Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Want it Wednesday: Salsa Mukluk

These week’s Want it Wednesday is the fat tire Salsa Mukluk. Oh man this bike is so stupid I cannot believe I want one so bad. I think full suspension is silly excess and I am suspicious of 29ers (though I’m starting to like both) yet here I sit lusting after a 34 lb. bike with 3.8” wide tires (that's tyres for my friends in the UK). In the neighborhood where I grew up there was a kid whose dad somehow laced Yamaha dirt bike rims to the Sunshine hubs on his Schwinn Scrambler. We all made fun of him but I secretly envied his bicycle. Maybe my affection for the Mukluk is just some type of manifestation of unresolved childhood issues. Who knows.

I considered trying to write a real review but, as a rule, I try to keep my posts to 400 words or less to match my puppy-like attention span. Plus I would probably just plagiarize this review. The first time I saw a Mukluk, or Surly Pugsley (I honestly can’t tell the difference), I just rolled my eyes; what a silly set up. People started showing up on winter rides with fat tire bikes and they began to make sense. Daniell Musto averaged 17.2 MPH this spring at Barry-Roubaix on a Mukluk. Daniell is a local pro so I am under no delusion I could make one go 17.2 MPH. When I raced expert, sometimes I would see her briefly as she lapped me, skinny little legs with a Slingshot tattoo flying up climbs. Anyway, the Mukluk isn’t as slow and lumbering as it looks.

Last weekend there was a bike demo at the Vasa trail. I rode the Vasa on a borrowed BMC but tried out a Mukluk on the BMX track by the trail head. It really is an interesting ride. It rolls over everything, like a tank. Someone else was on the BMX track with a borrowed Mukluk. We were both as giddy as 11 year old boys, a sure sign a bicycle is doing what it is suppose to. Or maybe that’s just another manifestation of unresolved childhood issues. Either way, it is a very cool bike.

3 comments:

  1. My shop owner had his Moonlander (wider tires!) a the Fort Custer TT Sunday. I have never ridden a fat bike but I threw my leg over and rode around for about 5 minutes. I had to get off of the bike because I already wanted to just take it home. Like driving a monster truck! ha. I want one for the winters around here....it would be nice to ride year round and actually be able to RIDE and not push a skinny 2.3 tire in the snow.

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  2. 34Lbs of monster truck! Surprised thats not put you off. Think I'd have to ride one but I imagine in its own way it's still fun to ride on. Aren't they more for snow riding?

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  3. Jez, if I bought one it would mainly be for riding snow covered trails but to get to the BMX track where I rode it last weekend, I had to go across a sandy,rocky, brush covered field. It felt like I was just riding on a gravel road. It was kind of cool. I never ever would have guessed it was so fun to ride. A ti bolt kit would shave some weight off.

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