July riding

[north woods gal]

Put my two drop bar bikes on consignment at a local bike shop and looks like I already have a nibble on the Salsa Warbird. Not surprised, since gravel specific road bikes are hot products, these days.

One of the reasons I let the Warbird go was this bike, my 2008 vintage Trek 8000 MTB.


It was my other bike I used for commuting in my Chicago days during the winter. With an extra wheel set with studded 26" tires, I could change wheels to suit the weather in a jiffy, thanks to disc brakes. That's one of the overlooked advantages of disc brakes, by the way. Changing wheels is much quicker and easier than dealing with center pull brakes.

As with my Kona, I did a lot of upgrades on this bike. It's a full SRAM X9 with XT crank and I also upgraded the wheels to Bontrager's best aluminum MTB version in the Race Lite. Tires are a very fast Bontrager XR Team Issue. The reason I bought this Trek, however, was the excellent Alpha Red frame. Aluminum frames don't usually get me excited, but this one is really outstanding. It can turn on a dime, yet it tracks as straight as an arrow. This was a real plus for commuting, by the way. I could ride a perfect steady line on the narrowest of streets in heavy traffic, but I could also respond, instantly, to any situation. Definitely a better handling bike in the tight spots than a road bike. The front suspension was also a big plus on some of those crummy Chicago area streets.

Anyway, I did a 15 mile sprint with the Trek, today, with a couple miles of gravel and some sand and then finished with an hour of serious single track work. The Trek is very nearly as fast as the Warbird on pavement, but, unlike the Warbird, it has the gearing to handle any hill. Actually a pretty decent pavement bike the way it's set up. Not sure I'd want to do a century on it, but I have done plenty of 30 and 40 mile trips on it.

Compared to the Warbird, though, it's still the better bike on gravel and it can handle some sand, too, though it's no fat bike or plus bike. Best of all, when I get tired of roads, the Trek begs to be ridden on hard-pack single track. It really screams, there. That's something the Warbird could never do.

I may get another drop bar road bike, sometime, but my mixed bag riding is best served with flat bar bikes on one kind or another. Just not my nature to stay on pavement all the time, I guess. Each to her own, though.

[north woods gal]

Great minds think alike, Sheila. The Warbird got sold, so we just ordered a Krampus! I also ordered a set of Surly Knard tires for more all around riding. The Krampus now comes with Surly Dirt Wizards. That's a very aggressive tire with heavy tread, designed for serious trail crunching, but way too clunky for road work. Besides, I already have the heavy duty trail thing covered with other bikes.

Was going to order the Surly ECR, but that one is out of stock and no date on availability. Apparently, Surly is doing some design changes. Just as well, since the ECR is really a heavy duty "load up the bike with packs" and head into the wilderness kind of bike. The Krampus is a lighter built bike, designed specifically for trail work and general riding, which is really more what I do, though I do dream about heading out on an expedition like Sky is planning to do. Not likely to happen, though, since I'd have to do that kind of extended trip without my husband. It's way beyond his capabilities.

[north woods gal]

Could be an age thing with the steel, at least in my case. I remember the first mountain bikes and they were all steel. My first road bikes were steel. Aluminum was the new thing, then came carbon and so on. Today, of course, if you want steel, you have to go looking for it. Not much in local bike shops. Those of us who grew up on steel understand and appreciate it for what it is, but marketing is always pushing lighter, more high tech and so on. I'm just grateful we have a down to earth company like Surly that offers steel bikes at an affordable price. Otherwise, I'd have to go looking custom and that gets expensive in a hurry.

As for your situation, we know that it's always cheaper to buy a complete bike, but only as long as it has the components you want or at least components you can live with. Otherwise, you may as well just go frameset and build the way you want.

The current Krampus now has solid 40mm Alex MD rims. No rabbit hole 50mm rims as on my Trek Stashe. That'll mean slightly narrower tire width with the same tires, but that might be a plus for some road work. We'll see.

[Sky King]

The ECR sounds like a useful bike, but the Krampus sure is fun. You are the only other woman I've heard of who rides one, and that is asking about it on mountainbiker forums, too.

I do need to swap out my size small for a medium, and I'm trying to decide whether I should buy a complete used medium (often with great upgrades), or just buy a new frameset. The new geometry is slightly more to my liking than the '15 model I have since the seat tube is a bit steeper (works for me). I've looked at a lot of alternative models, but the Krampus's function really does work best for my needs. I've got it set up as a single speed, a used bike would give me gears if I ever want to try them. And the wheelset are Velociety Blunt 35 mm. A used Krampus might have Rabbit Holes, which are cool, and wider.

