Introducing the Bluto - RockShox's New Fat Bike Fork

Apr 10, 2014
by SRAM  
You’ve probably observed more and more riders are on bikes that look “different” on your trails. Bikes that have wheels and tires of gigantic proportion – and we’re not talking about 29ers here. The thing is, even though fat bikes were first created to float on top of snow and sand, they’re just too damn fun not to ride on dirt. So how do you amplify your fat bike adventures even further? With a supercharged, ultra efficient, first of its kind fat suspension fork called BLUTO. We started with the features you’ve come to love from RockShox: Rapid Recovery rebound, Fast Black aluminum upper tubes, the infinitely tunable Solo Air spring, stout 15mm Maxle Lite, remote or crown adjustable damper, and tapered steerer tube. Then, the chassis got the fat treatment by reengineering it to meet the unique needs of fat tires and wheels. Everything from crown, to arch, to axle has been optimized to tackle the increased torsional loads of its wide stance. With more traction and control than ever before, you’ll never be happier you went fat.



Bluto Specs

• Wheel Size: 26”
• Travel (mm): 80/100/120mm
• Tapered steerer
• 51mm offset axle
• 15x150 Maxle Lite
• Damper Adjust
• Crown or Remote (PushLoc) compression to lockout, rebound
• Solo air spring
• 4.8" Tire clearance
• Color: Black, White (OE only), Diffusion Black (OE only)
• Target Weight:1796g (3.96 lb)
• MSRP Crown/Remote: $643/$711 USD



