Salsa Mukluk Winter Bike

Components – SRAM X.7, Avid

Tires – Surly Larry 3.8″

Sizes – XS, S, M, L, XL

MSRP – $1,499

Gear – Field Test

Salsa Mukluk – $1,499

If it was possible to do a blindfolded test on a bicycle, the Salsa Mukluk would be a perfect candidate. While pedaling away on this beast of a mountain bike, it’s hard to believe you’ve got 15 kg (34 pounds) under you.

Let’s get this straight right away – this is not your normal mountain bike. This is meant for one purpose: to float along in snowy winter conditions, making it quite possibly the perfect Canadian bike for this time of year. This isn’t the first big-wheeled winter bike to come along. The Surly Pugsley is one of the most popular winter bikes on the market and the Salsa makes use of some of the oversized Surly parts like the front hub and tires.

The concept behind the Mukluk is to serve the growing market for cyclists wanting to ride all year round. Not wanting to haul their higher-priced cross country bikes out into the snow, many riders are turning to more basic winter bikes. The Mukluk takes this idea to another level. First, there’s the hardtail frame. Made out of 6061-T6 aluminium, it’s designed to take the massively-wide tires. The geometry is forgiving with a tall head tube and low standover height. The bottom bracket height is also low, dropping the centre of gravity and making for an overall stable ride in technical conditions created by snow. The fork is Salsa’s Enabler, a CroMoly 29er that takes a rear 135 mm disc hub and even has a water bottle cage mount.

You can purchase the Mukluk as a frame-only for $599 or as a complete build for $1,499. For that, you get the Mukluk frame and Enabler fork with a SRAM X7 nine-speed drivetrain and FSA crankset. The brakes are Avid’s reliable BB7 mechanicals and the cockpit parts are all Salsa’s housebrand – nothing flashy, but that’s not needed on a bike like this. The 3.8″ wide Surly Larry tires are mounted to Vicious Cycles Graceful Fat Sheba rims with a 135mm hub in the front and a massive 170mm hub in the back.

So how does a beast like this ride? Not how you would expect. The big volume, low-pressure tires float over hard-packed snow and, if there are any roots or rocks exposed, the tires soak up the bumps with the feeling of a full-suspension bike. You notice the weight when the trail heads up, but the rigid design means every watt of power is going straight to those big wheels instead of to suspension bob.

Handling isn’t what you’d call nimble, but it’s rock solid at the typical slower speeds of winter riding. As you turn the bars and watch the huge front tire carve through a snowy turn, you feel like you’re behind the wheel of Big Foot. Try not to roll over your friends as they fall in the snow on their little-wheeled mountain bikes.