I have a strong desire to get a fat bike.
I’m drawn towards ones with suspension forks, ie. Bluto/Lefty Olaf. Is this missing the point of the big tyres or is it making a good thing even better.
Is this an itch that needs to be scratched, are they game changers which will make me want to get rid of my hardtail and the full susser?
Or are they, something which loses their appeal quickly and doesn’t fulfill the multiple niches promised.

My fatbike has a sticker on it that says “a bike is for life, not just for Christmas”

It was sold to me second hand, already stickered, shortly before Christmas.

Make of that what you will.

Depends on where and what you ride I suppose. Some situations suit a fat bike others don’t.

Mine (Singular Puffin) has rigid forks which are fine for what I do which is general XC type riding. I don’t miss front suspension, others might have a different view.

When the novelty wears off, they make pretty decent 29ers…

If you have big stuff to hit suspension makes sense.
I put them on every week and take them off to following one.
Around here they are not needed.

I’ve been riding a fatbike on and off for 6 years now. The novelty does wear off after a while and you find yourself once more taking out other bikes. I wouldn’t not have one though.

As for suspension, I’d never really seen the point – and then I got a B+ with suspension. Suddenly I could see that fat and added bounce might actually be a good thing.

I guess it depends if it’s going to be your only bike, or another bike.

I’ve seen this debate about whether to have suspension forks on a fat bike before. Personally I have them on mine and if I don’t want the suspension I just press the lock out. Sure it adds extra weight but in the scheme of things It doesn’t matter, it’s not a lightweight race bike after all. What it is though is the most fun bike I’ve ever had, also the quickest in certain situations. Most notably downhill.

I’ve been riding a fatbike on and off for 6 years now. The novelty does wear off after a while and you find yourself once more taking out other bikes. I wouldn’t not have one though.

This.
Although 5yrs for me, mind, it needs a bit of TLC, which I’m struggling to do, and if I’m honest, I’m loving my Whtye a bit more than it of late..

Only a year with a fat bike for me 😥

I agree with a lot of what’s been said above.

Yes the novelty does wear off. But I still use mine a lot and I wouldn’t want to be without it. Mine’s rigid and I occasionally have thoughts about a Bluto but I’ve not committed the cash yet.

In my opinion it’s the best bike I own for bimbling around on. And I like its relative simplicity.

Do be prepared for all sorts of comments from people!

also the quickest in certain situations. Most notably downhill

For me, most notably uphill. So long as you can keep turning the cranks it’ll keep going up.

Suspension for me would mean a new frame so I can’t see me making the jump any time soon. I occasionally browse the Classifieds and see stuff popping up quite cheaply though…..

I’m happy without suspension.
Especially if your front can take 5″.

I ride mine anywhere and everywhere. Yes suspension would feel nicer but I like the budget option and awesome weight saving with carbon forks. But then there is Lauf.

Try one – if you’re looking for something for hooning around a trailcentre, then you’re probably better served elsewhere but they still make fun trail bikes. However, if you want a bike you can literally ride anywhere then they allow you to open-out places you might not really ride, they are very capable, particularly if you’re not trying to ride everywhere as fast as possible. As well as riding on soft stuff like beaches and snow, big squishy tyres mean you can climb stuff that will defeat a normal MTB. The big tyres also create phenomenal stability on downhills – they are pretty difficult to unsettle – I have descended trails at 70kph in the dark on a rigid bike. They also make great expedition / offroad bikepacking bikes because of the grip and stability. Built this 3 years ago – it’s been to the arctic (twice) across beaches, up mountains and gone 200 miles in a day.

150mm suspension fork on mine tamrs the natural undamped bounce from the tyres just leaving the grip. I go a lot faster DH because of this compared to running it rigid. Love it long time
Great for hooning around trail centres & trails. As with all bikes it’s all im the geometry XC v Trail etc

Fat bikes, not just for Xmas?

Nope, I got one for my Birthday. In June.

Similar to above; I rode the fatbike pretty much exclusively for the first year but am dividing things more evenly between the fatbike and regular trail bike this year. Can’t see me being without one though. I’ve currently got two (Dude and ICT), which is too many, but I still can’t make up my mind which to sell 😳

Rigid in winter and Bluto in summer is my current preference, but it’s all personal choice of course.

Mine (with Bluto) has replaced my winter hardtail, it’s ****ing ace.

It will never replace my FS for loose riding and big days but it does everything else better. It loves exploring, wandering, pottering and mostly being ridden inappropriately down inappropriate things

For me, 2 years in, I’d have to to echo the sentiments of dovebiker.

Only had mine a few weeks but great fun, will use it for the winter and then see what happens – done whinlatter/Borrowdale Bash and a mbr killer loop in the peaks and it’s been great fun

I love the fact that it is so simple. I ride it I put it away.
It looks great covered in mud.
The only maintenance it gets is checking the tyre pressures.

Have loved riding mine over the last few months.
Always puts a smile on my face when I ride it and even more so when I get to the top or the bottom of a hill before my mates.

Fitting a new Minion FBF 4.8″ to the front tomorrow, can’t wait to test it out.

Even more smiles per miles…..

