Bike To Work Logo

The Big Fat Dummy is discontinued for now...

The Big Fat Dummy is a long tail cargo bike that took a few too many doses of growth hormones. At first glance, you might say that we just put bigger tyres on a Big Dummy. But if you said that, you’d actually be very wrong so just… don’t. Think of Big Fat Dummy as more of a second or third cousin to Big Dummy rather than a brother. They share some of the same DNA and look sort of similar, but they’re two very different bikes and really only interact when they both reach for the potato salad spoon at that family reunion that no one really wants to be at anyway.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what makes this hulking beast of a bike tick. Our goal with designing a cargo bike around fat tyres was to create the most stable, stiff, and traction-laden ride possible while hauling a ton of stuff. Big Fat Dummy has a longer toptube and slacker headtube than its more svelte cousin giving it a nice, predictable, and stable ride. We also used thinner, lighter tubing to construct its cargo area so while it’s an overall burlier bike, there’s not much difference in weight.

Big Fat Dummy accepts either 10mm or 12mm axles in the rear with a spacing of 190/197mm. That big ‘ol spacing equates to one thing: tyre clearance for days. Big Fat Dummy maxes out at a massive 26 x 5.25” tyre.* While that large of a tyre provides the most traction and stability a bike can possibly offer, it’s also a lot of rubber to push and might not be for everybody. Luckily, Big Fat Dummy is also a blast to ride with 3” tyres too. It uses the same 100mm suspension-corrected fork as the Wednesday, meaning if you want to add a little squishy squishy to your ride, you can throw a Bluto on and let ‘er rip.

If you intend to carry a passenger on your Big Fat Dummy, Surly requires use of our Dummy Rail Collars. These provide a secondary retention system for the rack, as well as stiffen the rack system. In addition, a stoker handlebar set up, found on tandem bicycles, is recommended as well. Make sure to check with seat post manufacturer for stoker handlebar compatibility. All Big Fat Dummy framesets and bikes ship with a Dummy deck, rails, bags, and the aforementioned Dummy Rail Collars so you can immediately start hauling cargo — human or otherwise.

The Cycle to Work Scheme is a tax incentive scheme which aims to encourage employees to cycle to and from work. Under the scheme employers can pay for bicycles and bicycle equipment for their employees and the employee pays back through a salary sacrifice arrangement of up to 12 months. The employee is not liable for tax, PRSI or the Universal Social Charge on their repayments.

More about the Cycle to Work Scheme

Surly Big Fat Dummy