A friend with one a size or two too large for me let me take his out for a spin around the neighborhood gravel, and damn but it was fun. It's one of the 1.0 series, not the newer 2.0's, so none of the newer stuff. In its essentials, it's probably closer to Surly's current Ice Cream Truck: derailleur gearing, 4.8" tires, somewhat normal geometry. Anyway, here's a pic from the web site:
It was a crazy blast to take on some neighborhood dirt. One alleyway filled with roller bearing pea gravel that always is a pain in the butt rode about as well as the paved streets. I didn't have any deep sand to sample, but the pea gravel was enough. On pavement, the big tires sound like a B-24 bomber, that's kind of cool. Though for the price on the tires, I don't think I'd take it on pavement any more than absolutely necessary. On rough descents and ascents, it just... rode. Keep on pedaling, and it keeps going. I shudder to think though about something harsh enough to stop it, because that stop's probably going to hurt. In the meantime though, keep pedaling and the ride is good!
So, am I going to run out and get one? Eh, it's kind of a specialty tool. Definitely not an actual current model Moonlander. At over $4k, I wouldn't get enough use of it to be worth it. Maybe an Ice Cream Truck at about half the price. Surly's lower-priced Wednesday option rides on 3.8" tires, and I'm not sure that would give the full-on fat tire float on sand that I'm looking for. Right now though, I'm not going to sweat it. I've got a couple of other bikes to move first (got to make room), and the weather's too hot to grind down the beach right now anyway. Will revisit in the fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment