Well, well, well... they said it wouldn't last. And they were right. I gave it three weeks, Big Nath estimated two, but we were both way off the mark.
Josh's
Stumpy singlespeed conversion actually saw the light of day, getting fitted first with a rigid fork and the wheels and cranks from his Turner, and some new bars, stem and tensioner to top it off. Then the hand of death, our inept bike builer James, decided that the tensioner needed a tension check, pushing it down hard until the spring bent. Josh cursed him and all that he stands for, but forged on like the little soldier he is, before deciding the rigid fork left the front end too low.
Cue the Marzocchi fork from the Turner... alright, blinglespeed. And then, the maiden voyage, up to Makara, in the mud, perfect conditions for a no-frills machine to excell. Or so you'd think...
Until, of course, the hand of death comes back to haunt you.
The tensioner decided to shit itself halfway up to the peak, leaving an angry soldier to scooter his way back down the hill, tail between legs. Well, I presume that's how it would've looked, as I actually wasn't there, but hey, I'll improvise.
Now, you'd expect that after putting so much time and effort, and some dollars, into a bike that was going to be "ridden all winter", that he'd be looking at alternatives for the job of tensioning the chain, and getting that SS groove back on ASAP, right? Nosireebob, it was in the stand and being stripped before you could say
"Surly Crosscheck conversion", with the Turner regaining it's missing bits pronto. Total time in existence: A week (and that's being generous)... Anyone want to
buy a Stumpy frame, hardly used?
so being the good bloke that he is, he rebuilt the bike for me. He'd taken off the faux Indy Fab stickers and was going to get new ones made. I suggested he get Scared Shiftless instead, and the lad did a smashing job, don't you agree?
We're thinking of getting a batch made up, but they ain't cheap, so if there's any interest in them we'll get 'em in circulation.
I felt I could push it into corners with confidence, and even in tight, twisty singletrack through close-together trees, it still felt nimble and responsive.
This thing would rock with a Fox F29 fork on it, I think it would just fly through rough stuff. Although the rigid fork does look way cool, as does the Salsa CrMo stem. 
An old AS Gillott... as old school as you can get.
This Langster was bought from us, but has been through a remarkable blinging process... Campy Record cranks and levers, carbon tubulars...oww.
A Koga Miyata... there's a name I havent heard for a long time. Apparently ridden by someone named Jenny... where are you, fixie riding ladies?
Luckily, there's always Chris The Courier to rely on, out there day in day out delivering parcels either on his cobbled-together-piece-of-crap or the Langster. Today he dropped by with this bit of carnage, which happened during a wheelie down one of Wellington's busiest streets. A nice ball-slapper was the result, followed by a quick change tho the Langster, and off he went, flying the SS flag for us other slackers.
Until, of course, the hand of death comes back to haunt you. 
