A couple of weeks ago, I bolted a new joystick onto my Fatback Corvus FLT carbon fat-bike that some of you might know as Ten Beers. Joystick is an interesting bit of gnomenclature from the early days of gaming. A stick that creates joy! In this case, the joystick, in question translates to what most […]
Platform Pedals are ubiquitous to the fat-bike scene. When I started riding fat-bikes, I ditched the spd pedals that I’d ridden for years and enjoyed the foot loose and fancy free platform pedal cycling lifestyle from there forward. I still run spuds on some of my bikes, but I run platforms on just as many, […]
About eighteen months ago we took possession of a set of 29×2.80 Teravail Coronado tires. You might say that this was the set of tires that started the thought process that gave birth to the new set of Bike Nerd inspired 35mm (id) wheels. This is what I closed our first article about the tires […]
It’s been one hell of a good spring for hitting the dirt and a new set of wheels that Adam Blake built up provides the right width rim to delve into the ‘don’t call me plus-sized’ 29 x 2.6 category. I peeled off the set of Teravail 2.8″ Coronados (full review is in the works) […]
If you follow the site, you may have seen Bikenerd’s Plus Bike Editorial that we published at the end of 2019 and maybe you’ve been following some of the podcast discussions that we’ve had with Adam Blake about plus bike rim width. After digesting all of that information, I decided to have Adam build a […]
An immediate difference… that’s what I noticed after installing the Cantu Rumble wheelset on my Salsa Cycles Beargease. The question was: what was I noticing? In my initial Cantu review, I touched on the fact that double-wall carbon rims aren’t much, if any, lighter than single wall alloy rims that are available and quite popular […]
Back at the very end of 2019, I started riding a set of 45NRTH Van Helga 27.5 x 4.0 tires on a pair of Fatback Big Su wheels. We shared ‘first looks’ about the Tan Helgas and the Big Su Wheelset HERE & HERE. This story will be a review of the Van Helga tires […]
It’s kind of funny that I’ve reviewed the 26″ version of this wheelset and never really asked about the story behind the Big Su Name. So when it came time to write the review of the 27.5 Big Su Wheelset, I asked Fatback’s Head-Honcho, Greg Matyas ” I’m curious to learn the story behind the […]
Simple #klunkybuttsauce If you wanna know the truth behind the core motivation behind this new NBN series, then you need to look no farther than the bicycle in the photo above. Do you klunk? Are you at least klunk curious? I’ve been a fan of curved tubed bikes like this since I was a kid […]
VEE Snow Avalanche 27.5×4.5 and stud kit long term review I’ve had the opportunity to spend the winter testing out the new 27.5×4.5 Vee Snow Avalanche tires, along with the stud kits that are also available through Vee Tire Co. The frozen dirt season was just wrapping up when I mounted up the tires on […]
Red Bull created a documentary film about the origins of Freeride MTB with interviews with Wade Simmons, Richie Schley, and Brett Tippe. The trailer is above and a link to the full-length film is below. I went down this rabbit hole and I was glad that I did! https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/films/the-moment?fbclid=IwAR3enabBhb4kqfBnqfhiZT-MCR6kym4raUY98RNW0jWa8afERzoZPwl_rgE Sram AXS SRAM’s AXS Web Ride […]
I made a trip to what I like to call the belly of the beast, Schaumburg, Illinois, yesterday to browse groovy cycling wares at the CABDA Midwest Expo. CABDA has been around for a long, long time. Way back in the last century, the shop that I worked at (ABC Cyclery) used to prep and […]
The True Detective Dime Novel Johhny 5 Tire Review
We’re field testing a pair of solid, lightweight Big Su 27.5 wheels from our amigos at Fatback Bikes up in Alaska. We tested and reviewed the 26″ version of Fatback’s Big Su Wheels back in 2018. You can read how they performed here. The twenty-six inch set of big su’s received high scores so when […]
Otis w/VanHelga in 2014 It’s been a number of years since I’ve ridden a pair of 45NRTH Van Helga Tires. The best that I can tell, it was back in 2014. We’ve published two reviews by a couple of different product testers and the results are all pretty positive. Ken Blakey-Shell wrote, “I think the […]
