Salamandre FAT BIKE first ride review

Introduction: Thanks to Yann Tomas, the master frame builder and man behind the Salamandre cycles, I became a proud owner of this beast of steel. Bike was imagined as a freeride/enduro, full rigid mountainbike. But one with fat wheels and tyres. After a lot of emailing with Yann, measuring and remeasuring myself and my bike, we came to this final product. Bike's front centar is very long. That, with 67 degree head tube angle (very slack for the full rigid bike) and fork rake, putting the front wheel way up front for atacking steep descends. At back, you are looking at steep seat tube angle (75 °) and ultra short chainstays (415 mm). When you combine all these numbers, you get the potent mix of downhill speed and uphill efficiency. Uphill: fat tyres (4.4 inch wide Jumbo Jims at the moment), combined with steep seat angle, makes climbing steep stuff much easier. Climbing effectiveness is something that suprises me the most. Because of very short chainstays and slack head angle, I was expecting front wheel lift off on steep climbes, but that was not the case. I climbed steep switchbacks much easier than on my previous fat bike, which had steep, old school XC geometry. Magic! Downhill: This is where this bike is most at home. I never cleared technical sections with such ease! Short back end of the bike, means that you can easily navigate through tight turns. Lifting the back wheel and doing endoturns is so fun. When things gets really steep, slack head angle keeps you safe. Especially in slow, technical stuff, you can see the benefits of rigid set up. There's no suspension fork dive, and 67 angle is always the same. Bike (as you can imagine) rewards active riding style. On fast bumpy, rocky descends you have to move your weight rearward (which is really easy because of the short chainstays), let the bike play and be comfortable at the same time. It's mind blowing how fast can full rigid bike go on that terrain! More magic! In contrast, when approaching fast corners on flow trails, you must put your weight forward in order to keep your front wheel in contact with the ground. After very short time, that's become your second nature, and you don't have to think about it anymore. Conclusion: I couldn't be happier with my custom beauty. It's perfect for me and the terrain that I ride. If you want that Yann builds you your's dream machine, you can send him the email on Salamandre cycles website. Cheers. If you like the video, don't forget to subscribe ✍ or just hit the like button. ? Don't be shy. ?