What a beautiful and well built frame! Great pricing deal and customer service was top notch.
Love the bike. I have had brands of fat bikes and the flume performs the best. The aluminum frame had super clean welds and the paint has a high quality finish. The weight was several pounds lighter than bikes at the same price point Overall impressed with ride and quality
Set them up Tubeless with Bud and Lou
Look good gonna try’em next week
Borealis set me up with valves and rim tape easy
My Crestone frame shipped very quickly via FedEx and arrived in perfect condition. It’s beautifully and looks incredibly sturdy. Bike is now built up and ready to ride. I want it to snow!
I’ve never written a review before, but lets give this a shot.
My journey started with a my buddy buying an analog fatty and encouraging me into following him. I’m 63 years old, live at 8,400ft elevation in Eastern Sierra, been riding eMTN bike several times a week for just over a year, and it seams like everything I ride is uphill. I tried my buddy’s bike and I could not climb my normal route (1,000ft/7miles). I began researching fatty eMTN bike and quickly found Borealis Keystone. I lamented for several weeks and pulled the trigger early November 2024.
I had questions on choosing the right tires/wheels. The staff was very helpful discussing my riding style/needs and helping me select the right combination (26”, 4.8”).
The bike arrived 3 weeks later (delayed at my request d/t travel). It was meticulously packed and I assembled it on my workbench/clamp. It took about 4 hours (I’m kind of slow and it was the first time. I had not changed my own tire in 50 years). I called the shop for assistance in assembling/sequencing the rings at the head tube. They were quite helpful and got me back on track. I was surprised to learn the bike did not include pedals and it took me several days to acquire some. [Recommendation to Borealis, give options to choose pedals/opt out during the purchase process, just like tires and wheels].
This bike has exceeded every expectation. It handles soundly. Shifting and breaking were flawless without any user adjustments. I can travel uphill/downhill with confidence.
Regarding the battery/range. My ride last week (1hr:43min, 2,746ft elevation gain, and 14 miles) left me using 40% of the battery. I failed to charge that night. I followed this with a longer/steeper ride/climb (3 hrs, 3,865ft, 25 miles) and ran my battery dry in the last 1/2 mile. I mostly ride in ECO mode and occasionally use TRAIL and seldom use BOOST. I can conclude that if you need more than 5 hrs and 6,600 elevation gain, and 40 miles, on 3-5 psi, then you might consider carrying an additional battery.
Regarding versatility, during these two rides above, I traveled on snow, ice, sand, rock garden, slush, hard pack road base, gravel, asphalt, and 12” deep creek. During these two rides, I only lost control when crossing the creek and found an unexpectedly deep rut. This caused me to step off my bike. On other rides, I went down when hitting ice as I did not opt to put studs in the tires (live and learn).
There is truly no terrain this bike cannot handle (however, I recommend considering studs for ice, I have not tried this option).
Today, I noticed my rear brake was soft and the lever pulled back to the bar. I had to stop my ride. I’ll take it locally for a bleed tomorrow morning and hope to ride in the afternoon.
If you want to HAVE A BLAST on the mountain or just want to expand your riding season to 12 months a year, this bike is for you!
