Holy smokes, that Litespeed is very cool, as is the Merckx.

I don't know much about the Lemond, but I do know I'd build that Litespeed into a fat tired beast in an afternoon.

I'd use that as a snow bike any old day.

I shouldn't even dream, it's out of my price range right now I'm sure.

That wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be.

It's a cool bike, no question - but I really don't want to go off road much, I'm looking more for something for snow, and I think the Pugsley beats this out in that department. I could definitely picture taking it over some beach as well.

If you have your heart set on a Pugsley, here's a value.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...651774688.html

I would think long and hard about this one though.

You are going to need lots of legs to make this work.

I've talked to the guys at the shop long and hard and they'd go in this direction before a Pugsley at full price:

https://salsacycles.com/bikes/mukluk/

Front geo and interchangeability of forks with a 29'er option. Can't miss.

Think hard about pushing that huge front tire of the Pugsley through a foot of snow or mash potatoes.

Actually, I'll find a loaner of the Mukluk when I want to play, but I'd buy a Fargo 2 frameset and start building.



Good luck!

I have had my eye on the Fargo, as well, if I ever go the 29'er route.

Then RFC, think about the gruppos between the stock Fargo 2 and 3.

I happen to like the Deore gruppo with bar ends, but if I could find a used Deore XT gruppo, some Avid 7s or better, and a decent 29'er wheelset, I'd just buy the frameset.

Pretty simple to figure out the right direction if I can get my hands on a large Fargo frameset.

This would be a better bike in the snow, on singletrack trails, and fire roads.

The need for a Pugsley then, would be reduced.

....and with slicks and racks, a lot, lot more.

After much debate, and careful consideration, I'm planning on scrapping the Pug plan and building the Litespeed. I'm going to hunt down a Deore LX level 9sp bike as a donor, get some drop bar thumbies (thanks Fender!!!) and make it a drop bar MTB.

That will rock.

You'll likely love it.

We rode off road all of last weekend, right up to the Canadian border from our cabin.

Wildlife galore, fun fire roads, singletrack, washed out roads/bridges, and smoke hanging in the air from the Pagami Creek fire.

Pure adventure.

A good choice!

Ha! Imagine me giving someone useful advice to NOT spend additional money on bikes?!!!!BTW, I am converting my old High Sierra MTB to drops as we speak. Good luck and I am looking forward to the pics.

That sounds like an amazing ride. Did you happen to take an pictures?

Aaron, that Litespeed should be sweet. Good call on giving it a shot.

Fender and Nikkorod were REALLY helpful in working me through this...and obviously gomango and RFC raised the spectre of doubt in my plan. If I don't like it, I can always scrap it and go for a Pugsley. I got the Litespeed at a ridiculous price, so I should be able to finish this project at a very reasonable number. The trick is going to be stealing a junk frame with a decent 9sp gruppo.

Yep, I did.

I'll post them on my flickr in a couple of days.

This is the general area where the cabin is located.

https://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Ely&state=MN

Pagami Creek fire

https://www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Our cabin is roughly 14 miles east of Ely on an entry point to the BWCA.

We have hundreds of miles of fire roads to ride, and many are in the BWCA.

A hot-rodded Fargo 2 is my next bike purchase.

If you are going to go friction, I wouldn't worry if the donor is 7, 8 or 9 speed. There are plenty of cheap donors available, at least here in AZ.