The fatty itch is about to overwhelm me and I think I will pull the trigger on a Canyon Dude. My only question now is choice of carbon rigid forks or the RS Blutos up front. From memory the Blutos model costs about £200 more. Thanks Paul

Bouncy.

(Tried rigid, but I like blatting down bumpy hills too much.)

rigid one less thing to go wrong just dial in your tubeless tyre pressures i.e. 9.6 f 9.7 in the rear!

Bouncy FTW!

I stayed rigid for a year then tried blutos and would never ever go back now. IMHO it makes the bike so much faster and more fun.

You can go faster with a Bluto, definitely, but for me the joy of a fat bike is riding differently and more simply, so I’ve gone back to rigid. If I want to blat around at high speed, I can take the full sus.

Taken my fatbike down some of my normal dh runs recently. It’s pretty horrible when you try to go as you would normally on a bike with suspension. That undamped bounce makes things interesting for sure.

As mentioned above though, it’s a different kind of bike and in a way there seems no point in trying to make it into another trail bike. I’ve told myself to enjoy the difference and ride accordingly.

That being said, I may succumb to a Bluto eventually.. 😉

Is this going to be your main bike? Go bouncy.
Is it going to be your other,winter,beach bike ? Go rigid.
I’ve stuck rigid as it’s a totally different experience to my full sus bikes. There is a surprising amount of suspension in those tyres.

Lauf!

I was a big believer in fat rigid that was until I got my latest fat bike with a Lauf Carbonara
Bouncy wins hands down.

Bouncy.

You can always lock the fork out if you want to experience rigid.

Even with the Bluto (if you go tubeless) , it will still be lighter than most other fat bikes, and a good number of normal hard tails.

The Dude is a great bike. I doubt that you will be disappointed. I think that mine is my favourite bike that I have ever had.

Thanks for the feedback and ZK thats a good question. I used to have a lot of bikes but I needed to sell them off so I am starting to rebuild but this time around I am going to be more thoughtful. The only bike I kept was my Yelli Screamy with Fox forks,right now it gets used for everything. Looking forward the fatty will take over the adventure and bike packing duty, the Yelli will become more general purpose and if my finances allow it and if I feel the need I might get a full susser but first things first. Our current bike packing rides are very mixed terrain (Clwyds/Lakes) and I have to stay back when the others do the beaches but that will change once the fatty arrives. One final thought I still get a kick from keeping off the brakes and seeing what I can get away with, even when fully load for bike packing – the kid in me refuses to go away.

Pb2. If you are only in the market for one new bike, and debating between fat and full sus, how about getting a set of 650B+ wheels for your Yelli to scratch the fat itch, then also get a full sus?

Edit:autocorrect spelling

Definitely bouncy. Tried both and its alot more fun when your arms aren’t falling off at the end of a descent!

I’ve gone the whole hog now and gone full sus fat.

It’s a matter of taste, not better or worse. I’d go with the carbons, mostly because it’s easy to add blutos later but I don’t know if you can get the rigids to match the frame later.

I’m loving it rigid tbh and happy bouncing it down dh trails, it’s a bit like chucking a spacehopper down an alley but I do enjoy it. I’m planning to get blutos to try at one point and if I like that too I’ll probably alternate.

Bouncy.

Rigid’s ok but even with an added 2.5″ of undamped squish you get with fat tyres it’s not as forgiving as a some proper suspension.

Good morning PK,good question,I thought about that approach,so much so that I read every comment on the 650B+ thread,almost 20 pages worth ! My conclusion was a disappointing, its not practical. My Yelli was one the first batch in to the UK in late 2011 and the rear tyre clearance is not enough to make the difference to the 29″ 2.3″ tyres I currently use.

So a lightish fatty (oxymoron alert)tickles my fancy right now.

Pb2, fair enough. I’ve seen a couple of b+ Yellis locally and didn’t realise that they were not all created equal.

Until recently I’d have argued for rigid but I’ve recently fitted Rebas to my B+ and that mix seems to work really well so I could be converted to fat forks. Northwind makes a good point about availability of matching forks though – if Canyon don’t sell the rigids separately then I’d buy a rigid Dude and aftermarket Blutos.

