Take a ride on the WIDE side!
I've created the ultimate Alaskan trail bike. These unique Wildfire Designs FatBikes are taking winter riding by storm.
Presenting the Wildfire Designs FatBike! It's specially designed for year round use on snow, sand, and other soft and sketchy surfaces. With ultra-wide rims and huge low pressure all terrain tires, you'll be amazed where you can ride. Snowmobile trails, frozen swamps, lakes, and rivers, gravel bars, and sand dunes all become a playground for the FatBike. It's the best beach bike around plus it works fantastic on exposed roots and rough rocky trails. And with optional quick switch wheels, it can be converted to a road or 29" mountain bike in a matter of minutes for less demanding conditions.
Bill Merchant riding at the face of the Knik Glacier in Alaska
Since 1999, FatBikes have become the ride of choice for Alaska's ultra tough winter events such as the Iditasport, Alaska Ultra Sport, and Susitna 100 endurance races with numerous wins and top five placings. They have been ridden the entire length of Alaska's Iditarod Trail from Knik to Nome several times, have completed the Great Divide mountain bike route from Canada to Mexico, toured Canada's Dawson to Inuvik ice road in winter, and been ridden and tested on numerous hairball adventures here in Alaska and around the world. Even if you have no compulsion to ride your FatBike further then your local trails and beaches, you can feel confident that the FatBike is up for the job at hand.
A sampling of FatBike race results:
1st
place
(tie) 2001 Iditasport Impossible an 1,100 mile race from Knik to Nome on
the Iditarod Trail
Rider:
Mike Estes, Big Lake, Alaska.
1st
Bike
2001 Susitna 100.
Rider: Travis Hallifax, Willow, Alaska.
1st Place 2004 Alaska Ultra Sport 350 Knik to McGrath on the Iditarod Trail Rider: Peter Basinger, Anchorage, Alaska
1st Place 2005 Alaska Ultra Sport 1100 mile Knik to Nome on the difficult southern route. Rider: Carl Hutchings, United Kingdom
1st Bike 2005 Yukon Arctic Ultra 300 mile in the Yukon, Canada. Rider: Thomas Muhler, Germany
1st Place 2006 Alaska Ultra Sport 350 mile race from Knik to McGrath on the Iditarod Trail. Rider: Peter Basinger, Anchorage, Alaska.
Carl Hutchings at the finish (Nome, Alaska) of the 2005 Alaska Ultra Sport event on the Iditarod trail. Carl holds the record to Nome on the difficult southern route.
Even if you're not a racer, you can have confidence in the proven durability and workmanship of your FatBike.
Big Bikes for Big Rides...
I've spent years testing and refining the FatBike and have arrived at an excellent design to accomodate the widest available rims and tires without sacrificing shifting and riding performance. Wildfire frames and rigid forks are hand crafted in the USA from a hand picked blend of premium Columbus and True Temper double butted chromoly tubing with meticulous attention to detail evident throughout.
I offer FatBike frames in Small/15", Medium/17". and Large/19" sizes to accomodate the majority of riders. For smaller riders, I have a special Extra Small/13" version available at a small extra charge. I also offer a custom sizing option to fit those with special needs for sizing and frame geometry. A special frame equipped to work with the Rohloff 14 speed internally geared rear hub is also available with 135 mm rear dropout spacing and a custom offset. The FatBike frame is amazingly light (4.5 lbs for a large size) yet is tough enough to handle some of the most rigorous cross country riding conditions on the planet.
The FatBike frame comes standard with three water bottle mounts, rack braze ons, international standard disc brake mounts and a custom single color durable powdercoat finish. Price: $995.00 Please see the Tiger DryLac color charts for available colors and special effects:
Wildfire
Designs' mega-wide 160 mm rear dropout spacing
stays allow full-range
gearing
with no chain rub on those huge tires. The frame is designed to work with
the new lightweight tandem disc hubs available from Hadley and Chris King.
