I can get one cheap as in 650. I don’t already own anything like it. Will I use it? Are they any good? I’m really going in blind here.

Yes.

I absolutely kicking myself for not buying one new for 585 in the planet x liquidation sale.

Since I got mine 4 months ago I have hardly ridden anything else. My new Carbon Jeckyll 2 gives me reproachful looks whenever I go in the shed.

I bought a Dune on the same basis and haven’t looked back. It’s a huge laugh, and you end up riding what I call “fatbike lines” – silly lines down trails that are not fast or clever, but just make you smile.

For balance – these guys that haven’t ridden anything else since they got a fattie, will be much fitter than me! (I’m 51, and not very fit, mind…)

I got one recently and I love it. It’s great fun and surprisingly chuckable (medium frame, I’m 6′). The grip levels are awesome on the standard Floater tyres, though there is a limit which I found riding up hill in a clay mud wood. It’s not light: 15.6kg with carbon fork, but you don’t really notice this off road. However, road sections are tiresome.
I see it as a perfect winter bike, but I’ll be switching back to my FS in the spring and for trail centre duties and getting the Fatty back out for a few trips to the seaside.

I just got one in the sale and i’ve been surprised how heavy it isn’t. With the standard ‘pick it up’ test I struggle to feel much difference between that and my P7.
I’ve been waiting some time for reasonably priced fatbikes to arrive, very happy with mine.

Sonder (Alkit) fatbikes are due for pre order in March or April – I’m waiting for pricing info before I make a call between a Sonder and an On One…

I really can’t fathom how a bike with 1.8kg tyres can roll as well as my Fatty does.
Never has so much fun been available to so many so cheaply.

I paid £650 for mine on the advice of a mate who said to try Fat biking before investing big money (canyon dude). I have had it since last summer and I love it. Not ridden either my 29er or SS since. It’s good fun, lots of grip and comfort from low pressure tyres but can be hard work. They will never be about speed but if you ride for fun, you can’t go wrong and you won’t loose too much money if you have to move it on.

I had one, it was great fun. Had to sell it because the width of the bottom bracket wasn’t good for my knees

No, but you should buy my Spesh Fatboy that’s on the for sae forum. 4.6″ tyres, Blutos, Reverb, SLX brakes. What’s not to like.

Buy it!!!

I joined the fatbike brigade 2 years ago and love it!!!

Bought a OO Fatty in the sale the other week and i’m really impressed with how well it rides – the best value FB by a long way – and importantly…really, really good fun!!!

Definitely consider getting a fatbike. Don’t necessarily get a Fatty. Especially don’t get it just because it’s “on sale”, I reckon this is really just a price correction now that there’s quality budget competition. It’ll be £600-750 and constantly “on sale” from here until they discontinue it imo, that’s pretty much what it’s worth.

If it fits you then definitely do check out the Dune too. It has glaring spec shortcuts as standard but they’re easily fixed and once you do that you’ve got a better bike. Basically all the money is spent on the most important bits and it shows, the fatbike “core”- frame, wheels, forks, tyres- is better and the more disposable bolt-ons are worse. Especially makes sense if you have brakes, drivetrain, finishing kit spare. If you wanted to ride it out of hte box it’s a much less good choice but it’s got pretty much unlimited potential.

Haven’t ridden a voodoo but it’s got to be worth a look too.

Lots of recent threads on budget fat bikes.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/voodoo-wazoo-fat-bike-review-pic-free-due-to-phone-death-

Would you buy a (new) fatbike for ~£1k?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-on-one-fatty-trail-frame-8449

As Northwind says, there is good value competition out there now. My Voodoo Wazoo cost £405, and last week you could have got the 20″ framed Wazoo for £360 if you were a British Cycling member.

The Wazoo has a straight non-tapered steerer so AFAIK couldn’t run a Bluto if someone was so inclined (dunno if the Dune is ‘better’ in this respect).

I really can’t fathom how a bike with 1.8kg tyres can roll as well as my Fatty does

Just weighed the 2 Floaters I bought – 1450grms and 1480grms still mounted on their packaging sheets.

