I love then look of these fat bikes, that look a real hoot to ride to. I am currently inbetween mtb’s at the mo trying to decide what I want, I would love a fat bike but capfuls bt justify 2 mountain bikes with the wife as well as a couple of road bikes.
So can a fat bike be used on natural trails and trail centres?
Would it be to much hassle/hard work as an everyday bike
What are they like at climbing

There also a lot cheaper than a full suss but loo way more fun!

They’re just bikes with bigger tyres.
You can ride them anywhere you can ride a more traditional type of bike.

Only you can answer your question.
Try a few and see if you like it.

No, your face would drop off ‘cos of all Teh grinz® you’d be pulling, everyone needs a face!!

^ This

I can cope with permanent grins!

So can a fat bike be used on natural trails and trail centres?

If you’re worried, you can always have a second set of wheels with normal rims on (IIRC, and this has been worked out at length elsewhere, a set of 2.2″ 29er tyres has a similar diameter to a FB tyre).

Other option might be 26+ eg. Surly Instigator 2?

I had an On One Fatty for a short time. Was set up 1×9 and had drilled rims, so not super heavy or light.

I didn’t like it, other than at the beach.
One ride I did on it was a big loop taking in some of the Innerleithen red trails but also going out into the moors. My friend was with me on a regular Trek full sus.

I found it slow and very hard work to climb on. Once the going got rough it was bouncing around all over the place – the suspension off the wheels is undamped. I would describe it as riding a space hopper on top of a washing machine.

On almost every technical section or downhill my pal was way way out ahead – we are normally pretty close.

I also found that the inertia of the wheels made taking corners at speed difficult – the effect was kind of gyroscopic and the bike felt like it just wanted to keep going straight and I had to really fight it around the corner.

It basically ruined that ride for me as I was so knackered and battered that I couldn’t enjoy it.

I think they are crap and my regular full suspension 29er is a much better bike, definitely as an all rounder.

Food for thought.

Thanks for the replies so far

You can ride them anywhere you can ride a more traditional type of bike.

Nah, if it’s fully rigid you can’t. I’m not even sure if front suss helps either. On really rocky bouldery climbs you ping off stuff no matter what pressure you run. Quite often stuff that you know you can climb with your 120ish ~160ish travel bike. Having said that, a fat bike will ride over many other surfaces inc pebbles/beaches better than a traditional bike. They definitely can’t ride anything a traditional bike does.

Gyroscope = lean (a lot) don’t turn

Spacehopper = let some air out

Slower on the down – probably is, but there’s still the sensation of speed and it’s more fun unless all you care about is absolute speed

Slower up – you must be kidding, spin those wheels up and put some effort in. I tend to climb faster than on full or front suspension bikes.

They’re certainly different and you should have an extended ride to see if it’s for you. I ride mine for “everything” though it’s better at some things than others. It can be fine at some trail centres (at Glentress I was overtaking othervriders both up and down hill) and rubbish at others (the rocks at Laggan don’t suit the undamped rebound). For natural trails they are almost unsurpassed in their ability to deal with all terrain types.

On really rocky bouldery climbs you ping off stuff no matter what pressure you run. Quite often stuff that you know you can climb with your 120ish ~160ish travel bike

I find the exact opposite. Even more so on rooty climbs.

@yourguitarhero nice to know I’m not the only one.

On a ride a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine offered me a go on his new Trek fatty, which meant him swapping to my rigid Surly 1×1 on freeride rims and 2.4s. We swapped back after a mile and:
Him — wow your Surly feels so lively and you’ve got the gearing spot on, what did you think of the Trek?
Me — er, it was alright……………

Yeah, some climbs I fired up quicker than the normal bikes due to the grip. Even on some techy downs I feel more confident with the grip over any bigger travel bike.

It was only on the first stretch from the road towards Coulags bothy and a few stretches beyond the bothy a nightmare,Stu. Many other rocky climbs can be tackled but at the start of that track it is like pissing into the wind on the big tyres. It’s a mare of a climb on any bike but I cleared so much more on 2.4 tyres with travel at both ends. The fat bike fires back at you and it’s so out of control with no damping as soon as you make your move at the bottom of any rough section. Hopefully full sus versions will nail it.

