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First look – 2018 Rocky Mountain Suzi Q – By Nick Holzem

 

The Rocky Mountain Suzi Q fat bike arrived this week and just in time for peak winter season riding. Over the next month and half, I’ll be riding and racing this bike all over the Midwest. My season is heating up with 5 races over the next 6 weeks including The Swety Yeti, The Fat Abominable Snow Bike Scramble, and 3 Hugh Jass races. The plethora of locations should provide exposure to all sorts of snowy terrain. From manmade snow and serious descents at the Heiliger Huegel Ski Club to rocky and technical single track at the frozen Levis Mounds Trail system I’ll have the test scenarios all covered. Gomez and the guys at Rocky Mountain have provided a more than sharp looking fat bike to test and my excitement has hit an all-time high.

WHAT WILL BE TESTED?

The Suzi Q Carbon 70 furnished with:

  • 27.5” Wheelset:
    • DT Swiss 350 177mm rear hub, RM sealed 150mm x 15mm thru front, laced to Sun Mulefüte 65 tubeless ready rims.
    • Tires: Maxxis FBF and FBR tubeless ready 27.5” x 3.8”
  • Shimano:
    • XT brakes, shifters, derailleur and SLX 11-46T cassette
  • Race Face Aeffect Cinch narrow Q 28T crankset
  • KMC X11 EcoProtect Anti Rust chain
  • WTB Silverado Race Seat
  • Seatpost, bars, stem and grips all by Rocky Mountain. Bars are 780mm wide with Ø35mm clamp area.
  • Size Medium
  • Retail price $3199

EXCITEMENT

Rocky Mountain has put together a lengthy list of industry-leading design and engineering features with the Suzi Q. Just from reading the info on the website, link below, I can tell this bike will be attractive to many fat bike enthusiasts and racers. I’ll be sure to mention them all in my final review, for now, I’ll highlight the two I’m most excited to try out.

The first is the wheels and specifically the pairing of 65mm rims with 3.8” wide tires. I have already been riding 27.5” wheels on my personal bike, so I have experienced the benefits from the larger wheel; greater contact area, increased roll over ease, increased float, etc. I predict the 65mm rims will create a better tire profile for the 3.8 tire compared to the same width tire on an 80mm rim, which is my current set up. I’ll weigh out all the pros and cons in the later review.

The other big feature I’m most excited about is the narrow q-factor. Suzi Q boasts a 192mm q-factor (perpendicular distance between pedal mounting faces) which is much narrower than most standard fat bikes. This should mean more comfort especially on long rides or races. Also, better cross over from bike to bike if you’re like me and ride different bikes from day to day, this is huge. This does limit the size of wheels you can run with this bike. Rocky Mountain says it can safely fit 27.5” x 4.2” tires (when available, with safe clearance from 770mm x 104mm). I’m looking forward to seeing how much of a difference this narrow q-factor will make. And, to see how the bike handles race day and in fresh snow conditions.

I think Rocky Mountain might have come up with a new recipe for fast fat bikes. I look forward to the upcoming testing and sharing the results with you. As I write this prelude the snow is continuing to fall, so it’s time to ride. Check back early spring for the full review of the Suzi Q Carbon 70 fat bike.

For more information visit Suzi Q at http://www.bikes.com/en/bikes/suzi-q/2018?tid=209

 

 

One Response to First look – 2018 Rocky Mountain Suzi Q – By Nick Holzem

  1. Plusbike Nerd February 8, 2018 at 3:25 pm #

    I really like the 65mm rim. Put on a light 3.8in tire and go trail riding. Mount up a burly 5.0in tire and tackle deep snow. It gives a Fatbike more year-round versatility. In the light, narrow configuration it might ride similarly to a Plusbike.

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