Break On Thru

After much consideration, I finally decided to go with a SRAM drivetrain for the new Pugsley. Unfortunately Shimano simply makes it too difficult because they don't participate in the fat bike market.

The first thing I purchased was an Eagle GX Dub crankset.

Unfortunately, I did not realize all my Shimano bottom bracket tools are not compatible with the Dub cups. To the Internet!

Tool ordered, but it won't be here for a few days. Oh well, I had one more thing I could do.

One of the things that drove me nuts about the old Pugsley was rear wheel removal. Getting the cassette past the derailleur with the horizontal dropouts was a nightmare that usually ended with greasy hands, a little blood and a lot of profanity.

The new frame alleviates this, but only if you use a thru axle. This allows the wheel to be dropped out vertically rather than horizontally.

Luckily my rear hub is a DT Swiss 350, which can be converted. The new end caps were simple to change out and I have a new appreciation for the modular design of DT Swiss hubs (although I am still a Shimano hub fan at heart).

So it was a short day in the shop, but I am ever so much closer to a running bike.

Later.