October 14, 2019
I was tricked by my friend Chris, who happens to own our local bike shop, into buying a new high end carbon featherweight Giant road bike. Boy, what a surprise! It's truly transformational! I already had a fairly light steel road bike. But this is on another level completely. So stiff, light, easily accelerated, fast, compliant. Amazing!
I have a Park Tool PCS-10 bike stand and use it all the time. It's a valuable addition to my living room, aka workshop. If you're going to be working on bikes a lot, I'd highly recommend one.
An Ice Cream Truck (ICT). Monster trucker. You definitely won't be disappointed. You'll definitely get lots of comments. My favorite bike is my Moonlander. It's the predecessor of the ICT. Don't get me wrong, I love my ICT too (it's a very close second), but the Moonlander was the original, with even more versatility. It's definitely not as stiff as the ICT and I can definitely feel the difference when I'm pushing hard on the trail. The ICT rides better and instills more confidence. It holds the line and rails like no other.
Your ICT, with it's fat, squishy traction laden tires and trail geometry will feel very different to your current steed. It will be far more confidence inspiring, handle better and you'll be asking yourself what the fuss was all about with the stuff you used to think hard in no time.
You're tall, really tall. Getting your handlebar height comfortable may be an issue, since they don't scale the XL bikes quite right (no manufacturer does). (Note: I ended up getting a "large" frame Ice Cream Truck). You may or may not have experience with this and if so, you know what to ask for but if not, ask your local bike shop (lbs) to get your hands at least as high as your saddle, preferably a little higher, especially if all-day comfort is important. You may need a new stem or handlebar. If so, get them, as the benefits from being comfortable far outweigh the additional cost. If you're planning on doing long rides and bikepacking with it, you may want to change the handlebar completely. I find the modern, ultra-wide and straight handlebars very uncomfortable. Try something with a little more sweep-back. Surly make the steel Moloko bar. Jones make an aluminum loop bar. There are plenty of others. Your lbs can help.
Adrian's tips on "bike fitting""
As for the dropper, it's one of those things that once you get one, you won't want to go back. For trail riding, they're awesome. Don't hold off too long...
As for a 29+ wheelset. When I bought my ICT, I bought a frameset and built it up. I also bought the parts for a 29+ wheelset because I thought I'd use it. I don't use them because I have a dedicated 29+ bike and it's not worth the hassle for me to swap them out. There are times when a lighter wheelset would be useful, if I didn't have a dedicated 29+ bike. The bigger wheels are heavier and roll slower. But then if speed isn't your goal, it doesn't matter. It's personal preference, really.
Front fork could also be handy on the trails but don't use one myself. I haven't really heard of anyone who is really happy with a fork on this bike anyway. The tire does the work and fork makes it feel a little detached, from what I have heard.
Long Haul Trucker - Bought new in 2012, classic rim brake 26" touring bike. I spent a year touring the western US and Canada, towing a trailer with my greyhound on that bike. It's my everyday commuter and grocery getter now. I'm considering selling this bike as it's a heavy duty mostly road touring bike and I'm not planning on doing any road touring soon. May get a Cross Check as a replacement.
1x1 - It's a 26" mid fat (3" wide tires) single speed mountain bike. Loads of fun but I seldom ride it these days. 2008 frameset which I bought off someone and built into a working bike two years ago. Will sell soon. Surly doesn't make this bike anymore but offer something similar, the Lowside.
Moonlander - 2011 which I bought used in 2015. The original 5" tire fatbike, specifically built for extreme off-road touring and snow riding, predecessor to the ICT. My favorite bike which has seen several iterations. It's had a Rohloff 500/14 internal geared hub (which I still have), 11 speed dérailleur drivetrain and is now set up dinglespeed, two single speeds which are manually changed.
ICT - do anything snow and trail bike. Bought it as a frameset and built it up with custom parts.
Big Fat Dummy - 26" x 4.3" fat tire longtail cargo bike. I bought this bike to take bikepacking so that we could put a crate on the back and take the dog with us (she is a brittany). We did a few amazing tours on it with the dog but now it's for sale. Hauls 400lb. Great bike.
Rat Ride - This is a frameset. Before Surly was Surly, they were 1x1. The company built framesets only and started in 1998. In 2000 they became Surly. This is an original 1998 1x1 Rat Ride frame which I hope to build into something one day. It's a collector's piece now. It's also a single speed mountain bike frame similar to the subsequent 1x1 or current Lowside.
