Long Term Test: Surly Ice Cream Truck – PART 2

If you’ve not read it yet, Sanny’s initial long term Ice Cream Truck report is here.

Fresh Goods Friday 699 - The From Thin Air Edition

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When I set out on this journey of riding a fat bike as my long term test machine, I gave myself the challenge of using it as my go to bike for the duration of the test. Recognising that very few riders have the luxury of having several bikes to choose from in their shed / man cave /underground nuclear bunker, I wanted to see whether a fat bike is a viable choice as your only bike. Not just any fat bike, mind you, but arguably the fat daddy of them all, the Surly Ice Cream Truck. Now a few months in, I’ve started to form some definite opinions.

With each tyre weighing over a kilo and a half and the rims knocking on the door of a kilo, they aren’t XC light.

So where do we start? Given that the gargantuan wheels elicit all manner of responses from “Those wheels!” from a middle aged woman out for a walk to drivers stopping me at lights to ask me why I have such large tyres, they are the obvious place to begin. First and foremost, they aren’t light. With each tyre weighing over a kilo and a half and the rims knocking on the door of a kilo, they aren’t XC light. As such, I’ve had to adapt my riding style. Fast and attacking have gone out the window to be replaced with a slower and steadier approach. Pump up the tyres for riding to and from the trailhead and once up to speed, they roll considerably more easily than you would expect. Leave them soft and you will experience what can best be described as “tractor bounce!” Given my dislike for all things Strava and phones that don’t have proper buttons, the slower and steadier approach isn’t a disadvantage in my book. Riding with friends, there is no denying it takes more effort and fitness to keep up than on my regular ride but it’s something I got used to remarkably quickly.

Up, up and away

Further big rides have led me to being increasingly convinced that this could be the best climbing bike I have ever ridden

Fully embracing the one bike fits all approach, I rode the Capital Trail, a 240 km two day bikepacking event back in May in the company of friends on everything from 29+ to cross bikes, with no real difficulty. Loaded up, the heft in the wheels meant that the bike handled almost as well on both climbs and descents as if it were free of bikepacking gear. Only when I had to lift the bike over a fence or locked gate did I wish for something a bit lighter. On the steepest climbs, whether over wet grass or loose rock, the Ice Cream Truck was a genuine pleasure to ride. Not having to worry about traction, I could concentrate on simply spinning up the climbs without recourse to nose of the saddle body positioning that are best left to contortionists! Further big rides have led me to being increasingly convinced that this could be the best climbing bike I have ever ridden. Phew! There, I said it, it’s out there! Better back it up now eh? On a trip to ride Helvellyn, I had the pleasure of riding up the Keppel Cove climb twice in a day. For those who don’t know it, it’s a steep, switch backed fire road which throws in a challenging mix of loose rock, rain run off channels and a side order of slippy grass.  It’s a genuine challenge to ride up but one which I have always enjoyed in a slightly perverse way. With tyre pressures dropped to about 6 psi, the tyres conformed to the trail giving truly astonishing levels of grip. On even the steepest of the switchbacks, the 22 – 36 low gear saw me still riding while my mates with their #Enduro 1 by set ups were long since off and pushing. As someone who will get off and carry only when it is absolutely necessary, I revelled in the skill compensating levels of traction. Forget lightweight, carbon coming out of your wazoo, full suspension 29ers! If you love climbing, this could well be your bike. With trips planned to the Cairngorms, I’m looking forward to seeing just how far I can push the limits of traction. I’m already planning a route that will involve riding over the rocky boulder fields of the Cairngorm plateau. If there is a bike made to do it, this could well be it.

“Going down, Mr Tyler?”

So up, good. But what about down? After all, this is a rigid bike. The only suspension comes from the un-damped tyres and my legs. The first few rides out, I found myself riding it like a normal rigid bike. With the tyres pumped up to minimise the risk of rock strikes, I found myself riding with a degree of caution. Coming from riding full suspension  bikes, my usual style of riding the fork aggressively just didn’t feel right. I found myself crashing through corners and getting pinged off track in rock gardens. In truth, I was a bit underwhelmed. However, descending Gypsy Glen near Peebles as part of the Capital Trail, I had something of an epiphany. Having dropped the pressure on the front to make it feel a bit less unyielding, I immediately noticed how the front end would barrel through rock gardens and rutted trail if I relaxed and let it go. With a bit of confidence, I decided to commit to the descent and suddenly things started to make sense. It’s a rigid bike but run the front end soft and it’s possible to ride aggressively as if on a suspension fork. N ow that I was not expecting. Turning to trails closer to home, I now find myself seeking out the steepest and gnarliest descents I can find. The combination of Velcro like traction and rolling momentum means that even if I mess up, the bike more often than not gets me out of trouble. Frankly, it’s challenged my preconceptions. A rigid bike that weighs over 35 pounds should not be this capable nor this fun . But somehow it is.

So where do we go from here?

More adventures beckon with several trips up my sleeve. For one, a week of riding in the Cairngorms is on the cards. A winter bikepacking trip in the snow is another. Add a few beach rides and things should get interesting. To spice things up, I have a set of 50mm wheels and 3 inch semi fat tyres which I have been using for some time which are worthy of a detailed review in themselves. This time round, I’ve written nothing about the brakes or drivetrain. Suffice to say that they have worked pretty much flawlessly so far. I’ll report back in my next report as things should start to wear out by then. Until then, happy trails.

Review Info

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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