RockShox Bluto
RockShox Bluto



www.rockshox.com


Posted In:
Press Releases Forks RockShox


Author Info:
SramMedia avatar

Member since Apr 1, 2011
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105 Comments
  • 42 1
 how is this thing only 130 heavier than the new RS-1!?? Have they done anything to help the fork work better in the cold? I know that normal suspension oil doesn't like to move in the cold climates that fat bikes are known to frequent. Also, big props to the name!
  • 8 4
 Good point, my old dart fork pretty much went rigid in the cold. My sister got her's moving after a bit but anything under 30 or so mine was rigid...
  • 92 3
 lol darts
  • 2 2
 I can't remember where I read because there are a million articles on this now, but yes they used different seals and lighter fluid or something for winter use.
  • 3 12
flag RobbyBriers (Apr 10, 2014 at 10:47) (Below Threshold)
 wako29; good point. Did they take in consideration cold climate? My bet is no. But on the other hand, sand races are more common than snow races.
  • 15 2
 is it only me having a strange feeling while opening this article that I should set different screen resolutoion?:P
  • 2 1
 snoopy stole the words from my mouth
  • 1 1
 I ride my RS Sektor without any problems in temperatures down to -10 Celsius.
  • 1 1
 I think if you switch to 5W-30 for the colder weather you should be good to go Razz
  • 2 2
 Aren't you going to actually ride the bike though? Have you touched your rear shock after a downhill run? Dampers get pretty hot.
  • 1 1
 @Reefer.. lol
Clever name(-:
  • 1 0
 I think it's pretty similar to changing the oil in your car. oil thickens in the cold, so I would think that it would need to be a thinner viscosity. I'm gonna ride one tomorrow. I'll let you know.
  • 2 0
 The pike, the rs1, and now the bluto, rockshox is just on fire
  • 1 0
 this is the first new mt bike thing in ages that i've been impressed by. it opens a truely new world of riding
  • 2 1
 If they put lighter fluid in it I suppose that the fork would run warmer!! lolololol!
  • 12 0
 Pinkbike is getting to know its users quite well. Write an article about why we shouldn't hate on fatbikes before releasing reviews on fat bikes and fat bike parts. Brilliant PR! Wink
  • 13 0
 So Lighter, Cheaper and better tire clearance than the Carver inverted suspension fat fork... I'm good with that.
  • 6 9
 It's got a fragile, flimsy Maxle-Lever though. Why can't RS phase out that crap with the new style one like on the Pikes and RS-1.
  • 13 2
 Fat bikes really don't need a lot of rigidity... we're talking 4 to 6 psi in the single-ply casing front tire that's 4 inches wide. You'll barely notice any fork/hub/axle flex when your tire is deformed as much as it does.
  • 3 43
flag freeride-forever (Apr 10, 2014 at 10:33) (Below Threshold)
 Hmmmm, unfortunately it's not as titties 'cuz it's not inverted & it's made by Shit Shox.
  • 24 1
 lol we have a fox fanboy
  • 1 0
 Nah, I'm talking about the actual lever mechanism of the axle. You know how the Pike and RS-1 have the redesigned lever, as oppose to the old one this fork has. I thought all their new forks were gonna have the new style lever, but obviously not, which is a shame. These old style ones get bent at the point where the lever pushes against.
  • 3 0
 Sam-rodda, they are probably just using that lever because it will be much easier to operate with the giant caribou-skin eskimo- mittens that riders will probably be wearing when they are out riding their fat bike.
  • 1 0
 haha, maybe! Having not seen the new lever for real I can't say anything about it's operation, but it don't look like it couldn't be used with fat ass paws.
  • 2 0
 I didn't actually even look at it, I just assumed that was why Wink
  • 1 0
 Yeah tiny levers and penguin gloves don't mix in -40 windchill.
  • 1 0
 I don't think the new lever is actually any shorter.
  • 8 0
 Pretty light. You just know some people are gonna put one of these on their normal bike.
  • 4 0
 I would fatbike tire in the front for insane cornering grip
  • 2 0
 I met a guy on the trail once that road a 26 hardtail with a fatbike fork and tire up front. He said it was the grippiest and most fun thing hes ever ridden
  • 2 0
 Ive been thinking about trying that, a normal 4in 26er fatbike tire has about the same diameter as a 2.3in 29er, so it wouldn't even screw up the handling.
  • 10 3
 I love how they claim everything has been re-engineered for torsional stiffness... except for that 150mm long 15mm axle. That's like going back to QR.
  • 1 3
 I noticed that right away as well. Maybe they need a Maverick axle for this guy.
  • 5 0
 You do realize that the able sees virtually only shear loads at the point there the hub and dropout meet and an axial load from tightening when riding right? (Yes there will be a torque during the tightening process, but it will go away when you take your hand away from the lever) A dropout that holds the locknuts well will take away a lot of the shear loads as well. The axle could be relatively thin and be stiffer if the hub/dropout interface is designed correctly.
  • 1 1
 Axle *
  • 4 5
 Shouldn't it be stiffer than a normal 15mm maxle because its wider? Like dh frames have 150mm x12mm rear ends which is stiffer than 135mm x 12mm
  • 2 1
 Besides the fact that a rear triangle has multiple structural supports, instead of one pair like a fork, and that forks have to deal with bushing play, imagine this: you've got a 5 foot pole with a bucket of water on each end. if the pole is skinny enough, it's going to bow in the middle, under the weight of the buckets at it's ends, right? now take a 10ft pole made out of the same material and thickness, and put the same buckets of water on the ends. The pole will bend more, due the buckets having better leverage, even though they weigh the same. 150mm rear ends are stiffer because you're making a bigger, more stable triangle (looking down on the back of the bike from the top) by widening the base. The undished nature of 150mm rear wheels helps with stiffness as well.
  • 3 0
 20 mm would have made way more sense.
  • 1 0
 agree 20mm better option, but the problem is the front hub options, not many manufacturer doing 15mmx150 front hub.
  • 7 0
 This makes fat bikes look tempting
  • 4 0
 Jeeze rockshox and fox have almost traded places on the 20mm axle versus 15mm axle thing

and I haven't heard anyone gripe about it insight of all this enduro/fatbike nonsense haha
  • 1 0
 I really want to install one of these on my Fat bike however the lack of straight steerer is causing me an issue. Does anyone have an out of the box solution for this? A headset that will convert a straight 1 1/8 to a tapered fork? I have to believe that someone has come up with this.
  • 1 0
 This fork is not stiff enough for a ground control on tubeless nextie 90mm rims. Steering goes all weird. Using a 120mm bluto on ventana el gordo, rohloff and gates belt. Broke first belt after a few months. Gotta make sure to keep the tension up. It snapped on an upslope when i was cranking from nearly stopped. The load of the 84kg and the big grippy tires under my mighty thighs was too much. Could have been to a little stretch ausing a shock load - may have been avoided with slightly better tension
  • 1 0
 I've looked around and no one makes a150 mmx15 front hub yet, some claim that industry nine and hope make hubs in a 150x15mm spacing but they don't, I've checked both industry nine and hope websites and they only have 135mm x 10 or 9, which is what fat bike forks currently are. Even the carver trans fat suspension fork (which I have) is 135mm not 150mm. Either it's a typo or it's a new hub spacing for fat bikes.
  • 1 0
 nope can't find 1 now online, maybe supplier from taiwan?
  • 1 0
 I'm guessing a 120mm Bluto fork + fat bike tires will feel like you have a downhill fork on the front Razz

