Fat bikes were everywhere at the Sea Otter Classic this year! Sure, fat bikes make for a cushy cruise around the dusty venue at Laguna Seca, but there were many fat bikes built for more than just cruising.
The newly-released Salsa Bucksaw made its debut at Sea Otter. This first-ever production full suspension fat bike is redefining fat biking, and quite possibly mountain biking in general. The rear suspension makes the Bucksaw a capable machine on many more technical trails than a hardtail fat bike. MSRP $4,999
Salsa is no stranger to fat biking. The Beargrease Carbon above is a good choice for fat bike racing. MSRP $3,499
The Borealis Echo is another carbon fat bike, and like the Salsa Bucksaw, sports the new Rockshox Bluto fat bike fork. And with a dropper seat post, the Echo is definitely trail-worthy, and built for a variety of trails and riding styles. MSRP $2,649 Frame/Fork
On-one’s fat bike, the On-one Fatty, comes with a 2×10 SRAM X5 set-up. More gears, more trail! MSRP £999 (~$1672 US)
The Specialized Fatboy Expert has a lightweight aluminum frame, carbon fork, and is designed with same high performance standards you’d expect from Specialized. MSRP $2,600
Durango Bike Company is relatively new to the mountain bike scene. Handmade in their solar-powered factory in Durango, CO, the DBC Hooey is a truly unique bike. With custom-bent tubing, an adjustable 115mm inverted fork, and weighing under 30lbs, the Hooey is built for much more than just winter touring. MSRP $4,495
As if fat bikes weren’t already kind of cheating on the trails (ok, I admit I have ridden exactly 0, that’s ZERO, fat bikes!) there’s Felt’s electric fat bike, appropriately named the LebowskE. And rumor has it, Felt has a non-electric version of this bike called, you guessed it, the Dude!
Being here in Atlanta, I initially thought fat biking was simply a novelty, and have been pleasantly surprised to find companies trying to create fat bikes with ride qualities comparable to XC and trail bikes. The question is, will you trade your current mountain bike in for a fat bike?
