Are you fat? Do you like it? What would you do different next time?

[Tech Tonics]

Probably because he works at a Specialized dealership....

Well I suppose that makes sense!

Just for the record, I've been riding the shit outta my mukluk2, even on group rides at a fast pace.

And man oh man that bike is just goofy fun. An absolute blast to ride. Not fast, but not prohibitively slow either.

Also, I just heard the Durango Cyclery has a medium mukluk2 for $1800. I think that's a good deal?

[gravitylover]

Trek just announced the Farley yesterday. 135/170 4" tire and sub 30#. Again, available early October.

I will be out in Ogden Monday and Tuesday at the QBP dealer show so will get to see all the new Surly and Salsa fatties. Maybe I'll come home with one...

[Bobcat Sig]

Rode a Surly Pugsley at lunch today down at the LBS. Sweet Fancy Moses, those are fun! I'm getting one, no doubt. I'm probably go with a Moonlander or something as wide for when the snow flies around here. I should be able to build one cheapish as I have an X9 drivetrain laying around, several bars and a set of Formula RXs.

[sb]

907 coming out with a carbon fat frame this fall/winter. Looks nice from the FB pics. Supposed to mate with their new thru axle hubs. Sounds like $2300ish.

Now all we need are some affordable carbon rims and that RS springer fork.

[gravitylover]

Well, in the last two days I rode all of the fat and mid fat offerings from Salsa and Surly at Snowbasin. That new Beargrease is the shizzle!! What a fun bike. Handles pretty much like a regular mt bike, climbs better than any hardtail I've ever ridden because you just can't break traction and it rolls over just about anything in a fairly predictable manner. Even the less expensive of the two is well under 30 pounds and there are plenty of opportunities to make it lighter without breaking the bank. Everything else feels sluggish compared to it but not always in a bad way. The Muk doesn't climb as well but is otherwise super nice to ride and descends extremely well but you do need to pay attention in the corners, it likes to exit wide.

All of the Surly bikes were fun, the mid fats like the new Instigator are cool and I though t a better alternative to a 650B if you're not worried about the heft. The Moonlander is a hoot but a lot of work. If you're patient it delivers for sure but you need to get used to the tandem bus feeling and it doesn't accelerate going downhill unless you pedal hard.

I have a Beargrease on the way

Oh, if anyone was wondering it looks like front sus for fatties is less than two months away now. Nobody was as forthcoming with the info as I would have liked but I expected that and with a little bit of arm twisting in the form of super cold beer on a hot afternon I got the answers I needed.

[ticketchecker]

^^i wanna slap that instigator wheelset in a suspension frame.

You're gonna love the beargrease, you described climbing on a fattie to a T. Hope the graphics are better on the '14. I scrubbed mine off with acetone and it's all murdered out except for the blue rims.

Congrats, now order up a growler cage

[gravitylover]

pics



and this was as far up Snowbasin as my fat ass was willing to pedal the Beargrease

[sb]

me want this next, growler bike

http://www.jruiter.com/transport/

[gravitylover]

We have them in stock now.

[Tech Tonics]

It doesn't look like either the beargrease or the Trek have rack-mounts?

for me, one of the things I like most about my fatty is the ability to load it down with gear and use it for bikepacking.

[lph]

I am guessing Tahoe woulda been a blast on a fattie today. 5-7" of snow on dirt.

[gravitylover]

Salsa no but the Trek has them in the rear just above the level the caliper is at. See the (fuzzy) silver dot, that's it. There is also a threaded hole in the bridge so you can run a rack that has a center mount option.

[sb]

A rack on a carbon frame?

[gravitylover]

?? The Trek is aluminum. Rack on carbon frame = backpack

[lph]

anyone doing any climbing on these? say in the 1,500 to 2K foot ballpark? if so, how much slower are you? is it miserable?

[crashtestdummy]

anyone doing any climbing on these? say in the 1,500 to 2K foot ballpark? if so, how much slower are you? is it miserable?

On my last longish ride I climbed 2600' with a starting elevation of 8500'. My bike was probably around 45 lbs (full frame bag). I was slow, but I'm always slow. The only time a fat bike will be faster than other bikes is on soft terrain, or with some abnormal motor on it. I can safely say that I always have fun on my Moonlander.

[scrublover]

On my last longish ride I climbed 2600' with a starting elevation of 8500'. My bike was probably around 45 lbs (full frame bag). I was slow, but I'm always slow. The only time a fat bike will be faster than other bikes is on soft terrain, or with some abnormal motor on it. I can safely say that I always have fun on my Moonlander.

This - granted, I have nowhere near that amount of climbing around me, but still...

It motors along pretty well on flat/down stuff, but yeah, slooooow climbing. There is just now way to get around the weight of the rims/tires + huge contact patch.

Despite that, it's really fun. Pretty much reserved for solo play rides, or social non-cough up your lung group rides for me. I'm hoping for lots of snow this year!

[zion zig zag]

anyone doing any climbing on these? say in the 1,500 to 2K foot ballpark? if so, how much slower are you? is it miserable?

I did a 40 mile, 5000 ft climbing day on a surly moonlander two weeks ago. It wasn't noticeably different or more miserable that on any other bike.

[Touring_Sedan]

anyone doing any climbing on these? say in the 1,500 to 2K foot ballpark? if so, how much slower are you? is it miserable?

I did a bunch of 3-4K climbs this summer on my 40lb Pugs. Sure I was slower, but it wasn't miserable. I think I added maybe 15 minutes to an hour and a half ride. The change in perspective and the on-trail comments definitely helped improve my attitude.

[crashtestdummy]

The on-trail comments definitely helped improve my attitude.

I had an ~80 year old hiker tell me that if he got a bike, he wanted one like mine.

[sb]

They are slower to climb but I can get up stuff on my fat bike (due to greater traction) that I have trouble with on my 650b Stumpy.

[ridevt]

Anyone have experience on the Surly Krampus? Looks perfect for the ltd. snow riding I partake in (packed XC ski trails, round valley in PC) but could also be fun to ride with the wife in the Summer. I feel like a full fatty will sit for 8 months of the year if I buy one vs the krampus as a year round bike. Build from Surly is decent and from what I've read I can drop close to 4 lbs by going tubeless and replacing the bar/stem + seat/post.

[crashtestdummy]

Anyone have experience on the Surly Krampus? Looks perfect for the ltd. snow riding I partake in (packed XC ski trails, round valley in PC) but could also be fun to ride with the wife in the Summer. I feel like a full fatty will sit for 8 months of the year if I buy one vs the krampus as a year round bike. Build from Surly is decent and from what I've read I can drop close to 4 lbs by going tubeless and replacing the bar/stem + seat/post.

You can get a fat frame that will allow you to run both the Rabbit Hole/ Knard and a Clownshoe/ Bud n Lou, best of both worlds.

[HansJob]

What I enjoy about them is the smooooove ride. Those fat tires are like riding on pillows. While skate skiing up the Susitna I ran into a guy with studded tires. Has anyone done this?

[ridevt]

You can get a fat frame that will allow you to run both the Rabbit Hole/ Knard and a Clownshoe/ Bud n Lou, best of both worlds.

Understood, but that's a tone more $ (2 wheelsets and rubber) and I don't think I'll need the 4.0's. If there's fresh snow, I'm on my sled or touring. In the Winter, my riding is usually when Avy conditions are bad or the resorts are crowded. I've ridden my 29 HT aired down for the past few seasons but having moved to a prime winter trailhead, I'm thinking something like the Krampus would be ideal. I can then also change my steel 29HT into a SS commuter.