Every Day Adventurers

A long time Xtracycler wrote to RootsRadicals recently asking for help on getting his Whatchamacollars (WMC) fitted over his Big Dummy uprights. We mention in the WMC instructions to use a liberal amount of grease on the contact faces for installation, and also suggest using a large flat head screwdriver to gently pry the bottom clamp open. The reason the WMC is such a tight fit on the Big Dummy is due to Surly’s use of a slightly larger upright tube diameter, roughly 1mm larger than the FreeRadical uprights.

Unfortunately, using the screwdriver method has the chance to mar the WMC faces and can cause scratching of the Big Dummy uprights when installing. We asked around to see if people have found a solution to this problem and Nick Sande, product control at Surly Bicycles, sent us these photos.

Using a nickle between the lower clamp you can screw in the bolt, start on the threaded side of the WMC, and slowly screw the bolt into the nickle. This allows the clamp to expand as you tighten, thus opening the clamp the extra millimeter or two. You can also use this technique with the upperclamp if fitting the V-racks into the WMC proves difficult. And we still suggest using grease to ensure a smooth installation.

Sorry, again, for the hassle, hope this fix works for you and your Big Dummy.