Stateguy

Can someone give me information on this bike
how do they compare to a trek salsa specialize
how does the company with there warranty
anything you like or dislikes on the bikes

Sembikes

it depends on your budget and suspension or not. also the wheelset.

Stateguy

was wondering how it compares to other brand names like I mentioned
do you own one
i am looking at ridged fork and carbon bike with 27.5 wheels
I don’t see much info out there posted about them except from the company and y tube
that why I threw it out there to see how people like

HerrKaLeun

If they list the components, you can compare to other brands. What they make (or have made in a factory in Asia to their specs) is the frame and fork to their specs. then they buy wheels, drivetrain etc. and have it assembled in a factory. Probably the same factory that builds all the other bikes.
An XT shifter on a Growler will work exactly like an XT shifter on a Trek.

All name brand frames are of a good quality, meaning they don't break easily. What really differentiates them is the design, meaning the geometry. And here is the real deal, you can't change the geometry unlike a drivetrain you can upgrade.

Carbon frame and 27.5 wheels will limit the choice. I think Canyon Dude now comes with 27.5" wheels. You should make a list bikes that meet those 2 criteria, It will be a relatively short list, then compare what YOU value in a bike and are willing to pay.

prj71

They are just another run of the mill fat bike company selling you carbon chinese frames that they slapped their name on. Nothing extraordinary about them other than they offer a lot of custom paint colors. More than likely the bikes they are selling use the same carbon frames you can find on ebay or amazon.

HerrKaLeun

The ICAN SN04 frame seems to be what Growler uses.

and yes, they are pretty good with their marketing making people believe they get an "American" bike

borninpa

Wow, you weren't kidding, looking at the bike geometry drawing on both sites, it is exactly the same!
What about Growler's American Stout Aluminum frame? That's the one I was looking at, and they claim on their description page as made in US (and I didn't see any Aluminum frames for purchase on the ICAN site.)

prj71

The aluminum frames are made in Taiwan.

They use a clever choice of words on their website to make you think it is all US based. "Designed, manufactured and assembled in America" What they actually do is import the frames (both carbon and aluminum) which may be their design or open source frames then assemble them in the US using parts that are also made overseas.

If any of their bike were made actually in the US from start to finish the prices would be double or more than what you see there now.

borninpa

Is this the text on their site that to which you are referring," Made right here in the US using 100% 7075 aluminum tubing?"
Somewhere on their site, I can't remember right now exactly where, is a video of someone actually welding a frame in what appears to be their NY location.
BTW I'm not arguing, just disappointed if it isn't really US made, and surprised if it is really that super subtle marketing as the whole page is targeted as buying local

HerrKaLeun

Note, they can call it made in USA if they do some final assembly or modification. Each industry has different regulation of what that means.

I doubt an industrially produced Al frame is produced in the US. And what would be the advantage? The Taiwanese frames are so good (Kineseis et al), I would prefer one of theirs. All the bicycle supply chain and competence are in Asia.

For Al HT frames, look at RSD Mayor. 67° HA and 74° SA. The new v5 is a bit longer (I have the v4). There is another fatbike a bit slacker, but the name escapes me right now (it is a small manufacturer).
My first fatbike (Motobecane Sturgis) had 70° HA, and more standover etc. I bought the Mayor fork and frame and swapped all the parts over. it was a big improvement, even on simple trails. Including selling my old frame, that all cost me $600 or so, but well worth it to get better geometry.
You really want low standover. Your feet sink in the snow more than the bike...

Edit: I remembered, the Pole Taiga is the other fatbike with modern geometry. I'm just not sure if they went too far with modern (slacker HA, steeper SA). it also cost quite a bit more than the Mayor. but if i had to replace my fatbike, it would be one to look at.

prj71

Translation: "Assembled right here in the US using 100% 7075 aluminum tubing on frames imported from Taiwan"

It's nothing more than clever marketing. Like I said...if it was made in the USA prices would be a lot more.

Check out post #33

https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/gr...s-1025676.html

Even the big name bike manufactures...Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Giant...All made in Taiwan.

borninpa

Yes, I agree that Taiwanese manufacturing is good, and most or all of the major bike retailers have frames from Asia, so it was more of a nice extra if the Growler was made here. I was looking at Fat bikes around the $~2k area, and component-wise it seemed similar or maybe slightly better versus its competition (Trek/Giant/Framed/etc)

borninpa

thanks prj71! I had skimmed that thread previously on MTBR, but missed post 33, I'll blame it on recently getting progressive glasses in middle age!!!

prj71

If they were made here the only extra would be...$$$$$$$$$$$

prj71

Around that price range, either of these are good choices. It's rumored that Specialized is getting out of the fat bike business.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bikes-yukon

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...edark_tealdark

https://www.fatbike.com/bikes1

borninpa

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm intrigued by the RSD that Herr posted. In fact, I realized maybe I was wrong about the Growler components. While the RSD is 1x11, it is mostly NX, while the Growler is mostly SX, though 1x12. The RSD is cheaper, in fact I noticed about 2 weeks ago that Growler raised their price from 1800 to 2000. I was originally looking at the Giant Yukon but got scared off by a thread I think on MTBR complaining about the stock wheels and hubs. Though now looking at the Yukon specs it seems similar. In any case, not ready to buy just yet due to the overall lack of availability of bikes, and also haven't got "alignment" on the funding

HerrKaLeun

You can change components. You can't change geometry.

The Yukon is very bad unless you already plan to buy new wheels anyway. Not only do the rear hubs fail, that is common with cheap fat hubs. But they are 28-hole and so are the rims. ALL fatbike hubs have 32 spokes. So you will be stuck with whatever proprietary hub giant gives you. Wheels are an expensive and important part of a bike. I don't know who at Giant cooked that up and what their advantage is, but this was a big disservice to buyers. AFter the warranty, the hub is your cost. Even during warranty many people did not have a winter riding season last year because Giant didn't have replacement hubs.

As for made in USA... I'm enough of a nerd to know my PC has na intel CPU. But have no idea if it was made in their Israel, Taiwan, Malaysia or Texas facility. Nor does it matter. Rims, drivetrain, brakes are all made outside the US. You can like it or not, just the way it is.

bvachon29

I've been interested in a Growler as well. Their aluminum frames seem to be made in Florida then assembled in NY so that is pretty cool. If that's important to you I'd also check out Wyatt bikes. They're made in Wisconsin and highly customizable like the Growler's.

HerrKaLeun

You can just buy a new modern frame and build from frame up. I bet hat is cheaper than Growler and you really get what you want.

Daffos

have you solved the issue?

Dumpngo

Even my PInarello is made in Taiwan

prj71

What was the issue?