in Fatbike Forum

FYI, I was wasting some time over on mtbr, and it sounds like surly is selling some of their fat bikes for really low prices ( pugs for $900, ICT for $1200). Thought those looking to add to their stable might want to hit up one of the local shops that sells surly.

Typed on my phone. Pardon the autocorrect.

Details:

http://surlybikes.com/blog/post/get_em_while_theyre_fat

I'd like to get one (maybe) but have no idea where to start. I've only ridden other people's for a minute or two so far. I know the Pugs is older, but is it worth the $400 for an ICT Ops?

Should I start with a Pugs to see if we like it? My wife would probably ride it as much as I would...

I know very little about their rims, tires, offsets or not, etc. I'm used to 15mm TA and things...

I have a bike that fits 4" tires.  It's not a Pugsley but still the same tire clearance.  I have a handfull of rides every winter where I wish for clearance for 100mm rims and 5" tires.  I have a principle that I apply to most of my bikes...get the most tire clearance you can.  You can always put skinnier tires on a bike with clearance for wider tires, but you can't do the opposite.

I would go with the ICT Ops personally.  You likely won't have the opportunity to it this cheaply again.  Pick up a second set of 4" tires if you feel the Bud and Lou are too much.  On the snow they are awesome.  For the dirt, you might want something else.

I have a bike that fits 4" tires.  It's not a Pugsley but still the same tire clearance.  I have a handfull of rides every winter where I wish for clearance for 100mm rims and 5" tires.  I have a principle that I apply to most of my bikes...get the most tire clearance you can.  You can always put skinnier tires on a bike with clearance for wider tires, but you can't do the opposite.

I would go with the ICT Ops personally.  You likely won't have the opportunity to it this cheaply again.  Pick up a second set of 4" tires if you feel the Bud and Lou are too much.  On the snow they are awesome.  For the dirt, you might want something else.

I agree with the sentiment here. Although it should be noted that the ICT Ops comes with Nates (which are 3.8" tires) on Rolling Darryls (80mm rims) as opposed to the Bud and Lou (4.8" tires) on Clownshoes (100mm rims) that the full Ice Cream Truck has.

Ah, I thought the Ops came with Bud/Lou on 80mm rims.

Sent from my XT1055 using Tapatalk

I'd like to get one (maybe) but have no idea where to start. I've only ridden other people's for a minute or two so far. I know the Pugs is older, but is it worth the $400 for an ICT Ops?

Should I start with a Pugs to see if we like it? My wife would probably ride it as much as I would...

I know very little about their rims, tires, offsets or not, etc. I'm used to 15mm TA and things...

I own both a Pugsley and and Ice Cream truck and love 'em both. Here's a bit of a breakdown.

The Pugsley has a more XC-style geometry whereas the Ice Cream Truck has a more trail bike geometry, if that means anything to you. They're both very capable mountain bikes though.

As mentioned above, the ICT can fit 5" tires, which can make a significant difference in soft conditions. The ICT accepts all the latest and greatest fat bike standards for parts, that lets you have symmetrical wheel builds with thru-axles and even allows for a suspension fork (not included). The ICT has a cool modular dropout system that lets you configure the rear lots of different ways (single speed, geared, thru-axle, quick release, etc.).

The Pugsley, can only accommodate 4" tires (in the rear, the fork can handle 5" tires), that's still a lot of rubber. The offset rear end and Moonlander fork keep the hub spacing at 135mm so you don't need special fat bike hubs, that keeps the cost of wheels down a lot. The Pugs' horizontal dropout gives you options for geared and single speed too.

I use my Pugsley as my winter commuter and summer mountain bikepacking rig (with 29+ wheels) and my Ice Cream Truck is my fat summer trail ripper and winter deep snow adventurer. Both are a blast on groomed snow.

Thanks everyone. Now that we live in southern IA, I don't think it'll get as much snow riding as it would have while we were in WI. Now I just have to convince my wife...