The Path of the Mukluk: 29+

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 weekend, and I'm interested to see how the 2.8" tires and 60mm suspension work out.

I've got a bit of a problem with Stan's advertising, though. They claim that the Flow Mk3 rim is "WideRight optimized for 2.35"-2.80" trail and all-mountain tires." It has a 29mm internal width. There aren't many 2.8" tires, but Terrene states a required range of 35-45mm. Folks on the internet say 29mm is super narrow for a 2.8" tire. My McFly measures out to ~2.6", and looks way more like "light bulb" than "ideal" on Stan's WideRight infographics.

Maxxis's WideTrail WT Design shows that their 2.4" and larger tires perform better on 35mm rims, but work OK on a 30mm rim (provided you don't mind higher sidewalls and "greater lean required to engage sideknobs").

Surly's Knard 29x3 tire requires a minimum 35mm and recommended 50mm rim.

On the other hand, WTB's rim width recommendation chart shows recommended rim width between 29 and 45 for their 3.0" tires. So, it possibly depends more on the tire manufacturer and individual tire.

Knowing what I know now, I think I'd approach this differently. The 29mm width seems more ideal for tires in the 2.4-2.6" range, which means that this would be a more appropriate for a XC-style build -- Ikon 2.35 and Ardent Race 2.35 pair would be a nice combination. That paired with a Bluto would provide a pretty fast build. Problem is, how much cross country is there in the front range? And, would I rather just ride my gravel bike with 650b tires? I think I would.

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