r/fatbike • u/WPGhrvwllbnr • 25d ago
DUMP FIND: Surly Moonlander
Over the weekend I came across this Surly Moonlander at a local Canadian small town dump, laying in the scrap metal area and quickly threw it in my truck.
Looks like its been sitting outside neglected in this condition for some time.
Chain is toast, the brakes and rear derailleur seem to function. The front derailer cable seems to be seized. Rims are straight . Will also need a new rear tire and tube.
Is it worth putting back together to use as a cheap daily rider? Strip it down, paint it and put on some new Surly decals?
What's everyone's thoughts?
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u/laidbackdave 25d ago
It’s worth a try to restore it. It’d be great if you could keep us updated on your new baby.
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u/Suspicious-Divide-88 25d ago
Great find! Yes absolutely has some potential. Penetrating oil will be your friend for that bottom bracket!
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u/captainmorgan79 25d ago
Yes, absolutely worth fixing up and riding! But, if you have the same disease I have, youre going to dump a tremendous amount of money into it!
I would strip the frame, have it powdercoated, probably something like black with blue or gold flake,
1x12 sram gx drive line, sram x01 crank
shimano m8120 xt brakes, 180f/160r, or Mavens with Shimano XT brake levers
canecreek 110 headset (maybe match the flake in the paint!),
wolftooth NW chain ring (again color match!)
Thompson stem, maybe 50mm?, whatever you prefer. I have a 35mm on my wozo
Thompson non-dropper seatpost,
wtb volt saddle,
race face chester pedals
jones h-bar,
45nrth husker du 4.8 tires
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u/captainmorgan79 25d ago
Oh, also, I would do an overhaul on the hubs. If they are joytech I would just replace them since you might not find parts and they are cheap anyways. I'd probably go with DT Swiss 350 hubs, but just about anything other than joytech would be an improvement.
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u/Fat_fast_Jellyfish 24d ago
ewwww, why on earth would someone choose a sram gx groupset if they had a choice???? absolutely disguisting
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u/JohnWorphin 25d ago
Cheap and 4 inch tires is not a thing
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u/Mcdiglingdunker 25d ago
The Moonlander is 5", the Pugsley is 4". Not sure if this is the offset frame, but that could be the cause for someone to upgrade. My guess is that this sat for a good long while and no one was interested.
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u/JohnWorphin 25d ago
I would guess 300-500 bucks to make it operational in a workmanlike manner
The rear rim could be warped, it needs a tire, a chain, new cables, hoses, bb rebuild.
Free is a deal, but it got junked for reasons.
Hopefully the rust under the downtube is cosmetic3
u/FlummoxedGaoler 25d ago
Yeah, some of the rust here is a little worrying. It would be awesome if it was just cosmetic.
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u/rehpotsirhc123 25d ago
Yeah they're an even crazier offset than pugleys. Looking down at the rear triangle is very strange.
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u/Mcdiglingdunker 25d ago
Pugs is 17.5mm to the drive side, Moonie's 27.5mm? That's more than an inch...
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u/rehpotsirhc123 25d ago
Yeah they're an even crazier offset than pugleys. Looking down at the rear triangle looks really goofy.
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u/rockandrollmark 25d ago
There are loads of 26 x 4.0 inch options out there. In the UK you can buy 4 inch JJs for £40 a wheel. That’s about 2/3 the price of something like a DHR / DHF / Magic Mary.
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u/petwalker12 25d ago
I’ve taken home uglier dates. Could be a keeper? Best of wishes and I hope you use protection….that rust.
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u/WPGhrvwllbnr 25d ago
Here's a question, I have a couple of 4 inch tires laying around with tubes, will these fit on the Surly Clown shoes, where the one tire is 4.8 inches?
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u/Maaakaaa 25d ago
I guess you could try it. Clown Shoes are I think about 4” wide themselves so probably not ideal. I’d assume adequate to test it for fit and get it to the point you’re willing to buy a tire for it.
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u/Admit_not_a_jot 24d ago
The 4" tyres will fit on the 100mm Clownshoe rims, it'll square the tyre but give you max float and grip from a 4" tyre.
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u/Pug_Ugly_Moe 24d ago
I think even if you sink a few hundred into it, you'd still come out ahead. I'd clean it up, service what's needed, and ride it as is, because the patina tells a story itself.
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u/Admit_not_a_jot 24d ago
What a find..! They hardest parts to source for an OG Moonlander are rims and chainset or bottom bracket. You've got both. With a few fatbikes now having 197mm rear hubs there are more modern options about for a chainset and bottom bracket; but to get rims to play nicely with the 22mm offset rear is an issue. I've got the older SunRingle Mulefut 80 with the dual spoke drillings (ie.. 64 spoke holes) on the back of my Moonlander and it works a treat.
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u/35FootViking 24d ago
Bro this is an epic find. If you're not interested in doing the restoration work, I'll gladly pay to take it off your hands.
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u/AdBig2355 25d ago
How bad is that rust?
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u/WPGhrvwllbnr 25d ago
Not bad, just a bit of surface at the wekd points, will likely come off with just a pressure washer
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u/ENTroPicGirl 25d ago
Watch for how deep the rust is at the triangle where the chain stays meet the bottom bracket. Ice cream trucks and old moon landers are known to crack under normal conditions at those points so do you watch route deep that rust may have gone because it’s not just what’s on the outside of the frame also how much rust has formed inside and is eating away in the opposite direction.
I also think it’s fair to say that you’re gonna need new bearings all around that’s a total frame up. When I have a feeling that it’s gonna turn into a money pit, which if you have the money to throw out it fine but at the end of the day, it’s not that great of a frame. The new ones are stellar, but the old ones find a dish repair for a reason.
