It's that time of year we all yearn for a fat tire bike. As much as I would like one, I just haven't found one that I think will live up to all it's hype when hauling my big bones about the woods or shoreline. But yesterday that may have changed.
Freewheel had a pretty awesome Winter Bike Demo yesterday, while most of their offerings were typical there was one stand out. Salsa was there with the Mukluk 2,3, and the new Ti version...yawn. But then to my surprise a couple of guys from Surly were there not just with Pugsly by but two Moon Landers. As if that wasn't lucky enough their normally short dudes that man their booths were thrown askew by a newer Surly dude the same height is wee me. He was generous enough to all me to hit a couple of laps with his personal Moon Landers on a obstacle course set up by Freewheel for a fat bike race and demo. What a treat!
To be honest I didn't have a lot of faith in the bike. I agree with most people who say the Pug dives into the turns instead of flowing into it them. This makes taking tight turns at Theo a real pain as you are always mentally measuring what kind of turn you going to get away with before hitting that wall of unpacked snow. This annoying geometry actually works well with the Moon Lander. The bike does indeed still steer quickly and dive a bit in turns, but with the Moon Lander's huge foot print it fits the bill perfectly. I enjoyed throwing the beast around log obstacles and riding over rollers on the course. It corners fast and allowing you to get the big beast through it's turns predictably. It's like riding a 29er for the first time, it takes more effort to get the beast rolling. But once it's rolling watch out, you are in store for some great times and unstoppable momentum.
As far as the looks of the Moon Lander is concerned the metal flake paint is a cool when set against the white back drop of Minnesota's winter wonder land. In the bike shop it looks kind of cheesy, but nest to the snow the blings! Will I be purchasing one this year, probably not. But will I be next year, it's in the front running for sure. The one big issue on the bike is the crappy offerings of tires called the Big Fat Larry's. But alas the dude from Surly has assured me they will have better tire choices next year for the Moon Lander. In short, get out and ride one and see if this fat bike lives up to your expectations.
