June rides, summer begins

[north woods gal]

Thanks for the link, Sheila. Might try getting some decals. That's one fine looking Surly, too. Love it.

Hope things ease up a bit for you, rebecca, so you get some ride time. Of course, we'd all like some of those great pics, too.

RT, oh yes, I love my LL. Had to change out to a 22 tooth cog in the back to manage my trail climbs without blowing a knee (not to mention I just turned 68). After all, All-City advertises the LL as a single speed race bike. Not sure I'll ever get into the category. With the 22 tooth cog, I still have to stand for my steep climbs, but it's doable and I am getting stronger. The good news is that with a 22 cog I can stay in the saddle for a lot of my easier sections. Gives me the option of loafing a bit on the easy stuff.

You're right about the frame. It's not as good as my Gunnar single speed, but that's a custom frame, after all. Still, I'd rate the LL frame as outstanding. It's a steal for that price. Love that front fork, too. Nice and stable on the downhills and the rough stuff. For tires, I went with the much more aggressive Continental Trail Kings on mine, but am thinking of trying something else. The Trail Kings are on the slow side, but they do have a great bite. Have had no slippage on my climbs while standing with these tires. They also manage the sandy spots with minimal fishtailing.

Now that I have one, I feel very lucky in having grabbed the last Log Lady available. In fact, while checking availability, just this week, with a lot of bike brands and models, I was amazed at how many models have sold out for the year. Wow! Lesson learned. For anyone thinking of ordering a new bike, do it as early in the year as possible. Summer is not a good time to buy a new bike. The popular models are usually sold out for the year.