Prime fat bike season is coming, and Surly is ready. A lot has changed in the fat bike world since the Pugsley kicked in the door, and Surly’s complete fat bike line up for 2017 shows precisely that. You might notice that the Pugsley and Moonlander completes are no longer on the menu – which makes sense when you consider the Ice Cream Truck and Wednesday fat bike platforms. The idea of a fat bike with swappable front and rear wheels may appeal to a very small portion of the market, but the majority seem to be moving towards the stiffer frame and wheel combinations of symmetrical 177 and 197 rear ends. Add in the ability to swap in 150 x 15mm suspension forks and you see offset bikes have fallen out of favor. However, Pugsley and Moonlanders will still be in Surly’s line up, just as frameset only.
Complete options are left to the Ice Cream Truck and Wednesday, which both see improved spec at an even better value…
The new Banana Candy Yellow ICT (above), sees a number of improvements including an upgraded Shimano Deore/SLX 2×10 drivetrain and perhaps most importantly, tubeless ready My Other Brother Darryl Rims and Surly Bud and Lou 26 x 4.8″ tires. In spite of the improved build, Surly managed to drop the price substantially to just $1,999. Expect these ICTs to roll through your neighborhood late fall.
The Wednesday sees similar improvements with a Bum Red Wine paint job and SRAM X.5/GX 2×10 drivetrain. Also speced with My Other Brother Darryl 80mm rims and Surly Nate 26 x 3.8″ tires, the Wednesday will sell for $1499 around the same time as the ICT.
Absent from the line as a complete for some time, the Steamroller is back with a fix/free hub and added clearance for 38mm tires. Sold with front and back brakes (with removeable housing guides so you can take ’em off), the Steamroller complete will come in 49, 53, 56, 59, and 62cm frames later this year.
Surly is offering the new Moloko bar which measures 735mm wide and has all the hand positions. We’re secretly hoping that it’s named after the delicious milk stout from 3 Floyds, but whatever the naming inspiration, it uses a 31.8mm clamp, has 27mm rise, 34 degree sweep and checks in at 709g for the chromoly steel bar.
Finally, Surly will now be offering the ExtraTerrestrial tire (shown above as a 26 x 2.5 on the Troll), as a 29 x 2.5″ tread. Expect it to use all of the same features as the smaller version with a 60 tpi tubeless ready casing, aramid cap, nylon breaker in the sidewalls, and availability this Spring.
