[booron]

I'm looking to turn the Mukluk into a 70% Pavement/30% Trail cruiser for the coming summer, as I want to save my Bud and Nate 120's for the snow. It looks like Surly tooled around with the Black Floyd and it now appears to max out on Marges. Furthermore, I can't stand the thought of dropping $300 on some 120 Knards, and the 27's are HEAVY...

What are some of you non-hardcore-trail-guys using/planning on using?

 

[Essox]

I picked up a set of vee8's for summer and I like them. They roll fast and have decent traction on hard pack. They have a little self steer at low pressures but nothing like the Missions. Plus they are pretty cheap.

 

[AdamJay]

Running Origin8 Captiv-8er UL 26x3.5 60tpi for about the same mix of pavement and trail you've described.

 

[booron]

Running Origin8 Captiv-8er UL 26x3.5 60tpi for about the same mix of pavement and trail you've described.

Interest piqued, kind of ignored Origin8 after the whole devast8er deal.. What rims you running?

 

[AdamJay]

Interest piqued, kind of ignored Origin8 after the whole devast8er deal.. What rims you running?

I've ran them on DHL80 and Origin8 AT-PRO 80 UL (aka drilled HL80) as well, with tubes. Casing goes out to 3.7" and profile remains nice and round, wears well considering all the pavement it sees.

The Captiv-8er UL is made by Vee and is the exact same tire as the Vee Rubber Speedster. Very solid tire for $80/pair.

 

[TitanofChaos]

I ran the heavy knards for a lot of miles, riding pavement to the beach all winter and cruising around town the rest of the year, they are still in great shape and so are my legs from their extra weight

keep the pressure up and you won't notice the weight when it gets moving on pavement

 

[Johanneson]

Heavy but they roll fast on the road.

 

[Mk3Rider]

bud's

 

[Bacons]

Black Floyds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bdundee]

Bfl's or skinny Larry's.

 

[deuxdiesel]

A 29er wheelset with fat hubs or a set of Rabbit Holes is a really nice way to go. I know it's an investment, but it lets you run all kinds of 29er tires, from slicks to knobbies. I think On-One offered some Summer wheels cheap-ish. Edit- about $230 for those wheels.

 

[AdamJay]

Keep in mind that the 3.5" tires (Vee Speedster, Origin8 Captiv-8er, Sunlite) will have an effect on the handling of your front end, resulting in less trail. I noticed it compared to my 3.8" Larry. At first it resembled some of the self-steer characteristics I experienced with the Vee Mission tire, but it happens to be a result of less trail.
This can actually be a good thing as it makes cornering very precise and the bike becomes quite nimble, welcome characteristics on tires that will see a lot more urban use than my Surly treads.

 

[kalbo]

2012 Mukluk here. Did a 2 day, 180 mile ride last year on Larry's. Mix of crushed limestone and pothole filled pavement, pumped up between 18-20 psi with no issues. This year, using Larry on front and Endo on the back.

Used Larry's all summer long last year, used it for both trails and pavement riding. Rode Cuyuna trails with it, no issues at all.

 

[wrcRS]

I'm considering 27tpi Knards. Cheap and they seem to fit the bill for what you're looking for (myself as well.)

 

[Ivan M]

So its safe to say that a fat bike can be ridden all year long? Summer pavement/dirt. I have been looking into a fat bike. The fatboy in particular, this would be my second bike but was thinking it was 1 dimensional.

 

[bdundee]

So its safe to say that a fat bike can be ridden all year long? Summer pavement/dirt. I have been looking into a fat bike. The fatboy in particular, this would be my second bike but was thinking it was 1 dimensional.

I still prefer my full squishy in the dirt but the fatty gets way more use on average. If I could pick one it would be my fat bike hands down.

 

[Jayem]

So its safe to say that a fat bike can be ridden all year long? Summer pavement/dirt. I have been looking into a fat bike. The fatboy in particular, this would be my second bike but was thinking it was 1 dimensional.

Of course, it's one of the huge advantages of fatbikes vs. snowboards or jetskis. You can't go snowboarding down the ski hill without snow or take your jetski on dirt trails, yet you can take a fat bike and ride it just like a normal mountain bike, abet slower and more sluggish. You can even switch the wheels out and build a 29er wheelset usually, but that's not necessary at all.

I rode my fatbike extensively last summer while saving up for a more all-mtn type bike. It jumped just fine, rode fine, etc. It's a LOT more characteristic of a rigid bike in the summer compared to riding on snow in the winter, you can't get away with the ultra-low PSI because it just pedals so terrible when you try to pedal out of the saddle and the tires squirm when you try to turn. If you know what it's like riding a 29er rigid bike, then you'll be prepared. It's also slow to accelerate and if you get going real fast you'll notice the huge gyroscopic force that will make you slow down quite a lot before any kind of sharp turn, but it's just like how you can drive a truck on a road vs. a sportscar, or maybe even better, like how you can ride a regular mountain bike on the road vs. a roadbike. Sure, the mountain bike won't be "optimal", but it works just fine, you can have some fun, etc.

On the other hand, consider the negatives first. The fatbike is in it's element in a place where you get enough snow that it covers the ground for months at a time, where trails get packed down from traffic, where people go out and do winter sports. If you're getting it for the novelty factor, it may be fun for a little while in the summer, but it may get old fast. A very strong rider may not see many issues and keep up with slower guys just fine, but it'll likely magnify the effects of a weaker rider on a hard-to-accelerate-bike.

But by all means, they handle the summer trails just fine. You see people out here riding them in the summer.

 

[booron]

So its safe to say that a fat bike can be ridden all year long? Summer pavement/dirt. I have been looking into a fat bike. The fatboy in particular, this would be my second bike but was thinking it was 1 dimensional.

Ha! The most multi-dimensional bicycles ever created!!

 

[newmarketrog]

True dat!^^^^^

Been riding for hours and hours on marthas vinyard the past couple days. 4 days left and I can assure you my fatty is going places that no non fatbike will go. Amazing riding on island.

rog

 

[Velobike]

So its safe to say that a fat bike can be ridden all year long? Summer pavement/dirt...

Yes.

Unless you are a racer.

I have some rather exotic 29ers that have had no real use in the last 3 years. I found using a fatbike with narrower rims was more to my taste for summer. Once you get used to steamrolling straight over all the lumpy stuff with a fatbike, you'll find a skinny tyre bike inadequate regardless of season.

Unless you are a racer.