Fatbikes are rad!
The Ibis Tranny’s main party trick -a detachable rear triangle with a sliding chainstay joint- has long paid dividends when it came time to pack the bike for travel, fit a belt drive, or tension a singlespeed drivetrain. With the release of the new Trans-Fat, the design has a fourth bonus.
Landing in our inbox after what looks to have been a very long horseback ride, the Trans-Fat rear triangle is a full-fat rear end that will allow existing Tranny 29 owners to fit massive wheels and tyres come winter. The rear end accommodates a fatbike-specific 177mm rear hub, and an included bottom bracket adapter allows for the use of fatbike cranks via the 100mm threaded bottom required bracket to spin them on. A 3mm crown race is also required, presumably to keep RockShox Bluto and similar forks from leaving their mark on the downtube.
Said to be “a very sporty fat bike,” the Trans-Fat is intended for (comparatively) lively 4in tyres. When compared to more-common 5in rubber, four-inchers keep the bike lighter and chainstays to a fatbike-tight 452mm. In fatbike guise, the Tranny has a slightly slacker headtube than when wearing 29in wheels, which should keep it from being too skiddish on snow.
Complete bikes, featuring an XT/Bluto one-by build, complete frames, and upgrade kits will be available in the UK as special-order items only. Contact local shops for pricing and delivery.
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has it been too near the wood burner?
That is vile. But “more common 5 inch rubber”? What’s that all about? 4 inch is the most common size, 4-and-a-bit’s fairly common, 5 inch is pretty rare.
Interesting, that is one of the first fatbikes I’ve liked the look of that and the Beargrease.
Nice to see that Ibis went with trying to let their owners adapt what they have – rather than just put together something new entirely.
*want*
neat