Fat-bikes at the Mammoth Kamikaze

Eric Hunter shot us a note a couple of weeks ago that he was doing the famous Kamikaze Bike Festival in Mammoth Lakes, CA on his fat-bike. You may remember the great shot of Eric competing in the Dual Slalom. Well, here is a bit more about his experience at the event!

Ok here is my go at a story! I wanted to race the Kamikaze Bike Games on my Fat-bike. Mammoth Mountain Bike Races started in the Mid-80-s. The bikes had no suspension! I think Fat-bikes reminded me of the rebirth of what mountain biking was about, Adventure by Bikes (Salsa!) I thought it would be great to do dual slalom, after all a fat-bike is like a fat BMX bike. The Salsa Mukluk hooked up in the corners, and jumped great, but thru rollers I had a learning curve…

mammoth-kamikaze2

Trying to huck the triples I rode this nose wheelie out!

People where rooting for me “Yeah, Big Wheel” and “Go Fatty”! People where amazed how well I was able to throw the fat-bike around and I did go on to win my Category.

I also raced the Cross Country sadly, I have no photos but I did hold my own and gained respect by other racers getting a third place.
Mammoth soil is loose pumice so a fat-bike is fun to ride, you kinda float thru the corners. Maybe not the fastest but the bike is a fun, go-to bike that climbs like a beast where other riders would spin out.

mammoth-kamikaze1

Alan Jacoby another local fat rider raced the Enduro on his purple Salsa Mukluk.

Thanks for the report, Hunter!

About Greg Smith 304 Articles
Greg Smith, known to many site visitors as Sven Hammer, founded Fat-bike.com in 2011 and the site quickly became the #1 online community for all things Fat. A lifelong rider and storyteller, Greg has been covering fat-biking since 2011—sharing news, reviews, art, and adventures from the trail, beach, and back alley. Based in Milwaukee, he blends cycling culture with a punk rock edge across podcasts, blog posts, and community events.

4 Comments

Comments are closed.