I wanted to post an update about these 45NRTH Wrathlorde 26 x 4.2 studded tires. We initially mounted these bad boys on a set of 100mm rims and published a report here. We read some of your interesting comments about the Wrathlordes on our social media feed. One cat said we had created a very […]
. I found a box in the mail a few days ago. Inside was a set of new tires from the Vee Tire Co. that Gomez thought just might fit on my 2019 Beargrease with 27.5 wheels. The frame is officially rated for max 4-inch tires on 80mm rims. I was a little concerned about […]
“Its totally a thing.”… generally that is my response when people approach me about carbon rims on a fat-bike and their viability. A lot of people immediately focus on weight savings in carbon vs aluminum rims, but with companies removing material from aluminum rims, and utilizing single wall designs, the weight savings from a reasonable […]
The 2019 Fat-Bike Holiday Gift Guide
Last week, just as I was leaving to go to the Funduro down in Illinois, our set of 45NRTH Wrathlordes was delivered. This is the most exciting new set of tires that I’ve laid eyes on since say…the Johnny Fives last winter. The Wrathlordes sport 300 concave studs per tire with an aggressive tread pattern […]
Our amigos up in Mequon just announced a special edition Mastodon. Here’s a press release that covers the New Manitou Mastodon Pro LTD Northwoods Edition. [MEQUON, WI October 29, 2019] The leaves have changed color, your windows are covered in frost, and you cannot seem to remember where you left your window scraper after last […]
45NRTH has introduced two new fat bike tires for winter riding the Wrathlorde and the Vanhelga. Here’s the full rundown from 45NRTH! Wrathlorde 26 Wrathlorde is our all-new fat bike tire for hitting the sketchiest trails you can find this winter. Wrathlorde’s 300 studs—more than any other tire in the 45NRTH lineup—deliver unparalleled grip on […]
First Look at a custom hand-tooled Danger Gnome saddle created by Jerry JM Smith.
Editor’s Note : We’ve got a pair of transcontinental test pilots teaming up for a review of the new Wolftooth Components line of Silicone grips. Andy is from Michigan and comes to the review process as an experienced Silicone Grip user, while Jeff had never ridden silicone grips before now. Jeff lives and rides in […]
June 21st and the summer solstice luckily fell on a Friday, and luckily for me I finish work early on a Friday! YEAH!! The sun was shining, the forecast was good so a quick plan hatched to bivvy out for the night. I’ve had my eye on this sheltered spot facing east for some time […]
What do you get when you cross a Wolftooth with a Red Monkey? Apparently, you get a new line of silicone grips that come in three different thicknesses and a myriad of tasty colors! Check out the new release from our amigos at Wolftooth Components! Minneapolis, Minn., June 17, 2019–An expanded grip lineup has been […]
A little over a year ago, I switched the bars on my 29+ Surly Krampus from a low riser mountain bike handlebar to a set of Jones Loop Bars. The long-term net result was that I grew to marginally dislike riding that bike. This is the same bike that I had raved about in a […]
The 2019 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bike show in the US and they just announced expansion plans for Sea Otter Europe. The US version of the Sea Otter Classic is held at the Laguna Seca Race Track out near Monterrey, California about an hour drive from Silicon Valley. It’s quite beautiful there. […]
Back in January the Secret Underground Fat-Bike Test labs received a set of Fatback Carbon Wheels. What can I say? Fatback continues to innovate the market with their latest product. This time they partnered up with Knight Composite to make this glorious love child of a carbon fat bike wheel set. I was super pumped […]
Way back in December I wrote an introduction to a new wheelset and fork from the carbon fiber maestros over at ENVE. This was big news given that one of the biggest names in carbon fiber was (finally) getting into the fat game. You can read all about the M685 wheels and Fat Fork here […]
