First things first…Happy Birthday to Sven Hammer! and Happy 4th of July! aka Independence Day in the United States of America. This is a shot taken up in Port Washington, Wisconsin from a ride I did up there in the Spring of 2017. If I remember correctly, we gathered some ramps and fiddleheads that I cooked up […]
Tag Archives | moonlander
Bikes, a Boat & maybe a Goat – A Traveling Fat-Bike Side Show
A couple decades back, my friend Cale and I started a bike gang called the Bike Black Ribbon Society and over the years BBR established chapters all over the US. When we started to need help with testing bikes for fat-bike dot com, we established the BBR Test Pilots from BBR Chapters and their known […]

Fat (video) Tuesday – Ancient Lakes
Rusty Knorr sent us his second video that we’ve shared here on fat dash bike dot com. Rusty and his amigo, John, went on a Sub 24 overnight in Washington State. This is what he had to say about the trip. I took my friend John out for a sub24 to an area called the “Ancient […]
Fat Foto Friday ♦ Putting Winter in the Rear-view Mirror
Spring is here! Julie Friermood caught Kent Adams, Adam Tripp and our amigo, Jerry Wright, riding back to Kent’s farm after the Fat Bike Birkie up in Cable, Wisconsin. It turns out that Adam has a fractured tibia from the Sunday ride that I was on, up there, so his Moonlander will be lonely for the next 3 […]
UK Fat-Bike Championships Report
Battle on the Beach/UK Fat Bike Championships by Patrick Joscelyne Congratulations to George Budd and Fiona Wilson for winning the inaugural Surly UK Fat Bike Championships at the Battle on the Beach. George Budd (#28) leading the pack across the sand. Surly and their UK Distributor, Ison sponsored the UK Fat Bike Championships and reported to […]
Shop Profile – Zion Cyclery
With the current expansion of fat bike brands available to consumers, now, more than ever, it’s important to work with a bike shop that knows fat-bikes from the inside out. In a good fat-bike shop, the owner or staff actually ride fat bikes. That way they know, through practical experience, what works and what accessories to […]
Triple F – Pennsylvania Pano
Brian Duffy sent us this pangalactic shot of his moonlander at Trexler Game Preserve near Schnecksville, PA. If you look close, it looks like Brian has one of our old moonlander patches sewn on his frame bag. What’s the word….Bird? Why not share your fat-bike hijinx with your tio gomez – email me at gomez@fat-bike.com. Ride […]
Oveja Negra MM2-SSB Frame Bag – Long Term Review
Last January we introduced you to the Oveja Negra – Moonlander Mission 2 – Space Suit Bag (MM2-SSB/ON) that was custom crafted to fit my moonlander, Thparkle, in Leadville, Colorado. After 10 months of ‘life in the fat lane’, we’re going to take a look at how the MM2-SSB/ON has held up over the long haul. […]
Wallpaper Wednesday – Moonlander on Gravel
This week’s Wallpaper is from Greg Evans and was taken somewhere between Prior Lake and Jordan, MN. We kept this one in its original format. Enjoy! 1920 x 1440 (4:3) Got your own Wallpaper Worthy Photo? We like to feature fat-bikes from around the world! If you’ve got a fat-bike related image that you feel […]
Reader’s Ride(s) – Richard’s Moonlander
Richard is from Portland, OR. His astute reading, and loyal following of the fat-bike.com site, revealed Gomez’s stickers-for-a-story offer and this prompted him to send in this story about his Moonlander! Thanks, Richard! He says: After several years of lusting over fat bikes I decided to pick up a Surly Moonlander. I went with the […]
Reader’s Ride(s) – Stephen’s Canadian Moonlander
Stephen sent us the shot above with a simple description – “Recently we had a had a huge wind storm in the area of local trail system. My Moonlander proved to be an amazing trail maintenance machine carrying all the tools I need to help make the trails rideable again.” Well, we wanted to know […]

Fat (video) Tuesday – Beach Wheelie
And then there’s this from Bruce Mathieson: aka: the coastkid. Bruce is the Viceroy of Scottish Beach Cycling and rides, one hell of good wheelie! His clips of exploring the scenic beach riding around East Lothian, have inspired thousands – (myself included!) A trip to Scotland to ride fat-bikes on the beach is, most definitely, on my […]
