No, I'm not talking about the national obesity epidemic, I'm talking about the Surly frame geometry. When I bought my Pacer frame (currently for sale), I read about the ability to fit large tires and/or fenders on the road frame (ie Fatties Fit Fine). That was pretty cool I thought, particularly because it didn't negatively affect the bike in any other way. I wondered - why don't all non racing frames come like this? (The answer is probably industry laziness) I didn't really test it though, using tires no wider than 25's on that bike. However, I did meet one guy who was testing the limits. He had a Surly 1x1 (which is a 26" frame) fitted with 29" wheels and cyclocross tires. Plenty of room left over for a thick creamy layer of mud. He raced it too. Do the guys at Surly know about this versatility?
5 comments:
When I was running my Fixation as a 69er, the Surly 1x1 fork has just enough AC height to fit a 29x2.1 tire with nobs nicely. I couldn't do 2.2s because there was a little rub and forget 2.3s! I have seen other 1x1 frames set up as 29ers. I have always wanted a 1x1 for steel 69er project.
Here is a shot of the Fixation with the 1x1 and of course some ancillary attachments. The bike holders are great but hard to manage at times:
Fixation 69er
Very cool Mark. This whole 29er wheel in a 26er is news to me. How do your knees hold up dragging the kiddies on a 1x1? What made you go with a disc/linear pull brake combo?
I think I have ridden this way once with my daughter and it was a blast! I rode fixed with a TomiCog and she just enjoyed the ride from the
back.
Knees are great as long as I stick to rail trails with very little incline.
Forgot to mention, the 69er concept (29" front and 26" back), or 96er if the seems offensive, is awesome especially if you are going to ride rigid. In fact, I have tried three forks: a Surly Instigator (again, very high AC height), a Qstick from my 29er, and the 1x1 and I have to say that the 1x1 is the best! Of course, it's not suspension corrected so that might be part of the issue because it makes the BB a little lower to the ground. A comparable fork would be the Willits 29er fork but they are expensive - $250. My 1x1 was $20 from eBay.
Thanks for bringing the TomiCog to my attention. I didn't know about that, but it's a nifty idea.
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