'the Burro'

The Moses bike? The what-kind-of-bike is that bike? All names earned by the Burro in its 6-week stay at Dirt Rag HO. As one can infer from its namesake, the Burro is not exactly a quick race-type of bike. Perfect, as I am far from the quick race-type.

Made by Greg Rawuka for exploring the rough trails of Big Bear Lake California, the Burro was suited for Pennsylvania’s woods quite well also. Solo, technical riding is my thing, and the Burro fit in my schedule perfectly.

The first thing one notices with this bike are the small wheels. This is its key design element, the one that dictates everything else, so it’s a good place to start. Custom SnowCat rims mated with 19" Monty trials tires provide the traction, while a USA made 6061 aluminum alloy frame and fork provide the platform. The frame measurements are as follows: 16.75" chainstay, 22.5" top tube, 12.5" bottom bracket height, 730 seat tube, 72° head angle, 43.125" wheelbase. From these measurements one can infer that the Burro rides like a bike, not some Frankenstein contraption. It just rides a bit different—a bit better in some situations and a bit worse in others.

First the better situations. Climbing the real steep stuff isn’t much of a problem with the Burro. The 25% Lower gearing of the Burro coupled with the added traction of the 3" wide tires allows one to climb most anything. The 25% lower gear number is based upon a 26" wheeled bike with the same 22/32/42 chain rings and 11-30 rear cluster of the Burro. You see, the smaller rear wheel makes all of the gearing lower by the formula for gear inches: Diameter of Tire in inches X Front Teeth / Rear Teeth.

Slogging through the mud is also much easier going with the Burro, just sit and pedal and one can go places that would stop a more conventional bike. I was even able to pedal the Burro through a few puddles that were more than a foot and a half deep with little trouble. Possibly the perfect utilitarian machine, the Burro can even handle a loaded B.0.B. trailer. On a recent trail maintenance ride, the Burro allowed me to go up, over, or through anything in my path even with a load of tools trailing behind me.

I only experienced a few difficulties while riding the Burro. One that stands out is riding in a group. Face it, this bike is as slow as its namesake, as anyone who waited for me at every turn can attest to. One final difficulty I had was with its front tire sinking into holes and ruts in the trail, mainly when traveling downhill, more easily than it is larger wheeled counterparts. I expected this, and it was easy to overcome simply by getting over the back of the bike more than usual, but bears mentioning anyhow.

The spec of the bike was sensible, with everything except the frame, fork and rims being readily available. A short-cage derailleur is spec’d for added ground clearance, with a Grip Shift/LX/Sugino mix handling the drivetrain woes. A seven speed rear cluster is used for chain to tire clearance. Suspension is provided by the Large volume tires along with a comfy Thomson post and a Softride stem that is well equipped for the job.

Magura HS-33 hydraulic stoppers worked as flawlessly as I expected from my previous experience with them. All in all it comes out to a 28 lb-lloz. machine that rides lighter than the scales say.

Overall I was impressed with the Burro enough to seriously consider buying it for myself after the test. Explorers, this is your bike. Racers, look elsewhere. If you are interested in one spec’d the same as our test bike it will run you about $1399, or $700 or so for the frame/fork/rims. Available in all the fashionable hues, gloss black, desert sage, red baron, cobalt and Sherwood green.

Contact: Big Bear Bikes, 41810 Big Bear Boulevard, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315.Phone (909) 866-2224 or on the web at www.burrobikes.com.