Let’s be honest here, Surly is trying a few new things that you might not have expected. Sure, they’re usually one of the first to get weird when compared to other companies in the bike industry when they introduced fat bikes, fatter bikes, 29+ bikes and fat cargo bikes but it appears they’re willing to […]
I got this crazy idea to upgrade the drivetrain on my legacy fat-bike Otis from a 2×9 Shimano/Microshift set-up to a Box 1×11 with a 30 Tooth Wolftooth Oval chairing and Camo/Direct Mount spider. Let me begin by saying that it’s not our intention to disparage our long-time amigo ‘the front derailleur’ or the folks […]
Some time ago, 45NRTH released their tried & true Hüsker Dü in a 4.8″ width. Mi amigo Adam Blake had a pair and told me that they were the cat’s pajamas and hell man, Jay Petervary rode a set on his Salsa Blackborow a thousand miles to Nome in the ITI. I’ve never tried to […]
As I was loading up the super blingy Why Cycles Big Iron outfitted with Enve Fat Fork and M685 Wheels for testing (First Look here), Uncle Gomez says “Here – try these out while you’re at it and tell me what you think . . .” as he shoves two folded up 27.5×4.0 45NRTH Dillingers […]
Our amigos at Fatback have followed up their (5 Gnome Rated) Aluminum Big Su fat-bike rim and wheelsets with a cross-town collaboration with Knight Composites. In addition to the shop in Anchorage, Fatback has a shop and warehouse in Bend Oregon where Knight is also located. Fatback brings a ton of fat-bike expertise to the table […]
I have been testing the 27.5 x 4.5 Terrene Cake Eaters since late fall and up until very recently Mother Nature has not been very giving with the snowfall in our area. Luckily we got about 4′ of snow in 10 days recently and it allowed me to get out and get a more well-rounded […]
At the beginning of this winter I got a bunch of tires to test, mostly of the 27.5 fat variety. Of the tires I have available, I have been riding the 27.5×4 45NRTH Van Helgas far more than anything else. Part of this is because Mother Nature had been stingy with snow but even more […]
Fatback sent us a set of their new Sweet 16 carbon bars in December. I was honestly pretty skeptical about the prospects of this new bar’s 16-degree sweep improving the fit or comfort of the Fatback carbon riser bar that came with my Corvus FLT, Ten Beers because I felt pretty comfortable riding Ten Beers. […]
While there are currently a quite a few rim/wheel options out there in the fat-bike universe, one major player in the high-end carbon market has been noticeably absent – ENVE Composites. The same can be said for fork offerings … lots of choices but no ENVE. Well, that’s now changed with the launch of the […]
The 27.5 fat tire selection continues to expand and this is the second tire that 45NRTH has offered in the 27.5 size (the other being the Dillinger 4). For those of you not familiar with the 45NRTH line of tires, the Van Helga is their more aggressive 4″ tire that is designed for “all-round mixed […]
Back in September, we spotlighted the Fatback Big Su Wheelset and after a couple months of gnome roping, we’re back with a full review. I’ve been running the Big Su’s on my ‘murdered out’ Fatback Corvus FLT – [code name: ten beers] with a set of Schwalbe 26×4.0 Jumbo Jims (tubeless). I took a […]
There are a lot of people excited about the Terrene Johnny 5 because it has been touted as a potential Bud/Lou challenger and I have to list myself as one of them. That said, I think I am actually even more excited about another Terrene tire; the 27.5×4.5″ Cake Eater. I didn’t realize this until […]
Uncle Gomez sent me a set of 27.5 carbon fat bike wheels recently. You can check out the “product spotlight” he wrote up but the basic stats of this wheelset are the following: Exterior width: 75mm Interior width: 69mm Front weight: 1,053g (with tape and valve stem) Rear weight: 1,164g (with tape and valve stem) […]
Just when you thought (or perhaps hoped) that 29 plus might be fading into history, QBP’s newest tire brand, Teravail has come out with the 29+ Coronado. Our pair of test tires is the Teravail Coronado 29 x 2.8 Light & Supple Tan Wall version. They also come in black sidewalls if you happen to have a […]
