[Closed] Have folks realised fat bikes are shit yet ?

you won't see many in a few years time outside of the odd die hards

which, according to some on here, is all that's riding them now! 🙂

DONK - steeps and technical descents easier on Fatty (with nicerer carbon rimmed tubeless wheels), fast but rough better on Orange Alpine.
I won't be taking a fat bike to Les Gets any time soon - but I bet someone else is.

I just bought a 34lb, steel framed, 5" tyred fatbike. I took it to Cannock last week. For the first half, I was puffing up the hills, sweating like a pig, chickening out of all the drop-offs and generally embarrassing myself. I even managed to make the front tyre wash out on a nice dry switchback.
Then, about half way round, something just clicked and I started to get it. By the end I was flying (quite literally at one point). Fat bikes are different, and need to be ridden differently, but can be ridden just about bloody anywhere.
I'm still not quite fit enough yet though, but the fatty will get me fitter faster.

The climbing aspect on a fat bike had put me off also.

The climbing has been the biggest surprise for me. Mine is a 34 lb lump of steel with 5" tyres. I didn't buy it to be fast and I expected to struggle more on the climbs, but it just doesn't seem to be happening.

Last night, for example, without really trying, I set my second best time (of 21 attempts) on the climb, only a second off my best. That was good enough for 14th out of 88 on the leaderboard. I'm 51 and I aint going to be challenging the fit kids any more whatever I ride, but the bike doesn't seem to be holding me back on the climbs so far.

In general, it seems to be slower if it's really smooth (like a road), but the gap narrows the rougher it gets and when you get to the point where you have to get off and push on a regular mountain bike a fatbike can sometimes keep on trucking. I've cleared a couple of ramps (both stupidly steep and covered in loose rocks) that I've attempted dozens of times on a variety of regular mountain bikes, without ever getting close to making it up.

How do you find them going down steep technical stuff?

It depends how steep and how technical for me. I've ridden down a few (steep, rocky) sections on my fatbike that I've always been too scared to ride on a regular mountain bike. Huge tyres and a front end that doesn't pitch you forwards when you hit a bump can give a huge amount of confidence when it's really steep and technical.

Where it's rubbish though is on fast rocky stuff. Exactly the sort of terrain where my full-suss 29er excels. For that sort of warp-speed, let go of the brakes and switch off your brain stuff you just can't beat a few inches of nicely damped suspension. For some people, of course, that's the best bit (maybe even the whole reason they ride). So, I totally understand why a fatbike wont be for everyone.

Personally I wont be getting rid of my full-suss anytime soon and I'm not sure I'd ever choose to take a fatbike to a trail centre. But for riding up and down mountains it's got a few things going for it 🙂

[img] [/img]

You bought one then, Roverpig?

You bought one then, Roverpig?

Yeah, I couldn't get the demo ride out of my head so decided the only option was to build one up and see how I got on with it 🙂 The jury is still out to be honest, but it's fun to try new thing.

Denis99 - Member

Its a Felt Lebowsk -e.

Felt just won the Bike Name Game, that's absolute genius. Makes me want to get one, and a Canyon Dude.

D0NK - Member

now plus one has got all the fatties' attention, can I ask.... How do you find them going down steep technical stuff? Comparatively. Are you still riding the same steep stuff as you ride/used to ride, on your main bike?
No matter what your main bike is/was (unless your main bike is a DH or Trials bike - I guess that would skew things)

It's a very different experience but I love it tbh, it's not like, say, tiptoing down on an xc bike (which can be fun too). I wouldn't ride it down glencoe downhill... my aim is to ride all of the tweedlove enduro world series stages on the Dune but a couple of those might be too much. But my second or third ride ever was at innerleithen dh chasing (badly ridden) downhill bikes down the matador.

I haven't had it on a beach yet. I'm worried the Council of Fatbiek might send Coastkid round to confiscate it.

Hope mike doesnt mind me posting this impressive video clip
downhillo n the snow in chamonix

does this look shite? no !!!

