Product Spotlight- Framed Alaskan Carbon By JP Syverud The story of how I became the test pilot that gets to field test the new Framed Alaskan Carbon goes back to last winter. Tio Gomez and I were sitting at the bar at the Sawmill Saloon up in Seely, Wisconsin. It was the day […]
Otso Cycles hails from Burnsville, MN., which is a long ways from where the brand’s identity is rooted. In Finnish mythology, Otso is the Spirit of the Bear; the noble king of the forest, a spirit of strength and courage, and also a relative with whom we share our adventures in and out of the […]
I had just hooked my daughter up with a brand new 29er, and was feeling some serious bike envy, when I received a timely phone call from a certain Mr. Gomez. My pleading instruction for my next bike to test was “gimme somethin baller” so I could stop feeling so left out of the cool […]
We got our hands on Salsa’s ‘top of the line’ Beargrease a couple of weeks ago. The idea was to assign a test pilot with race credentials and experience with riding the previous model of Salsa’s proven (fat bike category) race whip. So we sent the Beargrease to Leia Schneeberger. Leia: aka – the […]
The new Salsa Fat-Bikes have arrived! Today we’re here to share what will likely be, a hot ticket come this holiday shopping season….the 2019 Salsa Fat-Bikes. BEARGREASE – completely redesigned for 2019 The Geometry of the 2019 Beargrease gets a subtle tweak with the goal of not turning off any of the folks that already know […]
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 […]
Where the hell ya been? Some of you may have been wondering about the Fat Camp podcast and what the heck Captain Ken and his sidekick, Andy, are up to these days. Let’s just say it’s been an interesting spring…but the boys are back with some technical talk about fat and plus bikes. In […]
The Family Truxter. The Shaggin Wagon. The Grocery Getter. I’m a wagon guy so the idea of this bike appealed to me right off the bat. Plenty of room out back to toss a bunch of junk in and go. I made it a point to use it for as many local errands as I […]
In addition to hosting every denomination of bicycle racing, the 2018 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bicycle industry trade show in these United States. Even the corporate giants of the industry come out and show their wares and simultaneously support their race teams. Along with the big boys, the Sea Otter expo area features […]
WHY CYCLES ANNOUNCES THE BIG IRON, A TITANIUM FAT BIKE Tuesday, April 17, Carbondale, CO. Why Cycles, the two-year-old Colorado-based company that designs, manufactures, and distributes high-end titanium bikes, today announced the official release of its brand new fat bike, the BIG IRON. Why Cycles is a small company that is quickly picking up […]
Rocky Mountain has laid down the blueprint for modern cross-country race fat bikes. Along the way they also have established a place in the endurance and adventure sectors as well. After an intense 5-week schedule of fat bike races during the heart of winter and capping it off with an impromptu excursion to the […]
Back at the very beginning of November 2017, I ordered a Fatback Corvus FLT. I pulled the trigger because after riding a Corvus for over six months we reviewed the Fatback Corvus earlier in 2017 and I wrote that I thought that it was one of the 3 Best Fat-Bikes that I’ve ever ridden. I […]
Editors Note: Seth Bell is an eighteen year veteran of the bike industry and makes his home in Mason City Iowa. He currently owns six or seven fat-bikes and he spends his days working on the frontlines of what can go spurious with your average fat-bike. Those two things alone should put him […]
I’ve spent the past few months aboard the 2018 Kona Wozo, a bike that is designed as an all-season, aggressive, hardtail that happens to have fat tires. This bike hasn’t seen much change from its 2017 counterpart, but that’s for good reason. I have had a great time riding this bike and am happy […]
After a solid six-week shakedown of the Salsa Mukluk Carbon GX Eagle I concluded that I really like this bike for various reasons. The build kit on the bike is the new GX Eagle with an MSRP of $3,499.00. The bike stayed mostly stock throughout the test period, I put my Ergon grips on […]
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 […]
