A Straggler for all occasions (and 2018 pivot mach 6 carbon)

This belongs in workshop brags thread. Great work!

Any updates?

Afraid not. I've put rack making racks, and finishing the 'extra bits' on hold while I finish making Annelis new rig. That has to take priority, as it's a huge job on a tight deadline. I've ridden a good few hundred miles now though, and can't complain about the bike. The wheel/tyre combination is incredible. So smooth, fast-rolling, and it makes the whole bike feel way lighter than it should. I did flip the stem, as I'm riding with a backpack on until the racks are made, and it makes it a little more comfortable. It also makes it a wheelie/manual machine!

https://youtu.be/gaHTXadcy6Y

1 Attachment

Great bike 👍👍👍

11/10

Subbed and added a straggler to my shopping list. I can see myself selling my steamroller and cross-check and merging them into a do-it-all struggler.

Do u know how much it weight ?

+1, thinking about selling my cc for one too

Don't have any scales, but educated guess at about 10.5kg

Messing around fitting the front mudguard tonight. I'm having to spring them ever so slightly, to make them fit the way I want with these tyres. They're the biggest tyres I can possibly run in this frame, and there's at least a quarter inch of ckeaenace alk the way round. I had to make a custom bracket for the fork crown fastening, as there's so much drop from the crown on the straggler fork. It's a bit of 316 stainless, bent up and drilled. I used small dome head bolts (m4), with big washers and nyloc nuts on the outside, to maximise tyre clearance on the inside. I akso used a thick rubber washer between the fork crown and the bracket, to provide some damping and hopefully reduce the rate at which the stainless will eventually work harden and become more likely to crack when it becomes brittle. I'm also adding an extra mounting point, tdc, above the axle. This will be integrated into the racks i'm building, and offer a lot of support, and hence rigidity to the mudguard. It also helps pull the shape into a fairer curve, to suit the slightly smaller wheel size. This is approximated by the bungee cord in the second photo.

1 Attachment

The next job is to make a leather flap, to keep my feet dry.

1 Attachment

Finally getting the bottom bracket swapped over. Also doing a bit of a service tonigbt and probably going to fit the rear mudguard,if it doesn't get too late.
Had to decontaminate my pads and rotors this morning too. I think it was because the puddles, recently, have brought all the diesel an oil residue out of the tarmac. They must have got coated with spray.

1 Attachment

Can we see better pictures of your mudguard fitting solutions

Gave it a service, swapped in the Phil bb, and got the mudguards fitted. Need to make a couple of tweaks to my brackets, to get them fitting the tyre slightly better, but overall pretty happy with them. Gave them a bit of autosol too. I prefer the balance of polished/silver metal against the black now.

1 Attachment

I cant seem to upload more than one photo, but here are some of the mudguard mounting solutions. Firstly trimmed the bottom of the rear mudguard, to fit between the chainstays.folded the ends over to keep the shape fair. Used a bit of 8mm stainless tube, cut to the appropriate length, with a washer either end, and a longer bolt, to attach it to the frame.
Cut and bent two brackets, obviously measured to be the right length for front and rear, respectively. Drilled them and drilled the corresponding hole in the mudguard. Mounted them on little rubber pads. Doubt it's going to make much difference, but it might help damp some vibration.
Used an old pair of rigger boots to make some mud flaps. Had a convenient bit of rubber on the heel, which helps hold a good shape.

3 Attachments

needs more photos. Lovely bike!

old pair of rigger boots

Ace!

But they way Woodbridge has gone, Ugg would be more in keeping.

Ha! Yes, but I try not to mix too much with the Woodbridge crowd.

I will get some better photos when the bike is finished properly. My 5d died in a beer related accident, so limited to 6x9 film or phone camera.

The roads are covered in wet leaves, and I've had a few unwanted slides on the wtb horizons, so have just ordered some schwalbe marathon cross tyres in 27.5 x 1.6. They were 25% off, on crc, and look like they should be a bit grippier, and still be reasonably fast-rolling.

1 Attachment

nice flaps

jesus! I like this so much

Mudguard report: i've ridden in torrential rain, fresh snow and thick, slush, and my bike looks like its just been cleaned (except the wheels) I was regretting going for the 60mm over the 50mm, as they're a real pain to fit in the frame (and still need a bit of tweaking), but I'm now pleased to have chosen the wider ones, as they work so well. Previous bikes I've owned have only ever been set up with fenders slightly wider than the tyre, but the little bit of extra width makes a huge difference to their performance. Very pleased with the flaps too- the front one keeps my feet very dry, and the back one is the perfect height, so it only just scrapes during wheelie (this should be the industry standard way of setting the rear mud-flap height).

Edit: still riding on the horizons, as the other tyres haven't arrived yet, but they actually gripped better in the snow than they do on wet tarmac (Not hyperbole, there was literally better traction). Looking forward to some better wet tyres, but for now I've re-assembled my old beater with a set of schwalbe winter spikes on. The roads around here can be pretty treacherous, and I'll just ride that when it gets really icy.

Edit 2: my prediction for the future of wet weather cycling gear is: everyone will eventually realise being warm, dry and comfortable is way better than looking good, and start riding in ocean racing oilskins, paired with neoprene overshoes.

PS. I took some proper photos, on a proper camera, in the snow. I'll put them up when the film is developed.

3 Attachments

Ha you don't look very impressed in that last shot

Seems like proper attire!
Is there any sailer's solution to the gap between boots and trousers?
In my experience you either have to wear really long boots or trouser legs that drag along the ground when you're off the bike.

Hikers gaiters over your trousers but under your waterproof trousers should do the trick.

The bottoms of my salopets have Vero straps, and overlap the top of the overshoes just enough to make a pretty reasonable seal. Also helps keep them away from the dirt of the chain.

Fitted the wet weather tyres, and they look really small in the big mudguards! They're 1.6 inches wide, compared to the much higher volume 47mm horizons. I'm interested to see the difference in ride quality and feel, between the two tyres.

In other bike related news- I'm going to get round to making these racks, but a set of super C panniers, and ride from southern Spain to southern Morocco. Over the high atlas mountains and down to the desert. Flying in and out, but otherwise just the equipment we can carry between 2 bikes. Probably 3 to 4 weeks of riding, from January into February. we're looking at routes involving quite a lot of unpathed road, and extremes of conditions from high mountain passes with the potential for snow and desert heat, so it should be an interesting trip.

1 Attachment