Fatbikes

fnb1 · December 2017

So, I feel a hankering for 4 inch tyres, any experienced fatbikers give some advice /pointers / recommendations??

TonyJams · December 2017

I've got one - a voodoo wazoo. Definitely get a lot of test rides in on the sort of terrain you'll be using it in before you buy one. If its your main bike ask yourself if you really want one - they are definitely slower on trail centre type days, and you have to be a really good rider to make it shift along to keep up with quick mates. Actually, they are slower everywhere! If its just for pootling or something different then yes they are great but if you want to ride one in anger as your main bike then you may well get fed up with it.
Also, the self centering steering effect gets on your nerves after a long ride.

fnb1 · January 2018

by no means my only bike, I am very well resourced based on the N+1 basis and have a bike for most occasions/uses etc but, to date, no fat bike.

Use would probably be limited to beach/dune/snow and maybe some larking about in mud

JGTR · January 2018

fnb1 wrote:

by no means my only bike, I am very well resourced based on the N+1 basis and have a bike for most occasions/uses etc but, to date, no fat bike.

Use would probably be limited to beach/dune/snow and maybe some larking about in mud

Can’t think of a worse bike to ride in the mud, fat tyres are useless. There’s a reason mud tyres are skinny.

lostboysaint · January 2018

JGTR wrote:

fnb1 wrote:

by no means my only bike, I am very well resourced based on the N+1 basis and have a bike for most occasions/uses etc but, to date, no fat bike.

Use would probably be limited to beach/dune/snow and maybe some larking about in mud

Can’t think of a worse bike to ride in the mud, fat tyres are useless. There’s a reason mud tyres are skinny.

That.

pigglet · January 2018

I'll wade into this as a recent fatty rider.

Firstly, would I have one as my only bike? NO.
I have a few other bikes, predominantly ride a 29er FS slacked out trail bike and like to ride fast and steep natural terrain but have to cover decent stretches of flat moor top and some horrific climbs getting to the fun bits.

I was interested in trying a fatty as a winter rig to save trashing the full sussers in the grit. Long story short the fatty is now my go to winter rig for all my natural trail riding. It's better in most areas than my skinnier tyred bikes in winter conditions.
When I got it it had relatively tame tires on it. They were fine on gentle gravel trails and Sandy moor tops but it swapped ends faster than a 911 on ice when it got steep and slippy. A set of 5" minions front and rear sorted that.
I also run mud hugger guards front and rear as the minions throw an incredible amount of crap at you. They look shit but they work and mean I'm not sat on a plaggy bag looking like I've shat myself in the pub!

Grip- the big bulas take a bit of getting used to. On slimy clay and slick grass they don't have as much grip as skinny tyres. On Sandy moor top trails and boggy waterlogged grass you end up laughing like a pirate as you cruise past your mates with minimum effort. In loamy woods grip is comparable to a skinny tired bike, probably better on Off camber stuff. Rollin resistance is very noticeable on tarmac. Less so once off road.
I would go as far as to say they roll better on soft winter moor trails than a skinny tired.

I've got blutos on my bike. They are shit. I've stripped them, fitted low friction wipers and slick moneyed them but the flex creates friction. Despite that I wouldn't be without them for the riding I do.

Tyre pressure is critical. I've found 6 and 7 psi works for me. On a rocky downhill that's comprised of sandstone slabs with drainage gullies I would say the fatty rolls better than my full sussers. On rocky chunder like big lumps of hard-core the fatty deals with the chunk better than anything I've ridden. It's in damped suspension though so on bigger fast hits be prepared to bounce around!

In short I love mine in the winter and ride everything on it that I ride on my switchblade and geometron in the summer.
Try it. You might like it!

N0bodyOfTheGoat · January 2018

Been using mine as a commuter for almost two years and as a winter/wet weather fitness training bike for the last year, regularly doing 1000-2000 feet of hill reps on the way home. Usually with my FatNotFat 29er wheelset fitted with anything from 28-60mm tyres, which typically reduces the bike weight by ~3Kg, but sometimes I do fit the fat rear.

I cannot use a fat front wheel at mo after fitting an On One carbon fork last year, because the fork is oldskool Rear Disc Spaced and the default wheel is Front Disc Spaced.
You can easily fit RDS wheels (like the front FatNotFat) in an FDS fork (like the default Voodoo fork) using https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-f ... 825/s33072

The Vee Mission Command tyres that came with the Voodoo are horrid IMO, compared to Jumbo Jims, which roll pretty well at ~25/27PSI on the road. When Kenda Juggernaut Pros hit the market, fat riders were frothing at the mouth because of their lower weight compared to JJs (~850g vs 1190g), but they apparently are very draggy. Given how I ride mine mainly on tarmac, I looked forward to the Vee Apache Fatty Slick back in late late 2016, but I'm not prepared to pay £100+ per tyre!
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.co ... ke-reviews

Replacing the default bars with an On One Knuckleball "chewy" made a surprisingly big difference to vibrations coming through to my hands on a rigid fork.

The default seatpost and saddle are heavy at ~700g total, but I've stuck with them until now (albeit the saddle gets a bit uncomfy after ~90mins), I have a £32 Fabric Scoop Flat Elite arriving from Ribble any day now.

The default tubes were quite heavy at ~550g each, most either go tubeless, other often use Schwalbe SV13J (~390g); SV13F (~185g) or a similar style Specialized downhill tube.

My reasoning for buying the Voodoo was a little different, I lost confidence in rim brakes after my Xmas 2013 RTA and my better half's mountain bike (which had been fine for my needs) was nicked. I wanted to replace it with something fun and something that would have plenty of traction, restoring my confidence in riding again, which it certainly did and I've since bought the Cube.

Like many, I chose the cheap starting price entry bike route into fatbiking (many went for the http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-dun ... ke-p347149 because of its more modern hub standards and easier upgrade root to Bluto), but if I could turn back time, I'd love to have bought a rigid forked Canyon Dude 8.
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/dude/

fnb1 · January 2018

thanks , some useful stuff there (do not ever see myself riding it on tarmac) but Mud (perhaps read moors/boggy grassland tops, rather than muddy trails (where I actually favour my old skool skinny 26x 1.95 tyre non-sus Raleigh M-Trax Ti). Beach/dunes and perhaps some winter snow fun being top of my Fat bike play agendas.

Machine wise the Specialised Fatboy, Cannondale Caad2 or Felt DD are looking good, nice clean conventional lines with what looks like a good starter spec?

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