Reader’s Ride(s) – Nigel’s Customized Moonlander
Nigel from Ontario, Canada sent us yesterday’s Wallpaper Wednesday photo and we had to know more about his rig so I pinged him to get the scoop on his build. Here is the skinny! It all started at the 2012 Toronto bike trade show. I test rode a the Surly Moonlander, and was sold in […]
Shop Profile ♦ Blue Lug ♦ Tokyo, Japan
In our endless pursuit to bring you fat-bike news and culture from around the world, we present Blue Lug – a very unique bike shop from Japan. After seeing some of the incredible work that they produce, I reached out to the owner of Blue Lug, Wakako. She shared insights into her shop’s philosophy and […]
Triple F ♦ The Coho Grater
I took this shot on a stormy beach ride that I took up near Belgium in the early part of June. It was the first ride back on the Moonlander, since we built up our test Krampus. Beach riding in raw weather is something that I love and recommend to anyone out there with […]
Wallpaper Wednesday – Thunder Mountain Trail, Utah
Jordan shot this photo on the Thunder Mountain Trail in Utah just a couple of weeks ago! Stunning scenery! Download the appropriate size and use it as your own wallpaper. Just click on the link below to open the full-sized version which you can right-click to save. 1920 x 1440 (4:3) 1920 x 1200 1920 […]
Utah’s Ben Lonond Peak
Ben Lonond Peak – (Skyline trail from North Ogden Divide) Written By : Mark Peterson Sometimes we need adventure, and not just standard adventure, but High adventure. After a crazy party, I committed to climb Ben Lomond Peak with my friend Dustin. The name “Ben Lomond” comes from early Scottish settlers. Someone said it […]
Blood in, Blood out – an interview with Jesse LaLonde
Blood In, Blood Out – Written By djonnymac Jesse Lalonde is a regular dude- a regular dude who gets a lot accomplished with little fanfare, content to let the accomplishments speak for themselves. WORS Elite champ, Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 overall winner (on a single speed no less), H8TR100 victor, a regular fixture on the […]
Late Winter Beach Ride Weekend
On the spur of the moment, last week, Bethany & I, got an invitation from some long time, friends to spend the weekend over in Michigan at their beautiful lake house near New Buffalo. Our hosts DJ & Wendy, along with our buenos amigos Tom and Amy, met us on the shores of Lake Michigan on […]
Reader’s Ride(s) – Mike’s UK Moonlander
Mike from the United Kingdom sent us this report about his Moonlander. I’d like to share the story of my recent Moonlander build as I think that I might have some snippets of information which others might find useful and generally aren’t found anywhere else on the Internet and are not that obvious. I’ve been […]
Fat-Bikes, Beach Tours & Coffee in The Hague
That’s the photo that led me to come in contact with our new amigo from the Netherlands, Tommy. I learned that Tommy is a guide at Lola Bikes and Coffee and that the shop runs Fat-Bike Tours in The Hague, the capitol city, of the Netherlands, nestled on the sandy shores of the North Sea. Every […]
First Look ~ The Oveja Negra MM2-SSB/ON Frame Bag
Back in November, I shared my plan to have our amigos at Oveja Negra Threadworks make a custom frame bag for my Moonlander. I’ve had some fun, playing up the “Space Suit” theme, to the point where you all probably think I’m some sort of delusional space cadet, so its time to drop my NASA comedy routine […]
Interview with Polar Explorer/Adventurer Eric Larsen
Lee Kinder from Logan, UT had the opportunity to interview Eric and inquire about his incredible expedition to the south pole on a fat-bike. by Lee Kinder – Photography by – Cycle South – Stephanie Scott Photo credit: Cycle South – Stephanie Scott “Remember, it’s cool to be cold!” quips Polar Explorer/Adventurer Eric Larsen. Indeed […]
True Confessions of Two Fat-Bike-Beach-Rats
Ecrito y fotografiado por Julio y Gomez Julio caught ‘beach-fever’ sometime last year and he’s been planning a fat-pack ever since. Somewhere along the line this summer, we agreed to take a little fat-bike adventure together and this is our beach-rat, ride report. We figured the weather could get dicey in late October, so we kept […]
