Call me Mikey

 

I like it! While it's not entirely true that, "I don't like anything," I can be particular about what I truly like in a bike, even if that like is somewhat contrary to the bike industry norm. For example, I like eight speed shifting. Starting with nine speeds, chains were narrower, which means narrower bushings, which means the pedalling load is carried by a smaller area, which means more wear for a given material grade. I like cheap chains that last.

I also like cutting through unpaved sections of trail when getting where I'm going, especially when it means a shorter route with the bonus of no motor vehicle traffic. My solution for years was to ride an old mountain bike, old enough to have a rigid fork, but for the last few years, I've been a fan of 700c wheeled hybrids that roll smoother, especially on those unpaved sections. The problem is many of them have tire clearance that is tight above a 35c width tire.

Of course, new mountain bikes have 29" wheels, which is just a new name for 700c with big tires, but alas, most new mountain bikes also have suspension forks, long travel suspension forks. While I have been enjoying my rides on a long, long 160mm travel fork for true mountain biking, for getting around, including through some connecting trails, I want a simple, reliable, rigid fork. The problem is it's harder to find a rigid fork long enough to replace a long travel 29" wheel fork.

So I put a shorter fork on my first, experimental 27.5" mountain bike along with a pair of 29" wheels. The short fork makes the angles steeper, about that of a hybrid, while dropping the bottom bracket height back down for the bigger wheels. It may not be quite as low as a hybrid, but that is probably perfect for cutting through trails! For my first test fitting, the wheels were wearing 2.2" width tires, and while the fit (yay!), the clearance was tighter than I'd want for the realities of possible mud and wheels that don't always stay perfectly true. On my old errand mountain bikes, my preferred tire size was often 1.75", which translates to 45c, and would give much more clearance than the 2.2" rubber.

It does!

With the tires swapped, the rims drilled out to accept Schrader tubes, and the suspension fork swapped to one 46mm shorter, I rode it for the first time on Monday, and yeah, call me Mikey. I really like it. And yes, I'm still impressed by just how well that frame, which came as part of a bike with a $460 retail price, rides. It's also pretty light, especially with the boat anchor cheap suspension fork removed. 

Since this test ride

 I found a stem cap with a longer bolt

 which allowed for another 1/8" of spacer, 

which feels just right.

Now it's time to try it on the trail connection 

 through Ashley Reservoir to Westfield!