Yes, it feels different and needs a bit more fitness than a normal bike as you need to get in 2-3 hard pedal strokes after every corner and then coast rather than being able to pedal gently all the time to maintain speed and yes its a bit slower overall. But the grip is otherworldly, feels like you could corner knee down like a motorbike if youd let it, and when it does start to rip the ground apart (the tyre wont slip so something has to give) it throws up huge clods of earth like an MX bike!

Get one!

Hopefully full suss versions will nail it.

I’d love to try out a full suss fatty too. The grip you get from a pair of Nates combined with suss must be fantastic.

Also the sound of Nates clawing at bedrock on a climb is teh awsumz. 🙂

Different styles of bike require different riding styles. If you have only ridden a FS for the last few years then a HT or FB is going to take some getting used to. It took about a month for me to get the technique dialled in when making the switch from FS to HT. Obviously if you ride FS, HT, FB and rigid in equal measure then you are going to (or should) have all the styles sorted.

The arguments have been done to death, I’m a fan of the fat. Main thing is getting tyre pressure just right.
Lower psi to roll faster on rough terrain, seems counter intuitive but it’s true.

I filmed this on an On one fatty with a bud up front and BFL on the back FWIW

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLAsqjHZb00[/video]

Good film, bedmaker! Where was that? (Haven’t got sound on this, but looks like Greece/S.Italy)

Yup, really enjoyed watching that vid again Bedmaker. It proves to the OP that a fat bike is pretty versatile, but compromises have to be made. Its not all about the bike. Your own ability has a part to play in what you are capable of riding on any bike.
They are not for everyone, but as SSStu says, go and try one for yourself and don’t read too much into the negative comments until you can speak from experience yourself.
Oh and if you’re anywhere near Staffordshire and want to try a large Salsa Mukluk, give me a shout.

Bluto forks on my 9-zero-7 made it into my go to trail bike. My Sultan and Titus Fireline are gathering dust.

Nice film Bedmaker BUT! your brakes did my nut in 😉

BUT! your brakes did my nut in

I think the brakes you heard squealing were on the full suss that was riding with him. 😯

Hopefully full sus versions will nail it.

Has anyone had a go of a Bucksaw, then?

Not guilty on the brake noise! Mine were perfect all week. Those were Ricardo’s tortured rotors.
Vid is from the Alpujarran hills in Spain with Ciclo Montana. Booked in again this September 🙂

I always intended shortening the vid and putting a soundtrack on it but never quite got round to it.

OP don’t ride a fatbike round a carpark then dismiss it. This seems to be a thing people do with fatbikes.
You wouldn’t ride a DH bike round a carpark the condemn it as too squishy and rubbish at climbing, unless of course you were a knobend.

Everyday bike? Why not? My theory is that MTB tyres topped out at 2.4 inches because that was all you could fit in the frames, not because that’s where optimum grip is. Why not go to 4″ or indeed, why stop there?

Also, how many replies are based on perception rather than actual use, proper use, not grabbing 300 metres on someone else’s bike that hasn’t got the seat or controls set correctly for you?

I’ve been riding a Fatty for 2 months now and love it. It climbs better than my Trance 29 and tackles my regular, currently very sloppy rides better overall. I’ve heard it said (by another regular fat bike rider) that you have to take on a different, more laid-back mindset when riding them but I disagree, if anything, with the extra grip confidence, I throw a bit more caution to the wind.

On away days to Deggy, Coedy and FoD I switched back to the Trance, partly due to the perceived jumpy nature of trail centres and partly due to ongoing On-One tyre/rim issues. With hindsight the Fatty would have been fine at Coedy and FoD, though probably still take FS to Deggy but not essential as I’ve ridden there with plenty of guys on rigids and hardtails.

If you’re limited to one bike, it’s no more restrictive than any other regular set-up, in fact, in wetter conditions (33% of year?) it’s probably better.

would describe it as riding a space hopper on top of a washing machine.

Now I fancy a go at that!

Now I fancy a go at that!

My missus is suddenly showing an interest….

Mine’s been my main bike since march, mostly on natural stuff. The front end gets really unruley on fast rocky descents and can feel like a real handful once it gets bouncing. But IMO that really is its only weakness. You quickly get used to the gyroscopic effect of the heavy tyres. You do start to ride all bikes like they have fatty-levels of grip, so expect your other bikes to feel weird.

