im - 5/16/2007 12:52:00 PM

I don't really like the word 'blog.' Sounds like what a cat does with a hairball. I am also not fond of 'blogosphere.' For that matter, I don't really like text message abbreviations when used in normal speech or writing (OMG! LOL!). All this means nothing, of course, except that I am old and crusty. Interesting then that I should be writing today about O.L.D., which doesn't directly refer to me but certainly could (along with C.R.A.B.B.Y. & H.O.S.T.I.L.E.). In this case, O.L.D. stands for outer locknut dimension and is the name for the measurement of hub and frame or fork interface. Fronts hubs, with rare exceptions, measure 100mm O.L.D. One such exception is the Pugsley fork, which comes stock as 135mm O.L.D. just like the frame's drop outs (or 'rear fork ends' for you purists). Having both the front and the rear use the same width hub is useful when the bike is being used in harsh conditions, say like when it's -50F and your freehub body pawls freeze up. More practically, the wider spacing allows easy removal and installation of a wheel when using Large Marge rims and a big, fat Endomorph tire. Some people still prefer standard 100mm spacing on their Pug forks though. Slight weight advantage? Don't want to buy another hub, or want to be able to use a normal hubset in case you should ever move the hubs to a different bike? Or maybe you just like wrestling a super fat rim in and out of a narrow opening. Whatever your reason, your O.L.D. dreams have come true. We now have 100mm O.L.D. Pugsley forks. Like their 135mm counterpart, they're black tapered straight leg cro-moly, with disc tab and removeable canti pivots. Still 447mm axle-to-crown. They're in stock at QBP, part number FK0701. -----