I also have a Carver Gnarvester - high end titanium 29"x3" race bike, the same one I used on the Arizona Trail Race. I have two Rock Lobsters - steel frames out of Santa Cruz. Both used, one is a road bike and one a cross bike. I'm looking to sell a few of my bikes as I simply have too many, ..... I am looking at two bikes in the not too distant future, one will be a gravel or cross bike from Giant. The other is an electric longtail cargo bike, the Surly Big Easy. Since I live at the top of a big hill, I think I'd commute way more if I had an electric bike.
Have you looked at the Surly Pugsley? It's more of a dedicated touring bike with touring geometry, but you can still definitely ride trails with it. It also comes with 80mm wide rims but has slightly narrower tires - 4.3" instead of 4.8" on the ICT. It also won't accept a front suspension fork, having the smaller 1-1/8" steerer tube. It comes with a swept back handlebar which will be more comfortable. The seatpost is smaller diameter which means you'll have fewer dropper post options and it doesn't have a hole for internal dropper post cable routing (but you can get them externally routed). You can fit a 4.8" tire on the back but it will result in some drivetrain limitations. The Pugsley will be a little lighter and uses older (and more widely available) standards, like 135mm wide hubs front and rear (but it can fit a 142mm wide thru-axle rear hub also). You can also swap wheels front to back on the Pugsley. This could come in handy, for example, if your rear freehub explodes in the middle of Angola. I am not sure what front hub the standard bike comes with but Surly make a front hub which can take a single speed gear that you would then be able to use on the rear. There are also kits available to put a single cog on your 6-bolt brake mount bosses and you're back in action. You'll be single speed, of course, but at least you'll be riding, lol. The ICT is more of a trail bike. The Pugsley is more of a touring bike. They'll both do both almost equally well. If trail riding is mainly what you'll be doing, then the ICT is the right choice.
(I asked about touring versus trail bikes, i.e. the ICT versus the Pugsley) and he replied with the following information.) In general, touring bikes have long chainstays (center of rear wheel to bottom bracket). Mostly for heel clearance for panniers but also general bike stability. They also have a more upright seating position for all day comfort, and hence a shorter reach and higher handlebar. They should have beefy tubing to aid rigidity and stability fully loaded, however I'd wager that the ICT has the beefier tubing in this instance. They have low bottom brackets, also to aid stability and all day comfort. They have a long wheelbase, once again for stability and easy riding.
In general trail bikes have shorter chainstays for quicker maneuverability, higher bottom brackets, slacker head tube angles for better stability and tracking, longer reach, shorter wheelbase.
Pugsley pros;
Upright riding position for all day comfort, swept back handlebar standard, lighter, more readily available and cheaper spare parts, swap front and rear wheels in an emergency, more stable for all day riding comfort, less rolling resistance, better color
Pugsley cons;
Narrower gear range than ICT, probably not as stiff, can't fit wider tires, not suspension corrected (can't fit front fork), has smaller diameter seatpost and doesn't have internal dropper post routing,
ICT pros;
Likely stiffer frame, bigger tires equal better traction, 1x12 drivetrain equals big range, better trail bike, suspension corrected, internal dropper routing and bigger seatpost diameter, wider hubs mean stiffer wheels, unstoppable,
ICT cons; More rolling resistance, higher weight, 1x12 drivetrain is less reliable and more expensive to replace, less comfortable all day riding position, ultra-wide hubs not as readily available, less better color,
Converting an old mountain bike to singlespeed may be harder than it seems. If you have horizontal, sliding dropouts, it's a cinch. If you have a one-position axle, not so easy. But doable. Surly make a Singulator for the purpose. Dinglespeed gives more versatility. Because two gears must be better than one, right. But twelve is way too many, lol. There are different variants of the dinglespeed. Some people use a single front chainring with two gears on the back, which can be changed manually or with a derailleur. I use two true singlespeed pairs of gears. The chain must be moved between the pairs of gears manually by loosening the skewer, moving the wheel forward and changing gear pairs. Both gear pairs have the same total tooth count so that the distance from the crank center to rear axle center doesn't change (much) when swapping ratios. The problem is that commercially available options for putting large chainrings on the rear hub are limited when pairing gear ratios to get the ratios I wanted for riding around here. In other words in the mountains.
I wanted one very easy gear for climbing and a gear that would be reasonable on the flats. Downhills I can simply coast. I settled on 24/30 and 34/20. 24 and 34 tooth chainrings up front on a Surly double crankset and 30 and 20 tooth gears at the back. My rear hub has a Shimano cassette freehub body. The gears are splined to fit on the cassette body with a spacer kit to get the front to rear chainline perfect. Since I couldn't find a standard gear of 30 teeth which would fit on the cassette, I designed and had an adapter plate laser cut. I had several adapter plates made so that I could fit practically any size gear on the back. For the singlespeed gearing on my Carver, on which I did the AZT, I used a 32/22 gear ratio. Much too easy for round town, flat riding.
