Matt's Bike Thoughts

I've traded my Bluto for the Lauf Carbonara. I had a blast in Iceland with the Lauf on the Otso bikes they had for rent, and the 4" studded Cake Eater tires were remarkably fast and capable on the terrain we rode on. the look is so cool omg Unfortunately, I will not be able to do a direct Bluto to Lauf comparison. However, from memory, I'll say that the Lauf loses less energy than the Bluto when locked out. It has noticeably less travel (60mm vs 100mm), but the lighter weight makes it easier to climb technical terrain, and by shifting more of the suspension responsibility to the tires, it makes for a more even experience on a "hardtail." I'm excited to try the Lauf out with a few configurations: 29x2.8 Terrene McFly 26x4.8 Maxxis Minion 26x4.0 Jumbo Jim The Minions are massive and huge and absurd, and they provide nearly enough suspension just from the tire. It'll be interesting to see how they work on trails with the Lauf. The climbing a...

I'm trying to keep my stable down to two bikes. Right now, I've got a 2018 Salsa Mukluk SLX to satisfy all of my harder dirt needs. I'm primarily focusing on a versatile, capable bike for camping and traveling year round in all the conditions the Rockies and the Southwest have to offer. That includes rocks, sand, and snow, so a fat bike seemed like the best bet. That the Mukluk is designed to run as a 29er-29+ and supports suspension forks made it a no brainer. I rode it most of the summer with a Bluto fork and a Stan's Flow wheelset with Maxxis Aggressor 29x2.5" tires. It was awesome on the trails and a ton of fun, but it was so sluggish on pavement. I've since swapped out the tires for Terrene McFly 2.8" and put the rigid fork on for winter, and this setup is  so much faster  on pavement and hardpack. I haven't had a chance to try it on more technical terrain, but I suspect I'll miss the suspension. I'm trading the Bluto for a Lauf this w...