You'll have to do better than that vid to win over the non-fatbike fans. How ****ing slow is that riding? Sorry but I've no interest in riding really slowly downhill in freezing conditions.

now plus one has got all the fatties' attention, can I ask.... How do you find them going down steep technical stuff? Comparatively. Are you still riding the same steep stuff as you ride/used to ride, on your main bike?
No matter what your main bike is/was (unless your main bike is a DH or Trials bike - I guess that would skew things)

Just wondering whether your average fat bike is less comfortable on the steeps than your average middle of the road FS/HT. Like I said comparatively, I've no doubt postierich would kick my arse up hill and down gnar on his fatbike.

It's still a rigid bike at the end of the day. There's a bit of squish, and pinch flatting takes more effort, but it's still a case of picking lines that suit the bike, usually smoother ones, but looking for grip is less important.

dragon - Member
You'll have to do better than that vid to win over the non-fatbike fans. How ****ing slow is that riding? Sorry but I've no interest in riding really slowly downhill in freezing conditions.

Go on then, show us your rad sick gnarrcore edit.

Another fat video.

For that sort of warp-speed, let go of the brakes and switch off your brain stuff you just can't beat a few inches of nicely damped suspension. For some people, of course, that's the best bit (maybe even the whole reason they ride). So, I totally understand why a fatbike wont be for everyone

They make full sus fatbikes now. You can have both 🙂

I've been a bit fat curious since I had a brief spin on an on-one fattie back in 2012. I recently had the chance of a long term demo on a Scott Big ed.
My thoughts were -
Its slower almost everywhere.
It will climb almost anything if you can hang on.
I never want to get another puncture in one.
A lot more capable on steep stuff than I initially thought it would be.
I would have one if I could get one cheap enough.
I was properly beaten up by it 🙂

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Photo courtesy of JWDTphotography

You'll have to do better than that vid to win over the non-fatbike fans. How ****ing slow is that riding? Sorry but I've no interest in riding really slowly downhill in freezing conditions.

Then a fatbike probably isn't for you. Luckily there are other options for those that crave speed 🙂

Personally (and others may disagree) I find the fatbike great on sections of the trail (up or down) where I'm going slowly, which accounts for a surprisingly large percentage of my rides 😳 If you want to hit stuff at warp speed though a regular mountain bike wins every time.

Personally, this is my favourite fatbike video and a big part of the reason why I went with the ICT.

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By the standards of regular mountain bike videos it's totally naff. He's not going fast, it's all totally controlled. But that's the point, for me. It looks as though he's having fun in the woods without ever really risking a trip to A&E. But, as I say, I totally get that it's not for everyone. It's just an option for those that fancy giving it a try.

I saw a bloke commuting on one in London for the first time yesterday, he seemed happy enough

Yeah, they look rubbish, especially in that photo

@ dragon

do you prefer to sit indoors and watch coronation street instead when its snowy outside and cant ride.

most riders cant do that on a dry terrain on any bike let alone faster. it might not be for you but for people who can do it a fat bike is perfect, in the right hands of course.

shermer75 - Member
I saw a bloke commuting on one in London for the first time yesterday, he seemed happy enough

[u][b]Masochist Definition[/b][/u] -

a person who is gratified by pain, degradation, etc., that is self-imposed or imposed by others.

...of course he looked happy.

This business about fatbikes being slower seems obvious.

However the first year I took my fatbike to the 'Puffer I managed to get in one more lap than I'd ever managed previously. Usual bike a good 29er weighing about 22lbs, the fatbike weighing about 42lbs, same singlespeed gearing.

On rough terrain on long distances, it seems you can average a higher speed on a fattie. Instantaneous speed and acceleration another matter.

But part of this perception problem is there's a lot of crap tyres out there now, usually fitted to nonQBP bikes and they are dire to ride with. Put a decent high tpi tyre (eg 120) on a fatbike and then it works properly.

In fact I've never seen one

there are regularly 4 on our rides, fatty, fatty trail, dune and a beargrease, canyon dude has been know to tag along too

But part of this perception problem is there's a lot of crap tyres out there now, usually fitted to nonQBP bikes and they are dire to ride with. Put a decent high tpi tyre (eg 120) on a fatbike and then it works properly.

Yes, it should go without saying that tyres (and wheels) make a huge difference. That's true for all bikes of course, but especially so with truck wheels.

For example, the Ice Cream Truck that I took out for a demo ride had Bud/Lou tyres with tubes on 100mm clownshoe rims. It had all the grip and float you could possibly want, but it was a matter of spin along and you'll get there in the end. For my build I went with Jumbo Jim tyres, tubeless on 80mm DT rims. It's hardly surprising that this combination is a fair bit faster. It wont have the same grip or float in snow/sand/bog of course, but that's just the trade-off you have to make.

