"Honey, you're getting fat" I said to wifey at the dinner table.
Now, saying this would normally land you in the doghouse for months and sleeping on the couch. But I had good reason for saying it - in fact I relished in it.
"Am I really?" she replied excitedly.
She wasn't pregnant, her waistline was not increasing in girth, no breast augmentation surgery, alas it was far more exciting than that.
It was time for a new bike to join the family. Not just any bike, it was a fat bike.
The bike arrived in a really, really big bike box. The tyres are 4" wide. Plan was to build it up to check sizing for her, as I had also bought a small Mukluk frame and fork in case the Pug frame standover was too high. If the Pug didn't fit, I would build up on the Muk frame instead.
To quote Tim Allen from Home Improvement " You never really own something, until you've built it with your own hands" argh argh, it was time for wifey to don the apron and get building.
Okay, so she didn't build the whole thing, but it was essential for her to know went where.
Sizing was perfect, a few short rides and it was settled. Anyone wanna buy a Mukluk frame and fork?
We've got quite a few trips planned, many of them on the beach and in harsh environments, and being a steel frame and fork it needed to be treated where the paint don't go - inside the tubes. I've rustproofed plenty of my 4wds for beach work, so to keep the duco pretty and the frame rust free internally it was time to do the same. Tear down bike to bare frame.
Process and product the same, coat all exposed steel surfaces with cavity wax, I've used fish oil with success too, but takes a long time to cure and weeps forever.
Frame tubes have holes either internally or externally, they allow water, air and contaminants into the frame and that's where the rust process begins. I cover one of the holes on each tube with tape, then flood the tube with cavity wax from the other end, slosh it around, drain the excess and let it cure. It's a long process but essential. I let the wax flash off for a week or so, then cover all external holes with white electrical tape to keep contaminants out.
Also the exterior gets a few touch ups, the underside of the cable lugs gets very little paint from the factory, so a good idea to go over these areas with a few coats.
Built up again, I had a Revelate tangle framebag lying about, will see how it goes before I order a full bag. Applied some tough polyester tape under the framebag straps. Basic mudguard out of some 1mm polyethylene sheet.
