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Blazing sunshine in Drogheda, beach awaits but no fatbike as yet...
Anyone know where i could get a Mint Sauce on a fatbike keyring? 😕
When your ordinary mtb is mouldering in your shed, the fatbike is out having fun. This morning's ride:
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We need a UK fatbike!
[liar]I am not jealous, sire! [/liar]
It's so easy to take the scenery in this country for granted, some of the best in the world and half the time your looking ahead too much to notice it. Thanks for the reminder.
I think if any country needs their own fat bike it's the UK, with wet summers it feels like we have winter about 9 months of the year, all good fat bike weather though.
Brant, after a week of thinking, will you? C'mon, the Irish have just destroyed the English, cheer me up 😉
cupid.
You've just got tyre envy with your skinny little 2.7 slow reezay tyres. 😉
My envy is caused by yours being fatter and more substantial than mine.
I'm amazed at the people who think fat bikes are good for normal trails. I've done a fair bit of snow riding on my Pug and there is no doubt that it keeps me riding while normal bikes were reduced to pushing. Further, my 65 mm Large Marges had me pushing while riders on 80s and 100s got away.
But the Pug for normal trails? In my experience, far inferior to a normal MTB. Yes, i rode the dyfi on it because my main bike was broken but it held me back a lot. The pleasant surprise was that it wasn't as terrible as expected but that's not the same as good.
Riding beaches is fine but doesn't tie into what most people I know want from mtb. You can go on an old school wilderness adventure but you won't be getting the buzz of singletrack.
I know what I'd like to see in a UK fat bike but it would be low volume and I'll have words in appropriate ears before blabbing it all on here.
A lot of the trails I ride on have substantial soft bits, or in some cases disappear altogether.
I'm there for the scenery not the buzz so the ability to ride through rather than the speed are my main requirements.
Aidan - Member
You can go on an old school wilderness adventure but you won't be getting the buzz of singletrack.
The perfect riposte. Thank you.epicyclo - Member
I'm there for the scenery not the buzz so the ability to ride through rather than the speed are my main requirements.
druidh - Member
...The perfect riposte. Thank you.
Just an alternative view.
Most of the people I know who are interested in fatbikes are more interested in going places than how quickly they got there.
Having said that I find I'm faster on my fatbike in many situations. Big fat soft tyres are a great skill compensator on loose rocky technical stuff 🙂
I think that the fat bike is similar to the 29er, in that it can make a lesser skilled rider better and more confident.
When riding, a lot of my friends have a go on my pugs and they all say how it's confidence inspiring like a 29er only much greater. I think that the fat bike deals with rocky stuff as well as it deals with snow / mud or sand. If you increase the tire pressure it's amasing how well it will roll and still be very comfortable for a fully rigid bike.
A begginer IMO would cope better on technical rocky climbs or decents on a fat bike than on most others. Soft, muddy conditions etc. speak for themselves, especially for begginers.
A few observations from a pugsley user and dealer.
Great bikes, loads of fun. Our demo pug is used to walk my fast dog over the dunes and beaches at studland. Great single track that is impossible on a normal bike. Gonna have to watch out for nudists now it's getting warmer.
They are slower on every terrain except where other bikes can't go. Great resistance training as a road bike - I also use mine as a pub / commute bike.
You REALLY need to experience these bikes to be able to be able to credibly discuss them. They are very unique, and often weirder than you expect.
Get a lot of attention.
Been offering pugsleys for around 5 years now. Most years we have had zero sales. It's a tiny Market.
If you want to find out how these ride for yourself, get in touch and take our demo bike out.
I spoke to the guy from fatbikes.com a while ago and he was telling me about a race that they had had on very hard conditions, a lot of the riders had opted for regular mountain bikes for obvious reasons but the fat bikes with a high psi (20) had done really well and the winner was infact on a fatbike.
I think that you have to set your bike and tire pressures to the conditions that you ride and then your fatbike will suprise you of its competance.
Most people measure fatbikes by the surly pugsley which is the cheapest and heaviest bike. That's fine but I think that to be fair you would have to compare it to the cheapest heaviest regular mountain bike. If you look at some of the fatbikes being built 10 lb + lighter than a pugs with high psi your going to have a bike that rides totally different to the pugs.
If you ride for fun and not competitively nothing can touch a fatbike IMO they are all waether, all terrain mile eating machines that are sooooo fun to ride.
