1994 Rocky Mountain Blizzard

[Blizz]

I usually spend most of the winter on my skis and rollers, but seeing all the Fatbikes around town inspired me to do a bit more winter riding. I seriously considered a 2015 Rocky Blizzard fatbike, but then figured I should be able to do the majority of the hard packed trails and roads on a Blizzard "skinny bike"...so I picked one of my old Blizzards and built it up with some random parts kicking around.

Not all the parts are period correct, but I wanted to go with some V-brakes for the winter riding.
I'll probably get some studded tires like some Schwalbe ice spikers to add to the fun.
I did try a couple rigid forks on it, but decided to go with the Manitou 3 since it was a good colour match and the burly fork just looked better on a winter bike.
Travel is pretty minimal, especially in the cold, so maybe I'll look into some speed springs.

I was lucky to get the RaceFace I-Beams with this frame, but took them off to use on another project. So I put on a trusty XT 730 for now.

After riding it a couple hours today, I'll probably put on a shorter stem. Maybe a silver Syncros in 120mm if I can find one. But otherwise I don't think I'll need to change much.

 

[Minifreak]

Looks great and for all the misery snow causes in the UK I really wish it would, so I can enjoy some riding out in it rather than just mud!!!

I love my RM Blizzard, beautiful looking and riding bikes

 

[RockiMtn]

i wanna get a fat bike. but i'm gonna give it a try first and rent one at a ski resort before deciding to make the plunge!

 

[cyclotoine]

Sweet blizz. That would do for commuting on most days, but round here we like to ride single track on our fats too. I wanted the new rocky blizz real bad but in the end held onto my mukluk for another year. Most bikes now are coming in the new 190/150 standard but most big companies are still specing 80mm rims and 4" tires. This works for a lot of people, but here in the hinterland we want 5"tires and 100mm rims, which is why I didn't jump on the blizzard. We don't have the sophisticated grooming like they do in some states either. it's still snowshoes and a home made drag if you're really into it so the trails remain soft in spots. In the early years people said "it's not fat biking if you're not pushing"... I have to say I don't believe it has to be that way anymore. With the big wheels out now you can really go far with some minimal snowshoes packing efforts. It helps that we don't get a lot of snow here too.

Unfortunately, my opinion is that specialized is offering the cost/benefit ration. With a sweet 90mm rims and a larger tire with aggressive knobs, the fatboy is a nice compromise on weight/float/rolling resistance. I don't really like specialized though so it is a bit of a problem for me. I'm going to sit tight and see what 2016 brings. I might order a Fezzari since the value is so good.

 

[Blizz]

Cyclotoine, thanks for all the info! I have yet to try a fatbike, but will test a rental one soon as well.
Most of the singletrack trails here get a lot of foot traffic and fatbikes, so they are packed hard (and dry) snow most of the time. So I the skinny tires on this Blizzard are fine on most days. But I agree, you need wider tires for the fresh or deeper snow or if you want more control. So a fatbike definitely has its place, but until I get one, I'll keep riding this bike. And on those snow days I'll be skiing.

 

[dirttorpedo]

Nashbar has a dirt cheap fatbike if you are interested in trying it out and not spending a lot of $

 

[jimi911]

Re:

Nice looking ride.

Careful with the Manitou's elastomers in the cold. I took mine out a lot of -1 to -5 (snowless) rides last winter and I didn't do the rubber much good. They deteriorated quite a bit in a short time and I had to do a full rebuild in the spring. They were original elastomers ... probably also played a role.

Fat bikes are great. Had one out a few times. Unless you have heavy snow they aren't really needed. A fatter tire on your 29er is often enough.