Unless your running a higher pressure in the front, surely the front end is going to feel wobbly?
  • 1 0
 I have no hope for this in true Canadian winter climates. I ride in -25 conditions all the time. Also I don't see suspension being necessary for winter riding unless of course your just a big pussy
  • 1 0
 Might be better for the 200+ guys like me. I blow up hard tail wheels after one ride on the trails. All my suspension pressure and tensions are to the max on my dewlies or else they bottom out all the time. Never rode a fat bike so I don't know for sure. But to each there own. Some people just have different needs.

As for bigger tires up front I use to run a 2.5 on the front of my hard tail before I switched it to a hybrid ride. It gave me way more cornering confidence on the tails. Fat bike tire would be over kill I think. But you never know.
  • 1 0
 BoneDog - I live in Haines AK and been riding a pug since day 1. Usually around +10 here but we get spells of -25 F. I also ride a 9er on studs for lakes and rivers on ice. My 9er is full suss and works fantastic in super cold temps. I just run lighter oil. It's funny when folks dis suspension on sand and snow. Motorsports are a a bit ahead of us on this. Turns out it works fine. The fat tire is a spring without rebound and handles like crap reminiscent of the old honda big red. Big tires necessitate suspension with strong rebound control or obstacles make the wheel go airborn and loose traction.
  • 6 4
 At least it's 26" I guess... I don't think I could live in a world with 29"er fat bikes
  • 18 0
 Well I hope you had a good run...