The 0 offset rear geometry also has the benefit of offering very strong
wheel strength when using 29er wheels.
Options include rigid or 29er suspension forks, 65 or 80 mm super fat rims, and quick switch wheel systems for a speedy conversion to 29"MTB or road wheels making the FatBike one of the most versatile bikes around.
Complete
FatBikes weigh from 28 to 38 lbs, depending on frame size and components. I work with each customer to arrive at a build kit to suit
individual needs and budget. Complete ready to ride FatBikes are priced from
$2500.00 Please contact me for a price quote and free consultation.
Forks
The FatBike is designed to work well with my sturdy rigid FatBike fork. It's hand built of quality True Temper tubing and comes standard with disc brake mounts. It also features rack braze-ons to accomodate most brands of rear (yes, rear) bike racks and is available in gloss black or in a custom powder coat color to match your FatBike. The 465 mm axle to crown length also works well with most brands of suspension corrected 29" frames. Average weight is 2.5 lbs.
The FatBike geometry accomodates a 29er suspension fork for summer and hard-condition riding with no loss of steering and handling performance. Please contact me for available models and pricing if you'd like to go with this option.
The Ride :
With a tire diameter of 29" and a ground contact patch over 4 inches wide, these wheels are not easily bogged down and will
roll over trail obstacles that will stop other bikes in their tracks. The large volume tires
allow you to run low air pressure (5-20 psi) which provides a low-tech but
very noticable suspension
effect and super traction in addition to being friendly to the trails.
The fat wheels are also super stable and easy to steer with little of the "washing
out" sensation in soft snow common with skinnier tires. The frame has just
enough compliance to make all day epics as comfortable as possible.
Wildfire Designs owner Mark Gronewald and friend Charlie on tour in Alaska
Rim and Tire Options:
Remolino
80 mm Aluminum Rims:
Originally made for sand riding in the Southwest and Mexico, these rims
are unfortunately no longer made but these are the rims that started it all.
Circa 1999, a creation of Ray Molina of Remolino Adventure Works in New
Mexico, these rims were first made for riding sand dunes and soon after
found their way to Alaska for snow riding.
Remolino/Tornel
3.5 Sand Tires:
Made specifically for the Remolino 80mm aluminum rims shown above. Low profile
high width with chevron treads for traction in super loose surfaces and
punchy marginal riding conditions. Weight: 1320 g.
Surly Endomorph 3.7 Tires
These are the biggest tires available for mountain bikes and work extremely
well in a variety of conditions ranging from snow to sand to trails. The
chevron pattern with side knobs rolls surprisingly fast for such a huge
tire. Average weight 1250 g.
Surly Large Marge Rims:
26
X 65mm double wall rims accommodate the big sneakers. Available in
an offset drilled version to fit the 18 mm offset rear stays of the 2008 and
earlier FatBikes or center drilled for the front wheel or post '09 FatBikes.
Weight 1200 g.
Vicious Cycles Graceful Fat Sheba Rims: For more flotation, 80 mm singlewall rims are available in center or offset 32 hole drillings. Black. Weight 1250 g.
Quickswitch Wheel System: Consider a spare wheelset to convert your FatBike to an entirely different bike. The FatBike frame will accomodate 29er and even cyclocross and road wheels. Disc brakes mean no brake adjustment. Just pop off your fatwheels and slip on your spares in 2 minutes of less!
Custom Wheel Building: Contact me for a quote on a hand built wheel set. I have over 10 years experience in custom wheel building for all kinds of bicycles. I'll make sure the wheels you order have the right spoke lengths, correct dish, optimal spoke tension, and are properly post-stressed for long-term durability. A quality hand built wheel is a wonderful thing.
Shipping: I can package and ship your purchase worldwide. Contact me for a quote.
Please see the Bike Shop page for current pricing on all my products.
Mid-day ride to the Knik Glacier!
Contact me and see what the buzz is all about.
FatFatBike Photo Gallery
