Rather than bringing the Rocky Mountain Blizzard back as another 27.5″ or 29″ hardtail, Rocky Mountain is doing something much more appropriate with the name. The new Blizzard is…. yes, a fat bike. And not just any fat bike, but an agile, trail oriented fat bike that is built to take advantage of the all new RockShox Bluto suspension fat bike fork. The options for fat bikes keep growing literally and figuratively, and the new Rocky Mountain Blizzard includes all of the current buzz worthy features, plus a few more…
As their first entry into the fat bike world, Rocky has spliced their North Shore mountain roots into the fat bike DNA for what they call a true “mountain bike feeling” fat bike. The frame features a suspension corrected 68.5° head tube angle, 455mm chainstays, and a “shorter than average top tube” (590mm for M). Unlike the new Borealis, the Blizzard is constructed from Rocky’s FORM aluminum for a lightweight ride, and likely a more attainable price point.
Other details on the Blizzard include the use of a 197x12mm rear thru axle, and the new 100mm travel RockShox Bluto’s 150x15mm front axle standard, with clearance for 4.7″ tires on 100mm rims. Thanks to Rocky’s relationship with Race Face, the component manufacturer cooked up a custom 24t narrow-wide single ring and bash guard for the Blizzard that is offset to the drive side to clear the tires and offer the proper chainline. Shipped as a 1x, the crank is also compatible with 2x drivetrains and the frame features a front derailleur mount. The 197×12 rear Wheeltech fatso hub is equipped with a sealed bearing 6-pawl heavy duty freehub, and both hubs are laced to….. “SUNringle Mulefut 80 Tubeless Compatible rims.” Obviously, we haven’t had word of these rims from SUNringle yet, but it appears as though the company will be offering 80mm tubeless compatible fatbike rims in the near future.
The frame itself uses internally routed full length housing for shifting, brakes, and an internal dropper post, and includes two Anything Cage mounts with extra bosses for traditional frame bags. Those who want something a bit more trick than your standard frame bag, the Blizzard is compatible with their new strapless frame bag which is sold separately and manufactured by Porcelain Rocket. The bag mounts to the bottom of the top tube and uses water resistant fabric and zippers and is divided into a main compartment and an expandable pocket.
The Blizzard is offered in S-XL, price is TBA and will be available this fall.
You may not get as rad as Wade Simmons or Brandon Crichton on the Blizzard, but like most fat bikes it’s guaranteed to be a good time.