Weekly Dose of Fat – 10/5/2012 – Caption Contest
CAPTION CONTEST Tommy from Katwijk, the Netherlands sent us this photo that begs to be captioned. Post your caption and we’ll pick a winner next Friday. The winner will receive a pair of 45NRTH Wool Cycling Socks! Thanks for sharing your fat-bike photo,Tommy! Check out his blog at http://micro-adventures.blogspot.nl/ This Week’s Fat-Bike News Digest http://www.desertchallenge.org/race_reports/results_2012.php – Australia’s Simpson […]
Reader’s Rides – Marvin the Moonlander
Fat-bike.com reader, Mark Peterson, hails from Salt Lake City, UT and sent in this story about his Moonlander, “Marvin the Martian”, along with a bunch of pix of the upgrades he’s done. For all you “green” fans out there, Mark has scoured the globe to find anodized green goodness! I have always loved my bikes. […]
Interbike 2012 – Live from the Show Floor
Sven has been here before, but today was my first time in the maze called Interbike. We popped my interbike cherry today, to bring you all of the fat…all of the time! Just like we promised! Phil Wood fat-bike design exercise! Custom Fork crowns on the Manitou Fork. 185mm Cassette Hub. Also available in lower […]
8 Months of Beach Riding ~ the Moonlander and the Damage Done
Last December, I received my Surly Moonlander and since then…I’ve done my best to ride the hell out of it. Snow, sand, mud, slurm and salt, all ridden, without a care in the world. Due to the lack of snow last winter, my fattie has seen more than it’s fair share of beach riding over […]

Fat (Video) Tuesday ~ A short film from Big Fat Larry
Bruce the ‘coastkid‘ lent his go-pro to his close friend B.F. Larry and this well scored, short film speaks for itself. We hope you enjoy the ride! We’d love to see what your tires experience? If you’ve got a fat-bike related, short film that you feel is “Fat (Video) Tuesday” material, slap a link in […]
Lake Superior Fat-Pack ~ Part Two
…continued from part one DAY TWO We awoke to a sunrise that looked remarkably similar to the hazey Mars sunset from the previous evening. After some oatmeal for breakfast, we loaded our packs and headed out under beautiful azure skies. We also had a nice tail wind blowing at about ten miles per hour that […]

Fat Video Tuesday ~ Side by Side Comparison
An interesting clip that compares a standard mtb, a 4″ pugs and a 5″ moonie on semi-crusted wettish snow. I wonder what the tire pressures were set at? Oh!…..and you might want to mute the volume……don’t say I didn’t warn you. Let’s hear from every corner of the Globe? If you’ve got a fat-bike related […]
Lake Superior Fat-Pack ~ Part One
About a year ago, I started to dream about a multi-day beach riding trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Someone from my past life had told me tales of how Lake Michigan ended as a shallow whisper against the southern edge of the deliciously underpopulated U.P. I hatched a plan, where four or five riders would tag […]
Wallpaper Wednesday ~ Pimp my Pug, on the Beach
Our homeboy Craig sent us a shot of his Moonlander along side Sue’s White Wedding Pimp my Pug project on a slice of beach we know very well, here in the big whiskey. Feel free to download it and use it as your own wallpaper. Just click on the image to open the full-sized version which […]
[MI]tten made of Sand – Episode Três – Silver Lake Dunes
The next stop on our tour of Michigan’s western shore takes place at another beautiful State Park. Silver Lake State Park was repeatedly mentioned in my research materials as a visual gem and ‘not to be missed’. Silver Lake is quite unique. It has a commercial outfitter that takes tourists out into the park on […]
[MI]tten Made of Sand ~ Episode Dos ~ Big Sable Point
The next stop on my Michigan trip is Ludington. Ludington State Park features 12 miles of beach just north of the town of the same name along the shores of Lake Michigan. I chose Ludington as the furthest north that I would explore on this trip. Cecil and I rolled in and found the park […]
Pugsley vs. Moonlander ?
