Skookum Carbon Mountain-Destroying Fat Bike Is All-Season Machine With Peak Gear

Folks, the bike before you is known as the Skookum, a carbon fiber fat tire wonder that’s designed to do more than soften your ride; it’s made to dominate snow-covered single tracks. Best of all, just because winter will end at some point doesn't mean that you’ll have to buy another bike as this trinket is made for city riding too.

The Skookum is built by Corvus Cycles, formerly known as Fatback Bikes, a cycling team from Anchorage, Alaska. Have you any idea what it may take to successfully run a bicycle manufacturing company out of a place like Alaska? Time to find out.

What makes the Skookum so appealing, aside from the obvious fat tires, is that this hardtail rocket is completed out of nothing more than carbon fiber. Yes, folks, the entire frame uses nothing but proprietary carbon layering techniques that yield the beauty that you see. Look closer, not a single weld, as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Beyond that, you’ve got that solid frame geometry that looks like it’s going to handle whatever you throw at it.

Since this puppy is a hardtail bike, the benefit of not losing traction, or rather, energy, as you’re speeding around city streets, is one of the bike’s active traits. To soften the ride, there’s always those 5-inch-wide tires, but there’s also a front fork with 120 mm (4.72 in) of travel from Manitou. That's more than enough to keep you riding over any city terrains, be it rain, snow, or shine, but will also perform out on the trail. As a bonus, this bike is also dropper post-ready. With internal cable routing just for the post, press a button, and the seat lowers out of the way if you need the clearance.

Now, one thing to note about this bike is that it features multiple build kits to choose from, each one optimized for different riders and preferences. While most secondary components remain the same, the drivetrain will be different depending on what ride preferences and abilities you have. Future owners will have the option to selecting a SRAM NX, GX, or XO Eagle setup, all tuned to the sounds of a 1X drivetrain.

Shifter and derailleur also correspond to each drivetrain choice, but if you feel like mixing it up, you can always do a bit of work in your garage with components you enjoy and love. This brings me to my next point.

If you’d like to build your own bike, but with a Skookum frame, Corvus offers stripped framesets meant just for that. Fatback mainly supplied secondary components with an alloy handlebar and seat post, integrated headset, stem, and even saddle rails, all from the previous manufacturer of these bikes.

Now, I'm not a big fan of fat-tire bikes, but the moment I saw this wonder and the shape of its frame, I knew I had to take a closer look. Honestly, I'm glad I did, as this beauty may have just changed my mind about this style of bike.

Let's say you fall in love with this bike too, if that’s the case, you’ll need anywhere from $1,900 (€1,632 at current exchange rates) to $5,200 (€4,468 at current exchange rates), possibly more if your dealer wants some of your cash. Nonetheless, a deal to consider if you’re ever in the fat-tire bike market.