has anyone got or ridden a pugsley?

scottgeniusltd2005

hi all,

due to the state of the trails where i live, really wet, rutted, flooded and boggy and the village i live in gets severe winter weather, i am thinking of building a pugsley fat tyre bike. i currently have a scott genius ltd which is really really struggling both with the trails and the current weather. to build the pugsley i would have to split my genuis and sell the frame.

has anyone got one or ridden one? i am more interested in what the tyres are like on road, is there horrendously more drag than knobblies or just a bit more? i am thinking it would be similar as the tyres have a smoother profile than the evolutions i have on at the moment but obviously much wider and lower pressures. the bike would have to double both as a fun bike as well as a 20 mile each way commuter when my other bike is broke or i want to go mtbing after work.

any thoughts or opinions?

Kiblams

I have read on many sites that the endomorphs roll very well, as you have said they have much less knobbles than MTB tires and rely on the surface area for grip rather than treads.

I wish I had the monies to build one myself :x

RealMan

You'd have to change your name.

And going from a genius to a pugsley is big change. Maybe just buy yourself a cheap cyclo x bike for winter and commuting?

Kiblams

RealMan wrote:

Maybe just buy yourself a cheap cyclo x bike for winter and commuting?

He wants to ride not carry his new bike

RealMan

Cyclo x isn't all about carrying. I ride regularly with a couple of cyclo xers and they never carry. Similar conditions as well.

scottgeniusltd2005

if a top end bike carbon fibre sub 22lb 5inch / 6inch travel bike with 2.3 evolution mud sharks cannot cope, how would a cyclo cross bike cope? not being nasty just cannot see it myself.

RealMan

How would it cope? Very well probably. You ever riden one? Get a test ride on one, you will be impressed.

And the way you wrote that, you make it sound like full suspension and lots of travel plus really wide tyres are good for mud.. lol

.blitz

Somehow the word Pugsley:


conjured up an image in my mind of one of these:


Pugsley, Pashley, whatever

scottgeniusltd2005

erm i don't think you understand my terrain problems. the pennine bridleway / mtl where i ride or lee quarry would not be any good on a cyclocrosser.

even in the height of summer my end is like a swamp and rutted. i.e., upto the axles in some places and very very gloopy with 16 inch boulder fields. i think the infrequent quad bikes are becoming more and more frequent and have torn the terrain to shreds. not to mention the compacted and frozen snow in my village. i need to be riding on top of the mud and snow / ice not digging further in with even narrower tyres. the last x cross race i saw they had to chuck the bikes onto the shoulder at the mre sight of topsoil mud due to loss of traction on the ascents and some even had to get off going down.

scottgeniusltd2005

not too mention doing the black route at lee quarry...on cyclecrosser...really?

scottgeniusltd2005

or at night in the middle of winter when the rocks and boulder fields are glossy with ice...no thanks. plus being 16 stone on narrow wheels...erm no ta

cat_with_no_tail

I am currently building a Pugs Top secret spec, should be finished around March. Using mine all year round

You want to have a read of the fatbikes forum on MTBR.

Mainly Yanks of course, but there are a few Brit Pug owners on there too.

Edit: forgot to post the link to the fatbike forum:

http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=164

RealMan

Well you did just say it was wet flooded and boggy. Go on singletrackworld, theres a few guys with pugsleys there.

Paul 8v

I'd be interested to try one, to be fair it just looks as though it would be really sluggish and slow, I'm not sure I "get" it but it does look interesting

scottgeniusltd2005

actually i have found some 3 inch tyres on line which are a bit narrower than the surly ones, might be worth a go.

my main problem is not the snow as i can walk 1/2 mile to main road if it is really bad. my main problem is the state of my local trails. they are really starting put me off mtb ing. they are really really bad and it is a real slog getting anywhere. couple of years ago they were probably some of the best in the country. now they are just ridiculous. it is a shame becuaue 10 miles in i can get to the new sections of the pennine bridleways over nelson. i like to go out as regular as possible every night most weeks. i have been using my brommie since july and really miss the trails but when i have been out mtb ing i come back totally disappointed because of the couple hours slog, covered in really thick sh*t and no enjoyment because of the lack of being able to keep momentum going due to being bogged down or thrown off becuase of the bad ruts.

the idea of fat tyres is appealing because i could either ride over the mud or along side on the long grassy bits. however this is all academic and theory. i am hoping someone on here has tried either a pugsley or other type of fat tyres.

Kiblams

Not sure fat tires will be a step in the right direction for mud TBH, Endomorphs are designed for snow and sand traction which is very different to mud. I would as CWNT suggested head over the MTBR.com forums and ask the guys in the "fat bikes" forum for thier experiences with mud.

Oh and a heads up; the rims make the tires fat more thant the actual tyres. A 2.5" tyre on a 50-100mm rim has masses of volume compared to a 2.5" on a standard rim.

scottgeniusltd2005

yeah thanks for the link. might be able to find what i'm after there.

cheers

guys

garybuckham

A picture is worth a thousand words!



Gary
http://www.youtube.com/user/garybuckham
http://www.pugsley-on-patrol.org.uk/index.htm