Gettin' Fat.

You have seen them, I bet, and thought "Hmmmm…maybe that would be cool?"  Fatbikes - those rolling Stay Puft Marshmallow bikes that are all over the snowy parts of North America and beyond.  As well, desert dwellers seem to love them as they make sand and loose rock just a slight annoyance.

But I was only curious, not smitten, and I had no immediate need, sooooo…..

What has been interesting to see has been the acceptance of these El Gordo scoots as 'normal' MTB rides.  It seems that there are riders, if you can believe the 'wilder-net', that once they get a Fatbike, they make it the go-to bike and the carbon/FS/Uberbikes just gather dust in the corner.

Huh!  Really?  Why would that be for a typical trail or XC rider?  Unless you spend big, Fatbikes are heavy and a bit slow.  The tires are $150.00 bucks a pop, not something you want to be burning out pedaling down some smooth trail somewhere. And we only just now have ONE front suspension fork on the market (although that will change this year) and there are three or so FS models out as well.  But most Fattys are rigid set-ups and that big tire only goes so far to absorb bumps, etc.

I have seen riders on these things pedaling them for a 100 mile gravel race.  Seriously?  I totally do not get that, unless you just love being odd and wasting energy.  Horses for courses, not mules for fools.

Time went by, but in the back of my mind was the thought that a Fatbike just might be the perfect adventure vehicle if you wanted to open up trails that were not that fun on a regular 29"er.  I lean that way, to the adventure side, although my life restricts that more than I would like but it is what it is for now.

So when an opportunity came my way to get on a Fatty for a while, I jumped on it.  Salsa sent out a 2015 Mukluk 3, not a fancy scoot, but perfect for getting my size jumbo feet wet in this weird world of 5PSI tire numbers and BBs wide enough to suit a bow-legged cowboy.

I will be experiencing this for myself and the actual 'review' of sorts…I do not consider myself a competent and confident Fatbike reviewer…will be carried on twentynineinches.com.  Stay tuned here for more of the personal experience of the journey.

I will be getting on trail and finding out some things.  Could I use this as my 'main ride'?  Will 3.8" tires woo me into a place where it's all I want to roll on from now on?  Can I go back to rigid bike or are the poofy tires really that comfy?

I will be setting it up for bikepacking for sure and planning some outings.  It's gonna' be interesting.

Granny is getting' fat.

The Salsa Mukluk 3 in all its glory.

Fat and happy.

Now, ya' gotta love this.

Yeah, THAT is a fat tired bike.  The new Salsa Cycles Mukluk

I rode a fat bike at Demo Days for abut 100' and thought, "oh, this is fun!"  That was a custom version of this type of bike, but the concept caught my imagination.  Do I need a snow bike?  No.  Would I like to be able to ride up some sand wash that would be a push-fest on a normal MTB?  Oh yeah.  How about a bikepacking tour of Death Valley?  Or the Mojave Road?  This thing would make desert hardpan and washes a hoot.

Salsa has a bunch of bike nuts running that place and they are really good at bringing niche bikes like the Fargo and Vaya to market.  Now, you have the Mukluk.  Cool name, too.

But it has been interesting watching the response of some of the cycling world who are pursing e-lips together and making cyber-raspberries about the seeming lack of what exactly....originality?  Like much of anything is really new in bikes anyway.

What does a small builder expect?  That just because they make a unique product, that no one should ever go mass-market with the idea?  Sour grapes.  Think about the reactions that Mike Sinyard (Specialized) had to taking MTBs into the big time, something that until then was the realm of the little-guy builder.  Some folks have never forgiven that trespass.

There is room for both.  The small builder/seller has to differentiate themselves by reputation, features, service, etc. to compete.  There are more little builders now then ever as far as I can see.

In any case, I would sure like to have one of these Fat Bikes someday.  No matter who makes it.