 1x1s. And they are pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.

explaination.

I just glossed over some things.

Back in 09 I was riding the Miyata that I bought off Craigslist. But I was unhappy with the performance of the brakes. So I pulled together my spare change and bought from a friend a used 1x1 frame. I had taken a wheel building class and with the newfound confidence built a set of three leading three trailing wheels. It looks as good as you'd expect. geared 1:2.15 with 170mm cranks I am pretty happy with the set up. I have battered rack bolted on and collapsable wire basket zip tied to it on the non drive side. Mostly, the bike was built from parts from the SBR or bought/bartered from other's reserves. The bike has mismatched 160mm  disc brakes.

We bought my wife a Long Haul Trucker and promptly changed the handle bars over and again till we found the set up she liked. Midline levers were as important as anything in making the noodle bars comfortable. It started off life with us with the MKS battle ax pedals and we switched them out for mks tourers. And we took the v brakes off the Instigator and got rid of the crap oryx that the bike came with.

The Instigator has an enabler fork on it and I have sewn a frame bag. I don't have a rack on this bike anymore, it never was made to have one and was battle against its nature. The enabler fork improved the handling I think, and I usually ride it as a 69er. I upgraded from the v-brakes to bb7s. I keep turning to this bike for riding single track. I tear through the woods, crashing on occasion, without worry--this bike is nearly bombproof.

Last summer I borrowed a friend's Pugsley and fell in love with the platform. I learned a few things along the way. Hydraulic brakes for example are great when they work, but if the line pops--then you are screwed. Late in July I was looking on craigslist and found one for a song. I've been commuting on this primarily since, and every ride is giggles. The bike came to me single speed, 36x18 with a second cog for 36x20. The bike looks like an 09 model? When I bought it the handlebars were at a bizarre angle that seemed completely unnatural. I left them in case the guy I bought it from was on to something. Seems he was. I have adjusted my other flat bars to match now. Climbing is more comfortable with smiling bars. Today I gave it fangs.