surlybikes.com/bikes/ecr
  • 1 0
 and there's 24s! www.bikerumor.com/2013/07/23/its-a-boy-on-one-announces-baby-fatty-a-24-wheel-fat-bike
  • 1 1
 just search 29+ fatbike in google there are literally hundreds of models, they were huge at NAHBS
  • 7 0
 Ok I'll change that to; "at least they aren't popular enough to have RockShox making suspension forks for them."
  • 1 0
 Hay! There's an English guy called Sam Tomkins, plays rugby league, really good at it. Given you're Canadian, and you ride bikes, I don't think you're the same guy, but I just thought you should know...
  • 8 0
 Hey I've heard about that guy too!! He's pretty cool cause he has my name, otherwise he doesn't seem very cool because he doesn't ride bikes.
  • 3 0
 Its in 559 guys, ERMUHGAWD!
  • 4 0
 Fat bike DH please!!! Smile
  • 2 0
 www.bikerumor.com/2012/09/07/phil-wood-shows-converted-santa-cruz-v10-dh-fat-bike-plus-new-track-crankset-seat-collars
  • 1 0
 That's mad seen as we don't get a lot of snow in the south of england that looks crazy for taking out on a properly muddy day!
  • 1 0
 I personally think the solo air spring is going to suck ass in cold temps if anyone thinks they need a suspension fork in the winter.
  • 2 0
 Hey guys! Not sure if I missed this somewhere - What size are the sanctions? (I'm assuming 32mm!)
  • 2 0
 RS are on fire at the moment..... seems like a new story/product every few days.
  • 2 0
 soooo.... who makes a 15 x 150 hub?????
  • 4 0
 i believe hope and borealis do.
  • 4 0
 And Industry Nine
  • 2 1
 Novatec will have one, Rocky uses Novatec hubs for their in-house "wheeltech" labeled, and that's what rocky has on the blizzard.
  • 1 0
 formula makes hubs that fit this , many brands are using it with there name on it though currently.
  • 2 0
 suddenly, this might be the only option to stay with 26"
  • 1 0
 Yeah!!!!!!!!
  • 1 0
 someone's bound to release 25in 'phat' wheels with 6in fatbike tires..."similar rolling resistance to 26in wheels but with a bigger contact patch and a more compliant ride resulting in higher confidence on the trail"..............................
  • 1 0
 i like all besides no choice for 1 1/8 steer tube - so no go for surly and others
  • 1 0
 So if White and Black are the OE-only colors, what's the aftermarket fork look like?
  • 1 0
 Ok....Animal House or Popeye reference?
  • 2 5
 I have virtually no experience on a fat bike, but with big chunker tires I can't imagine the need for suspension. I suppose if you're into regular dirt riding with a fat bike maybe, but I find too few problems with a normal 2.4 on a 29er to bother adding the weight of a 4+ inch tire to the mix. A 5 inch travel trail bike seems way more appropriate for trail riding if your conditoins are harsh and/or you can't handle getting banged around by rock gardens etc. Like I said, though, I have basically no experience on these.
  • 8 0
 Low pressure tires provide no damping. They can cushion impact but also bounce instead of damp.
  • 3 0
 The suspension is more for dampening the un-controlled suspension of the tires. I think fatbikes are fun on normal trails, tons of grip.
  • 1 0
 Is it worth at least 300 grams/tire alone on the climbs? I'm genuinely curious. I don't love climbs, so anything that makes them easier is quite welcome. I'm a hardtai ride, again. Did squish for about 4 years, and it was nice, but I like the feedback of the trail on a hardtail, within reason. Feel like this mega mush ride would take all of that out and you'd just float over stuff. Not a bad thing, just not my thing.
  • 1 0
 For slaying strava times and getting KOMs a fat bike is probably not the right tool, but now a days a hardtail isn't either. Fat bikes are kind of like single speeds the guys who ride them race in capes and have sweet mustaches, fat bikes aren't for everyone but I happen to like them. To answer your question if you are looking for speed and KOMs choose a carbon 29er if you want a unique and fun ride try fat bikes.
  • 1 0
 I don't care about KOMs, I care about getting to the top of a hill and not feeling like a sack of shit. I've found myself changing more traditional tires cause they "felt" slow, but I had no idea whether they were or not. If I feel more free biking (up and down) then I'm happier, and with my trails (packed clay, steep short ups & downs) I can't help but think I'd feel like I was riding up carpet on velcro tires. In the winter though, I would love a fatty. Once again, I qualify my statement with the fact that I have little experience on this kinds of bikes, just feel the need to chime.

Ps. I'm not questioning fat bikes, more the need for fat bike suspension
  • 1 0
 Thank is a valid statement. Fat biking is a really just a different style of riding, I totally understand why many people don't like it. Velcro is a great way to describe the feel of fat bikes on dirt. Funny I like the grip of fat bikes but I run semi-slicks on my all-mountain bike. Suspension not necessary for most fat biking I doubt I will use fat bike suspension, but that's what people said about mountain bike suspension when it was first getting started, you never know.
  • 1 3
 Wondered how long it would take to get sus forks for fat bikes? THIS IS 29er for some one who hates idea of moving from 26" size rim,
Will buy one in a couple of years when price comes down to reasonable price
  • 1 0
 MSRP = $643 and MSRP is always higher than the actual price. That's pretty reasonable compared to most forks I've bought recently.
  • 1 0
 not sure what to think about this,only time will tell.
  • 2 1
 It would be interesting to put one of these on a skinny road bike.
  • 1 0
 NOW WE JUST NEED 200MM FAT BIKES
  • 2 0
 here is 175mm Smile ) close
vimeo.com/56568845
  • 1 0
 It looks like a failed porn star Smile
  • 1 1
 Anyone actually peddaled one up a hill?? I cant imagine 4 inch tyres rolling well!
  • 1 0
 Bluto? Should have called it the Fat Pike for fat bikes.
  • 1 0
 When's a full sus fat bike coming out to the masses?
  • 1 0
 Pshh, cross braces are overrated anyways
  • 2 2
 What? No 650b or 29ers on fatbikes? Good for you!
  • 1 0
 see the guy above's link...but 29er fats exist. Surly Krampus and ECR for starters.
  • 1 0
 TOGA TOGA TOGA!
  • 1 0
 Well its still april...
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