DRAG Tundra – We experienced winter with the fat-tire bike.
3 minute read
Winter was coming. We got two awesome "fatties" from our friends at Drag Bicycles. We had to continue our series – “Places where a bike hasn’t reached”. And we really did – it was amazing!
- Ned Dervenkov (November 2019)
First of all, we are located in the Balkans – a strange part of Southeastern Europe where half-naked men drink a strong spirit made from grapes called rakia since noon (you can’t help but love stereotypes). That said, you need to understand that it snows here. And when I say "it snows," I don’t mean 10 cm accumulation that causes panic in London once every 7 years. I’m talking about real snow accumulation (over 3 meters in the mountains) with temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius. When winter comes, you really have to prepare. We prepared with the bike we expected to be the best for the season – the Drag Tundra.
To be completely honest, there is no more rewarding experience – physically and mentally – than a good bike tour in such harsh conditions. When I say "harsh," I mean a meter and a half of snow at minus 15 degrees. The Drag Tundra, despite the tough terrain, performed wonderfully – a truly reliable bike for such an adventure. With a rigid fork, aluminum frame (I’m not a big fan of aluminum for tours, but we weren’t disappointed and had no problems) and a weight of 16.2 kilograms without our luggage.
Our first trip was around the Pirin mountain. Despite the fact that we struggled with snow that was like powder and not compact at all, lowering the tire pressure to 0.9 bar really helped us. Still, we had to push a lot. That powder-like snow is really hard to manage, even for the Drag Tundra. We keep going on the trails anyway… This bike glides like the USS Enterprise among asteroids (if you don’t get this reference, I’m probably too old).
Here is the biggest secret of the Drag Tundra – the tires (what a surprise). Vee Rubber H-Billie 26 x 4.25 – these tires are… quite… big! And we’re not just talking about size, but also the tread, which is simply incredible – the bevel chamfer, which reduces resistance, is placed behind the knobs, on the opposite side of the edge. That’s pretty crazy, but damn, it works! I can also point out the custom handmade spokes – 32 spokes for maximum durability. They definitely did their job.
I’m not a big expert when it comes to components, but some of them are made personally by Drag Bicycles. The saddle, seatpost, stem, and grips are all COX (that’s Drag Bicycles’ brand for components). To be completely honest, they’re not the highest-end quality in the world, but they definitely do a great job and hold up, plus their price is great. Combined with Shimano Deore front and rear derailleurs, Shimano chain, rims, and gears (mid-quality), you get a good bike. A good and cheap "fat" bike – retailing for about 650 euros. For the purpose it was made, it does a great job, even in Romania.
Rule: no towers in Romania!
Optimistic and quite excited, we headed to the Transfăgărășan highway (not really a highway), called “The world’s best trip” by BBC and Top Gear. Anyway, it turned out there was a lot of snow there, even by our standards.
I think we did about a third of the entire route – real fun. We managed to test the Drag fatties in very, very icy conditions. I mean, if the bike is good on snow, on ice it’s simply one of a kind. We’ve never felt so confident on descents – the simple thickness of the tires gives great peace of mind.
Romania turned out to be very beautiful and I saw how the Transfăgărășan can be the best road ever. We will do it again in summer (this time without the Drag Tundra).
The Drag Tundra is a great bike if you want to ride in snowy conditions. However, it’s not a bike for every day, because it can be too tiring on climbs, especially if your tires are underinflated.
