The leaves are changing colors and the days are becoming shorter; this means that winter is not too far behind and neither is the prospect of snow. For some cyclists this means hanging up the bikes for the winter and doing the grind at the gym. For those who want to brave the elements, there is another option – the Surly Moonlander.
The Moonlander comes as a new addition to the line of ‘big tire’ bikes. It is not uncommon to see bikes today come standard with 2.3 to 2.5-inch wide tires, but the Moonlander has (the aptly named) Big Fat Larry tires at a whooping 4.7-inch width! This is a full inch wider than the largest tire that Surly produces for their Surly Pugsley released several years back. Seeing this bike in person at the Interbike Outdoor Demo, it looked completely ridiculous next to the newest carbon fiber and 29er bikes from other companies… I had to ride one!
Upon signing one out to demo on the trails of Bootleg Canyon the first thing that felt different from other bikes was the weight. The frame is 4130 CroMoly so it is expected that the bike would weigh a little more than an aluminum or carbon fiber bike and the Moonlander is no exception with its approximate weight coming in at around 35-pounds. Surly is certainly not known for making light-weight bikes and since these bikes are designed to ride in the dead of winter or bushwhacking in the middle of the woods miles away from home, being over-built should be viewed as a ‘good thing’.
With the over-sized, low pressure tires on the Moonlander, the initial impression was that this bike was going to be sluggish. This certainly was not the case. The Moonlander accelerated fairly quickly on the dirt and paved roads leading up to the trails and once one the cross-country loop, it effortlessly rolled through the rocky sections. The large, 4.7-inch tires make it virtually impossible to run a suspension fork, but the Big Fat Larry tires have so much volume, they act as the suspension system. The Moonlander was fairly easy to steer through the tighter turns of the trail and the weight of the complete bike was only noticed while jumping – that is when the Moonlander felt massive. One of the highlights on the test ride was hearing other riders on full-suspension, carbon fiber bikes say, “I’m being passed by THAT thing?!?!”
The unfortunate part of test riding a bike like the Moonlander on the trails of Bootleg Canyon is that it is not really being tested in the terrain that it was designed to tackle. This bike, along with the Pugsley, are designed for snow riding. The complete bike comes stock with thumb shifters to allow shifting while wearing mittens; fully encased shifter cables; no suspension fork; and of course the big tires to float over the snow or ride where there are no trails. Though it was a treat to ride the Moonlander on the rocky and dusty trails in Boulder City, its true home is where trails do not exist at all.
The Moonlander is available as just a frameset for $700 or a complete bike for $2350. Personally it does not make sense to just buy the frame alone as there are a lot of special parts required to properly build this bike and those parts come at a premium price. A 100mm bottom bracket is required and just the tires themselves cost almost $150 each.
The Moonlander is certainly not for everyone, but if you are looking for every excuse to avoid the gym and stay on the bike, this might be the ride for you.
Pros:
– 4.7-inch tires float over the terrain
– No suspension fork to rebuild
– A four season bike keeps you riding and off the stair climber
Cons:
– Weight (a bit heavy at approximately 35 ponuds)
– Limited choices for parts
– Expensive to replace individual parts
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