Surly Fat Bikes, Rims & Tires
Nearly nine years, in fact. We've made mistakes. We've had product that needed improvement. Some products haven't stood the test of time. (Remember Endomorph?) We've learned the hard way that Fat bikes and parts aren't a simple matter. Some other companies jumping into this market have arrogantly presumed they could just make it happen. They are now learning many lessons the hard way. Guess what? We have nearly a decade of experience over them. To be blunt, our shit works. And our products are a sound investment based on the knowledge we have built and applied to every product we sell.
Surly consistently innovates. That's certainly part of our value proposition. We've invested in Fat and we aren't simply trying to cash in on a hot category.
- Durability — Have you looked at some of the Fat tire competition coming along in the market? Many are poor adaptations of our tire designs. They have shallow tread patterns. These tires will not last as long as Surly tires. They won't ride as well. We build our stuff to last, and to perform for a long time. This matters more when replacement tires cost as much as Fat tires cost.
- Durability Part II: Steel — Alloy frames claim a lot of attention. 'Oh! It's lighter and faster!' Really? Not that much. And alloy is not all that awesome in terms of ride comfort. If you're going to ride it hard, and want to enjoy the ride, then steel is worth a look. But wait, steel outlasts alloy frames, too!
- Authenticity — Efforts from other big brand companies are an attempt to say 'Wait! We're more than lycra geeks making cookie-cutter bikes!' More power to them. They need the help. Their core performance market is shrinking by the year. These guys need to tap into a growing segment of the industry. In the process they are expanding the market we helped to create. But they are not competing for core Surly customers. We simply will not be distracted by thinking the mainstream brands are stealing our long-term sales. Surly shops sell our brand, not just a category. Surly customers buy into our brand, they don't simply buy a bike
- Innovation — Our fat tires and rims are built tough. They're overbuilt, in fact. Well, our Ice Cream Truck reinforces a message we've been quietly repeating for years. Fat bikes are not only for snow, but great for trail riding. ICT is a trail monster. It was designed to be compatible with RockShox Bluto, and whatever Fat forks may come along. ICT is a hardtail Fat trail bike in the same spirit as Instigator and Krampus.
Surly remains an alternative, not another choice among price point brands. We are not a price point brand and we will never win that battle. We win fans time and again because our bikes ride damn well, our stuff lasts a long time, and we continue to pull in customers who want to challenge where and how they can ride their bikes.
We won't stop here. It's time to move on to the next big thing.
