Update! Check out our latest Salsa Mukluk fat 29er review.
With 3-inch-wide tires, the Krampus from Surly looks like a fat-bike. But this to-be-released ride is actually a 29er mountain bike built to accommodate the big rubber of a new obese tire and touted to offer “more traction, a smoother ride, and better geometry for high speed” than almost anything on the market.
Unlike Surly’s flagship Pugsley fat-bike, which is built for snow and going slow in sand and mud, the Krampus is made for speed, singletrack, and boosting air. The company cites it as “confidence-inspiring like a fat-bike” but as nimble as a normal 29er.
Its bottom bracket is the standard 73mm wide. (The Pugsley has a 100mm bottom bracket, making for a wider pedal.) The Krampus is also compatible with standard mountain-bike parts. Typically, a fat-bike needs special hubs, cranks, rims, and so on. With this model you could swap on most of your normal 29er parts, including different wheels.
One word of caution: Multiple front chainrings will likely cause the chain to rub the tire. Surly recommends a single front ring for best results. As mountain bikes go, the Krampus is a bit of a brute, weighing in at 30 pounds for the factory complete build.
For now, there are no plans to make it suspension-ready. But the big tires run at a lower air pressure can provide adequate absorption for many trails.
