Diamondback

El Oso SLX Complete Fat Bike - 2016

Before you make the dreaded descent into the basement for the winter, setting up your bike on the trainer with some old speakers and a poster of rolling European countryside on the wall in front of you for inspiration, consider the possibility that you could actually be enjoying winter weather on your bike. Diamondback's El Oso SLX Complete Fat Bike is a wallet-friendly introduction to the world of fat bikes, with solid componentry that will make sailing through piles of wet, slushy snow more fun than you ever thought it could be.

The El Oso's 6061-T6 treated aluminum frame gives the bike its ideal blend of lightness and strength, and the RockShox Bluto fork offers 100mm of travel to add plushness to your ride as you navigate slippery rocks and slick trails. Shimano M447 hydraulic disc brakes provide consistent stopping power as you pick up speed, with 180mm rotors guaranteeing that no amount of wet snow will hinder their effectiveness. Diamondback uses a consistent, dependable 10-speed Shimano drivetrain on the El Oso, with a Race Face 36/26t compact crank. The 4.5-inch wide tires are where you'll really notice the fat bike difference — the El Oso's wide, knobby Kenda Juggernauts glide effortlessly along snow-covered singletrack through the woods and grip effortlessly in conditions where road or traditional mountain tires would slip and slide.