Any Fatbikers Here?

[Dustin Mustangs]

Time for me to get a new bike and I am thinking about a fatbike. This would be in addition to my outdated Klein Pulse II. The Salsa dealer in town here has a a couple of Mukluk demos that we plan to run through the paces but in the mean time I was wondering if any of you guys have some feedback on this genre?

I am looking at the Salsa Mukluk 2 or the Surly Moonlander. The other option I am considering is just replacing my Klein all together with something like a Cannondale Flash 29er Alloy 1.

Opinions???

 

[Bedpost]

I have no experience with any fat bikes, but I would certainly check out the Surly Moonlander. If your gonna go fat, you might as well go FAT. Just my thinking. I also like how the Surly has thumb shifters and a CroMoly steel frame.

 

[SuperJETT]

What kind of riding are you planning on doing with it? I have no experience and have never seen one around here, no sand and not enough snow either.

I can only imagine how heavy those tires are and how much energy it takes to get them rolling.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Guy here has one. He uses it for singletrack. Yeah, takes a bit to get them rolling but once they are moving man it freight trains. He loves it. Says it really smooths out the ride..

For up in Mich. you could ride in the snow as well.

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

Yes, tons of sand here and in the form of huge endless dunes. Would be a riot on one of these. Many of the better single tracks go through the wooded portions of these same dunes and have a ton of sand as well. Maybe even enough to make one of these an advantage. Oh and we have a few beaches and get a little snow to, haha.

But from what I have heard these are just fun bikes to ride, whether you are floating them or not. They have the OD of a 29er and the extra rotational weight takes some work to get going but the opposite is also true. Once they get spinning that weight is to your advantage. They make great trail blazing bikes and we have always loved to do that, even with it being a struggle much of the time on a regular mtb.

I've pretty much talked myself into one. This demo will be telling though. They have a flash 29er carbon 2 for demo too and they said we could take them both for the day. I will report back once it happens.

 

[Aquaholic]

How about half -fat?

 

[Big Kahuna]

Your just not right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[scottie mac]

I was down in the OBX over the summer and went in the local bike shop to pick up and pump. There in the showroom was a new fat bike. I got to admit, at first, I thought it was some kind of home made joke, but the more I looked at it and the more the owner talked about it, I half near wanted one. He said that he rides in the mornings out of the beach and on the dunes and that it was the best leg work out you would ever get, lol. Pretty crazy how the bike world has progressed over the last couple of years.

SM

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

Well the demo ride was this weekend. We ended up with a small Mukluk 3 (the entry level fatbike from salsa) and a medium Flash 29er Carbon 3. The Mukluk was even more fun than expected. Once you get the feel for it, there is little that can stop you. Fallen debris, loose sand, deep mud, huge rocks, roots, whatever... Things I am used to dreading on a normal bike were now fun obstacles. We put it in the softest sand we could find and it didn't sink in at all (without even airing down). Not only do the large tires help you 'float' over stuff, they also allow you to be stable at much slower speeds. This was a real treat for trail blazing and hill climbing. Grades that the Cannondale needed to be walked up were no problem for the 12# heavier Mukluk. But what really surprised us was that the Mukluk was clearly FASTER for both riders on the trail we rode. Downhill, uphill, technical sections; the bare bones, no frills Mukluk was a putting the smack down on the big bucks 29er. Truthfully, we were both let down with the 29er Cannondale as compared to the high end but outdated 26" bikes we are used to riding. Maybe the 29er advantage was over-hyped to us? Regardless, fatbikes are no gimmick and definitely aren't just for snow and sand. This thing was a blast everywhere we took it. And faster?!? Pencil me in for a Mukluk 2 once they make another batch.


Total Weight - No pedals (lbs)
Mukluk 3: 36.1
29er Carbon 3: 24.1
My 26er: 22.7

Front Wheel
Mukluk 3: 8.5
29er Carbon 3: 4.1
My 26er: 3.2

Rear Wheel
Mukluk 3: 10.1
29er Carbon 3: 5.6
My 26er: 4.4