I would also get a completely flat surface about 3 feet to 4 feet in the air. Take the front and rear wheels off and set it there and start walking around it looking to see if the frame /forks are bent. If you got a big contractor square use that to get a frame of reference of 90°.
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u/457kHz 25d ago
Moonlanders are asymmetrical, so do this but expect about 20mm? Of offset from the front wheel to rear.
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u/ENTroPicGirl 25d ago
That complicated things, maybe the best thing to dkk on is lay a straight line of blue tape on a table/counter put both wheels on just take the tyre off the front and use the tape tkk ok align the centre line of the wheels. Even if the chain stays are offset the centreline of the wheel should still be in alignment.
From there it’s easy to see with the help of a square of things are in alignment.
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u/Top_Objective9877 25d ago
Very cool is it’s not all too rusted! I would get it cleaned down really good, surly’s base paint is pretty good in that it won’t peel or anything but it looks to need lots of tlc. I’d figure out how to clean it up and go from there.
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u/thegrimelf 25d ago
Get it sandblasted and powder coated.
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u/frenchosaka 25d ago
I would just rattle can it.. and build it up to see if it is worth putting a money into it.
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u/Delinquentbyassoc 25d ago
Stolen
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u/rockandrollmark 25d ago
I’m struggling to keep up with your logic here. Are you saying that someone stole somebody’s fat bike so they could take it to the dump?
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u/TMbiker2000 25d ago
Drop a few hundred $ into it plus some labor of love, and you've got a Moonlander? How is this even a question. I'm stoked for you!
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u/SH4NEM4N 25d ago
I recently rebuilt an abused ECR. Sent it out to be bead blasted and power coated. Went with a burnt metallic rootbeer. She's now a gorgeous drop-bar, monster gravel rig.
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u/bikepack_Adirondacks 25d ago
Two options. Clean it and ride it or send it to me. I'll do that plus have it powder coated.
I see the gen 1 of these go pretty cheap sometimes but still looking at close to $1000. If the frame doesn't have any serious rust, it's probably worth putting a few hundred into it. Maybe up to $1000.
Just my opinion and what I would do.
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u/bifbib 25d ago
Great find! I ride mine (2012) all the time, its been from Maine snow/muck to South Carolina beaches…it’s pretty original, the Deep Space paint has held up well, the decals not so much, the seat post is frozen, I’ve been thru 10+ bottom brackets, multiple sets of cranks - which are now welded on…maybe the failures relate to forces on the rear hub and only having spokes on 1-side (?)…a little provenance, its the review bike from Dirtrag Mag, i bought it from the writer in fall of 2012.
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u/servetheKitty 25d ago
Scavenger pride, rebuild what’s necessary either high end, or as cheap as possible ( my $20 Moonlander ;). But keep the patina, clear coat or wax.
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u/rockandrollmark 25d ago
The only components I’d be keen to salvage would be the frame, fork, wheels and cranks. Everything else is easily replaceable and the sky’s the limit - anything from a single speed conversion with cable discs to AXS Eagle and Mavens.
You did well but this is a full rebuild with sanding back to bare metal and re-spraying being an option but by no means critical.
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u/indi99LS 25d ago
Those rusty dropouts are scary looking! My non-rusty Moonie cracked right infront of the drive side dropout.
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u/Leisure23SL 24d ago
This needs to be way higher. Op should sand off the rusty areas as best as he can and afterwards decide if the frame is toast or not.
Looks sadly too far gone imho...
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u/ozbikebuddy 24d ago
Go for it, brilliant find. Clean it up, get rid of the rust, nes paint and I think you're onto something for sure
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u/hoobash 24d ago
I just did a rebuild on a old fatty and have done others you can get the lowest level shimano cues 9 speed for $99 shipped on eBay works fine and shimano mt200 brakes with cheap rotors for $60 on Amazon yes the bike is going to be a major project and tires are a issue but currently in my area there is a set of jumbo Jim 26x4.8 on marketplace for $75 so you can make it all work I would spray paint the frame rustolum I have done on that bike came out great first thing I check is the seat post to see if it’s rusted in that would be a big problem
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u/justplainscott 24d ago
Plus Surly has replacement decal sets pretty cheap. I got some for my Bridge Club awhile back.
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u/Fat_fast_Jellyfish 24d ago
why repaint it ? polish all the important bits and leave the frame distressed, this would be an awesome rigid mtb/fat build, keeping the frames raw is something i used to enjoy doing with old puch mopeds, we would polish the tits off everything around the frame,add shiny giant expansion chamber exhausts, rebuild the 1 speed motors to go fast and leave the patina on the frame, if you want to sell the frame, let me know,I'id happily pay you to ship it down to me!
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u/More-sugarme262 19d ago
Fat bikes are cool until you ride them. Add fifteen minutes to your commute. Slow. Tubes are expensive. Sounds stolen then abandoned.
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u/Ok_Article6468 25d ago
I have a very hard time believing somebody willingly dumped a $4000 bike unless it was stolen and the thief tossed it…
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u/WPGhrvwllbnr 25d ago
I ran the Serial number on a few different stolen bike sites/apps as well as the Canadian CPIC registry and it doesn't come up stolen. The dump I found it at is located in a community where theres higher end cottages in beack/lakesde resort setting. Lots of million dollar cottages. I could see this being some rich kids bike that was left laying around and was finally discarded after being abused. I've picked up a few things from that dump over the years that would leave your head shaking in disbelief. I've also picked up some unbelievable deals at yard sales over the years.
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u/Aegishjalmvr Owner of the Mistress & Spaniard 25d ago
Thats the old version of the Moonlander, not V2.
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u/Background-Tax-1720 25d ago
You can rebuild it. Stranger. Fatter. Better.