After much deliberation I’ve finally settled on the frame I’ll be using for my project. Introducing the 9:Zero:7 Aluminum fat bike, from Chain Reaction Cycles in Anchorage AK.
The frames were designed by Bill and James at Chain Reaction Cycles, and produced by Sapa Profiles, Inc. Sapa Profiles make products for Titus, Turner, Moots, and a host of other custom builders/designers. I very wise partnership, with premier US frame builder.
My decision boiled down to cost, weight, and quality. 9:Zero:7 AL excelled at all three. Its hand made in USA, weighs 2 lbs less than Pugsley, and only costs $300 more.
Now that I have chosen a frame, I need to focus on fork selection.
My options are:
Surly Steel 100m
BlackSheep Steel 135mm
BlackSheep Ti 100mm
BlackSheep Ti 135mm
As you can see I need to choose the material and axle width. So why axle width? Snow bikes run very wide rims, typically between 60-100mm to float on snow. These wide rims, when combined with disc brakes are difficult to extract from the fork.
What is the difference between steel or titanium. Titanium rides smoother and is 1 lb lighter. Steel is stiffer and costs $100 less.
I choose the BlackSheep 135mm titanium fork with disc tabs. Its lighter and offers a more supple ride, for not much more than the steel version.
This fork choice does complicate the front wheel selection. Standard front hubs have 100mm axles. Standard rear hubs have 135mm axles. This means I need to run a rear hub on the front, or find a front hub designed for 135mm spacing forks. Since the BlackSheep fork does not have the 15mm offset required by a back wheel, running a rear hub doesn’t make sense. Instead I’ve settled on running a Paul ComponentsWHUB “wide hub” in the front wheel.
As you can see from the comparison photo, the WHUB (pronounced “wub”, the h is silent) is much wider than a standard front hub. As for product quality, Paul has always been a pioneer and leader of quality bicycle components. Their hubs were specifically designed for Jeff Jones bicycles. If they are good enough for Jeff, then they should exceed my every expectation.
Well that’s all I’ve got right now, but I have time, since the frames will not be ready until mid October. Most of the minor details are still rattling around in my head, but I’ll find time to commit them to paper.
After a few hours of research I discovered my brake’s oil volume (still at factory settings) was too great. This higher volume of fluid was pushing my pistons out ever so slightly, causing brake rub and tight lever action.
On the front, I followed people’s suggestion of just opening the caliper bleed screw and push in the pistons. This method let a ton of air into the system and forced me to bleed the system. The result was 1/16th clearance on each pad and great lever modulation.
On the rear, things were a little more tricky. I decided to fill one of the bleed syringes with oil and bleed caliper first. I then created vacuum in the caliper and gently pushed on the pistons with a tire lever. This worked great. I didn’t have to bleed the brake system after moving the pistons in.
Many people are mad at Avid for shipping their products in this state. They feel Avid should have done a better job seating pistons, bleeding lines, etc.. This would allow people to simply bolt on disc brakes and ride. I’m not one of those people. Avid assumes their brakes will be installed, configured, and tested by trained bicycle mechanics. A trained bicycle mechanic would re-size lines, bleed system, configure pad spacing, true rotors, etc.. So for the do-it-yourself bicycle mechanics I say “step up your game by learning to install hydraulic brakes like a pro.”
Brakes tested on Kenosha Pass and worked flawlessly. I’m now a little smarter and have a great set of brakes.
Rode Deer Creek for the first time this morning. This is a technical climbers dream trail. 4+ miles of very rocky trail and a wicked rock garden half way up. Our climbing was rewarded with some spectacular views of Highlands Ranch and Red Rocks.
My new front brake dragged the entire ride. Felt like I was pulling a trailer up the mountain. I have until morning to repair it, as we’re riding Kanosha Pass to Georgia Pass.
I love this movie trailer, and can’t wait until the movie is available. Makes me wish a little harder for snow. Although, my wife is going to faint from sticker shock, when I build one of these snow bikes this fall. Why aren’t any of my hobbies inexpensive?
My commuter bike has been in stuck in the workstand now for 3 weeks. First week was waiting for new parts, delayed due to someone stealing my credit card number. Second week I was out of town for work/short weekend vacation. This week I am so swamped at work that I’m getting about 1 hour max bench time per night. Tonight I’m still at work, preparing for windows patching and server testing. Uhg, wont get back to bike until tomorrow evening.
So I’m left with no commuter bike this week, and spending all free time wrenching. I hope to have her ready on Saturday, as I plan on doing a nice mountain bike ride on Sunday.
