Surly Pugsley with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and belt drive

Surly's Pugsley is the bike that brought fatbiking to the masses. Although not the original fatbike, it was the first fatbike that was widely available and offered at a price that many riders could afford. Since then, it has been updated with different frame colors and build kits each year while sticking to the same basic design centered around four inch wide tires. Surly's complete Pugsley "Special Ops" build has one of the most unique colorways yet, featuring a maroon frame, gumwall tires, and chrome rims, seatpost, stem, and handlebars. We converted this stock Puglsey to a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive-equipped demo bike for Wheel Life Cyclery bike shop near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They will have the bike available for customers to test ride both the Rohloff and belt drive systems.

Surly Pugsley Fat Bike with Suspension Fork, Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, and Gates Belt Drive

Fatbikes are known for their wide tires’ ability to provide grip and traction in just about all trail conditions. We've built many of these bikes with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 gear hubs and several with a Gates Carbon Drive belt system as well, but how would a fatbike be improved if you added a suspension fork to the equation? That was the question we intended to answer with this Surly Pugsley build. Apparently the same question had been on many other peoples’ minds because the bike attracted plenty of attention when we showcased it in our booth at the Interbike tradeshow last September.

The goal for this Pugsley was twofold. First, we wanted to experiment with a more aggressive handling trail-specific fatbike. We also wanted to create a bike that would pique the interest of bike shop owners and industry insiders at Interbike, which is the bike industry’s largest trade show. Like the Surly Krampus build that also drew people into our booth, this Puglsey is one of the few Monkey Lab creations not built for a specific customer but rather as an experimental show bike.

Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14-Equipped Surly Pugsley Fat Bike

Surly Pugsley in its home environment

In keeping with our recent trend of Rohloff SPEEDHUB-equipped Surlys, here's a decked out Pugsley for a customer in Seattle, WA. After riding a Rohloff SPEEDHUB on his Civilian Luddite, our customer wanted to build out a second bike around the SPEEDHUB for all-terrain riding.

It's not uncommon for us to have customers order a second Rohloff hub or complete bike from us once they experience the benefits of this drivetrain system. For our Seattle customer riding in all weather conditions, the SPEEDHUB proved its worth through reliable shifting and low maintenance requirements.