Surly Bikes
A while back we switched all of our fatbikes (which at the time all had off-set rear ends) to on-center forks and front wheels. The people out there (that’s you silly) told us that’s what they wanted, and we (being the extremely reasonable people that we are) responded.
Though many of us (myself included still love the offset fork, because of the versatility that it offers. It’s one of the things about my Pugsley that I just can’t seem to fall out of love with.
I have three wheels (many of you have heard this before because I never shut up about it, so forgive me if your one of those)(or don’t)(whatever floats your boat)…ah yes, three wheels for my Pug. SS, fixed and geared. Changing that bike from one to the other takes on average three and a half minutes, and it’s like having a few bikes in one, with one less tire than I otherwise would have had.
So, long story short (way too late) I love the off-set fork. It’s one of the things that makes me return to this bike time and time again. I know I’m not alone out there. There are folks out there who agree with me, and that’s why we sell them aftermarket.
This year we’re trying an experiment, and we have some color (matched) forks available. Pug Ops Battleship Grey (http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pug_ops), SS Pug Purple (http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pug_ss_2015), Pugsley Green (http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pugsley), and of course Black. So you can get a fork that matches, or even better, you can get a fork that doesn’t. Either way it’s up to you.
NOW FOR EVEN MORE EXCITING NEWS
These new forks have been redesigned and improved by our resident Enginerd and Wheelie Master: Thor (applause sounds).
It’s no secret that there’s lots of folks out there who think an off-set fork is pretty damn weird looking, and around here there is some discussion about whether or not the new design is even weirder looking, or much more normal.
I spoke to Thor about the design, and he designed it even stronger than it was before (after the bad batch that we had to recall we thought making it stronger was a plus), he took the bend out for simplicities sake and to allow for the anything cage mounts on both sides, and he changed the disc tab, so now it takes (wait for it)…
FRONT CALIPER ADAPTERS FOR DISC BRAKES (instead of the rear)(which doesn’t effect wheel changing or function, it just means you can use the adapter that came in the box for front and rear now. Neat!)
Here are some technical drawings of the two.
As you can see, things are a bit different. Here is what the old one looks like on a bike. (The picture was taken by a buddy of mine, the Coast Kid. His blog can be found here: http://coastkid.blogspot.co.uk/)
Here is the new one.
And another angle.
And another…
And now we’re circling the drain…The green, black and grey forks are available in the US at any shop that has an account with mom and dad (QBP), ETA on the purple forks is February. We ordered them in very small quantites so once they’re gone (the colored ones at least) they’re gone for good.
Keep warm, drink beer, go ride.