Way back in November, when it was still warm and snow-free here in the midwest, Gomez gave you a rundown of the Specialized Fatboy Expert that had recently landed on the doorstep of Fat-Bike.Com World HQ. He rode if for a couple weeks, gave some first impressions and then decided to hand it off […]
From the moment that the original Pugsley was phased out of production, fat-bikers and surly-philes have asked the question “when will Surly bring the Pugsley back?” We asked Sov at our 100th Weekly Dose show back in 2016 if the Pug would make a comeback and he led us to believe that there was a possibility that we […]
Mukluk – (noun) muk·luk \ ˈmək-ˌlək \ a soft winter boot traditionally made of reindeer or seal skin originally worn by Arctic aboriginal people of Alaska. Mukluks weigh little and allow hunters to move quietly. I received word recently from the Fat-Bike.com Headquarters to keep my eye out for a big box from Salsa arriving at my doorstep. I considered […]
Happy Winter to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere! I am especially happy this year because I have the pleasure of reviewing the 2018 Kona Wozo. This bike checks all the boxes on my holiday wish list, with an aggressive trail bike geometry, a solid spec, and some beefy Maxxis Minions. Here is what Kona has […]
Ed ~ We would usually publish this sort of article under our ‘Reader’s Ride(s)’ category, but Dave is the Head writer for the Black Ribbon Bike Hour and one of our veteran Test Pilots. Dave’s also a damn fine photographer! Borealis recently issued their critically acclaimed Crestone in a stunning Columbia Blue and Gold “Aspen” […]
Specialized sent us a Fatboy Expert to review and since it’s a light, carbon, top tier component equipped, sexy beast, I just had to ride it for a couple of weeks. So I’m going to introduce you to the bike that we’ll be testing, but we’re going to engage a panel of three test pilots […]
A last minute change of plans saw a window of opportunity open up for me to get out in the hills of Snowdonia (Wales, UK) for an overnighter. I had a place in mind as I’d ridden there many times before. For some people bivvying out on your own in an old quarry may not […]
The big surprise at Saddledrive this Summer was the new Salsa Blackborow. Not the same Blackborow that Sven raved about in years past. This is a new mid-tail fat cargo bike that might look like a copy of a Surly Big Fat Dummy, but the Blackborow has significant differences, that start with the frame […]
Recently the Pangalactic Test Hanger Bay at Fat-Bike dot com World HQ was informed of the incoming arrival of a steel 509 Cycles Jabit III clad in its 29+ configuration. As a lover of steel 29+ goodness (as covered here), I was excited to get the call to throw a leg over this bike and […]
Heller made a bold departure from their 2017 Bloodhound, and set their sights on building a fat (mountain) bike. The result is the 2018 Heller Bloodhound Trail, that made it’s debut at Saddledrive last month…..and they made it…Black! I have a thing for Black Bikes, (which is funny, because I ride a purple one). […]
We’ve been waiting for this news since Greg and Fuzzy told us that Fatback would be making a Black on Black Corvus FLT, all the way back at Sea Otter in April of this year. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to review the 2017 Corvus frame this spring/summer and I fell in […]
The test bike from Eleven, that I’ve been riding is a dirt jump inspired fatty with a (Made in the USA) aluminum frame and our rig came equipped with a high end parts package that embodies the textbook definition of a supercharged race bike…that , by the way, will also ‘make heads turn’ on the […]
I’ve been very lucky to have spent the summer with this beautiful Framed Marquette Carbon. The bike came well packed and was easy to assemble from their Minnesota headquarters. I had frequent communication with the company about what was coming and when. I’ve come to expect no less, from this company, after working with them […]
I don’t know for how long, but getting a custom built frame, has been a dream since long before I got bitten by the fat bike bug. The bug bit me back the winter of 2013-14. I got my self a Salsa Mukluk and it´s been my loyal steed since then. We fell deep in […]
