[Sandwich]

Anybody spend any time on the Surly Krampus? I really dug the 29er hardtail I had, and have been toying with the idea of a short stayed/slack AM hardtail 29er for a while, but the Krampus kind of fills that niche, while also being part fatbike. I tried the fatbike thing but didn't like it, and can't afford the upgrades to make a decent trail-oriented fatty. Krampa comes out of the box with a pretty decent setup.

 

[mdc]

I know a few folks who have them and really like them. The shop I use in RI is selling their demo and would most likely have it at the RINEMBA ride at Lincoln Woods this weekend If you were interested in checking it out....

 

[Sandwich]

Thanks homey. What shop is it? Wasn't planning on doing anything special this weekend but maybe I can spare a little bit of time to get there...

The one I have my eye on is actually used and in RI. If it goes then I probably won't get one!

 

[4xBoy]

I ride that wheel, one of my favorite set-ups, great amount of float in sand, Knards roll really smooth.

 

[Sandwich]

have you ridden the krampus, or just the wheels? I imagine it's not terribly dissimilar to other rigid, steel 29ers, but it does have mega wheels/tires.

 

[4xBoy]

I have a little time on the Krampus, if you ride a Surly, you know if you like it or not.

 

[Sandwich]

um...alright, not sure what you mean. I owned a pugsley for a brief period of time, but found that it rode like a pig with the heavy wheels and tires. I couldn't bring myself to spend oodles of money on lighter rims and tires and wheelbuilds associated, so I sold it. I liked the way that the frame rode though.

 

[mdc]

The shop is Blackstone Bicycles in Cumberland. If your seriously considering going down- give them a call to be sure they still have the bike and that they can bring it over to the ride.

In regards to Surly- I've been oogling the new Surly Instigator 2.0. 50mm wide rims, 26x2.75 ( 650b diameter), 16.4 chainstays and a 140mm fork. Looks fuuuun...

 

[Sandwich]

Yeah, that's cool but it looks a little bit to me like a solution in search of a problem. Fat tires can be good, but I'm not sure there's a ton of value unless you're rocking big fatties (3.8+) or are just getting totally crazy with 29x3. You're locked into a single brand/type of tire...again...and 26/650b/29" standards exist for people who want suspension. Seems to me like there are really good options out there for 140mm AM hardtails, and they don't rely on non-existant standards. That's one of the biggest dilemmas with the Krampus...only surly makes the wildly expensive knard, but at least you can run normal tires too.

 

[4xBoy]

Dirt wizard is the other tire available some time in the future.

Velocity has the dually rim, cheaper, tubleless.