As some companies seem to be testing the waters of full suspension fat bikes, 11Nine is charging at full speed. Just last year we spotted their titanium full suspension prototype rolling around the show, so we were honestly pretty surprised to see a full booth with not one, but two additional new full suspension fat bikes! Of course there was also a new hardtail, a prototype 27.5+, and a line of wheels if the two fullys weren’t enough for you. Sticking with the “narrower” fat tire set up to clear the forks, 11Nine goes wide instead with the amount of travel. As one of the first “long travel” full suspension fat bikes we’ve seen, the 150mm travel Hemicyon still has room for 4.25″ tires on their 55mm rims.
For shorter travel duties, 11Nine also serves up the 110mm travel full suspension Epicyon, continues with the titanium Direwolf, and the aluminum Simus hardtail. The fat bikes certainly grabbed your attention, but it was the prototype 27.5+ lurking in the corner that really caught our eye…
Just last year a full suspension fat bike was still just a crazy idea. Since then we have seen a number of manufactures make the leap but not with the same quantity as 11Nine. Rather than using the floating shock design of the Direwolf, the new aluminum bikes use a Horst Link design with the rear pivot positioned below the rear axle on the chainstay. The 150mm travel Hemicyon uses a 177×12 rear end with a 100mm threaded bottom bracket. The tapered head tube is fitted with a Cane Creek Angleset for adjustability, and the frame features ISCG-05 tabs and full length housing. It’s noted that Hemicyons are 1x only and not dropper compatible, though we’re thinking you could probably rig up an external dropper post.
To achieve 150mm of front travel, 11Nine specs an MRP Groove Fork that is tuned to limit the travel. When using the 55mm FatLab rims, the fork can clear a Vee Tire Co H-Billie 4.25″ tire. Rear suspension is also provided by MRP in the form of their coil over rear shock. Pricing on the Hemicyon starts at $1869 for the frame, $4269 for the “Roller” meaning frame, fork, shock, wheelset, cranks/bb, and headset, and $5099 for the RTR or ready to roll complete build.
Using the same suspension platform as the Hemicyon, the Epicyon bumps the travel down to 110mm but increases the tire clearance to clear a 4.7″ tire on their 55mm rim. Otherwise the frame carries many of the same features but gets its suspension from DB Inline (or others to be determined) and 11Nine’s own LuLu Inverted Fork with 110mm of travel front and rear. One key differentce for the Epicyon and the Direwolf is the ability to run a 2x drivetrain in addition to 1x.
Pricing for the Epicyon starts at $1769 for the frame and $2669 for the Roller, and $4499 for the RTR complete.
The titanium Direwolf will still be in the line up and starts at $2669 for the frame, $3769 for a Roller, and $6269 for the RTR.
Originally introduced as a titanium hardtail, the Simus has gone aluminum. Sold with their LuLu suspension fork set at 110mm, the Simus weighs in around 30.45 lbs. Simus frames will sell for $669, with Rollers selling for $2169 and RTR builds at $3199.
Well out of the way was this nondescript beauty. As we’ve mentioned before, there are a lot of rumors surrounding 27.5+ and it looks like FatLab getting into complete bikes with this titanium prototype. Developed as a test mule for their wheels, the limited edition bikes will be available as a pre-order only and will be available with a rigid carbon or inverted suspension fork.
As the wheels that are included with each build, FatLab is a new fat bike company started by Marvin Besselink, Roger Ko, and Sammy Chuang. Rims and wheelsets are available in 55mm wide 26, 27.5, and 29″ diameters as well as 80mm widths in all sizes as well. Tubeless compatible, the rims sell for $139 each, or $649 for a set with FatLab hubs. Wheelsets will also be available with American Classic hubs for $999 per set. Wheelsets with the 80mm aluminum rims will be $729 or 1049 depending on the hub.
FatLab has 100mm rims and wheelsets on the way, and will offer some interesting accessories like fat bike specific wheel and bike bags as well.
