Picked up a Salsa Mukluk

[Jeremy P.]

I have been looking at fat bikes for a couple years and finally picked up a mukluk 3 on sale. I like that it has so many mounting points built in for adding racks and bottle cages. I'm still waiting for snow, but so far it has still been a blast riding it on the trails. I would be interested in any suggestions for making winter riding more enjoyable.

I went ahead with a couple changes right away. The first thing I did was drill out the solid rolling darryl rims using a 1-1/2" hole saw. I didn't weigh the aluminum bits but from what others reported it shaves about 1/2 pound off each rim.


Then I did a tubeless conversion using orange seal subzero tire sealant (for cold weather riding). I was going to use the orange seal tape as well but others have used shrink wrap with success and I happened to have a 5" wide roll on hand...


I did six wraps and then sealed the end using some rtv and tape. Added about 4 ounces of orange seal and used a compressor to get the beads to seat. They held pressure overnight (a good start). Hopefully they hold up long term as well. Doing this drops about a pound of weight per tire, reduces rolling resistance, and lets the tire more easily conform to the terrain.

When the tires wear down, I may upgrade to the 120 tpi Nates, which will save over 1 1/2 pounds per pair over the 27 tpi Nates.

Does anyone have input on the Salsa anything cages for the fork? I'm also looking into frame bags and handlebar pogies. Eventually I would like to do some overnight trips (but perhaps not during the winter).

 

[Climberclimb]

Hi Jeremy,
Nice bikes! I ride a Santa Cruz also, Solo. Enjoy the new ride - it looks fun!
Cheers

 

[jayspies]

Hey Jeremy,

Nice job on drilling out the Darryl's! What did you use for a rim strip? It looks black but I can't tell. With those size holes, you'll need a firm rim strip to keep things from pooching out of the holes. I have a Salsa Anything cage HD and it's worked as advertised so far. I like that it's more low-profile than the regular anything cages, so you can leave it on the fork and not worry so much about snagging brush and the like with it when trail riding. I'm in the process of converting my Muk 2 to run a Cannondale Lefty fork, so we'll see if I can find a way to use pipe clamps and the like to strap it to the neck of the Lefty.

 

[Jeremy P.]

I used the original surly rim strip. I had considered adding a wrap of duct tape but didn't. It held up to 25 psi when I first inflated it although it bulged more than I like. It looks okay at my trail pressure of about 8-9 psi.

 

[Butch1979]

I ordered some "bar mitts" and like them so far. It depends on how cold you are planning to ride it.

For frame bags, I would go Oveja Negra (out of Buena Vista CO) or Revelate

 

[Sisyphus]

Nice Muk!

In regards to the anything cages, I run them on my Pugs w/ Marge lites and like them because they allow me to run rackless but with having such heavy steering already with the 3.8s, I've found that I need to keep more of an eye on the weight up front than when running the same cages on my 29er. Makes the bike so much more responsive when I move that weight to a backpack.

 

[Sisyphus]

I went with Bedrock for my frame bag and love it, it's always overstuffed and it has yet to fail me in the last 1.5 years I've had it. If you want to save a few dollars, plenty of Revelate gear comes up for sale used on eBay and bikepacking.net. You'll probably have to buy pogies new, though.

 

[SalsaJJ]

Nice rig!

Check out the Anything Cage HD's. They are a bit more durable for the unplanned bikes layovers and they have more hole to mount to. You can partner that up with the Anything Cage Bag that uses the webbing on the front to hold the straps in place so they are not always sliding down or off. I love mine for a sleeping bag, insulated water bottle bag, or for stuffing a puffy jacket into it during the winter snow rides. That way you have a jacket for drinking "hot chocolate" on the trail with your favorite buddies.

 

[R Stowe]

First off, great bike. I'm really fighting the urge to get a new mountain bike. As for bags I second the vote for Oveja Negra. I have their seat pack, frame bag, and "lunch" box and I've been impressed with all of it. Their prices are competitive and after a couple of seasons of use all of the bags look brand new still.