I asked canyon if they would sell me a rigid fork when I bought A Blutoed Dude, they would not. (yes, I know I could have bought a rigid bike and a Bluto separately but I preferred the colour).

Having ridden the Bluto for over 6months now, I can’t imagine that I would ever bother removing it to fit a rigid. For my type of riding the fork is great.

I do have a different fully rigid bike though for when I want my back to basics bone shaking fix.

Have you tried either? I had a demo on a rigid fatbike (Surly ICT) recently. I expected to really miss the suspension, being a full-suss fan. In fact I really missed the dropper, but didn’t miss the suspension at all. I quite like it really in a “this is different” sort of way.

It probably comes down to what you want a fatbike for really. If it is just supposed to be something different (i.e. for different conditions, different terrain or just a different experience) then rigid makes more sense (less to go wrong in crappy conditions and more different). But if it will be your only bike and has to double as a trail bike then suspension forks make sense. It still wont be a great trail bike, but it will be better and not much worse at the other stuff.

I’d be interested to know why you opted for the Dude too. I’ve been looking at that recently, but am not sure if it can really run proper 4.8 tyres (e.g. Bud/Lou), which I’d want for the winter.

I am a tad obsessed with weight and cost. The Dude being a relatively light fat bike and being decent value for money has got my interest.

The thing that surprises me is how few UK rider reviews are available (or maybe I am not looking in the right places?)

Does any know if Canyon use the same axle for the rigid and Bluto models. The wheel set appears to be the same DT Swiss BR2250. If did start rigid but then wanted to buy aftermarket Blutos say next year I wouldn’t want the hassle and expense of getting a new wheel for the Bluto. Thanks Paul

There is a Dude Facebook page, it appears to be mostly inhabited by continental types but there look to be a few UK people. There are also a few photos showing that some have swapped out their rigid for a Bluto, so may be worth joining to ask if they had any axle issues.

As for reviews, I couldn’t find many so took a chance and was not disappointed. Also managed to wangle a Euro sale so worked out very good value.
I have pals with similar specced Cube and Specialized fat models and to me it seems to ride very similarly to those, just marginally lighter.
Where in the country are you?

I’m sure I read somewhere that the rigid fork used the (Bluto compatible) 150mm axle.

I was also surprised by the lack of UK reviews (or any reviews in English really). I’d be interested to hear if anybody has fitted 4.8″ tyres (and which ones) and whether they had to mess around with changing cranks to get it to work.

You’re worrying about weigh with a fat bike? Ha! Ha! Seriously?

I run a Bluto on my Ice Cream Truck. It definitely takes the edge off and encourages you to ride faster down stuff. I still like the rigid forks though.

I also have a Cannondale Fat Caad 1 on test and it is a bit of a beast. It lacks the go anywhere, ride anything gnarr of the Truck but it is a fair bit faster and considerably lighter. The Lefty fork is nicer to ride than the Bluto as it feels plusher and has a nice and direct feel in tight singletrack. If you want a suspension fat bike, go for the Cannondale. Worth changing the tyres though as theJumbo Jims are somewhat lacking in grip compared to Surly tyres.

Hope this helps?

Hi Paul,

the rigid Dude has the same axle dimension as the Bluto.
As many have said it´s a question of personal preferences. Beside the two options I´d like to mention a third one. You could buy the rigid Dude to use it as a zero maintenance bike for winter or lazy days and get a second custom wheelset in B+ with a better B+ suspension fork.
Just a thought…

Cheers from Germany
Flo

Cheers Sanny and others and yes I am serious about the weight. Extra weight is a pain,it slows you down, it tires you out and that holds true whether you are on 16lbs fancy road bike or fat mountain bike. Why have extra weight when you don’t have to ❓

I know this sounds odd but I couldn’t buy a bike with a lefty, my eyes shout to my brain,aghh its fugly, don’t go near it, run for the hills 😀

PK I live in the industrial waste lands of the north west of England but don’t have a face book account (kids do though)

Thanks Flo, that is very helpful

Extra weight is a pain,it slows you down, it tires you out and that holds true whether you are on 16lbs fancy road bike or fat mountain bike. Why have extra weight when you don’t have to

True and rotating weight counts double. So, why have big fat heavy wheels when you don’t have to (non-fat bikes being available)?

