Andrew Bike Guide

A friend's rear hub stopped spinning on a recent ride, described as "crunchy". The 17mm bearing extractor allowed easy removal of the drive side hub bearing and a punch was used to remove the remainder of the non-drive side bearing. A 17mm wrench and a soft hammer allowed the removal of the inner race from the axle. A magnet retrieved the loose bearings from inside the hub shell before a thorough clean. It appears that used a smaller 17 x 26 x 5 mm bearing, pressed into a reducer, on the earlier editions of their Gen1 hubs. They later replaced this complicated arrangement with larger 17 x 30 x 7 mm bearings which are more robust. The 30 mm threaded press made short work of the new bearing install. It is a real joy to use simple but well made tools. The whole job was made easier with excellent tools from and l***s applied from l**e toobs. grease in the hub and freehub grease for the ratchets. The hub is again as good as new and ready for another few years of rolling good times.

Get outside and share the joy of riding one's bike.
📷

After a winter that was missed, due to throat and neck cancer surgery and the subsequent recovery, I finally got my Big Iron V2 titanium fat bike built and rolling on the ‘snow’*.
*note that we have glare ice or bare ground here at the moment.
I was fortunate enough that provided the Xiphias 27.5 x 95 mm carbon rims on some Big Ride hubs. I am rolling on custom hex studded Yippee Ki Yay 27.5 x 4.3” tyres. They are my single track tyres and grip like an octopus on a crab. I sourced a Mastadon Pro from . As usual I have installed a Transmission XX drive train (with the option to swap to Eagle 90 for extreme cold or a multiday winter adventure). I am using my original “winter seal test” AXS Reverb as it works perfectly and there isn’t really room for more than 170 mm of drop. It is topped by the custom molded Seymour. The stopping is managed by a set of Code Stealth Ultimates gripping a set of HS2 180 mm rotors. I prefer to have more power, especially given that the fat bike is usually loaded with more gear than my summer bikes. provides the premium head set, bottom bracket and the CAMO bash/ chain ring system helps protect and retain the chain. The bags are a combination of and to ensure that the winter safety gear, water and food is carried cleanly.
The bike, with its more modern geometry, rides beautifully naturally, even with the wide tyres and a load. It is turning out to be a great adventure enabler and a fun single track explorer. Thank you to all the clever designers and manufacturers who make sure great equipment is available for winter riding. And thank you to the surgeon and medical staff at University of Alberta Hospital who operated to remove the cancer and worked tirelessly to assist my recovery.

Playing fast and loose with the coffee stores! Almost civilian levels of disorganisation! Thankfully the resupply arrived today as in-hand levels had hit "danger low".