#1 - 1X1 Frame Weight
#2 - Bars
#3 - Single-Speed Drivetrains
#4 - Why Seatposts Slip
#5 - Bottom Bracket Sizing
#6 - Why Wool?
#7 - Caliper Brake Reach Defined
#8 - Spoke Calculation
#9 - Care and Feeding of Your Steel Frame
#10 - Large marge, Mounting Your Tires
#11 - Single-Speed Gearing 101
#12 - Karate Monkey and Front Derailleurs
#13 - Surly Rack Technical Stuff
#14 - Pugsley
#15 - Chainrings
#16 - Fixxer
#17 - Bike Fit
#18 - The Environment
#19 - Big Dummy
#20 - Kickstands On Long Haul Truckers
First things first: concerned consumer J. Rollason....wait, that's too obvious... let's call him Jon R. ...Anyway, Jon wrote to us:
Folks
Some of us are in the UK waiting for Big Dummys. Part of our daily routine is to click onto your site. Please update the blog, if only to give us something to take our minds off the suspense!
I know what you're thinking. "Did they order enough in my size?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a Big Dummy, the rootenest, tootenest hauler of them all, and would carry your mother in law and all her furniture to the old people refuse heap in one go, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Demand for these has been higher than anticipated (again), though after the Long Haul Trucker fiasco of last summer (don't ask), we projected high. Still, we had a partial batch of 18s come in and go out the same day last week. We have the rest of the batch coming in soon, in all sizes, but frankly I'm not counting on them staying around long either.
If you're in the U.S. you probably have the best overall chance of getting one sooner than later. If you live in another country, you'd best check with your local shop. Some of our distributors ordered these ahead of time. Others did not. If, say, you live in the UK and our distributor there didn't order any (Lloyd, I'm looking in your direction), there is a small possibility that we will have some they can order, but it will cost you a lot. See, this frame comes in a big box. It has to. Regardless of the weight, it's takes up a lot of acreage, so it qualifies with U.P.S. as OS3, which stands for "Oh my goodness, it's so BIG!", which means it costs several arms and legs to send anywhere. The next shipment of Big Dummies will not be coming for a while, like well into summer, but on the up side this gives you plenty of time to buy the rest of your parts.
But you know what else we have?
Travelers Checks. Basically a Cross Check that splits in half on purpose via S&S couplers and fits into a carrying case within standard luggage regs on most major airlines, saving you cash-ola and making it pretty easy to take your bike with you when you fly, drive, or teleport somewhere.
We also have Nice racks back in stock today.
And we're getting fresh Surly wool jerseys in stock soon. Long and short sleeve, mens' and womens' cuts, standard black like before and also now a green option (darker green with black collar and cuffs). So new I don't even have one to get a photo of, so no, we do not have pictures to show you yet. One nice thing about these is the new hidden pocket. Since the previous pockets welcomed overloading and led to ripping your nice and sort of expensive jersey, we redesigned it so now it's one decent sized pocket with a zipper. Not as racer friendly but still functions just like wool and less chance of being damaged since you can no longer stuff your gillet, hat, gloves, spare shoes, and a banana in there. And by 'there' I mean the pocket.
Stainless steel seatpost clamps are in stock, and they are suh-weet. 30.0 and 31.8mm sizes. Stainless canti brake rear cable hangers are also in stock. Both can be seen here on the Travelers Check. The cable hangers address the squishy brake feel you get with a lot of rear cantis when the housing has to make a tight corner. This piece reduces that curve and makes your rear brake feel almost as good as your front. So that's kick ass.
And lastly, Mr. Whirly cranksets and armsets are almost here. We're expecting them also within a couple measly weeks.
Again, this crank is highly versatile, with interchangeable spiders in 3 common sizes and interchangeable spindles in 2 lengths, so you can swap the same crank between your Pugsely and Karate Monkey for the price of an extra spindle, which isn't dirt cheap but a helluva lot less expensive than a whole new crank.
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Word arrived late today from organizers of First New Zealand Single Speed Championships that said: "The rider who crosses the finish line first at the inaugural Pig & Whistle New Zealand Singlespeed Mountain Bike Championship in Rotorua on Anzac Weekend, April 25-27, will qualify for the World Championships in August." Click the Pig & Whistle for informations.
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Finally today, an update of who's zoomin' who here at Surly Intergalactic HQ.
Donut Procurement Officer Kerl is now Closing Supervisor Kerl at another job. We miss her. The beleaguered Emily is still here, thank god. Aaron The Pie Plow has been brought in to answer emails and look at warranty claims. Aaron thinks he's god's gift to random pop culture quotes. Try to stump him. Hairy Jim continues to be the buyer we always wanted to be but weren't smart enough. And we also have Fleck taking calls, emails, and careening headlong into being our International Man of Mystery. Sov's out on daddy leave and the rest of us just keep on keeping on, dreaming daily of sticking it to the man. Keep the faith.
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