View Full Version : Salsa Beargrease Carbon
ORMojo
08-21-2013, 05:15 PM
Damn, been trying for a year or more to decide which fatbike to pull the trigger on - Pugs, Moonlander, Mukluk, Ti Mukluk, 9zero7, Carver, many more - and now this. I'll have to tell my shops to call me when they have one in I can test out.
The choice only gets more complicated, not less! On top of that, Salsa has stated that "We are still doing R&D for the suspension fatbike, and are fully willing and committed to producing it when a suspension fork manufacturer steps up and produces a fork."
I'm more and more convinced that I would use a fatbike year-round, in part because I've been spending evenings the past week riding through lots of technical (and sharp!) volcanic rock gardens, several-inch-deep loose soil, and other stuff that has made me think, as I'm riding, what would a fatbike do on this? I love my MootoX YBB, but am damn curious to try a fatty.
Full carbon, thru axle, complete X9 build at ~29 pounds, for $3.5k. XX1 and other top-shelf build adds $2k and drops ~3 pounds.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv48/ORMojo1/BeargreaseXX1_zps2552e98b.jpg (http://s668.photobucket.com/user/ORMojo1/media/BeargreaseXX1_zps2552e98b.jpg.html)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2871/9414360651_c25e1a6b08_z.jpghttp://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/9417125162_4436e480dc_z.jpg
http://i0.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/9414360841_145903aee5_z.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000
christian
08-21-2013, 05:21 PM
Insane frame weight. 1/2 pound more than a Colnago Extreme Power.
dustyrider
08-21-2013, 05:45 PM
I know white brothers is testing a fat tire front suspension....
If I worked on a farm, lived on a beach, above 7,000 feet, or was an avid hunter I'd have one.
choke
08-21-2013, 07:58 PM
Ti Cycles had a FS at NAHBS (http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/27/nahbs-2013-ti-cycles-full-suspension-fat-bike-innovative-electric-cargo-bike-hydraulic-brake-line-coupler/). I thought it was pretty cool but I'm sure it's not inexpensive.
ORMojo
08-21-2013, 08:55 PM
Ti Cycles had a FS at NAHBS (http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/27/nahbs-2013-ti-cycles-full-suspension-fat-bike-innovative-electric-cargo-bike-hydraulic-brake-line-coupler/). I thought it was pretty cool but I'm sure it's not inexpensive.
Yeah, that is a sweet bike. It's been for sale (http://www.ebay.com/itm/181106405195) at $9k BIN for months with 10 denied offers.
I mentioned Salsa's plans for FS fat mainly to further illustrate that the fatbike genre is growing and becoming more mainstream. I probably will stay with rigid - as I saw someone else say somewhere, with the inherent squish in the fat tires, not only is FS not needed 90% of the time, it is really only good for riders that have spare power to compress the suspension!
jds108
08-21-2013, 08:58 PM
I know nothing about fatbikes, but I'm keeping my eye out for more info on this one: http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/07/25/9zero7-is-joining-carbon-fatbike-crowd-with-the-whiteout/
I like the idea of extra standover clearance if I'm putting my foot down in the snow and it sinks....
I love a new wunderbike as much as the next guy, but for my money it's hard to beat a Pug. You're going to have 11lbs of snow on your bike within about 30 seconds of riding, I'd rather have the bike I can go out and just mess around on.
With all of that said, I'd love to do a snow race one day....
ORMojo
08-21-2013, 10:07 PM
I love a new wunderbike as much as the next guy, but for my money it's hard to beat a Pug. You're going to have 11lbs of snow on your bike within about 30 seconds of riding, I'd rather have the bike I can go out and just mess around on.
With all of that said, I'd love to do a snow race one day....
Yes, but . . . it still bears repeating that they aren't just snow bikes. The rest of the time, if I'm climbing (or many other situations), everything else equal, I'd much rather have a 5-10 pound lighter bike.
Further, more and more of these are being purposefully designed to swap from fat wheels/tires to standard 29er wheels/tires and back, and/or to work just as well with a suspension fork with a fat or 29er wheel.
A guy that got hold of a pre-production Beargrease Carbon did just that through a fairly long-term test. To summarize, he loved it both ways - when switched to a suspension fork and a 29er wheelset with 2.3 tires, he praised the obvious improvements in weight, quickness, steering, and speed, but furthermore, he was surprised to find that the basic geo of the frame maintained the strong sense of stability that fat bikes have. And, of course, the suspension fork overcomes one big drawback of fully rigid fat bikes - going downhill fast on bumpy terrain can suck.
christian
08-21-2013, 10:55 PM
Other than snow and sand, do you really want increased unsprung weight and undamped suspension? For the weight penalty of a fat bike, seems like you could get a full-sus 26er or 27.5 for all situations other than soft surfaces.
JAGI410
08-22-2013, 07:08 AM
Excess weight is countered by excess fun. Keep in mind the Beargrease has heavier rims and tubes than other currently available options, so shaving another pound off is easy.
I'd wait for Interbike though, this will be the year of the fat bike! Which also means the used market will saturate with Pugsleys and Mukluks, which are still awesome bikes.
The fat bike genre is splitting in two, trail bikes and adventure/snow bikes. Pugsley is still the king of doing both IMHO.
fourflys
08-22-2013, 10:22 AM
I have a Mukluk and just had it out going downhill on a bumpy trail the other day... I really think suspension would be overkill... I mean I guess if you're doing some super gnarly stuff maybe, but... 4" tires with 10# of air provide plenty of suspension for me...
xjoex
08-22-2013, 10:35 AM
I love riding my fat bike. And a light fat bike would be... neat. But when you are running 4 psi on a pile of snow does it matter? Shocks would not be needed in the winter.
The only time I ride my fat bike in the summer is when I am trying to go slow for my dogs.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-25Qoy8YTixo/UQXgsXzl7gI/AAAAAAAAKko/0xgPkFqdEOM/s640/P1270423.jpg
-Joe
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