Last year at Interbike we were able to try out some of Surly’s new snowbikes including the Pugsley and the Moonlander. These bikes of course don’t have to stay in the garage until the white stuff falls, and they work well in sand and mud as well.
But now Surly is coming out with a fat-bike that is meant for the trail as well. The Krampus is a fat tire mountain bike that offers three-inch wide tires but is actually a 29er that can handle singletrack at speed. Unlike the Pugsley, which requires special hubs, cranks, rims and other parts, the Krampus is compatible with most mountain bike parts.
However as multiple chain rings could cause the chain to rub the tire the company recommends a single front ring to overcome this problem. This isn’t going to be the lightest ride on the mountain, and weighs in at 30 pounds. It is also suspension free but hose big tires should absorption any bumps in the road or trail.
On the Surly website the company noted, “We’re looking at December or so on Krampus framesets, Rabbit Hole rims, and Knard (pronounced “nard”) tires. We don’t have MSRP amounts on those individually just yet, but we will in a month or so. The complete bikes will be available in early Spring of 2013. Those will probably go for about $1950.”
It looks like it could shake up the trails next season. Hopefully we’ll get to try it out at Interbike in a few weeks.