[DeeEight]

For those in the "medium / 18 inch" of acceptable frame size, who cannot find an LBS sort of fat bike, nor any of the Northrocks from Costco, consider the Raleigh Rogue at CdnTire whilst some of them still have it in stock (the two closest to Ottawa currently are in Deep River and Kingston with 1 each for example). Its basically a variation of the discontinued CCM Brut out of the same chinese factory. Frame only has housing guides for cable discs and a 1x drivetrain, but its 135/170mm dropout, 44mm cup headtube and 100mm width BB shell. The frame is a bit nicer shaped and colored, and has an extra bottle cage mount, but the rear hub has been downgraded to a thread-on FW type, and the derailleur is now a tourney model with a 7sp 14-34 FW, and a fixed steel ring crank... for the fabulous joy of a price tag that increased $150 (from 529.99 to 679.99). Still the same crappy Seyoun NJK tires (nominally a 2.2-2.3kg tire that's meant for E-fats), steel handlebar, and short stem. If you do go to a CdnTire to get one, see if the store has a pair of the Kenda Krusade fat tires available at the same time as they're about 1.6kg for $58 retail each. The gearing can be improved by going to a wider range FW (Falcon offers 8sp 13-40 and 9sp 14-42 models, and there are other brands with 11-32 and 11-34 9sp models, or 11-36 10sp) and a smaller ring sq-taper crankset (you want something that fits the equivalent of a 123mm BB spindle on a regular MTB) or upgrade to an external bearing fat crankset. Frame is aluminum just like the Brut was, fork is the same steel model the Brut had, and the stock headset is for a straight 1 1/8 steerer but since its 44mm cups you can get an EC44 lower to run a tapered steerer fork. There's a red/black checkered pattern on the top tube and inside fork legs so it'd be great fashion matching if you fat bike in that sort of clothing already. Also bear in mind, most brands that depend on the port of vancouver for incoming shipments will now be facing extra delays given the rain/river/mudslide damage to the major highways and rail infrastructure in the lower mainland of BC. Rocky Mtn for example was saying December for the first batch of 2022 Blizzards shipping to dealers... but that was before the rainfall and flooding destroyed everything.

Rogue 4.0 - Fat Tire Hardtail Mountain Bike (26")

Love mountain biking and want to ride all year long no matter the conditions? The Raleigh Rogue 26” Fat Tire mountain bike is the right choice. Whether it’s snow, mud, or sand you can rest assured the 4” wide fat tires, and oversize alloy rims will provide plenty of stability and traction, so...

raleigh-canada.ca

 

[mikesee]

the rear hub has been downgraded to a thread-on FW type, and the derailleur is now a tourney model with a 7sp 14-34 FW, and a fixed steel ring crank... for the fabulous joy of a price tag that increased $150 (from 529.99 to 679.99). Still the same crappy Seyoun NJK tires (nominally a 2.2-2.3kg tire that's meant for E-fats), steel handlebar, and short stem.

You're really selling it...

 

[guim]

Very glad I got my Brut 4.0 last year! Installed an external dropper, and with the freehub I upgraded to an 11 spd 11-46t SLX cassette and deraileur (which I already had). Also swapped the tires for CST Toboggan 4.0 (they were 42$cdn last year), light tubes and black rim tape. Basically, I kept the frame, fork, wheels and crankset and replaced everything else, but for approx. 1000$ I did around 40 rides last winter and never wished for more. That's probably my most smiles per dollar bike ever.

The 150$ more, freewheel and one-piece crankset are making this cheap option way less interesting this year. They have a cheaper option too but it's even worse and still more expensive than last year's model. I'd go for a Moose F1 fat bike at 1150$cdn this year if I was to get something entry level, but they're already sold out.

Like you said, for an entry-level bike, this year the Raleigh might be the only option with the supply issues. Thanks for other people who would be interested by it, you gave all the needed details to make a decision and plan upgrades if one chooses to do that!

 

[rete]

Thought I'd post up some geometry numbers for the Raleigh Rogue 4 that I measured when our local Crappy Tire had two of these on the floor a few weeks ago...

R.A.D: 32" (Lee McCormack's Rider Area Distance)
Reach: 425mm
Stem:45mm
Wheelbase: 1130mm
HTA: 68 degrees
STA: 73 degrees
BB Height: 315mm
BB Drop: 55mm
Effective Top Tube: 610mm
Head Tube Length: 130mm
Fork Axle to Crown: 445mm

 

[DeeEight]

Thought I'd post up some geometry numbers for the Raleigh Rogue 4 that I measured when our local Crappy Tire had two of these on the floor a few weeks ago...

R.A.D: 32" (Lee McCormack's Rider Area Distance)
Reach: 425mm
Stem:45mm
Wheelbase: 1130mm
HTA: 68 degrees
STA: 73 degrees
BB Height: 315mm
BB Drop: 55mm
Effective Top Tube: 610mm
Head Tube Length: 130mm
Fork Axle to Crown: 445mm

The stem is a 50mm... its even printed on the side of it. Also Canadian Tire JUST raised the price tag on their fat bikes. The Supercycle with the hi-tensile steel frame is now $629.99 and the Raleigh is now $869.99. I haven't seen if Costco has raised the Northrock XCF price again from a month ago when it was $599.95 here in the Ottawa area locations but i will not be surprised if they do. The freewheel isn't neccessarily a problem as the Falcon Saker 14-42 9 speed one definitely fits and the stock steel chainring on the forged Prowheel cranks (which are 170mm length) is a 32T size which is plenty enough gear range for most people. Rocky used to spec the Blizzard 10 as a 1x9 also with 24T ring and 12-36 cassette which would be a slighter lower granny gear but also a lower top gear.

 

[AndrewTO]

The stem is a 50mm... its even printed on the side of it. Also Canadian Tire JUST raised the price tag on their fat bikes. The Supercycle with the hi-tensile steel frame is now $629.99 and the Raleigh is now $869.99. I haven't seen if Costco has raised the Northrock XCF price again from a month ago when it was $599.95 here in the Ottawa area locations but i will not be surprised if they do. The freewheel isn't neccessarily a problem as the Falcon Saker 14-42 9 speed one definitely fits and the stock steel chainring on the forged Prowheel cranks (which are 170mm length) is a 32T size which is plenty enough gear range for most people. Rocky used to spec the Blizzard 10 as a 1x9 also with 24T ring and 12-36 cassette which would be a slighter lower granny gear but also a lower top gear.

Yeah, they jacked the price up because they read your post! Shush you!!!


Now let's see ... one of my old 110mm stems with a Surly Sunrise bar might do the trick ...

Hey, gotta get that CT e$$$! 😁