I’m not sure if ordering a slightly surlier ride for the Tour Divide admits my weakness or confirms my solid planning. Instead of riding my Long Haul Trucker, I’ll be riding a 29+ Surly Krampus.
Getting to Know the Surly Krampus
The Surly Krampus runs some oversized 3.0″ tires that are called 29+. To accommodate these massive tires – which seem to roll fast and over anything – the bike uses 50mm wide Surly Rabbit Hole rims. The rest of the bike is built with a combination of Shimano and Avid components.
I’ve only had the bike for a few days and I’ve already heard plenty of people call it a fatbike. The thing is, it doesn’t ride anything like a Surly Pugsley. Although it’s going back to when the Krampus was first released, I’ve yet to hear a more apt description of the difference between a fatbike and a 29+ platform than the one Thor wrote on the Surly blog:
“The Krampus is a mountain bike….. with more traction, a smoother ride, and better geometry for high speed. The benefit over a fat bike is that this bike uses normal stuff and it doesn’t HAVE to be built like anything special. The bike is nimble like a regular 29er, but confidence inspiring like a fatbike.
The Pugsley makes me want to shift down in to the granny ring and see how much shit I can run over/go through. The Krampus makes me want to up shift, hit the first chunk of shit, and try to jump the rest of the crap. Lean back, hang on, and ride that wild horse.”
A Closer Look at My Surly Krampus
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