I started riding fat-bikes on a Pugsley, gifted to me for my 50th birthday and then last December I got a Moonlander complete. I haven’t ridden the Pugsley since getting my Moonlander, so I’m contemplating selling it. But first, I’d like to hear from our readers on the subject of Pugs vs Moonie. I […]
[MI]tten Made of Sand ~ Episode Uno
The Michigami Way Twenty-six years ago I received my first mountain bike. I rode the hell out of that Porsche Red, Rockhopper. My brother in law, Al, and I rode along the power lines and by the orchards surrounding Scott Lake in SW Michigan. That’s about the time we explored Fort Custer Recreation Area for the first […]
Spinner’s Interview with Sov from SURLY
Spinner hooked us up with this PRIMO interview as he sat down with Sov, well, actually he sat down with a High Life in front of a computer, and pulled questions outta his bike seat rester regarding what he thinks is one of the coolest and most popular fat bikes around – The Pugsley. […]
(Fat) Sub 24 Hour Overnight – (S24O)
I’ve had this idea in my head about bikepacking my fattie on the beach for awhile now. Mis amigo, Cale just came back from a long trip in Baja, that made the trip planning itch, all the stronger. In the past month I’ve traded email and read stories from experienced fat-packers that make a pretty […]
Editorial – Do I really need a Moonlander?
Back in July 2011, news slipped out that Fat was getting Fatter. There was going to be a new, bigger and better fat-bike on the block, the Surly Moonlander. It would have 100 mm rims as standard and be shod with a larger version of the 3.8” Fat Larry tyre, the Big Fat Larry, a […]
Shop Profile – Freewheel Bike – Minneapolis, MN
Freewheel Bike has 3 locations in MPLS and last month I sat down at the West Bank store with Freewheel Bike, General Manager, Jake Helmbrecht, to talk fat-bikes and share a guess at what might be new and exciting at Frostbike. Jake talked to us about Freewheel’s Winter Bike Expo that was held, last December, at […]
Moonlander – Mission One – Porcelain Rocket – Frame Pack – (MM1-SSB)
Houston this is Moonlander one ; all systems are go for lift-off! I wonder if our friends at Surly knew that they would tap into the collective imaginations of every baby boomer and gen-x’r that secretly dreamed of some day strapping themselves into a rocket and becoming an astronaut. Riding my Moonlander is as close as […]
New Rack for Moonlander! from Old Man Mountain
Out of the Sierra Madre Mountains – Old Man Mountain (OMM) has a rich history in Mountain Bike touring racks that reflect their company philosophy – “don’t discriminate, innovate”. That’s why OMM built the first mountain touring racks designed to work with suspension mountain bikes and why they’ve brought that mind-set to their racks made for Fat-Bikes. […]
Carver Cold Catfish Cup – Race Report
Written by Reed Smidt – Race Director The Carver Lake Cold Catfish Cup – Race # 3 was held on Sunday, February 19 at Carver Lake Park in Woodbury, MN. The temperature peaked at 45 degrees making almost all the single-track trail off limits for racing and riding in general. Fortunately, Carver Lake Park […]