29"+ Full Suspension Bike?

[jnroyal]

I've been lusting after a full-suspension fatbike since Salsa unveiled their fat Spearfish/Horsethief frame 1.5 years ago, but after getting in a few rides with a Knard tire I'm starting to wonder if a full suspension 29"+ bike would actually work better for me. We already know that Fox forks have the clearance to accept a Knard (barely), I'm wondering if there are any full suspension frames that could be modified to fit a Knard in the rear?

It seems like a no-brainer for Salsa to be developing something like this for 2014 or 2015. They claim they cannot bring a fat fully to market without a fork manufacturer stepping up to make a fat fork, but that's not an issue with 29". And the Horsethief already has chainstays long enough to fit a Knard, it would just be a matter of making BB/chainstay yokes wide enough to wrap around the tire. Since their sister company (Salsa) has already come up with the means to make such yokes, it should be fairly easy right? I realize the Krampus has a steel yoke and the Salsa frame would be aluminum so you'd need to have different dies(?) to build the aluminum version, but the expertise should be similar, shouldn't it? Any QBP/Surly/Salsa insiders know anything and want to give me a hint?

[seat_boy]

I don't have a great understanding of the Fox fork with 29+, but it seems like the same situation as 26" Fox forks + 650B: it'll work, most of the time, but it may require some mods and isn't really designed to work together.

I don't think any major manufacturer is going to spec a fork where the fork isn't designed to work with that tire size--too much liability.

[goog64]

I don't think any major manufacturer is going to spec a fork where the fork isn't designed to work with that tire size--too much liability.

Yeah, that's for sure!

[Soupboy]

Front end readily addressed by a Lefty or Maverick DC. Arse end...TBD.