I’m looking at building a semi fat bike using 3″ tyres & am looking for a suitable hardtail frame with enough clearance to run them.

I understand a 456 frame is 75mm between the stays so is unsuitable, anyone know of a hardtail frame with 80mm+ between the stays???

My surly karate monkey fits the Nokian 3″ tyres in but It’s a 29er so you may struggle with a 26″ frame , they also fit in a fisher rig 29er. It’s not just the width of the spacing its where its at too as the wheels are a bigger diameter. Mine fits with about 5mm or so clearance either side but it fits in the widest bit where the 29er tyre normally fits , the pic may explain what I mean more

Plenty of space up front

Full view

Maybe a 24 x 3 in the rear would be an option?

Yeah I reckon that could work well as the tyre would be more like a 26″ size I think as the 3″ on 26″is about a 650 size just a bit smaller than a 29er

I think it would providing the stay clearance is at least 80mm. Not sure if any frames have this clearance hence the post.

If anyone has a tape measure handy could you measure your frame & post clearances up for us fat curious boys please

I’ve been through all this.

IMO you’ll never approach anything like the flotation you can get with proper fat wheels.

The Surly 1×1 can take a 3″ tyre at the rear. Fronts are limited by forks, but that’s easy fixed by getting a fatbike fork or homebrew your own. If you make your own you’ll be able to control the A-C distance so you won’t jack up the front of your 26″ bike and upset the geometry. (No problem with a 29er)

With the benefit of hindsight, start with a fat fork, try your experiments with stretching an ordinary tyre on a wide rim, then realise that it’s simpler to buy a Larry or Endomorph to fit in your fat fork. Don’t worry too much about the back wheel because once you have tried the fat front, you’re going to want to go the same way at the back. The only way to do that is to get a frame that will take a fat wheel.

Or shortcircuit the whole timeconsuming and expensive process and just go and buy a fat bike 🙂

(I’ve now got enough bits left over from my experiments on this that I’ can build a ‘Puglet” – a Surly 1×1 with a 3″ rear and a fat 4″ front)

Lol you selling the fat front 😉

Epicyclo, thanks for your comments & I realise I would never approach the floatation of going fully fat but I do not want a full fatbike. I wish to be able to have a versatile frame that I can make semi fat when needs arise or run regular wheels & tyres for 99% of the time. I am simply enquiring if there are any frames out there approaching an 80mm clearance between seat & chainstays.

Are you selling any of your ‘experimental’parts, rims, wheels etc as I would be interested.

Or shortcircuit the whole timeconsuming and expensive process and just go and buy a fat bike

Is the correct answer. 😉

peakprowler – Member
…I realise I would never approach the floatation of going fully fat but I do not want a full fatbike…

OK, I see what you mean. I went down this route several years ago. I was building a bike for a 1,000km overland trip in North Queensland. Because it was going to be completely offroad following old drove tracks there was a lot of very sandy tracks and I wanted to get as wide a tyre as possible so I didn’t sink in.

The widest rear end I could find at that time was the Surly 1×1 which is supposed to be capable of taking a 3″ tyre. The fattest tyre I could get then was a 2.35 and on 40mm rims that fitted nicely. I now have a 3″ tyre and I’ll be popping that in shortly.

Probably won’t be selling any bits though. They’re always handy for the next brainwave 🙂

Surly 1×1 frame clearances:

Chainstay 82mm:

Seatstay 88mm:

Looking at the chainstay, a few slight mods may get more clearance. A good welder could shift them outboard slightly.

I’ll have a look at some of the other frames I’ve got, but I don’t think I have anything else that comes near the Surly clearance.

Lovin the fat threads…addictive aint it? 😀
“puglet”…love it!
whats the clearance on an On One 29er?, the cheapest option maybe for 3″ rear fat front?

coastkid – Member
Lovin the fat threads…addictive aint it?
“puglet”…love it!
whats the clearance on an On One 29er?, the cheapest option maybe for 3″ rear fat front?

I’ll check that too (got one in the attic)

Here’s the On-One 29er (sliding dropout) measured up.

Chainstay

Fork

Follow the link for some more I have measured up, but basically the Surly 1×1 is about 15mm wider than average.

I’ve got a nearly new 1×1 fork forsale if that’s any use! Email in profile.

26er Inbred has 80mm clearance – so room for a 70mm rim.

Erm so what’s the clearance in a 1 x 1?

futon, and what tyre would you go for?

Dunno – I only have the frame at the mo – picked up a 26er 853 singlespeed inbred off the classifieds off here – and it’s still only a frame LOL. The plan is to buy a steel Jones fatfork so I can 69er it and use my existing 29er/fat front wheels from the Jones and eventually have a beltdrive alfine on the rear – but as I say – it’s still in the concept/frame only stage at the mo! 🙂

Having researched this ad nauseum recently…:

Rubber Queen 2.4 with volume index of 35
Muddy Mary 2.5 37
Duro Leopard estimated 43 (as per Gazzalodi)

I think the Leopard will be about 75mm depending on rim width, best google tho.
Nothing else up to Endo and Larry

cynic-al – Member
Erm so what’s the clearance in a 1 x 1?

The width at the bulge in the chainstays is 82mm, so a tyre up to 75mm should be ok. I’ll know for sure later – I’ve started assembling the ‘Puglet’ 🙂

I will be selling an endo tyre in a couple of weeks if anyones interested.

yes im interested mate bob me a mail when your ready. cheers mail in profile thanks

FS where did you get your Gazzas?

Thanks epi I was meaning the fork 😀

Picked them up on here new and unused 😉

Of course you’ll pass them on once you’ve got your cheap Endo? 😉

Puglet rolling chassis – took a bit longer than expected – had to retrue the rear wheel (it was 17.5mm offset) plus I was also modifying the Pugsley at the same time.

The rear tyre is a 3″ Duro. It fits ok, but there is a limited range of movement available in the track ends as the tyre interferes with the frame otherwise.

Front end is a Pugsley 100mm OLD fork and an Endomorph 3.7″ tyre. Both rims are 40mm.

I will be selling an endo tyre in a couple of weeks if anyones interested.

Hey … isn’t it an unwritten rule that the OP gets first refusal on any items offered for sale on his thread? 😉

thats a larry on a 100mm drilled alaskan cycle rim

sandman rear end !

waiting on a rear hub to finish it off 🙁

I have a Hope BigUn bolt thru not really needed. 135mm I believe but could check. Could be yours you know 🙂

I am guessing he needs 165/170mm hub.

its a 165 – mine got lost in postal pish pre xmas …..

waiting on goldtech to release there goldtech/sandman colab – have been chasing them via email and they tell me early in the new year.

I have worked out a bit of a bodgerono for just now involving a standard QR hub and a stabiliser adaptor – but thinking ill run into an offset issue with the rim again ! , the rim really needs the hub flanges to be central. FWIW im waiting till after the puffer anyhoo. – if i build it ill only be tempted to ride it at the puffer and that wont be conducive to a great performance !

I’ve got a new 165 Sun Ringle sitting doing nothing. Don’t have the axle – was going to make my own.

brian
32 or 36 and is it for sale ?

It might be worth telling here that the Salsa cro-moly fork is 86mm wide where a 26″ rim goes. With a 2″ 29er tyre there’re acres of space.
What fat-ish 29e tyre for the front of a SS Kinesis 69er?