As I was pedaling the Ice Cream Truck across the high summits of the Ochills the other day, it occurred to me that it was ten years old. I gave it a fond pat and reminisced over the trials, trails and tribulations we had shared in that time.
I encountered my first fat bike, courtesy of friends Rob and Iona, in 2011. Iona had scored a Surly Pugsley, then Rob upped the anti with the first Moonlander to hit these shores. I was sold, even before buying one. This happened soon after with a cheap Mk 1 Salsa Mukuk, on which I rode a range of terrain and became a die hard fat bike rider almost overnight. Stuff I'd previously never contemplated riding was tackled with ease. Suddenly a whole new world opened up before me. As Rob said "they can destroy the terrain other bikes can't reach!"
That said, as much as I liked the Muk (I still have it) Rob's Moonie seemed a better bet as more is always more. But the asymmetrical back end didn't appeal and Rob noted he'd bent the rim a couple of times as a result. Then Surly announced the Ice Cream Truck - 5" tyre compatible but with a symmetrical back end (197 hubs!) more trail friendly geo (i.e better for downhills) and it was bright blue.
By this time, fat bikes were in their ascendancy. Everyone was starting to talk about them and the hardcore niche / early adopters were emerging from beach and bog to preach the word. Big tyres = riding where you had previously thought was impossible, a massive 'V' sign to where mountainbiking had got to at that point and crucially, a huge amount of fun. So Ison (Surly dealer) finally got behind Pat (Surly rep) and started importing them as soon as they were available.
Coinciding with Surly announcing the ICT, Fife Council announced a new bike to work scheme which allowed you to use any bike shop. I high-tailed it up to Bothy Bikes and got Dave to pull a fast one which enabled me to buy an ICT frame, 80mm rims, Bud n' Lou and a few other bits and bobs with a hefty 25% discount. Thereafter followed a nail biting wait for it to land. As it happened, I'd told Dave to get me a black one but by mistake, he ordered a blue one - the first into the UK. I was a bit miffed at this as black is a much easier colour to maintain, but when I saw the metallic blue frame, I was very happy with Dave's choice! In the meantime I'd sourced most of the bits I needed so the build was carried out in short order.
Lounge test passed with flying colours. Oh yes.
First proper ride in my bog-tastic local hills. In spite of the weight - about 15kg, some 2 less than the full Surly build thanks to narrower rims, hope hubs, a 1x drive train (my first!) and a few other select bits - it rode incredibly well, that fatbike speciality of giving the impression it would ride anywhere.
First snow. Not a good start as I picked up a thorn on the Dollar cycleway which stitched 4 holes in the tube, all of which I repaired but in four goes! But bloody hell did it rip. I'd already tried a bud up front on the Muk but having two monster tyres led to a total re-appraisal of what was possible to ride. A gamechanger indeed.
So it went with a monster winter setting the stage for some unbelievably hard rides as I pushed (and exceeded) the bikes limits.
This ride over the Minigaig pass to Aviemore was key as I came home with a pair of Schwalbes newly announced Jumbo Jims (4.8 natch) strapped on the bar roll. These heralded a fat bike revolution as they were nigh on 400g's an end lighter than Bud n' Lou and rolled better than many 'normal' MTB tyres. On the first ride on them, the bike fairly flew!
So. I had a bike that would deal with any terrain you could care to mention. I'd used it for pretty much all my rides at the end of 2014 and the early part of 2015. Spring approached but the poor old Krampus was ignored. Another challenge was approaching - The Highland Trail. I'd binned it the previous year and this year, nothing would be stopping me. So why not ride a bike that nothing would stop.
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I did. Nothing did.
That said, the beast got a rest until the next winter. This led to another fat bike revelation - run your tyres tubeless and drop the pressures to 1 psi, you can then ride snow that would destroy a hill walker.
Snow, snow and more snow. I've spent many hours pushing / dragging this beast through knee deep windblown snow with there been a few times where I thought about abandoning it, the going was so hard! By contrast, and for the sake of it, I've done plenty of summer rides just because I could. The fat bike smile persisted.
Fife is blessed with many miles of fine coastline, much of it fair game for big tyres. Me and the ICT have done most of it, once all in one go!
Yes I have just ridden across this lot...
Then in 2018, I made a decision - it's time to race the Arctic. A lot of cash disappeared from my bank account and we were off to Finland.
Since then, I've tended to use it mainly in winter only with only an occasional summer ride when I couldn't be bothered riding singlespeed. The ICT is only bike I own with gears. I keep thinking of trying it SS but you really need a very low granny gear to get it through deep snow, so so far I've resisted. I've even thought of replacing it, but after much objective viewing and consideration, I've come to the conclusion that the best fatbike for me is an Ice Cream Truck. The newer version Surly launched in 2018 is better - threaded BB, slacker seat tube and a bit lighter - but I've been through too much with my one to contemplate swapping it.
The frame is bomb proof so I suspect it will do me another ten years, providing I can get tyres...
Ah yes, the fat bike boom and bust. I hate the bike industry really. It's run by a bunch of money grabbing idiots who are too stupid to realise that there is enough people into bikes to enable them to sell a broad spectrum of machinery that enables us to do what we want to do. Nope, they have to hook everything to a genre and USP. So the bike mags firstly raved about fatties, then panned them as being stupid jokes. If you are serious (yawn) about mountain biking then you must (MUST!) buy a carbon framed bouncer. Fat bikes are a joke for bearded weirdos (I know a few die hard female fat bikers - they don't have beards) so get them out of the frame quickly.
On the social side it's the same - the UK fatbike forum declined and then ground to a halt. In the US, the last remaining website looks like it's also no longer being updated. Despite this, races like the ITI and Arrowhead seem to be as popular as ever. The snow hasn't disappeared (or the beach) so there is no reason why their popularity has waned other than due to marketing...
Hey-ho, I've a stock of tyres to see me through and Surly's recent Moonlander re-vamp seems to have captured peoples imagination again so maybe the bike industry will wake up to the fact that it's OK to sell low volume niche bikes to a niche bunch of people, Just like Surly and Salsa are doing. Some hope.
Anyway enough of all that nonsense, I'm off to ride my fat bike! And it's winter!
