If you haven’t already decided what fat bike you’ll be riding this winter, Fatback is here to make your decision a little more complicated. Wasting little time after their Corvus carbon fat bike finally became available, Fat Back is following up with not one, but two new bikes.
Where the Corvus is meant to be a carbon adventure bike, their newest carbon steed looks to be more of a fat tire trail bike. Tagging along for the ride, the new Rhino is an updated aluminum frame that should provide an affordable option for building a versatile and capable fat bike…
Compared to the Corvus, the Skookum shows its intentions with a suspension corrected geometry built around a 120mm travel fork. With most fat bikes built around 100mm forks, the Skokum presents an option for those looking for longer travel in a lightweight carbon frame. Able to swallow up 4.8″ tires on 100mm rims, the Skookum uses relatively short 440mm chain stays and can run narrow q-factor fat bike cranks. Not surprisingly, the frame uses the 197mm hub standard that Fatback developed in 2012, though this one uses a 12mm thru axle instead of a QR.
Additional frame features include molded frame protection for the downtube and chain stay, internal cable and dropper post routing, post mount disc tabs, tapered head tube, and a 1x only frame design.
Using a slacker 68.5° head tube angle, the Skookum will be offered in three sizes from 16 – 20″ frames.
Representing the next evolution of Fatback aluminum, the 6000 series Rhino adds in new 197mm sliding dropouts that will allow for geared or single speed use. Running slightly longer chain stays than the Skookum, the Rhino also allows for 4.8″ tires on 100mm rims and either rigid or suspension forks for the tapered head tube. Built with rear rack mounts and external cabling, the Rhino is geared towards charging through the back country.
Available in an extended size range, Rhinos will be sold big and small from 14 – 22″ frames.
Both bikes are designed with the intent of allowing multiple wheel sizes including 27.5+ and 29+. Build options along with pricing and availability will be released soon.
