Fat Bikes
denversillygoose
Posts: 708 Member
I'm curious to know who else fat bikes. It's certainly not my main form of biking (I'll always be true to my skinny tires) but it is so much fun and has made it so I can never use weather as an excuse not to ride. I have also gained a ton of confidence for mtn biking.
Roll Call. I can't be the only one.
Roll Call. I can't be the only one.
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Sigh... I should have known there'd be no love for fatties on the MFP. Everyone just wants to be skinny.1
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I can't say they don't look intriguing but I have too much invested in my road and mountain bikes already and a nice trainer for the winter to justify a 3rd bike for myself.0
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I can't justify the cost right now, but it's next on my to-own list. I've rented one from a LBS a couple of times this winter and have really enjoyed it. I have a hard time thinking it might replace my trail bike in the good weather, but it's definitely a very different animal.0
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My stable is shameful. This was my 6th and final. Probably. I really wanted the fat bike so that I never have an off- season and so I could finally claim a snow sport. It also makes me grin like a little kid.
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I haven't been in here lately but I have a fatty. Been riding a specialized fanboy and it's a blast0
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We just don't have the weather conditions to merit something like that over here TBH - maybe 1 year in 10 we actually get a fall of snow that hangs around more than a couple of days... So, really, unless I were to move to the coast and need something to ride up and down the beaches, there's no point...
In fact my MTB only really gets used in the depths of winter, when the offroad tracks and byways are too deep in mud to be safely negotiated on the 'cross bike... 8 months of the year (spring-autumn), the 'crosser is my offroader of choice (nothing "gnarly" enough within "out of the door ride" distance to merit a 16kg 5" travel steel hardtail bike), the other 4 months the crosser gets road tyres and mudguards and becomes the "winter hack" for on the road, and the MTB does mud-plugging duty. It may be slow, but by christ its fcuking miserable riding it...
I suppose, with my sensible head on, I should flog the MTB, and buy something more suitable for my needs - a nice light Carbon XC-Racing 29'er hardtail with relatively short travel forks and lockout - but - frankly, offroad bike stuff doesn't do it for me...
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Aren't those used for snow riding? Strangely, I see a lot of those on peoples back porches on my property. It doesn't snow in East texas, though. Nor do we have sand.0
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LifeInTheBikeLane wrote: »Aren't those used for snow riding? Strangely, I see a lot of those on peoples back porches on my property. It doesn't snow in East texas, though. Nor do we have sand.
Fatties are great in any conditions. I rode one at a bike demo in central Florida on some hardpack singletrack and it was awesome. It was so smooth and cornered like mad. If I wasn't already at my d-1 limit, I'd be getting one.
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I use mine more during the summer than in the winter. It was my last purchase before I reached D-1. It does great on the dirt, gravel, sand, ice and snow. I confess when the snow is falling I usually reach for my skis. They don't do so well on pavement. They are a bit heavy, but man do they go over stumps, rocks, roots and whatever really well.1
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Now that it's spring, I'm mostly back on my gravel bike but I use the fat bike around town (awesome this time of year when the roads are loaded with potholes from the winter) and for anything off road. I'm like a lot of you in that I don't get very excited for mtn biking, but I enjoy it so much more on my fat bike. My bf got his about a year and a half ago and it has become his everything bike. He commutes to work every day, bikepacks, trail rides, and he even did the Santa Fe 50 with me on it last year. As a person with a bike for every purpose, I admire him for being dedicated to one ride. If he ever gets a road bike, he'll shoot off like a rocket and I'll never see him again.0
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What is a fat bike?0
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I would love to get a fat bike. Unfortunately my budget of nearly $0 doesn't allow for it (yet). I'm looking into adventure touring and a fat bike, albeit slow and heavy, is my ideal bike. I want something that can go anywhere, in any condition, and the bike will not be my limiting factor. I want to be able to ride it across anything - sand, snow, mud, etc., and not have to get off and walk because it got stuck.
Currently, my ride is an 80's mountain bike with 2" tires. Great for most conditions.0 -
blackcoffeeandcherrypie wrote: »What is a fat bike?
Basically a tractor, with you for an 'engine' and only two 'tractor' wheels (literally!)
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blackcoffeeandcherrypie wrote: »What is a fat bike?
Basically a tractor, with you for an 'engine' and only two 'tractor' wheels (literally!)
Yup. It's slow, weighs a lot (you'll be hard pressed to get it below 40 lbs) but it'll go over or through anything you point it at!
