I sold my "got a really good deal used" but too small 2015 Salsa Mukluk a few weeks ago. Winters are variable in Central Ohio, so fat bikes aren't especially common or entirely necessary. Some years we get a lot of snow, others almost none. After I sold the Mukluk, I went for a snow ride on my Yeti SB115 to decide if I even wanted another fat bike. The ride itself was fine (it was only an inch or two), but the 45 minutes spent afterwards chiseling packed snow out of the pivots, bearings, and nice drivetrain convinced me I wanted something else for winter use. Something that both would work a little better, and that I didn't need to worry about.
The search started with a few frustrating weeks of marketplace. One of the first hits, which I asked about here, was a $950 Framed Alaskan that was probably a little too big, along with some additional concerns. I passed on that one, but that felt about right budget-wise. The other bikes I saw listed were rarely my size (when sellers bothered to list a size), way overpriced, too far away, worn out, really old, or were of questionable quality to begin with.
I decided to look for something new, and planned to just wait for things to go back on sale – but also look around to see if any sale prices were still hanging around. I found a Salsa Heyday, which was really my top choice, new for $1135 at a shop three hours away. They had my size, the shop was reputable, so I jumped on it. My friend owns a shop and will sell to me at cost, and this was somehow still cheaper.
Love all the upgrades from my old Mukluk, besides it just fitting perfectly. The old bike had a 2x drivetrain, with the front derailleur almost touching the tire (and cleaning it of snow) in certain gears. The wheels were heavy, QR, couldn't really go tubeless, and had old axle spacing standards. Tire clearance was only 4". The new bike fixes all of these shortcomings. The frame, tires, and wheelset seem to be good quality with not much reason to ever upgrade. I was little weary of the 1×9 Microshift Advent drivetrain. Though cheap, it seems to have a reputation for being pretty tough. That actually feels like a feature on a bike that will get crashed often and see road salt. The shifting and gear range also feel pretty good.
I picked the Heyday up on Monday, and it's been amazing riding it on the light snow and ice that has been hanging around all week. Even did some light offroad riding. Today was the prefect end for new bike week, with 11" of fresh, fluffy snow that is still falling. I attempted to ride on the rail-trail – but was the first one to try it, and it was pretty much impossible. Luckily though, drivers can be ticketed due to current road conditions, and plows have been out. All the roads around town had an inch or two of packed down snow, and there were no cars to deal with.
(Sorry to not get the crankset and pedals to the correct horizontal position – this is the first time we've ever had enough snow for the bike to stand on its own just wedged into a snowbank. It threw me off.)
by Prodigy_User_FKWX42C