But ow, my wallet. Which is why it hasn't yet happened.

The new Krampus is such a great bike, we've sold several. I agree to a tire switch for the type of riding you do. I had knards on my ECR but now have Maxxis Chronicles and LOVE them. Not sure why, but with the new Karate Monkey and the new Krampus folks are tending to buy up in size. My DD bought the KM and she went with a medium (also changed her tires) and likes it. In an ECR she'd be a small. As you know, love my ECR. New models coming out mid-August. They are being introduced at Saddle Drive the first of August. Bummed we couldn't make it happen to attend.

Keep us posted!

[north woods gal]

I went with a medium on the Krampus, though I could probably do a large, too, as far as my legs go, because I have a very long 34" bike inseam. The problem for me, though, is at the other end with my shorter reach to the handlebars. This is exasperated by my preference for riding far back on the seat for so much of my trail riding. Going large, then, always means going to a shorter stem. That worked in the old days when handlebar stems on MTBs tended to be longer. These days, stems are going shorter and shorter, so I have to resort to other tricks if I try a large. For instance, on my Pugsley, which is my only large bike frame, I went with a shorter stem and a Jones H Loop bar, which sweeps back for an easy reach. It works.

Overall, the way the geometry keeps changing on trail bikes is making it harder for me to predict the right size - top tubes are getting longer, stems shorter. The medium Krampus, though, works, nice. Haven't had to change anything, other than going to a narrower handlebar. Me and my short arms do not get along at all with these ever wider handlebars. 760mm? Good grief. That's just nuts.

[north woods gal]

I'm 5'9", but I think the whole fit problem is complicated with riding style, especially on MTBs and trail bikes, because riding styles differ so much. I tend to be very fluid in my trail riding, constantly changing position on the pedals, the handlebars, the seat and so on. I'm standing, crouching, leaning, always moving. I like a lot of flex in my elbows for the sake of steering and absorbing shock. I find that the medium frame allows me the widest range of movements. Going to a large frame locks me in a bit more. For instance, on my Pugsley, which is a large, my range of movement seems more limited when on the trail. I do okay with it, but it lacks the playful spirit of a medium frame. The Pugs works great as a road bike, though, because I'm settled in to one position, more or less.

The medium frame Krampus is the better trail bike for me. It let's me play more with various positions on the trail, just like my other bikes which are all medium. I also find a medium frame bike easier to lift when hopping logs and climbing rocks than the large frame. Seems like I can't get quite the leverage with the larger frames.

In other words, not sure how much of my trail riding fit experience transfers over to someone else's. I think with road bikes and pavement riding, things are more of a constant. Trail riding is such a mixed bag. Really hard to make recommendations on fit. Over the years, though, with me being on that medium/large border, I've tended to go with medium on my MTBs.

[north woods gal]

Just got my Surly Krampus back from the bike shop. Had them switch out the Dirt Wizard tires for the Knards and what a difference that makes! My trails are dry and packed hard, right now, and the Knards just fly. The Knards are also fairly pleasant on pavement, as I hoped they would be, since I'm making the Krampus into something of a utility bike. It will be a lighter version of my Pugs.

I also had them upgrade from the 1x 11 speed NX derailleur and shifter that is standard on the Krampus to the GX derailleur and shifter. The NX worked fine. No complaints. Fits well into Surly's philosophy of affordable, but durable components. I have the GX on two other bikes, though, so I know the difference and, trust me, there is a difference. GX is soooo butter smooth and fast. It's spoiled me. Really hard to settle for the NX after using the GX.

My only complaint? The color is okay, but not my favorite. I forget all about it when I ride, though. This really is one nice ride. After switching out to a narrower handlebar and ditching the stock saddle for a Terry, the bike now fits like a glove. The medium frame was right on this one.

[Sky King]

north woods gal, I think your Krampus is awesome

Our quick trip to the Owyhee Wilderness was Fun! Folks in town commenting on how hot it would be but we were at just over 6,000 feet in elevation so barely hit 90 degrees. While that is still hot, not as hot as in town. As per usual, 16 desert miles equates to about 40 regular miles. Glad we had some creek crossing so I could soak my sun shirt and my bandanna.

[Sky King]

Most of the manufacturers recommend a medium for a 5'9" rider (at the moment, anyway), and they claim a 5'7" rider should be on a small. 5'10" is iffy. Good to know.

No way would you fit on a small in Surly world. I think you would be fine on the medium, even if you needed to tweak some with a stem or different seat post