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| The old Dog is getting rather colorful these days! |
I found out later that it was definitely something I could use. Straight 1 1/8th steer tube, rear brake standard for the fork, and all carbon fiber light. The availability was sketchy earlier in the Winter, so I waited until a new shipment dropped to On One and then I pulled the trigger. It took almost two weeks from the UK, but I think the wait was worth it.
The Snow Dog's original Enabler fork weighed in at 1050 grams and the replacement on One Fatty Fork weighs 590 grams before I cut the steer tube! That's some serious weight reduction right there. I have to dial in the front brake a bit more, but a quick ride showed me that this fork does have some compliance, so it promises a decent ride. Obviously, the front end feels a tad lighter, but the handling seems really good yet. We'll see once things get nasty and I have more time on this rig.
This isn't the end of upgrades though, just the beginning. Next up will be a drivetrain redo with a move to 10 speed and possibly one of those ginormous 42T add on cassette cogs so I can extend the range of the 1X set up. I don't see me going to a front derailluer anytime soon on this, maybe never. There will be a new crankset as well. Possibly something that fits a 30T or maybe one of those crazy SRAM cranks with a 28T drive ring. A clutch equipped derailleur is a must.
I'll live with the wheels for a while, but those will get replaced sometime with something lighter and nicer. No hurry there though. I've a feeling a ton of new options are coming soon that will satisfy that itch.
This will then become the all-year, all-arounder fat bike for me. The titanium bike is going to get upgraded as well. That bike will get detailed later, but it will become the "expedition" class fat bike in the fleet and will wear the "bigger shoes" of the two bikes eventually. Stay tuned.......
2 comments:
I love your devotion to this bike. I have sold all of my 29ers and my 2011/12 Mukluk is my only mountain bike. I would like to upgrade to a newer frame version as I don't like the cable routing on it and it seems as though most new forks are tapered but I am torn. Then I see yours in all its glory and it makes me feel guilty about wanting to "upgrade" the frame.
@Irishtsunami- Well, as you probably know from reading here, the devotion is also due in part to the fine group of people that brought the frame to me for my birthday when I turned 50. It's kinda of easy to ditch a frame when you have no emotional attachment to it.
That said, the other part of the equation is that the Snow Dog is actually a really nice fat bike, all things considered. Yes- there are "bigger" fat bikes and fat bikes with suspension are coming, but really, there isn't a whole lot wrong with a Mukluk of this vintage and that is something I think a lot of us forget when the shiny new stuff hits the news.
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