Tried riding my short travel XC bike for a couple rides, felt so boring !

Here’s one I made yesterday. Had a yearning for a nice light carbon fattie.

Love mine. I keep toying with the idea of equiipping it with suspension, but the cost is prohibitive.

Riding one is a bit like taking a unimog to Sainsbury’s – you certainly get lots of attention!

Blutos get mixed reviews. Internally they’re prehistoric and 32mm sanchions on a bike that will constantly want to be on the limit (they’re stupidly fast) seems a bit daft. The new mastodons look great. Fox 34s will also take up to 4” tyres too.

There’s a good uk Facebook community if you want more advice.

Ive sold my other bikes………

Ok I put them both up for sale and the normal one went first, but Im not dissapointed.

Like all bikes there are conditions where they just don’t work. Wet roots seem almost impossible to ride, they lose a lot of speed if the mud is too thin to ‘float’ as there’s a lot of tyre displacing it!

But it’s not as slow as it looks, it’s a huge ammount of fun (it’s a bike after all), the grip is phenomenal in some conditions, when it does slide it’s predictable too (it will actually powerslide!).

The only thing that might make me sell it is if the supply of cheap tyres dries up. Im not paying £90+ for a tyre!

Puffin here. It’s not the bike to replace all bikes, but with different wheelsets it covers most needs. It doesn’t ride like a fat bike should, if that makes sense….
Sam certainly got his sums right with it.
It would be the second to last bike I’d throw overboard from a sinking ship, but it would probably float anyway with all that rubber.

With an alternative set of 29er wheels, my Wazoo is a great do-it-all flat bar bike, couldn’t be without it now or something similar like a Dude.

I’ve bought a road bike since, but that’s for days in the hills and/or trying to maintain 19+mph on the flat.

Has anyone put 29″ wheels in an On One Fatty Trail

Any issues?

I don’t have one, but I would get one. I think they would open up more rubbish RoWs on top of mountains and moors that would not be worth doing on a normal bike.

Trek Farley 9 with Bluto forks for Christmas last year, quick look on Strava and of 50 rides this year 45 have been on the Fatty. Enjoy the suspension to be fair, but never ridden one without to compare it with.

Bought a Cube Nutrail Pro with Bluto about 2 months ago. You can pick the 2017 model up for a little under £1400. I bought it on a whim whilst waiting for my YT Jeffsy Pro Race to turn up after snapping my Spicy 916. I have to say it is hands down the most fun bike I have ever ridden. The jeffsy turned over two weeks ago and still hasn’t been ridden. Personally think the blot is great for what I ride, but it really comes down to wether you think you need suspension for what you ride/intend to ride. I don’t see it becoming boring anytime soon!

if you get a trailside puncture, how long does it take you to blow it up again?

if you get a trailside puncture, how long does it take you to blow it up again?

Only had one puncture on the Puffin, it was on the road so must have gone over a nail or similar. I was blasting down hill and felt the back end go soft, by the time I’d stopped it was flat. Running tubeless so out with the pump (high vol, low pressure) and see if it will inflate. Yes! Took less than two minutes and I was well under five minutes from noticing the tyre deflating to setting off again.

if you get a trailside puncture, how long does it take you to blow it up again?

About twice as long as a regular tyre (4x the volume, half the pressure or thereabouts), obviously depends on what pressure you want, 8psi for natural trails is a lot quicker than 15psi for trail centers.

Touch wood I’ve not had a puncture since going tubeless, used to get one a week. It’s 100% the way to go on a fat bike as it makes such a huge difference with the big tyres.

I went ghetto tubeless on my On One Fatty. I’ve gone back to tubes. The On One rims are just the wrong size for the tyres & down at 8-10psi they squirm around like crazy on the bead seat. With a decent set of rims I’d be straight back to tubeless.

If you run tubeless for a fraction of the cost of a decent hand pump you get one of these; blows up in about 10 secs.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-c02-inflator/p/094541122706100

I went ghetto tubeless on my On One Fatty. I’ve gone back to tubes. The On One rims are just the wrong size for the tyres & down at 8-10psi they squirm around like crazy on the bead seat. With a decent set of rims I’d be straight back to tubeless.

It’s not an On-One thing, any singlewalled rim will be a PITA, the easiest way is to put a bit of camping mat in the rim to bulk it out under a split tube. i can get away with ~8psi on natural trails, still needs 15psi for Swinley as there’s artificially more grip to pull the tyres off.

If you run tubeless for a fraction of the cost of a decent hand pump you get one of these; blows up in about 10 secs.

Fine in an emergency, but they curdle the stans so only ever really work as an emergency fix to get you home. I’ve got a foam sealent can from decathlon (like a mini version of what comes in new cars) which I’m hoping might be better but never had to use it.

I’ve had my Nutrail for about 6 months now and i’m still really, really enjoying it, it’s my only bike, lightning fast and lots of fun. If you do purchase, go tubeless instantly.

Has anyone put 29″ wheels in an On One Fatty Trail

Any issues?

Yes, the bike will cry & get bullied by other fat bikes

Fine in an emergency, but they curdle the stans

Did not know that! thanks.

Is that putting a fatbike on a diet?