I didn't articulate my point about the welds very well. Yes, they are good for an aluminum bike, but just not a fan (more of a steel bike fillet braze guy) of how they look and the paint does it no favors.

Suggestion for next video: take out your favourite bike tomorrow on the same route and compare the ride. Suggestion for video after that: take out the fat bike again and do Review Part 2. Thanks. Great work.

I love your channel and this was a great review. BUT, As an engineer and aluminum welder, you really are over the top nit picky about the welds. The welds look near perfect. I have the carbon fiber Salsa Beargrease X7 fat bike and the finish on it is very delicate compared to an aluminum bike.

I just started riding a 27.5+ MTB in 2017 and love it. Great review. I'm definitely back to n+1 again.

Those welds look great just how I'd expect it to look like on an aluminum bike. As for it beeing fun on dry terrain, I own a Scott Big Jon 2017 and I'm in Brazil, in a part of the country where it doesn't even get cold and the bike is a blast to ride specially on loose rocky terrain.

Just got my 2018 wo. Best purchase ever.

Looks like it is set up almost identical to my Scott Big Jon. Just a simple aluminum fat bike with the right parts and the right geo. The old Kona Wo was a dog, nice to see more manufacturers making fun fat bikes.

Salsa Beargrease a $2,000 full carbon fat bike with 27.5 wheels - rides so nice I will leave touring bike at home(Disk Trucker) and take the fat down Cal Coast in Feb. Touring requires good physical strength and this bike ups my workout just a bit to make it more enjoyable on a road bike for 100mi. days. I do not ride snow, because no matter how fat the bike is Ice will still drop any rider like a rock. Thanks for the good review, try a beargrease, it defies all fat bike logic.

I agree with the welds. For a $1000 bike I would expect the welds to be cleaner. I have a Mongoose Vinson that retails for around $700 and the welds on that are so much cleaner. Also my Vinson has 24-speeds and honestly I use them. I commute in a rural and very hilly area of Michigan. I like having those gears because it makes life so much easier. I ride the fat bike like I do my road bike. When ascending I use the the granny gears and then shift into the lower gears while descending. Because my fat bike is a 3x8 I only lose just shy of 2 miles and hour on the fat bike with 26x4's in winter in comparison to my road bike in spring , summer and fall on 700x32. To be able to commute on my bike in winter I'm totally fine with a 2 mph difference.

Bike shops around me (Michigan) recommend 3 psi for riding in snow, handles very well in loose snow. They suggest I ride 7 to 10 psi for sand and loose trail riding.

Looks like a great fit for your area. Montana looks bloody cold. Good on you for keeping on it.

This would go perfect with my Sutra LTD. The Wo would be an excellent winter commuter and I'm seriously considering getting one

I like the review, but I'm not sure you should recommend (or not) based on something subjective (referring to the video description).

Thanks for the excellent review! I was just browsing kona web site randomly and found this jewel. Now stronghly thinking about buying it. Looks like a pretty great winter bike.

The 2015 model of the Kona WO has mounts on the fork for cages and stuff but it doesn't have thru axles and the geometry is different.

Fatbikes are awesome year round. I use mine exclusively as a snow bike but they make surprisingly agile and capable trail bikes. I think fatbikes make a lot of sense for many people and are hardly the fad some believe. The Wo is essentially an old school mountain bike (steep head angle, long chainstays, short reach, short BB drop) and probably handles like a traditional rigid hardtail.

If you get a chance, try the Salsa Beargrease or the Salsa Mukluk, I think you will be very happy with either, lost of mounting points, I think it will give you another look at fatbike from the carbon side of things

Check out 9-zero-7 bikes for a full carbon fat bike set up for bike packing.

Did you give it to free cycles if so I have that bike

Got one too Absolutely awesome Fatbike

Would you recommend this for a beginner biker and fat biker? Would I be able to get into mountain biking with this in the summer?

Are you guys on Strava? I also live in MT and would love to see where you guys ride, especially when you do your longer adventures.

I've seen some cool bikes like these with drop bar setups. Any ideas on why would one need that? Or is it just for the sake of making them look cooler

so what happened with kona?

What is the rear fender / mud flap you're using?

Which weight?

Did your feet stay warm enough? LOL!