Surly Disc Trucker - Fully Operational

The Surly is in complete working order now. It took forever to get the wheels but they're finally on the bike. They look and feel like they can roll through whatever lies ahead of them and spin up really nicely on hills, although that'll change when the bike's loaded. The rims are Mavic A719 units which I chose for their box-section design and dual eyelets. I know deep-V profile wheels tend to be stiffer and stronger but kids in tight jeans and fixie bikes have ruined them for me. The shallower box-section look actually wins me over in a sexy-nerdy way, like cute girls that wear eyeglasses. Hopefully the fixie kids don't catch on to the look.

The rims are paired to their hubs by way of 36 DT Swiss double-butted spokes front and back. They were laced up and assembled by Richard of Richard's Cyclery of Garden Grove California in case you're local and want something similar. Call me hopeful, but I have a feeling these wheels will hold up just fine for a long time.

I chose a Shimano XT hub for the rear and it's as smooth as can be. The front hub is a Shutter Precision PD-8 dynamo hub from Taiwan. This hub isn't as smooth as the Shimano unit at the back wheel but it's not supposed to be. I admit it's a bit notchy, kind of like when a hub is overtightened but it's worth the trade-off of having 6 volts of power on tap. Sometimes when the bike is coasting at the right speed there's a hint of a vibration from the handlebars but it's barely noticeable and it hasn't bothered me yet. As far as friction and drag go I don't think it'll make a noticeable difference even on long, steep climbs. A small amount of drag is worth the trade-off of never needing batteries for infinite visibility, day or night.

I also appreciate the sleeker look of the PD-8 over the Shimano Alfine hubs which kind of resemble tuna cans. I haven't decided on a front light yet so the hub's power output hasn't been tested yet. The only issue I can report so far was that hard braking causes the entire front axle to shift against the dropouts. This is most likely an issue related only to the front skewer not having enough surface area to clamp the dropouts. Since the hub didn't include a front skewer I was using a Shimano skewer with an aluminum acorn nut. I switched to another skewer with a larger steel acorn. This should provide a more secure clamping area against the dropout.

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the build were installing the Nitto front and rear cargo racks. I've long drooled over pictures of Nitto's beautiful components. They take great pride in creating the best alloy bicycle products on the market. Be advised that "best" doesn't mean "lightest". A Nitto product is neither heavy nor light, it's exactly as heavy as it needs to be to last forever. The welds on the front and rear racks are immaculate and nickel plated for a pretty glow. The time and care put into designing and building each rack is striking. If you want something special, something that doesn't look like it was mass produced by simpleton clock-punchers, this is it. I initially only planned on using Nitto racks but I also caved in and got their gorgeous two-bolt Nitto S83 seatpost as a perch for my Selle San Marco Regale saddle (a personal favorite).

One of my favorite features with the Campee rack is that it mounts perfectly with the included nut assembly shown below. Nitto also includes rubberized clamps for bikes without mounting brackets. The Disc Trucker has the mounts so I didn't need to use the clamps, but it's a nice touch.

The front rack is the M1 model designed by some guy at Rivendell Bicycle Works who's coincidentally called Mark. The rack is small but should be great for holding food, a small camera, a phone, a small dog, or a carton of Virginia Slims (another personal favorite). For my application it will also be a great place to mount a dynamo powered headlight.

Putting this bike together has changed the way I feel about bicycles. I own several bikes, but this is the first bike I've pieced together entirely with parts that I spec'ed out after researching every option. For most cyclists the appeal of having the most efficient, wind-tunnel tested bike is so tempting that they end up with a $10,000 Cervelo and a beer gut accentuated by their lycra kit. Race bikes are fast, I have one and when you're in shape it makes you feel amazing when you sprint or attack a steep incline like a maniac. There's a place for carbon fiber race bikes, but there's also a place for a bike that you can ride from here to Canada. For me, the possibilities that this bike opens up for adventure riding are incredibly appealing. 

Next time this bike comes up it should have a nice dynamo-powered light mounted to the front rack. It will also be a fair bit more dirty. 

Out with the old!

I am selling this bicycle.

I bought this whip about three years ago because I wanted an old bike to ride to the supermarket or use for small errands. In the beginning it was great because it didn't cost me much money and if anything happened to it I wouldn't be at a huge loss. It was a beater bike. However, I slowly started making some innocent upgrades that ended up changing it from a beater to a somewhat nice bike.

First it was the tires because the original tires were awful. The traction, well there was no traction and they seemed to have a magnetic attraction to glass shards. So after a few flats I decided to upgrade from 27" wheels to 700c wheels and I wrapped them up with nicer, newer tires that didn't get punctured as easily.

Then I realized with smoother hubs and better tires I was going much faster so I changed out the brakes from the cheap Dia-Comp duds to a nice set of Tektro dual pivots. While I was at it I also replaced the brake levers... and the cables... and the handlebars.

By the time I was done, I'd doubled what I paid for the bike with bits of kit here and there. The bike was no longer a beater. I'd become too invested and I hardly rode the bike for errands anymore and it just sat.  So I decided I'd sell it, because it's too nice. That sounds weird to say but it makes perfect sense at the same time.

The moral of the story is: a beater is a beater. If you change that, at least make sure that you have the old parts handy so that you can re-install them. That way you can sell the bike cheap and keep the good components on hand for another project.  I didn't do that, so I'm trying to get $325 for it now. Hopefully I can get rid of it...

Wheel Flexibility

The Disc Trucker is 80% complete at this point and it's rideable. The custom wheels I ordered are still being wrought in the fiery pit of Mount Doom so I decided to check if any wheels I had in the house would work.

I tried putting my mountain bike wheels on it. The Disc Trucker's rear dropouts are spaced at 135mm so mountain bike hubs will fit perfectly. The issue is that I have pretty fat tires (2.3"-front and 2.0"-rear). I didn't think the bike would accommodate the tires but they sat right between the fork blades and the rear stays without rubbing. The effective diameter of the wheels with the tires is pretty close to 700c's. This means I can basically use whatever wheels I want. The only concern I have is that fenders might create some clearance problems in the future but I'll leave that up to the scientific process of trial and error.

26", 700c, 29" or even 650b's NO PROBLEM.

This bike is suitable for every type of terrain I can possibly ride on, except a lava field. I can easily switch between 26" knobby tires or 700c slicks. Now I need to install a front derailler and some water bottle cages before the bike is complete. I also plan on getting a nice comfortable saddle and seatpost to replace the one on loan from the mountain bike.

I've only ridden the bike around the block briefly to check for rattles and squeaks so I won't comment on the ride. The only thing I'll say is that the brakes are strong despite the amount of lever pull that's required for them to engage. This is partially due to my use of standard cable housing. TRP calls for compressionless housing but I was too lazy to order any. The rear is more squishy because of the full-length housing but it will still lock the wheel before bottoming-out. It's fine for now, but I'll need to be watchful of pad wear or eventually I'll lose much-needed cable tension. The front is of course more solid but I might employ some i-Link Alligator housing to get the feel I want. It might be especially expensive because the rear housing length on this bike is very long. I suspect I'll need more than one package of housing for this bike but it would still be worth it because it looks really cool and that in turn, makes me cool.

I'll post again when I have my custom set of wheels. Until then, avoid all shopping malls and remember that family is #1 unless they get in the way of assembl-ifiying your new touring bike.