Not trying to be argumentative, just interested.

roverpig – Member

True and rotating weight counts double. So, why have big fat heavy wheels when you don’t have to (non-fat bikes being available)?

The fat tyres make me laugh, but I’ll still take any weight reduction I can, as long as it doesn’t harm the functionality. I was the same with my dh bikes- they were never going to be light but the lighter they were, the more i liked riding them

Also, it’s easier to get in the car.

@roverpig
The Dude has two axle positions to run either 4″ + 160mm or 4,8″ + 180mm disc.
A Bud, Lou or JJ will work in the long axle position, a Dunderbeist even in the short one but the crank with those bigger tyres would need to be a 1x.

Fair point but all the feedback suggests a decent fatty with low pressure tyres can be winched up climbs that leave really light weight non fattys struggling for traction. Then there’s beach rides and swampy ground thats currently a no go for my Yelli hard tail and thats a lightish build with American Classic wheel set and light tyres and that still comes in at 25.5lbs and the rigid Dude is circa 27.5lbs

Cheers Sanny and others and yes I am serious about the weight. Extra weight is a pain,it slows you down, it tires you out and that holds true whether you are on 16lbs fancy road bike or fat mountain bike. Why have extra weight when you don’t have to

My [rigid] DD is as fast as my Scott Spark around Brechfa. Uphill, downhill – strava shows all the times within +/- a few seconds. The only downside is it is quite obviously more fatiguing to ride.

I can only assume it would be better with Blutos but I bought the bike because it was simple. Being competent came as a surprise. I don’t want to sacrifice simple for better as it’s good enough already.

The Dude has two axle positions to run either 4″ + 160mm or 4,8″ + 180mm disc.
A Bud, Lou or JJ will work in the long axle position, a Dunderbeist even in the short one but the crank with those bigger tyres would need to be a 1x.

Thanks. So am I right in thinking that, out of the box, the CF 8.0 wouldn’t work with a Bud/Lou combination, but the CF 9.0 Unlimited would (with a larger disk and the wheel moved back)?

Thanks. So am I right in thinking that, out of the box, the CF 8.0 wouldn’t work with a Bud/Lou combination, but the CF 9.0 Unlimited would (with a larger disk and the wheel moved back)?

Exactly. That´s also the reason why the Unlimited is the only version that comes with the 4,8″ JJs.

You don´t need a larger disk – I was a bit unclear there – but a disk larger than 170mm in the short pos. will hit the stays.

Bluto’s lockout so I have the option 8)

I removed the 4″ JJ tyres from my 9.0ex and replaced with 4.8, just required the axle moving back. No chain rub issues on 1×11.
I also removed the Bluto and sold before using it to pay for half a Lauf 🙂 It curremtly has the LAuf from my existing bike on it. I prefer it to Bluto, the short travel is just enough. I also fitted my preferred Jones carbon loops and 50mm spacers. I like the front end relatively short and high.

The JJ’s are hopeless in any sort of moisture. If we get a wet April I’ll be putting a Bud on the front at least.

The Lefty is an awesome piece of kit. I am definitely a convert to it. I also happen to think that it looks cool as f#ck! 😀

@roverpig@flows

Thanks. So am I right in thinking that, out of the box, the CF 8.0 wouldn’t work with a Bud/Lou combination, but the CF 9.0 Unlimited would (with a larger disk and the wheel moved back)?

Please excuse my ignorance but is this a chain line issue between the 1×11 and 2×10 or something else ?

I have an ICT with both rigid and Blutos (an easy change over) but have kept the blutos on for most of the last year. They are almost essential (for my old arms) for all day rocky routes (Torridon, Spain etc.) and I can lock them out for all my other stuff (beach, forest, moorland and hills).

I would try to get the set up with as much rubber width as possible as its easy to go slimmer.

AND couple of my mates have the Dude and its seriously light and a lovely bike. Although I do ride a bike made out of scaffold poles 🙂