There’s a fine history of of Independent Bicycle Dealers – aka : ‘Bike Shops’ creating their own fat-bike brands. Both Fatback and 9:Zero:7 were created by two enterprising bike shops in Anchorage Alaska and Bear Claw Bikes is a relatively new brand that is the creation of Einstein Cycles over in Traverse City, Michigan. Today […]
For years I’ve always had a dream of riding somewhere desolate and remote on my bike. I thought that dream was just going to stay a dream as I’m a normal guy with a wife and 3 kids. However, last December during a bivvy ride with my mate, John ‘Climber’ I planted a seed of […]
It’s your uncle Gomez here at Saddledrive at beautiful Northstar Village in Truckee, California. It’s Media Day at Saddledrive and QBP showcased all of their new products. Let’s start with our friends at Salsa. They have 4 new Mukluk models in the 2018 lineup and 3 new carbon Beargrease models that are all rocking 27.5 […]
Hello all of you fat bike buffs (and gnomes)! I’d like to take a second to introduce myself as one of the newest Bike Black Ribbon Test Pilots. My name is Nick Holzem, you may have first heard me in an interview on “The Weekly Dose of Fat episode #123”. At the time, I was wrapping up the “Hugh Jass Fat Bike Series” with one race to go. […]
I’ve been riding a Fatback Corvus for the last few months and it’s ‘high time’ for me to put into words, the way I feel about the fourth carbon fat bike that I’ve reviewed over the last couple of years. You can read my initial impressions and review this bike’s impeccable racing pedigree here – https://fat-bike.com/2017/04/product-spotlight-2017-fatback-corvus/ In […]
The Smokestone Henderson fat bike is the brainchild of Graham Foot from Slam69 Cycles in Gloucester in the UK. I was invited to spend the weekend with Graham and find out about the history of the bike and to spend some time in the saddle. Graham’s history in the bike industry goes way back to […]
Notice that the swings are empty and not moving? That’s because my kids have been on these two FRAMED Mini-Sota kids fat bikes for the past 8 weeks and don’t care about their old best friend, Mr. SwingSet, anymore. They let their friends borrow them and now their friends’ swing sets have filed for […]
The six weeks that I tested the Roughneck, just happened, to fall at the tail end of the best Winter (snow wise) we’ve had here in the Pacific Northwest in several years. I had the pleasure of riding it in a lot of different snow conditions including a week and a half of icy stuff, […]
Back in January, a Framed Wolftrax Carbon Custom landed in the Fat-Bike.com Bike Black Ribbon Test Pilot hanger bay. You can read the initial product spotlight with all the details of the build and other minutia here. Over the next two plus months, I’ve proceeded to put the Wolftrax Carbon through its paces. To say that […]
Winter in the UK, the time were riding seems to be a wet affair. However, with spring showing its face one Saturday late in March I thought I’d hatch a plan. Now I’ve took in this route at the start of the ride a few times before. Starting at 1,200 feet I made my way […]
We have a brand new 2017 Fatback Corvus in the shop for testing. Two of our Black Ribbon Test Pilots, Aris and Travis, recently reviewed the Fatback Skookum and Rhino. I’ve written half a dozen stories about my ‘Made in the USA’, aluminum, Fatback (named Otis), but we’ve never spent any long term, quality […]
In the fat-bike marketplace, we’ve seen a lot of gimmicks in the past couple of years. For example: carbon, full suspension, symmetrical rear ends, the color Orange, etc. etc. More and more I’ve been seeing fat bikes on the trails all year long. Fat Bikes are becoming THE choice for riders that want a bike […]
After a thorough 2 month shakedown of the 2017 Fatback Rhino FLT during a very snowy Alaskan winter I came to the conclusion that this bike has made the shortlist for the next fat-bike in my quiver. The build kit on the bike I tested is the GX1 with an MSRP of $2,399.00. The bike […]
People love to complain about the weather and the last couple of winter’s around the midsection of the Great Lakes have been pretty shy on sustainable snow-pack. As I write this (Late February) , my local temperature is forecast to be nearly 70 degrees and we’ve completely lost our base down to the bare dirt. […]