So just what is the weight of a stock Pug say sized for a 5 ft 10 inch person without any drilling .
Weight. Our Singlespeed demo with whopping 853 jump cranks, no drilling is around 34-35 pounds.
I could put him on a diet but it would be almost pointless.
Be interested to know what other pugs and fat bikes weigh in at.
We will have some salsa mukluks at the end of the summer. They will be lighter and only £100 more than the pug.
Cheers Charlie
just had a look at your site as am teetering on caning the debit card.
can it have a double and bash on instead of the triple chainset .
and what size for a 5f10inch bloke
Five foot ten puts you spot on for an 18". And yeah we can bash ring it for you.
Our demo is also an 18" if you wanna take if for a spin over the dunes.
Our next pug delivery is about 4 weeks away. The extra snow in the US and over here left a stock / production gap.
Baby steps in the right direction, when I found a nice company at the Taipei show who had snowbike rims and tyres. But also have a 36in tyre/rim combo too. hahah!
I want to make a hardtail with a 5in fork and a 4in rear tyre 🙂
charlie the bikemonger - Member
Five foot ten puts you spot on for an 18"...
If you are going to ride in snow it's worth considering a size down. I am 5'10" and usually ride an 18", but I got a 16" Pug and still had TTTI*.
What happens is the bike doesn't sink into the snow as far as a person on foot, so if you're riding over thick stuff and come to a stop your foot goes much further into the snow than the bike's tyres have sunk.
(*Top Tube Testicle Interface)
moose2008 - Member
...Most people measure fatbikes by the surly pugsley which is the cheapest and heaviest bike...
This is a valid point. The closest comparison would be a 1x1 with basic componentry, and having both, I'd put the Pug in front. The only snag is the weight, which is not obvious when riding but is a real nuisance when trying to lift it over a deer fence.
Mine is 38.8lbs with an Alfine. As a dedicated single speeder, I had to admit defeat with the Pug because the resistance of the riding surfaces in snow varies so much that the only viable SS ratio for me was a 22/22 which is of course hopeless if you get a section of clear track. Thus the Alfine.
Coastkid may be able to fill us in on the requirements for sand.
Once all the snow has gone it can shed some weight and go back to SS.
36er fatbike for Xmas then?
Oh imagine a 36er that could fit fat 29er wheels in just need surly to make 4" 29er tyres then 😉
A 4" 29er tyre would take some spinning up to speed, but nothing would stop you once you got going 🙂
in summary, fat bikes are good for snow, sand and those who need an excuse to go slowly? 😀
I don't need an excuse, I do it without one.
We have been surprised how many we have sold. Quite encouraging.
All thanks to Coastkid of course... 🙂
One guy even bought 2!
in summary, fat bikes are good for snow, sand and those who need an excuse to go slowly?
I don't agree I thrash mine and can leave friends on full sussers on technical rocky decents, the only place where I feel disadvantaged is on the road or long climbs, but thats just because of the weight. If you increase your psi it makes a huge difference
Agree on above comments,
into the wind on the road and big road climbs suck the energy levels, using car valve tubes i just pump up the tyres at a petrol station if riding on the road any distance (saves 100 pumps for 10psi even with a mountain morph pump).
Good brakes help stop you steam rolling over your mates on some regular trails 😀
my pug has 32/24 alfine gearing and is 38 lbs or so including tools.water.cameras, but still floats 😮
Yesterday i rode my Karate monkey along some coast to let my friend ride the pug and he was amazed. I struggled to keep up and cooked my legs a bit, had to run alongside in soft stuff to keep up!.
Mark another customer will be visiting soon 😉
A compromise bike
can be used as a standard 29er or in its current chubby guise
inspired from various threads on here, Chubby Karate Monkey
3 inch dura on back, 3.8 Endomorph up front, 100mm Pugsley fork, 32x 20 gear, 7 mph tops, plenty of time to smell the roses, looking forward to doing some beach/coastal rides this summer
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Steve, what rims are you using?
unbranded unicycle rim upfront, about 55mm and Halo SOS 35mm ish at the rear, like I said its a compromise, if we had more snow I think I'd go full fat (may still do so at some point) its a lot of fun to ride and I'm quite happy to go slow (er) these days 🙂
Right, enough of this waiting. BRANT!!!!! Just a gentle reminder 😉
Don't you think it'd be great if I rode a fatbike at SSWC 2011?