I'm sick of not riding in the winter! I live in BC where there's piles of singletrack, but also a lot of snow that constantly melts and then falls again in the winter. Things around here are either deep snow or mud in the winter, and riding my usual bike (Knolly Delerium) isn't possible about half of the winter. I'm thinking about getting a pugsly to remedy this problem, and would appreciate some advice before buying, to make sure what I want is doable with a pugsley. I don't really know where to start, so I'll just number all my questions and please chime in if you've got comments or advice regarding any of my points.
1 I live near miles and miles of singletrack. I'm not really interested in riding double track. Can the Pug handle singletrack?
2 I see there are new rims by Surley that are wider and also lighter. Should I go with these? I weigh 163lbs. The singletrack I want to ride is fairly rough, but involves a lot of climbing to get to, so I'd like to keep rotational weight down if possible. In the summer I ride a bike with 6" of travel front and back on the same trails and wouldn't want to ride a bike with less than 4" front and back, to give an idea of the roughness (is this a word?) of the trails here.
3 Full length fenders are a must. Has anybody figured out how to get a set of fenders on a Pug that don't bang around a lot on more technical trails?
4 I was going to go with the complete built Pug from Surley. Seems like a good deal, and if I need to change things next season I'll do that. Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? Are the mechanical brakes (Avids I think) that come with the build reasonable for singletrack?
Any other comments or advice on winter riding a Pug on singletrack are also appreciated!
1 I live near miles and miles of singletrack. I'm not really interested in riding double track. Can the Pug handle singletrack?
2 I see there are new rims by Surley that are wider and also lighter. Should I go with these? I weigh 163lbs. The singletrack I want to ride is fairly rough, but involves a lot of climbing to get to, so I'd like to keep rotational weight down if possible. In the summer I ride a bike with 6" of travel front and back on the same trails and wouldn't want to ride a bike with less than 4" front and back, to give an idea of the roughness (is this a word?) of the trails here.
3 Full length fenders are a must. Has anybody figured out how to get a set of fenders on a Pug that don't bang around a lot on more technical trails?
4 I was going to go with the complete built Pug from Surley. Seems like a good deal, and if I need to change things next season I'll do that. Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? Are the mechanical brakes (Avids I think) that come with the build reasonable for singletrack?
Any other comments or advice on winter riding a Pug on singletrack are also appreciated!
