EB14: Full Suspension Fat Bike Roundup + All Things Fat

If there was any doubt to the future of full suspension fat bikes, one only needed to browse the halls of Eurobike to realize it’s not limited to a few companies. In fact many frame manufacturers seem to be attempting to cash in on the trend with either completely new frames or modified rear ends to compensate for the huge tires.

Brands like MAXX are jumping in with their Huraxdax which offers 120-140mm of travel. Available in an incredible range of colors, the MAXX full suspension frame is available in S-XXL making it a viable option for the exceptionally tall (up to 6’8″ according to their chart).

MAXX wasn’t the only company joining in, there were quite a few other companies showing off full squish and rigid fat bikes in all shapes and sizes.

With tire clearance listed at 140mm (5.5″), the Huraxdax should have no trouble with the bigger tires on wide rims. The bike is shown with a Schwalbe Jumbo Jim and the clearance is tight on the seatstay bridge, but it fits.

MAXX also offers rigid fat bikes like the Jagamoasta in standard trim and the new version for the Rohloff XL IGH. Also capable of running 5″ tires, the frame has a split seatstay and adjustable dropouts to accommodate a Gates belt drive.

Want something a bit more exclusive? Alutech Cycles is trying out the full suspension fat bike angle with a limited run of Fat Fanes – the fat bike version of their Fanes Enduro bike.

The Fat Fanes will be hand built and limited to just 20 frames to test the waters. If they are successful, we’re told the company will look into a full suspension fat bike frame that they can scale up production. The bike above was an early prototype using a standard front triangle mounted to a test swing arm.

The weren’t shown at Eurobike, but two new major additions to the full suspension fat bike world come from two well known American companies – Turner and Foes Racing. The Turner King Khan has been spotted tearing up the course at the Kamikaze Bike Games and Outer bike, while the Foes Mutz fat bike was recently announced via their web page.

As is usually the case, builders with access to their own fixtures and tooling are able to turn out prototypes or entire new models in a hurry and it looks like Turner and Foes have wasted zero time.

Those not interested in full suspension may be interested in this very sexy Charge Cooker Ti fat bike we spotted in the Fabric booth. Details were slim, but it appears the brand may be set to release a titanium version of their Cooker Maxi fat bike in the near future.

Some key changes to the Maxi frame include a tapered head tube to be able to run the RockShox Bluto – which happened to have one of the best custom decal jobs we’ve seen for the fork.

The stickers give it away. This Ti Cooker uses a threaded bottom bracket and what looked to be a 190 spaced rear end with QR dropouts.

Ok, so you can’t buy this one, but this fat ICE Trike has been to the South Pole! Piloted by Maria Leijerstan, she became the first person (man or woman) to cycle from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole.

To do it she used this customized ICE trike fitted with special reduction gearing system that essentially provides twice the low gearing of a standard bike. That, along with special pedal cages designed for mountaineering boots and a Surly Lou rear tire allowed Maria to power through the insane head winds and up steep grades. All of the controls were wrapped in athletic tape since exposed metal isn’t ideal at -29 degrees C.

After 10 days, 14 hours and 56 minutes, Maria made it to the Pole pedaling the whole way. After pedaling for 10-17 hrs per day, Maria still lost over 8% of her body weight in spite of a calorie dense diet. Total bad ass.

For those of us who aren’t super human like Maria, there are other options like this stealthily painted Surly Moonlander outfitted with a BionX motor. It won a major award!

Along those lines of weird, check out the Bottechia “American Fat Bike.” While the name seems like it might be a slam on our infatuation with the big tires, I’m not sure Bottechia really expects to sell many of these…

Kids are the future which is probably why we are starting to see quite a few 20 and 24″ fat bikes. This Zeal Fatbike 20 looked quite good with a simple 1×9 drivetrain and rigid aluminum frame with chromoly fork and hydraulic disc brakes. What kid wouldn’t love roosting the tikes on sleds with this?

This fat bike hanging out at the Wipperman booth was looking good with the two tone color scheme.

Showing their continued commitment to fat bikes, KHS had a number of models on display including the full carbon 4Season 5000. With 4 different models for 2015, the brand has the bases covered with the 500, 1000, 3000, and of course 5000. The 3000 and 5000 both feature 1.5″ tapered head tubes as well as 150mm front axle spacing for Bluto compatibility as well as 12×190 rear spacing for maximum tire clearance. Retail prices are set between $1099 -$3299 making these bikes very attractive for the money.