I want a go. can’t get a go(it’s all my fault) until the 20th.

For my sanity, what’s it like? Is it slow, fat and heavy. Is it dull, lifeless and without merit (my mind is full of ideas of floaty loveliness and sprightly real steel feel)?

Will I die?

I need opinions, pics and observations, but Charlie, you’ve said enough already 😀

Those without a motive need only reply….

/honestrequestfromcyclingforumuponabike

.

My mate raced one at HtN and didn’t really get on with it. There’s a photo of him somewhere looking like he’d accidentally eaten a bar of soap thinking it was chocolate. I think he thought it was particularly dull. His normal ride is a rigid 29er too, so it’s not about wheel size. Feel better now?

How awful for you. Lucky you’ve managed to maintain a sense of perspective. 🙂

When did being part of this party mean we have to be balanced unbiased or with any particular perspective other than our own?

Said pic here:

Hit The North 4 by Notoriously Bad Typist, on Flickr

I am wondering why he didn’t like it?

But to answer your Question…no, I am just confused, as I still want to ride it….perhaps it’s the way?

They’re chuffing’ brilliant 😀
Have had mine for 4 weeks now and it’s great on technical singletrack, swoops jumpy trails, long Xc rides, and everything else. Just did Dartmoor north to south offroad on it and it was as comfy as a comfy thing all day long.
Here’s a pic…..

That looks lovely. I see a very short stem. Does it feel like a stretch to the bars?

Those steep Dartmoor climbs?

Are you using any special magic in weight reduction on the wheels or is it as standard as such?

Sorry for the 20 questions….

No worries, I’m happy to spread the Krampus love 😉

55mm stem, with On-One Fleegle bars, so a nice wide bar with a good sweep to them, very comfy.

It’s a medium frame and I’m exactly 6ft. The top tube is longish for the frame size (17″ frame, and 24″ effective toptube). it feels spot on with this length stem, could go 10-15mm longer though and it would be ok.

It was brilliant on Dartmoor. The guy I was with was on a Karate Monkey with 2.4 tyres, and he was having to pedal to keep up with me when I freewheeled on downhills 🙂

It climbs really well, I’ve got a 36 on the front and an 11-34 cassette. The only problem I’ve had is with a really slow, technical uphill when the wheel size made it oversteer a bit. The grip on loose climbs is phenomenal. I’ve made it up stuff that I’ve never done on other bikes.

No magic weight reduction in the wheels! The rims are surprisingly light due to the cutouts and I’ve got the 120 tpi tyres, so a bit lighter than the standard 27 tpi ones. I have heard that you can run the 27 tpi ones at a lower psi and not get pinch punctures due to stronger sidewalls. So when I wear out the back I’ll probably get one of those. Think they’re about 300 grams heavier though 😯

Here’s a pic from the Dartmoor ride (including extra wide homemade mudguards)…..

I don’t care how they ride. Just look at it!

Bloody Lovely.

It was brilliant on Dartmoor. The guy I was with was on a Karate Monkey with 2.4 tyres, and he was having to pedal to keep up with me when I freewheeled on downhills

It climbs really well, I’ve got a 36 on the front and an 11-34 cassette. The only problem I’ve had is with a really slow, technical uphill when the wheel size made it oversteer a bit. The grip on loose climbs is phenomenal. I’ve made it up stuff that I’ve never done on other bikes.

No magic weight reduction in the wheels! The rims are surprisingly light due to the cutouts and I’ve got the 120 tpi tyres, so a bit lighter than the standard 27 tpi ones..

I was stunned by how fast it rolls.
In comparison my alfine karate monkey is about the same weight, with smaller tyres and it was simply no match when it came to ease of pedalling, the Krampus out-rolled me on every descent, both on and off-road.
There were also bits of moor I was really struggling on that tom on the Krampus just seemed to to roll over with minimal fuss.

If I could get one, I would.

snow blizzard in the morning by Steve J Makin, on Flickr

warm sunshine in the evening by Steve J Makin, on Flickr

early morning Krampus by Steve J Makin, on Flickr

You’re very local to me Steve, judging by those pics. Surprised I haven’t bumped into you round there 😉

Hmm, the Mersey. I would have loved to bump into you and try that Krampus 🙂

Having looked at your photos I’m surprised I didn’t see you in Barcelona either 😉

I am wondering why he didn’t like it?

We parked next to BWDs mate at HTN and had a chat with him about it right after the race. If I recall correctly his problem was that the big wheels took quite a long time to get up to speed, and there was a lot of stop-start and changes of speed involved at HTN, so that’s not ideal. Also I think the big tyres weren’t that great for the mud there.

I was still very jealous of him, I’d love to have a play on one.

Cheers for the replies. I am now more convinced of a Krampus in my future. My shed waxes and wanes in bike numbers based upon ending up with the same bike in a different form. Many times over I have come to realise that full sus is fine, but not the be all to me. To put this in another way, I had much more fun on the ragged edge in my old Mk3 spitfire than I ever did in the technically whizzy modern sports cars, as they do everything for you. All you are left with is risk taking. Back to simpler and harder means I need to be better at it to be any good at all. That is what keeps me feeling like I am alive.
/sentimentalrant

My Krampus envy waxes and wanes too, it’s currently in wane. Had a sensible sized demo ever been available I’d probably own one by now.