Most people use around a 2:1 ratio for town bikes.
I will note that 9 psi is probably on the high side for riding trails and you'll probably feel like the bike is a bit harsh.
A low pressure tire pump or gage will be useful. I'd recommend around 5 to 6psi for trail riding.
If it's very rocky and you're pushing, perhaps 7 to 8 psi.
For very soft sand and snow, 3 to 4 psi.
One psi makes a big and noticeable difference on these tires. 15 psi on pavement and you'll be rolling right along!
(Note that the tires are marked 5-15 psi.)
The area (for the frame pack) is therefore similar (but definitely smaller) than a bike which has a horizontal top tube of the same standover height. Part of the reason for the sloping top tube is the high headtube height, or stack, needed with bikes which not only have very large diameter tires, but have suspension corrected geometry, i.e. are designed to run with the supplied rigid fork but will also maintain the same geometry, and therefore handling characteristics, with a suspension fork.
With a large frame and all the bags, you'll have plenty of space. Well, plenty is a relative thing. Bikepacking, as opposed to regular touring with panniers, does not provide the same space and almost by definition is minimalist. It's a tight squeeze and requires careful planning and packing for anything other than a short trip. The kitchen sink will have to stay at home. It does allow for a more nimble and lighter setup, which is more suited to mountain biking.
As for bikepacking bags, I pretty much use all Revelate Designs bags. Made by a company in Alaska. There are, however, a ton of options out there, many cheaper and just as durable. One of the nice features of the Revelate Designs frame bags is that they have specific bags made for Surly bikes. They're called Co-Branded frame bags. They only make co-branded bags for the frame bag. The other bags are generic. They came up with this concept while Surly was still selling the Moonlander, before the ICT was invented, however my medium Moonlanbder co-branded frame bag works just as well in my ICT. I'm sure that it would be the case for the Large frame size too. However you can also just measure the tubes on the ICT and look for another brand which has similar sizing. Custom bags are also an option but more expensive, of course. I had a custom frame bag made for my Carver by Bedrock Bags out of Utah or Colorado. It's the only custom bag I own.
As for bags, I use the whole shebang! I have a frame bag, 8" diameter handelbar bag, two feed bags, gas tank, jerry can, seat bag and, on my Moonlander, anything cages. I also use a 3L camelback. For people who don't like wearing a backpack, putting a bladder in the frame bag works. It's not something I have ever used while touring as I generally don't have space and need the camelback. For a day ride, perhaps. Some people also put a bladder in a bag on the handelbars. It's definitely a matter of trial and error to find what works for you. Putting the bladder in the frame bag leaves the weight low but you have to suck really hard to get the water up to mouth height and the tube is a problem to keep someplace.
When touring on my Moonlander, I use anything cages on the fork and generally carry two Kleen Kanteen stainless steel 2L water bottles there, in addition to my 3L camelback. On one summer trip, I was carrying 13 liters, with an additional 6 liter dromedary. Especially in DV where water can be scarce. I use steel bottles because plastic ones can be damaged too easily by passing rocks, falling or simple wear and tear. The newer 2L bottles aren't made like they used to be, years back, when they were heavy walled. Carrying water on the fork definitely affects the steering but you get used to it.
The difference between a bikepacking setup and a traditional rack and pannier setup is quite remarkable. I did a direct comparison earlier this year before my Baja trip and the bikepacking setup weighed ten pounds less then the rack/pannier setup. Another benefit of the bikepacking setup is that it is far easier to push a bike up steep hills with bikepacking bags on it compared to a rack/pannier setup. The front panniers are also a liability on narrow, bushy and/or rocky trails, getting caught in bushes or on rocks and pulling the bike to one side or the other.
At speed, it can be fatal.
There should always be a healthy portion of single track and hike-a-bike on any bikepacking trip, in my opinion.
On a tour I always carry a tube and patch kit, even though I'm tubeless. Set of individual allen wrenches and torx that are actually used on my bike. I find the all in one tool kits fairly frustrating to use. A quality chain tool. A spare quick link and a few extra chain links. A valve core tool. Extra sealant and delivery tube as well as a dipstick to check fluid level in the tire. I also carry a small multi-tool with pliers. A high volume pump.
Tom's mountain bike pages / tom@mmto.org