Surly Big Fat Dummy

[winjim]

Anybody ridden one?
Anybody hauled their kids around with one?
Anybody ridden one fully loaded up the sort of hills we have in Sheffield and the Peak District?

Am I just being silly even thinking about it?

For those who don't know, this is a Big Fat Dummy:

I want it.

 

[DCBassman]

That's a BIG bike...
Edit: can take tyres up to 5.25".
I've owned cars with narrower tyres than that!

 

[winjim]

That's a BIG bike...

Big and fat.

 

[winjim]

That's a BIG bike...
Edit: can take tyres up to 5.25".
I've owned cars with narrower tyres than that!

Yeah, I would probably actually put plus tyres on it rather than fat, so about 3" or thereabouts.

 

[tom73]

Don’t have one but seen one close up sure can take big wheels and sure looks a lot of fun.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Can't comment on the 'Fat' bit, but I've ridden a long bike for over ten years and it was the best investment I made since I bought a bike.

They are a lovely ride and really versatile.

 

[winjim]

Can't comment on the 'Fat' bit, but I've ridden a long bike for over ten years and it was the best investment I made since I bought a bike.

They are a lovely ride and really versatile.

How do they handle compared to a 'normal' bike?

 

[Andy in Germany]

How do they handle compared to a 'normal' bike?

Pretty similar to be honest, if anything nicer, and much smoother: I take curves a bit faster if anything because the bike is so stable, and you lose less traction standing because you are in the middle (although standing on the pedals gets a bit wobbly with small people on the back).

I notice a bit of flex when I go over bumps with a fully loaded bike: there's a barely perceptible ripple because the back weight hits the bump a fraction of a second later than the front, but that also may be because the big canvas carriers sway if they hit a bump, or because mine is built onto a mountain bike frame so it doesn't have the same stiffness along the frame as that version will. Certainly it doesn't cause any problems or feel unsafe.

 

[dan_bo]

Anybody ridden one?
Anybody hauled their kids around with one?
Anybody ridden one fully loaded up the sort of hills we have in Sheffield and the Peak District?

Am I just being silly even thinking about it?

For those who don't know, this is a Big Fat Dummy:

View attachment 438573

I want it.

Needs a bolt on front shopping bucket.

I also want.

 

[Sixmile]

I haven't ridden the Surly but I've a Voodoo Fat Bike that I bought a few months ago. They handle and grip really well, but sticking to the road comes at the expense of speed.

 

[MikeG]

I can't see that being very rapid......

 

[Threevok]

I absolutely love that

 

[winjim]

Needs a bolt on front shopping bucket.

I also want.

How's this? Logs on the front, kids on the back. It's got every mounting point imaginable to add extra stuff.

I haven't ridden the Surly but I've a Voodoo Fat Bike that I bought a few months ago. They handle and grip really well, but sticking to the road comes at the expense of speed.

LBS lent me a Pugsley so I've been riding that with the three year old in a child seat. It handles like a tank but it's OK once you get used to it.

I can't see that being very rapid......

Yeah, you do need the tiniest of tiny chainrings.

 

[winjim]

I really like Surly's attitude as well. Here's a product video for the BFD. Who else has a massive cargo bike on the back of the sofa with a bloke eating crisps in their promotional material?

 

[Cycleops]

I'm sure there must be a point to the Firth of Forth bridge with big wheels but I can't fathom it.