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Reader’s Ride(s) – Josh’s Mukluk

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Josh was another of the fat-bike.com faithful who heed the call to exchange words for Interbike Sticker Packs! Take it away, Josh!

My Salsa Mukluk might look like an ordinary Salsa Mukluk, but to me, it’s a little different. It wasn’t always MY mukluk, and in fact, at one point, I even looked DOWN on this EXACT bike. I berated it’s large tires, it’s awkward appearance with all of it’s zitty looking braze on’s. I didn’t see the true beauty that it was for quite some time.

You see, MY Mukluk was once owned by my best friend. He bought the bike 2 years ago and I could NOT understand why he wanted that thing. It made no sense to this guy (that being me). I teased him, told him he wasted his money, said it wasn’t going to go anywhere he wanted it to and that it looked dumb.

Over the year in between my friend, Jon, owning this bike and me owning this bike, something happened. I began to see more fatbikes make appearances at events I was doing like the Wausau 24 and the Heck of the North. They began to pique my interest and I wondered if I was in the wrong this whole time about these bikes. Hesitantly I asked Jon if I could borrow his Mukluk and bring it back to Duluth for a month or so. You see, Jon actually DIDN’T like his mukluk. He was having a hard time justifying having it where he lived, with little “cool terrain” to explore, things got old for him. It was slower, it was more of a rough ride, etc. Jon just didn’t have the bike in the right spot. He didn’t want to sell it, he just wasn’t riding it. SO, I adopted the bike and brought it to Duluth for a month. I took it on our beaches, on our trails, in the woods, in the bogs, in the creek beds, and everywhere in between. I fell in love with this bike. THE EXACT bike I made fun of. This beautiful pile of aluminum and rubber that I belittled to it’s face had me giggling like a kid, riding everything I wanted to ride, and it kept coming back for more… I fell in love and I had to have one. I saw through the once perceived flaws of “excessive braze on’s” and over sized rubber.

When I returned it to Jon, I felt a piece of me leave with it. That bike and I had made a connection. It wanted it to be in Duluth on all of our amazing terrain, and I wanted it here. I told Jon that if he ever wanted to get rid of it to let me know ASAP. A few months later, Jon fell in love with a dirt jumping bike and needed some cash to spend on it… He called me and asked if I wanted the Mukluk. I couldn’t say NO! I had to have that bike back in my life! Immediately, I shouted YES and left the apartment, money in hand, to go pick up my orphaned fat bike! I’ve had the bike for a few months now we’ve been going everywhere. It’s a perfect match and I feel bad for ever saying the bad things that I did about it.

Recently we signed up for the Fat Bike Birkie. My Mukluk and I are excited to give it a go! I have seen the light! Fat Bikes are RAD!

Do you have a fat-bike, and/or related ride experiences that you are passionate about, makes your life better and that you think our readers would dig hearing about? Shoot me a note to greg@fat-bike.com and we will check it out.

8 Responses to Reader’s Ride(s) – Josh’s Mukluk

  1. bigAD October 22, 2013 at 11:52 am #

    Fat bikes ARE rad. When more folks realize this, the world will be a better place.

  2. Mark Peterson October 22, 2013 at 7:33 pm #

    Sweet Bike my Friend. – m

  3. Christopher Tassava October 22, 2013 at 7:58 pm #

    I know this fatbiker!

  4. Josh October 23, 2013 at 7:47 pm #

    Thank you all for your kind comments! I hope to be able to share the “good line” with you guys and after that, a good brew! Keep the rubber side down.

    Josh

  5. SirSluggo October 24, 2013 at 3:56 pm #

    Sweet Ride! Fortunately I never had your thoughts about Fat Bike and their perceived shortcomings. However, alot of the people that I ride with don’t see it and think that it is slow. Now I am the one smiling after all the rides. 😉

    • Josh October 25, 2013 at 8:34 pm #

      Yeah, I have no shame in owning the fact that I was once “blind”.

  6. SIXY23 October 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm #

    I totally get it. I ride my Mukluk on singletrack, rock, fire roads and everything in between. For what it lacks in frank suspension and light weight the rigid frame coupled to fat tires climb beautifully up what/where others loose traction. Fat bikes are starting to blow-up in Colorado–lots in the higher Rockies and some in Denver. Keep crushin’ it!

  7. Clint April 27, 2014 at 4:53 pm #

    Hey.. just wondering… what size tires and wheels are you running… my Mukluk should be at my LBS tuesday.. and have been reading that some people are running 4.5’s on front and back…

    Clint

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