There are plenty of used Fattys out there, and the lower pricing drives down second-hand prices. The disadvantages of the Fatty is that it can be a mare to convert to tubeless which would be my biggest upgrade recommendation – takes a half-kilo off each of the wheels and reduces rolling resistance.

Was just looking at the basic sram x5 version. Do you need a dropper post in a fatty?

My new Schwalbe Jumbo Jim Pacestar tyres were only 1146g. My Maxxis high roller 650b 2.3 is 973g…

I’ve just ordered a fatty for £650. The new ones apparently come with emmental rims and el guapo hubs. Think the rims are drilled too. Hopefully they will be easier to setup tubeless than the older rims.

That’s a better deal if it does come with the wheels mentioned above.

I’m holding out for Dune Calibre pricing for the incoming large version. Spent months going over the competition and VFM wise, the Calibre takes the crown. Frameset and upgradability wise.

Rose Tusker is well worth a look too, but I couldn’t get on with the extra wide seat stays as they clashed my manly calves

andyflaw – Member

I’ve just ordered a fatty for £650. The new ones apparently come with emmental rims and el guapo hubs. Think the rims are drilled too. Hopefully they will be easier to setup tubeless than the older rims.

Same rims as the Dune, those, not bad at all. I’ve seen one feller say he got them set up tubeless with just packing tape, haven’t tried that yet but mine went up very well with foam and a split tube (nowhere near working with a split tube and no foam). Yep it’s a bodge but an effective one.

Those not running tubeless, what tubes do you recommend? I’ve heard the fatty ones weigh a tonne each!

Do you need a dropper post in a fatty?

got a GD on my main bike which I use all the time. Bought a shim to use it on the Wazoo. Took both bikes to Afan for a weekend (only rode the Wazoo) and done a couple of trips to Woburn Sands (localish winter riding haunt), not got around to fitting the GD and not missing it.

So wouldn’t be top of my upgrade list.

My new Schwalbe Jumbo Jim Pacestar tyres were only 1146g

I’d be putting ~ 120 quid’s worth of tyres on a 400 quid bike, I’m trying to keep it budget, so Floaters it is!

OP – yes you should.

Because no one else within a 10 mile radius has one I can try out. I’ll meet you down at Hicks Lodge. The peanut butter Brownies were amazing this afternoon.

Yes you should.
Had my voodoo Wazoo for a week now. Just took it on a 19 mile xc ride today and it was fun though did get a little draggy on certain sections.
Great value bike the Voodoo imho. On one looks like it is too.

@ dovebiker
ive managed , well my lbs has, to tubeless the on one wheels and floaters, and i have a tubeless bud on the front at the moment, it actually wasnt that hard

Wrightyson,i’ve come back from a 50miler on mine,Matlock,Brichhover,Youlgrave hpt,the chase etc!
Come round to mine and have a go on it!

So it’s a resounding yes then! I’ve got some serious grovelling to do. H4muf thanks for the offer, I’m just gonna go for it based on the list of where you’ve ridden it today. Not been up the chase since November as it’s been a bog fest. Roll on the fat tyres….

[url=https://flic.kr/p/EyFkxt]IMG_20160227_112526125_HDR[/url] by lee murfin, on Flickr

My Voodoo Wazoo cost £405, and last week you could have got the 20″ framed Wazoo for £360

Not taking the piss here but would you buy a bike which you considered to be your main bike for that kind of a price?
I understand that some people might think that 400 squids on a bike is a lot of money. But some people that are procrastonating over a relatively cheap bike seem to have a case of double standards…
The old saying of you get what you pay for sometimes rings true.

Schwalbe 2.3 freeride tubes are 185gms and work a treat in slicing weight off a fatty if you can’t be doing with tubeless.

singlespeedstu – Member

Not taking the piss here but would you buy a bike which you considered to be your main bike for that kind of a price?

