Comments on: Salsa Cycles “Enabler” Fat Fork: Sneak Peek!

By: Sevo

Sevo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:37:25 +0000

Sounds sweet. I’ve been pushing a local framebuilder who’s been slow he should crank out something like this for over a year now. I think Butcher is dead on….it allows you to make a bike you already have a snowbike. I’d love a Pug, but realistically I’m not going to spend $2000 on a bike I’ll use in the snow a few times a year (it melts quick in COS) or take to the Great Sand Dunes south of here maybe once or twice year.

So in short…excited for the Enabler.

On my end I run a 69er and have thought about such a fork up front (Viscous Cycles version is nice but $$$$) with a snowcat wheel in the rear with a 2.55 on it would get me most anywhere I can point my front wheel during the winter. Plus once again as Butcher said….with my current bike.

Bravo Salsa. Continuing to amaze me.

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:36:35 +0000

@Jimmythefly: Hey, you could do a big DH 26″er on a really wide trials rim, most likely the widest that might work out. I don’t have any dimensions that would guide you, but do check out the Fat Bike forum on mtbr.com. I am pretty sure this topic is covered there.

By: Jimmythefly

Jimmythefly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:42:41 +0000

Ahh, so for a really hot snow-bike set up, would I want to also change out my rear 29″ wheel for a 24, 26, or 650b?

I’m thinking I could get a really fatty tire to fit in one of those sizes, whereas I’m not sure a really fat 29er would fit my current frame (Zion 737).

By: Butcher

Butcher — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:34:25 +0000

Hey folks, Butcher from Salsa here.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the interest in the “Enabler”. It’s a pretty neat product that is clearly in the prototype phase. Because it is in the prototype phase, we can’t answer some of the questions. We can tell you a few of the ideas around this fork.

It is obviously Surly Endomorph compatible and aimed at 29ers. With the coming of Surly’s new Larry tire there is new opportunity for a fork like this. Sure a suspension fork and standard 29er wheel may be lighter. Who cares? That set up simply can’t give you the float and in some cases the fun that you can have with a fork & wheel set up like this.

2 years ago, I rode my El Mariachi this way for the winter.. It worked pretty good. No, not snow bike good, but good enough for me to ride more stuff with a bike I already own. What I found out then is that generally speaking the rear wheel follows the front and short of breaking trail I had more overall float and ability than on my comparibly equipped standard 29er front wheeled bike. Again, this set up can’t compare to a snow bike. It can however, give you an option if you can’t afford a specialty snow bike. It’s an eye opener for sure.

Regarding the fork and brake set up. This specific fork works with standard rear hubs and a front brake. It is a prototype and certainly could change if needed.

By: Jerk

Jerk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:23:51 +0000

Sweet! That may be just the thing for “Project Satan”.

I was looking at the Vicious Cycles “Steel Fat Fork” on the Jones site but the Salsa Enabler may be a lower priced alternative especially if you can use a 135mm Surly rear disc as opposed to either a Paul or a Phil specialty purpose front hub.

Please keep us posted as things develop.