Those wheels are heavy old boys, I have a theory it’s a bike that makes more sense for big cart horse sized guys than a middling like me. (But not having ridden one I don’t know really).

NB in the short term, breathing is what keeps you alive.

Is this a subtle admission that surly got it wrong with far bikes for 90% of use?

No, I would ugliest you go look at the size of the fat bike community….

It’s just a new niche, but this time a surly that may actually end up being a bike most of us can identify with

It’s a medium frame and I’m exactly 6ft. The top tube is longish for the frame size (17″ frame, and 24″ effective toptube). it feels spot on with this length stem

At 5’8″ this is exactly why I wanted a demo-for-fit before buying.

It’s just a new niche, but this time a surly that may actually end up being a bike most of us can identify with

I suspect it’s going to be quite a niche, it’s only a matter of time before On One and a bunch of me-toos pile in.

I think there are quite a lot of people bewildered and confused by all the techno-babble press release BS*** of modern mountain biking and just want a bike they can pick up, ride, and hose down when they get home.

*** http://singletrackworld.com/2013/04/rockshox-return-of-the-pike-and-more/

(lol a couple of years ago, dual air was going to save the planet. Now, guess what, no-one could ever tell teh difference and it turns out single air is better after all!)

I like the “big tyres for normal use but smaller section than a fat bike tyre” thing.

I am currently running a fat front on my Lurcher with the fork and wheel off my fatty, with a corto 35mm stem and it’s fantastic for hebden tech.

I fancy making a 650b fat tyre same diameter as 29in but not sure if dave will let me splash the $$$ on the tyre mold.

Jeff Jones has made a 29+ frame and forks – some pics of him ragging it on his blog. So he seems to appreciate the new tyre size.

thats my commute, I regularly ride there if I ride from home, like I will be in about an hour 😉

The thing that surprised me most about the 30lb build of my Krampus is how light and nimble it rides, it feels like 24lbs, cant imagine racing it on a short course, maybe a longer enduro type event though

Bloody hell small world may bump into you one evening Steve that starting to be my communting run home from next week when I start using the FS 🙂

Stick to the road in the morning though to save me getting out of bed earlyer 😀

I’ll only be commuting for another 3 weeks, redundant at the end of April, and thats a good thing 🙂

thats my commute, I regularly ride there if I ride from home, like I will be in about an hour

Missed me then. I was round there for two hours this morning. Some of the bits opposite Jacksons boat are lovelfryers and fast at the minute 🙂

I meant, lovely, dry and fast (stoopid phone – wtf is a lovefryer?)

I fancy making a 650b fat tyre same diameter as 29in but not sure if dave will let me splash the $$$ on the tyre mold.

Do it, I’ve been on about wanting that. Need a rim to go with it. Semi-fat without the massive OD.

In the pic I posted above, Chris is 5’9″ (same as me). no idea what size bike he’s riding though

I have to say that I do really like the look of them and I’m not really a 29er sort of guy or the sort of person who’d buy a fat bike. I only mentioned Chris’s take on it to cheer up the original poster. And because I’m a git. 😉

+1

When the krampus was just a rumour, there were a few on the MTBR fatbikes forum suggesting exactly that. The irony is that such a tyre/rim combo would probably have fitted into the Surly 1×1 frame……

I fancy making a 650b fat tyre same diameter as 29in but not sure if dave will let me splash the $$$ on the tyre mold.

Do it, I’ve been on about wanting that. Need a rim to go with it. Semi-fat without the massive OD.

Rims are cheap/easy bit. But rim people won’t make a rim until I make a tyre!

Off to see tyre man on Friday I hope.

Brant: how about a 3″ 29er tyre with a mud tread pattern please (the knard is poo sloppy mud) also a 65mm wide 29er rim, preferably in carbon, weighing about 400g 😀 pretty please with sugar on top !!!

Everyone who has ridden mine has the same response.

“I thought it would be a big lardy sluggish monster but its not.”

Aye it takes a bit to get it going, but once it’s going it doesn’t stop for much!

Everyone who has ridden mine has the same response.

“I thought it would be a big lardy sluggish monster but its not.”

Aye it takes a bit to get it going, but once it’s going it doesn’t stop for much!

I get the same response to my OnOne Fatty, now I’m thinking Krampus and am requiring excess willpower not to start down the slippery slope of enquiringly about the next batch…….

we have a 16″ demo here in Manchester if anyone was around 5’8″ and needed a spin…

😉

I rode the Krampus at HTN… I feel like the odd one out here. I just didn’t get it at all, even though I really wanted to :o( Maybe the course and mud didn’t suit it, but it felt sluggish and draggy and not enough fun on the descents to make up for the slog. It certainly gripped well, but there’s more to a bike than that. It seems like I am the only rider in the world who doesn’t love ’em.

If you are looking at getting one, I’m 6ft0 and the 18″ fitted me quite well.

On the upside, my mate Rich from Keep Pedalling (who let me borrow the bike), absolutely loved it, he thought it was a blast.

Edit: Oops – just noticed Rich up there ^ (Mocha)