Product Spotlight Why Cycles Big Iron

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The Big Iron, is the newest addition to the fleet over at Why Cycles. Named after a Marty Robbins ballad, this titanium bike has our stoke levels off the charts. Last Monday, a pair of Big Irons’ showed up at our doorstep. A size medium, for Becky to test, and a size XL for Bryon to ride. Gomez had arranged with Adam Miller, founder of Why Cycles, for us to test these titanium treasures, for our upcoming bikepacking adventure in Alaska.

 

Specifications and Features

Both bikes come standard with Bontrager Jackalope 27.5 wheels. Bryon will be running these wheels on his test bike, with Barbegazi tires. Becky has switched the Bontrager wheels out for her personal set of Mulefut 27.5 wheels with Minion FBR tires, for smooth rolling in Alaska. All Big Iron tires come set up tubeless.. Why Cycles also offers options to upgrade from the Bontrager wheelset to Industry 9 HED wheelsets.

The rear axle spacing is 12 mm x 197 mm. The spacing allows for a maximum clearance of 27.5 x 4.5”, 26 x 5”, or 29 x. 3.0” tires.

The bike is set-up with a Bontrager Haru Pro full carbon rigid fork, there is the option of upgrading to the RockShox Bluto if you want front suspension. The bikes we are testing have the carbon rigid fork. We have found already the Big Iron still rips trail extremely well, even without a suspension fork!

The Big Iron comes standard with SRAM brakes, shifters, and drivetrain. We are testing the bikes with the Eagle GX drive configuration. Why Cycles offers options to upgrade the drivetrain to the SRAM Eagle X01 and XX1.

The Big Iron is set to ride with an Ergon Saddle, Ergon Grips, and an Easton EA70 31.6 seatpost. Becky will be running this standard set up through Alaska. Bryon opted to ride with a Rockshox Reverb dropper post, which Why Cycles offers as an upgrade.

The Eagle GX option for the Big Iron is set to go, with RaceFace Evolve 31.8 bars and a RaceFace Evolve Stem. There are bar and stem upgrades available. Why’s Cycles even makes their own Titanium handlebars.

All options for the Big Iron come standard with a Cane Creek 40 series headset.

The Big Iron includes rack mounts. We found that the Salsa Alternator rack can be adjusted to fit this bike. We will be running Salsa Alternator racks for the duration of our trip, on the bikes.

This titanium beauty includes bottle mounts, on the seat tube, top and bottom of the down tube. There is a third mount on the down tube for accessory mounting. We will be utilizing the mounts on the bottom of the down tube to carry water on our adventure. Unfortunately, the Bontrager Haru Pro fork, does not include bottle mounts, so if you want to carry water on the fork, clamps are necessary.

 

This first week of testing, the Big Iron, has exceeded our expectations. We have taken rides on the gravel backroads and local Teton Valley single track. The bike is quick to respond and sleek, due to Why Cycles integrating modern mountain bike geometry into this exceptional fat bike.

We will be putting this pair of fat bikes to the full test, in the coming weeks as we pedal them through Alaska.  We look forward to further testing the capabilities of the Big Iron as we explore the great north. Look for a full report on the trip to AK and a full review of the Big Iron in the coming months.

For more information about Why Cycles visit – whycycles.com

 

About Becky, Bryon & April Vordermann 17 Articles
We are Bryon and Becky Vordermann. We enjoy riding fat bikes year round. We bikepack, trail ride, cruise gravel roads, and of course ride in the snow! We bike with our 2 year old daughter, April in tow in a Burley Solo.