Salsa Mukluk Ti (2014)

Want fat? Check out the Mukluk

Pros

- Titanium frame
- Healthy components
- Fat tire performance

Cons

- Limited appeal (but great at what it does best!)
- Mechanical disc brakes

Review

Fatbikes. Salsa. Mmmmm.... Salsa.

When it comes to versatility in design, you can't go past Salsa bikes! The U.S based company have been getting bums on bikes for quite some time and now they're getting bikes into terrain you may have never been before. We're talking areas like desert and snow, where most bikes would sink - but not the fatbike. We bring you the Salsa Mukluk Titanium, ready to take you anywhere (just not in a big hurry).

Featuring a beautifully manufactured Titanium frameset, you'd be hard pressed to walk past without stopping for a closer look. Every piece of tubing on the frame is double butted and offers fantastic impact compliance and ridiculously low weight. As with any titanium product, the lifespan of this material will outdo any of us, especially your carbon toy in the garage...

Before we move on from the main attraction, the frame is designed to accommodate slower speeds and frequent foot dabbing. All a part of riding on snow or sand! The rest of the frame attachments are also suitably specified - this includes a gorgeous set of Salsa flat 11 degree rise handlebars, 700mm wide! You'll also be sitting atop a titanium Salsa seatpost, with incredible ride feel and quality of finish. This finish is also met with a set of Bearclaw Carbon forks to ease the bumps on what is a 'fully rigid' bike.

The techno jargon starts with a full SRAM groupset mixed between an X7 front derailleur, X0 rear shift mechanism, and an 11-36 tooth 10 speed cassette (for all that snow churning).

A whopping pair of Surly Nate 26 x 3.8" tires keep you rolling, with the extra width assisting in the bikes ability to float over the soft terrain you're riding on (A normal mountain bike tire is only 2" wide on average). The tires are fitted to a pair of Surly Holly Rolling Rims, wide enough to accommodate the crazy tires.

The brakeset is different to the rest of the SRAM bling, with a pair of Avid BB7S brakes fitted. Given the inherently slower riding speeds, Salsa Bikes found the need to only fit 160mm rotors, as opposed to a larger 180mm type. Mechanical brakes were chosen, no doubt because they are a better option for truly adventurous riding. What they perhaps lack in power and feel, they make up for in reliability and serviceability.

If you've never ridden a fatbike, we can only recommend it to you! It's a very different and far more relaxed style of riding. Check out any local bike shops that stock these bikes for hire or demo purposes. Even if you live many miles from snow and sand, these are great bikes to explore on! If you've got little ones riding bikes too, this is a great way to ride at THEIR speed, and still enjoy it immensely.