Meet Pugslina, My Bikepacking Rig

[Mr. ManParticipant 2916]

“Pugslina” is a 2013 Surly, Pugsley, fat bike. Her tires are 3.8″ wide and they allow me to ride through damn near any kind of terrain I find — cobbles, snow, sand or mud. I even have studded snow tires for winter riding.

A Pugsley can be reconfigured for all kinds of riding, but right now I’ve got mine rigged for bikepacking. Bikepacking is different from traditional bike touring in that you carry your gear in bags that maintain the bike’s narrow cross section, rather than having large panniers hanging off the sides. And because the bike is so narrow, I can ride narrow hiking trails.

Where I live, the Forest Service has a huge network of ATV/snowmobile trails that are perfect for bikepacking. These trails have a lot of very fine sand that my regular mountain bike would simply sink into. But on a fatbike, I roll over that soft sand likes it’s pavement.

On the weekends, my car is loaded and ready for me to head north as soon as I get off of work. It only takes me moments to get my bike ready, and then I just roll off into the woods for a few days and camp wherever the hell I feel like it. Sometimes I don’t come out all weekend and other times I’ll roll into a small town for dinner and a beer. It’s pure heaven!

If you’re interested in getting into bikepacking or getting a fatbike, the good news is that there are enough used ones on Craigslist now that you’re bound to find something that’ll work for you. And you don’t have to use a fatbike for bikepacking, either, any bike will do as long as it rolls!

[Blue SkiesParticipant 15665]

holy s~~~, that’s f~~~in awesome.

did u customize the bike yourself?

how does the bike perform on flat city roads? …just curious

MGTOW is not a movement, it is a way of life.

[Buller100Participant 2189]

Nice looking machine, bet it’s a blast.

[Anonymous 42]

I like it! With tires like that you can lay on it a paddle across a river! I had a railroad bed end at a river, that would have been perfect for the crossing!

[Mr. ManParticipant 2916]

The Donald, it handles great on flat city roads. I commute on this bike nearly every day, even in the winter. What tire pressure you run is critical on a fatbike. In the city I like about 18 psi front and back. That makes the bike roll fast and yet leaves enough squish for damping all of the potholes I hit on our s~~~ty roads. On sand or snow I’ll drop the pressure to about 8-10 lbs.

But I don’t think I’ll winter commute any longer because the salt that’s spread on the roads here is absolutely brutal on the components and frame, even with regular rinsing.

I bought the bike used for $1,100.00. It was the stock build for that year model of the Pugsley Special Opps, which is a really great build. But I’ve added my own touches like a Terry Liberator saddle, Shimano Saint platform pedals and a Jones Loop handlebar. The bags are all hand-made by Revelate Designs, and really not that expensive. Then there are all of the bolt-on things like Salsa Anything Cage up on the front fork and various front and rear lights (I can ride all night long with the 850 lumen headlight I have).

I have about $2,000.00 invested in the whole kit you see here, and I bought everything bit by bit, and only after thinking long and hard about weather I needed a particular new piece of gear or component upgrade. The bike and gear will last a lifetime, so that’s not a bad price for it.

But most importantly, the fun you can have exploring cool places on a bikepacking rig makes it worth every penny!

[Tiga KParticipant 1693]

Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed reading and seeing your pictures. We need more stories around here about all the cool things the men-bers are doing with their freedom.

[Author]

Posts