Fat bikes take a big step forward in becoming year-round fun-machines thanks to RockShox and its new “Bluto,” the first mass-market fat bike front suspension that we can expect to see everywhere as soon as June.

Do we really need front suspension for our fat bikes? Yes, we do. Riding bumpy trails on fatties is ruthless, grip strength failing in short order on bumpy terrain. The undamped rebound from the big tires not only causes fatigue, but also cuts traction and speed.

The Bluto retails at a welcome $643 and features all of the goodies that we need. It features strong construction to handle the huge torsion of fat tires, and a well-tested air spring design that can be tuned with “tokens” just like RockShox’s new RS-1 and other top end forks. Impressively, the Bluto weighs in under 4 lbs.

There is one possible issue, the front axle is 150mm x 15mm. That leaves a great deal of us with front hubs that are not compatible with this beast. Make sure you look into this before you throw down your cash.

We don’t know how it rides, but we’re looking forward to getting out on some single track soon to find out. —Tom Puzak