I can’t speak for the Wazoo but I paid just under £500 for the Dune and I ride it as much as any bike i’ve ever owned, it’s ace. I’ve upgraded some parts but it’s a very good bike at heart and totally deserving of upgrades. I suppose I’m into it for about a grand, you can’t buy a fatbike this good for a grand though.

How much do rigid bikes cost? £400 sounds quite pricey to me.

Stu, no offence or p1ss taken. To some people £400 might be a lot of money to spend on a hobby, to me (18yr old car, no kids, no Sky, etc etc) it’s not. Before buying the Wazoo I already owned 6 bikes, my “main bike” is an Alpine 160 with CCDB, RC3Tis and other quality kit.

For me the Wazoo was bought to satisfy my fatbike curiosity. I signed off my review with

In short, it’s far more fun than any (potentially) 400 quid bike has a right to be. ….I can rubber stamp it with day 2: I left the Alpine in Afan Lodge lock-up and took the Wazoo out again to ride Blade and Whites.

It is a hoot, and clearly fat bikes are capable enough to be taken seriously rather than as just a toy (see all the “haven’t ridden my XXX in 6 months since getting my fat bike” posts), but my approach was that if I hated it I could pass it on at minimal loss (I usually ride with a narrow Q factor and get heel strikes on normal bikes so wasn’t sure if I could even ride a fat bike). If I continue to love it I could end up buying a quality fat bike and giving the Wazoo to my other half!

At 400 quid it was a no brainer without much competition. All my upgrades have been out of my parts bin or trickled down from my Alpine (got some of those bargain Chromag bars for the Alpine, put it’s Havocs on the Wazoo). If I was looking at spending £650 on an On-One I’d probably be looking above as well as below that price for competition, so as well as the Wazoo/Dune there’s the likes of discounted Charge Cookers and Felt DD’s.

To some people £400 might be a lot of money to spend on a hobby, to me (18yr old car, no kids, no Sky, etc etc) it’s not. Before buying the Wazoo I already owned 6 bikes, my “main bike” is an Alpine 160 with CCDB, RC3Tis and other quality kit.

See this is what i’m saying. You spend a fair bit of cash on what you love but didn’t buy a fatbike until you could get something that cost nothing compared to your main bikes.
Just an idle observation of how some of the naysayers are now worshipers. 🙂

Just ordered a Trail Frame and sold a nice Dialled Alpine to fund the build – I cannot wait!! 🙂

Just an idle observation of how some of the naysayers are now worshipers

I was never a naysayer, I always “got” the idea, but don’t know anyone with one so riding one was either paying £50 for demo day or buying one, and as the latter I’d rather risk 400 quid than 2000…if I didn’t like it I could have probably sold my Wazoo on for £350 and only lost the price of a demo day on it…

Budget fat bikes like the Wazoo and Dune can only be a good thing for fat biking; they’re cheap enough to make a niche affordable (even if just as an n+1), and good enough to give people positive experiences. Maybe in a years time there will be loads of them on ebay as people have upgraded, which will make fat biking even cheaper and more accessible.

paying £50 for demo day or buying one, and as the latter I’d rather risk 400 quid than 2000…if I didn’t like it I could have probably sold my Wazoo on for £350 and only lost the price of a demo day on it…

So you paid £400 for a test ride in the hope that if you didn’t like it you might get £350 back. 😉
Like I said it was just an observation of how some of the hate has changed.
Not saying that’s a bad thing…

Calculated risk. If he was wrong, it would’ve cost him £50. If he was right (and us lot usually are), he pays peanuts for a brilliant N+1.

Of course, that assumes you really could get £350 for a second hand bike that was £400 new. I think I’d tend to view it more as a chance to have a proper extended test (as I never find demo rides that useful) without sinking too much cash into something that might not work out.

There is a strange logic about this in my own head too though. Let’s say I paid £600 for a fatbike and found that it was great fun. I’ve just proved to myself that I don’t need to spend any more to have fun, so how do I now justify my £3K bikes ? Sounds like a risky venture to me 🙂