Fat bikes, as a category, have been fairly stagnant since exploding onto the scene in the early ’10s. Meanwhile, mountain bike geometry continues to get more progressive, generally leaving riders in snowy climates out in the cold when it comes to modern and more aggressive geometry. So, for 2022 Rocky Mountain decided to update the Blizzard fat bike, with “aggressive trail geometry and a no-nonsense mountain bike ride character.”
Key changes include a slacker 66° head tube angle, a steeper 74° seat tube angle, and reach numbers that are properly long, with the extra-large stretching to an even 500mm, up from 456mm on the previous version.
| Measurement | SM | MD | LG | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Tube Horizontal (mm) | 598 | 624 | 652 | 679 |
| Head Tube Angle (deg) | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 |
| Head Tube Length (mm) | 105 | 110 | 120 | 130 |
| Seat Tube Angle (deg) | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 |
| Seat Tube Length (mm) | 380 | 420 | 445 | 480 |
| Rear Centre (mm) | 455 | 455 | 455 | 455 |
| Bottom Bracket Drop (mm) | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| Reach (mm) | 425 | 450 | 475 | 500 |
| Stack (mm) | 604 | 608 | 618 | 627 |
| Standover Height (mm) | 793 | 806 | 807 | 819 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1171 | 1198 | 1227 | 1256 |
Rocky Mountain also added a carbon Blizzard to the 2022 line in two build kits with prices for the complete carbon bikes set at $2,699 and $3,299. Unlike the alloy Blizzards, the carbon bike comes standard with 27.5″ wheels and tires, and the frame fits tweener tires up to 4.5″ wide. Good old-fashioned 26″ fat bike wheels and tires work with the carbon frame too, and can balloon up to a full 5″ wide through the fork and stays. Rocky Mountain also managed to find plenty of spots for mounting bottles, racks, and bags on the updated bikes.
All builds ship with a rigid fork, though Rocky Mountain says the bikes are compatible with a 100mm suspension fork for 27.5″ wheels, and a longer 120mm fork for 26″ wheels. The carbon builds feature 12-speed Shimano drivetrains while the alloy builds come with less rangey 10-speed kits.
The alloy frames are said to offer identical geometry numbers to their carbon cousins, with complete alloy builds starting at just $1,599.
More details at the Rocky Mountain website.
