First look: full carbon Fatback Corvus
Originally posted on June 9, 2014 at 18:52 pm
As fat bikes get more and more popular, riders are looking for ever more performance from big wheels and tires. Fatback is one of the original fat bike brands, hailing from the Fat Bike Capital of the World: Anchorage, Alaska. Its latest project is the full-carbon Corvus frame and fork, which has been built into this 22 pound rocketship pictured here.
While designed around 26×5.0 wheels and tires, the Corvus also has plenty of room to fit a 29+ wheelset. Pictured here with Surly Knard tires and 50mm Rabbit Hole rims there is still plenty of room. The rear spacing is 197mm, which is the thru-axle version of a 190mm hub. Though it is a light weight “race” or “mountain” bike, there is still a set of rack mounts out back and three bottle cage mounts for extended expeditions.
The bottom bracket is a 100mm threaded affair, as many of you will appreciate, so any set of fat bike cranks will fit. If you feel like shredding rather than lugging cargo, the 31.6mm seatpost can also accommodate a dropper post.
The fork is built to match, with full-carbon construction, including the tapered steerer tube, 160mm post mounts and molded-in brake line guide. It too features a thru-axle for stiffness, with a 42mm offset and 455mm axle-to-crown.
One of our staffers took it for a quick spin along the Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake during Dirt Fest and had an absolute blast. The light weight eliminates that heavy monster truck feeling and the big tires provide tons of traction, he said.
Right now the Corvus is available in three size: 16, 18 and 20, as a frameset ($2,300), a frame-only ($1,850), or you can purchase just the fork ($450). There are no stock full bike builds, but Fatback and its home shop, Speedway Cycles, will be happy to build one to your specs.
