Many riders might be excited that #crossiscoming, but there are also a number of people who are just as excited that #winteriscoming. Which means fat bikes. For some of us, at least. To prepare for the impending wintry blast, Salsa has just unveiled their latest versions of the Beargrease and Mukluk. While the frames remain unchanged, the spec is worth noticing as the Beargrease moves to a completely new wheel and tire size, while the Mukluk changes things up a bit…
When it comes to the new Beargrease, it’s all about the 27.5 x 3.8″ tires. We’ve seen more brands slowly adopt the new standard, and by the looks of things, we’re just getting started. The claim is that the 27.5 x 3.8″ fat bike tires have a shorter, stiffer sidewall which allows riders to run even lower pressure without getting too much tire squirm, and the wheels will roll over obstacles better, similar to what we’ve always heard with bigger wheels and tires.
In this case, the Beargrease frame hasn’t changed – that means that the bottom bracket will be raised slightly from 26 x 4.0″ tire spec from last year since the 27.5 x 3.8″ tires have a larger effective diameter.
At the top of the range, you’ll find the Beargrease Carbon GX Eagle build with a blingy set of HED Big Deal carbon wheels with matching graphics to the downtube of the bike for $4,599.
Next is the Beargrease carbon SLX 1×11 which sells for $2,499 with an SLX drivetrain and Sun Ringle Mulefut 80 rims. Like the top end, all Beargrease models ship with Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8″ Minion FBF/FBR tires.
Last for the Beargrease models this year is the Carbon NX1 with a corresponding NX1 drivetrain, Sun Ringle Mulefut wheels, and mechanical disc brakes for $1,999.
On the Mukluk side of things, the wheel and tire standards don’t change, but the tires do make a switch from 45NRTH Dillinger 5s to Maxxis 26 x 4.8″ Minion FBRs on 80/85mm rims. This keeps the Mukluk positioned as more of the mountain bike trail fat bike with expedition capabilities where as the Beargrease is more of the racing fat bike. Like the Beargrease, the Mukluk frames haven’t changed and still include the Alternator v2.0 dropouts for carbon and 1.0 dropouts for aluminum which gives the bike a 432-450mm chin stay length. The Mukluk also maintains clearance for 5″ tires on 100mm rims thanks to the 197 x 12mm rear dropouts and a 150 x 15mm suspension corrected fork.
At the top end, the Mukluk Carbon X01 Eagle again includes HED Big Deal Carbon 26″ wheels with 85mm rims and a corresponding high end build for $5,399. Framesets will also be available for $1,999.
Next up is the Mukluk Carbon GX Eagle which drops to the GX drivetrain and HED Big Deal aluminum rims for $3,499.
The last in the carbon Mukluk line is the SLX 11 build which moves to Sun Ringle Mulefut 80 wheels and a stepped down part spec to get the price down to $2,699.
The sole aluminum Mukluk in the line up, the NX1 build includes the Alternator 1.0 dropouts and a pretty decent build considering the price of $1,799.
Check out the Salsa website for complete builds and more info.
