Sludhound
Aluminum Miele hybrid frame. Earlier non-winter incarnations shown as well.
Straight bars with extensions, everything big enough for mitts.
Stock fork, Cane Creek headset.
36-spoke, nothing fancy.
36-spoke, again nothing fancy, with 4-speed coaster hub.
An old 10-speed's 170mm crankset, now set up with an improvised bash guard. 3-piece cup-and-cone BB.
Once again, nothing special, just a comfy foam saddle off a Giant hybrid.
Throwaway KMC UG-50 chain I expect to replace every spring.
Used a 4-speed Shimano Nexus coaster hub with a friction shifter lever. Bad idea, and i never shift out of low gear anyway.
Pros:
- Seems to handle nicely through different sorts of snow, slush, ice and slud (slush + mud).
- Coaster brake actually useful when rims get slippy from slush.
Cons:
- Slow as hell.
- Using a friction shifter for the hub gear was a bad move. But the 4-speed Nexus hub is discontinued and i'm not going to bother tracking down a grip shifter for it.
- Air Zound horn gets clogged with blowing snow and stops working.
Future improvements for next winter will likely be:
- 36t chainring instead of the 40.
- A new wheelset, comprising a 5 speed Sturmy-Archer hub with front and back drum brakes, as well as an appropriate shifter. No more friction shifter on hub gears! Grindy sound = BAD!
- The 3-piece BB ought to be replaced with a more weatherproof cartridge BB, except I can't seem to get the fixed cup out.
- Maybe some wider pedals to fit winter boots.
- Never use the front pannier rack, might as well take it off.
- Recable with continuous lengths of housing from the handlebars to the brakes and gears, so water can't get in at the cable stops.