Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I give you laendo.

There doesn't seem to be a unified term to describe the bikes I am currently interested in. So I am going to declare one: laendos. You may feel free to pronounce it using either first vowel depending on whether you are a bigger fan of Japanese martial arts of Star Wars. Henceforth I shall use this term to describe bikes which are built to accommodate four inch wide tires. Currently Surly offers the Larry and Endomorph as the premier tires for these bikes. Additionally another company makes a tire that is significantly cheaper and has nifty spider/web tread, but from what I understand, they don't preform great. I have heard "fat tire" bikes used to describe these, and while it sort of works, it is definitely stealing an in use mountain bike term. "Snowbike" is also gaining popularity, but the first bikes of this sort were actually designed with sand in mind, and calling them snowbikes now seems a disservice to those early pioneers. I have also heard Pugsley thrown about generically, but I don't want it to end up on the list next to Kleenex, Dumpster, and Styrofoam cup. So for all you interested folks out there, if you are looking at a bicycle with four inch wide tires, you're probably looking at a laendo.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that Surly. And I am glad to see another excited winterbiker.

Joboo said...

Thanks, but I already have my own, and damn is it fun!!!!
4-5" of the white fluffy stuff has fallen here in northern Mn. from around noonish till...'well...wait......It's still coming down!!!
The pedal to work in the a.m. should be a blast!!!

LONG LIVE laendos!!!
PUG U!!

Peace, Joboo