Thursday, December 20, 2007

Stud Service







My "Designer Dahon" Mu XL fixed gear is now a single speed/coaster brake studded tire monster! Innova has 20x1.75 (409mm) tires with replacable studs. The original wheels I built for this bike are 20"/451mm, as opposed to the typical 20"/409mm that Dahon specs. However, studded tires are only available in 409. To complicate matters further, Dahon's front hubs are 74mm wide, rather than the standard 100mm. I have a 28 hole Dahon hub at the shop, but 28 hole 409 rims are pretty rare. Anxious to get on the new tires once they arrived yesterday, I opted to take a strange route: change the fork, thus making the bike capable of handling standard front hubs.
The two lower pics depict the original wheels: Rolf 14 hole front hub on a Dahon fork and rear Surly flip/flop hub with a fixed cog. The other two pics are the new "snow/ice" version: cheap bmx front hub on new Dimention bmx fork and cheapo coaster brake hub on the rear. Tonight was the maiden voyage. Wow, is it ever bazaar to ride a coaster brake again! Especially when clipped in--I kinda like it. Any bets how long the little hub will survive the cold?

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