In technical terms, it's a mountain bike with 26" wheels and 4+" tires. The tires are "fat" which is where it got the name from. The benefit of "fat" tires is you can run them with really, really, really low pressure (as low as 2psi) which will cause them to deform a lot, increasing the contact patch where it rolls over the ground. This allows you to "float" over soft surfaces like sand and snow where you would otherwise sink in on a more traditional bicycle.0 -
A guy I know does snow races on a SINGLE SPEED fat bike.0
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I just seen some the new Trek fat bikes coming out this fall. Wow. I MIGHT just have to get one now.0
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gooseonabike wrote: »
No, but I do know Fixie Dave. He used to be a mechanic at the team shop. Apparently everyone knows Fixie Dave.
This guy doesn't ride fixie.
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chivalryder wrote: »I would love to get a fat bike. Unfortunately my budget of nearly $0 doesn't allow for it (yet). I'm looking into adventure touring and a fat bike, albeit slow and heavy, is my ideal bike. I want something that can go anywhere, in any condition, and the bike will not be my limiting factor. I want to be able to ride it across anything - sand, snow, mud, etc., and not have to get off and walk because it got stuck.
Currently, my ride is an 80's mountain bike with 2" tires. Great for most conditions.
I'm so glad to see someone out there that actually has a touring bike on their wish list. I thought my husband and I were one of the few out there! I wasn't sure I'd like loaded touring when we first started but it is definitely the way to go.0 -
BikeTourer wrote: »chivalryder wrote: »I would love to get a fat bike. Unfortunately my budget of nearly $0 doesn't allow for it (yet). I'm looking into adventure touring and a fat bike, albeit slow and heavy, is my ideal bike. I want something that can go anywhere, in any condition, and the bike will not be my limiting factor. I want to be able to ride it across anything - sand, snow, mud, etc., and not have to get off and walk because it got stuck.
Currently, my ride is an 80's mountain bike with 2" tires. Great for most conditions.
I'm so glad to see someone out there that actually has a touring bike on their wish list. I thought my husband and I were one of the few out there! I wasn't sure I'd like loaded touring when we first started but it is definitely the way to go.
I tour/bikepack on my gravel bike. This is on my wishlist, but I'm just dreaming...
Rackless touring for the win.
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gooseonabike wrote: »BikeTourer wrote: »chivalryder wrote: »I would love to get a fat bike. Unfortunately my budget of nearly $0 doesn't allow for it (yet). I'm looking into adventure touring and a fat bike, albeit slow and heavy, is my ideal bike. I want something that can go anywhere, in any condition, and the bike will not be my limiting factor. I want to be able to ride it across anything - sand, snow, mud, etc., and not have to get off and walk because it got stuck.
Currently, my ride is an 80's mountain bike with 2" tires. Great for most conditions.
I'm so glad to see someone out there that actually has a touring bike on their wish list. I thought my husband and I were one of the few out there! I wasn't sure I'd like loaded touring when we first started but it is definitely the way to go.
I tour/bikepack on my gravel bike. This is on my wishlist, but I'm just dreaming...
Rackless touring for the win.
The current Trek 520 has getting & rear disc brakes... Bought a year too soon, may miss them this summer's tour in the Rockies...
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I find myself fascinated and intrigued by fat bikes but honestly, other than my annual week at the beach here in NC, I have no idea where or when I'd ride it. My hardtail mountain bike does a great job on the local singletrack and if I'm going to buy another bike to ride on that stuff it's going to be a full-suspension XC rig, not a fat bike. As for gravel, I just couldn't bring myself to ride it there. I love riding my 'cross bike too much. We don't generally have winters that are bad enough to necessitate something like a fat bike. When the weather is bad I have a nice trainer setup, Zwift, and TrainerRoad to make the most of my saddle time. Most of the winter I can very easily, and more-or-less comfortably, ride road, gravel, or singletrack.0
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BikeRadar: Fat bike vs Trail Bike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtOZhyCvvpE
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I saw a guy on a fat bike on a Sat morning ride with a slow roadie group (14-16 mph). That takes balls...0
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I saw a guy on a fat bike on a Sat morning ride with a slow roadie group (14-16 mph). That takes balls...chivalryder wrote: »Either that, or he was an elite and wanted to chill with some slower riders, but still wanted to get a good workout in.
or, option 3, he was just a daft twatt...
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I was doing a ride where I ended up hitting a patch of road that was nothing but washed out sand for about three miles. Needless to say, I had to carry my bike on my back because it was such deep sand. I feel this bike would have handled it well. Haha0
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