I say go for it, they’re ace

No one bike (or type of bike if you prefer) is going to be perfect for all styles of riding or even all riders, somewhere along the line you are going to have to compromise. Obviously some styles of bike are more suited to particular types of riding than others so if you have one bike it makes sense to pick one that is closely allied to your main type of riding, an extreme example would be having a rigid bike when you mainly ride downhill courses. Conversely having just a DH rig and you ride long distance ITTs isn’t particularly clever either.

Most riders (looking at Strava stats) ride at trail centres so a bike aimed at that type of riding makes sense, typically these days that equates to a medium travel FS. It doesn’t mean to say that other types of bike are no good for that usage but you have to make allowances and accept that some things aren’t going to be as easy or pleasant.

I don’t have a fat bike, never ridden one so can’t comment on their suitability, for the riding that I do a fat bike would overlap my existing bike’s usage/capabilities by quite a margin so it would be a curiosity/talking point as much as anything and I don’t think it would get the amount of riding it deserved. SWMBO wouldn’t let me have one anyway 8)

If Carlseberg made Mountain bikes they would make Fat bikes.
If you cant turn a corner on a fat bike erm probably you shouldn’t be on any bike at all. Ive ridden my Puffin back to back with my full sus up at Glenlivet trails and apart from the BIG drops at the bottom of the red its actually faster than the full sus, its far better at climbing but you certainly have to get the transitions spot on or you ll wreck your self and/or the bike.

TBO I was never a fan of fully rigid bikes but Im a convert now.

To conclude buy one, stop taking yourself seriously and start smiling.

FART BIKES RULE

No, your face would drop off ‘cos of all Teh grinz® you’d be pulling, everyone needs a face!!

Just started knitting myself a a face net to catch mine as I have just purchased my first portly pushbike – rider and bike in perfect accord. 😀

Yep, I already do use mine for everything apart from commuting. They will go almost anywhere, and are fun to boot.

> Would it be to much hassle/hard work as an everyday bike.

No suspension = less hassle.

If can keep on top of drivetrain and brake maintenance, you’ll be pretty much hassle free.

I don’t ride anything other than a fatty.
So yes OP, they can!

Enough said 😉

There have been several rides over the Christmas period where I’ve been the only non fatty riding. They seem to be an addiction. Having had a play around trails and natural woodland I can see the attraction, but I’m not allowing myself anymore +1’s for a while after the Soul 275 splurge …

It does seem to make a big difference getting the front end lighter than a standard OO Fatty, and drilling the rim, going with the carbon fork and knuckleball plus a (much) lighter tube does the trick nicely.

Been riding an on one fatty for the last month. Other bikes are a rigid Salsa El Mariachi and a Trek Fuel EX.

The fatty is really fun bike to ride and has opened up a lot of beach and bog riding too me. However, if push came to shove and I could only have one bike it would be the Salsa for sure. It just has more zip about it and is way more versatile. For trail riding the main advantage of the fatty is crazy grip, but I find it more of a handful through rough stuff than the rigid 29er Salsa.

Edit: If I could only have one bike and wasn’t the El Marichi I’d think seriously about a 29er+ like a Krampus rather than a full on fatty.

Edit: If I could only have one bike and wasn’t the El Marichi I’d think seriously about a 29er+ like a Krampus rather than a full on fatty.

Also have an El Mar; at 174cm tall I’m not sure wheels any bigger would be a good thing, which puts me off 29+ – it looks like it’s been designed for tall Americans. 650B+, on the other hand, might be less of a packaging compromise…

beargrease lover here with carbon fork just love it everything else is not getting riden saying that the fattie is not to as im unable to ride at the moment due to illness, way to much time now spent trawling the internet finds the nice foes mutz full susser trying to get me to give it a home
if you want pure speed a fatbike may not be the ans but for having fun on and having a good time then after 20yrs riding off road i have found the perfect style for me

Check Maurizio DeFlorian on Facebook. Rides a sub 11kg Beargrease everywhere, often for days of 120km and big climbs.

The fatbike has done more Kms than the carbon full suss or carbon ht this year.