But part of this perception problem is there's a lot of crap tyres out there now, usually fitted to nonQBP bikes and they are dire to ride with. Put a decent high tpi tyre (eg 120) on a fatbike and then it works properly.

Interesting through, that the newest, lightest and 120tpi tyre (the Kenda) is actually the worst.

I'd be interested to see how something like a Nate does on that test, the Larry is an odd tread pattern and not really comparable to the others they tested (likewise the Vee8 is an anomaly).

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

shermer75 - Member

I saw a bloke commuting on one in London for the first time yesterday, he seemed happy enough

I rode mine to work once because my commuter had a flat. It was pretty orrible tbh 😆 But good fun on the pump track after work.

My Garmin must be on the fritz then ,seems like im quicker on my fatty on a fair few climbs and Peak routes than my Five , and it handled the Borrowdale bash with ease while my Five was under warrenty repair , against other full bounce bikes too.

Sorry but fats are fun

thisisnotaspoon - Member
Interesting through, that the newest, lightest and 120tpi tyre (the Kenda) is actually the worst...

Yes, I should have made it clear that it's a rule of thumb, not an absolute.

To put it more clearly, you need a compliant sidewall to get the most benefit from a fat tyre. After that, tread affects the feel most.

interesting reading, i thought a fatty bike would be horrible for uphills on local terrain, once i get a bigger garage and the prices have come down i'm tempted..

and they always put a smile on my face in the shop, once aw one at llandegla, the bloke seemed happy and his mate was insisting he'd done enough and they swap

In South Wales there are many steep climbs with loose sandstone rocks that are pretty challenging on a normal bike; I bet you'd cruise up them with a fattie.

I rode mine to work once

Do they do 4" slicks? I bet that'd be a right laugh on roundabouts.

tubeless on 80mm DT rims. It's hardly surprising that this combination is a fair bit faster.

Why? Interested.

Do they do 4" slicks? I bet that'd be a right laugh on roundabouts.

On one BSC type 1, and surly black floyd.

tubeless on 80mm DT rims. It's hardly surprising that this combination is a fair bit faster.
Why? Interested.

1) Jumbo Jims are the fastest (probably) treaded fat bike tyres, Bud and Lou are basically 4.8" mud tyres (but probably not the worst rolling),

2) Tubeless makes a big difference on a fat bike.

3) light if not the lightest aluminium 80mm rims Vs 100mm (not particularly light although there aren't any other 100mm rims I can think of). Smaller rims = faster rolling in fat bikes.

Without getting all defensive...

Its slower almost everywhere.

It will climb almost anything if you can hang on.

I never want to get another puncture in one.

A lot more capable on steep stuff than I initially thought it would be.

Mine is definitely slower for almost all of the riding I do. I can put a number on it for XC, it's almost exactly 25% slower- based on glentress seven results on an xc bike and the fatbike. For harder trails that number gets bigger. But I didn't get it to go faster.

shermer75 - Member
I saw a bloke commuting on one in London for the first time yesterday, he seemed happy enough

I rode mine to work once because my commuter had a flat. It was pretty orrible tbh But good fun on the pump track after work.

stopped riding mine to work (unless it snows) as kept getting more verbal abuse than usual from the school kids.

having said that my commute is about to get shorter and more off road-able so i might use it more!

To put some perspective on how 'slow' my fatbike is, I co-incidentally set-out the same time as another guy from Winchester to attempt a Southdowns Double last summer. He was going for the XC-racer bare-minimum approach whereas I was certainly carrying more kit and riding to a different schedule - our paths re-crossed just over 11 hours later at Eastbourne and he had gained about 30 minutes after 100miles and 10,000ft of climbing - so a 4.5% advantage. This year I'm about 5-10% faster and will try another double in a few weeks. I expect the rider has as much influence in the equation as the bike - if I want to be really quick over the ground, I'd ride my 17lb CX bike

Good debate certainly seems they work for some folks ..(Anything will if you tell yourself it does)

I'm still convinced it was an April fools type stunt that gained traction and they thought let's see what we can get away with 😥

Progress ? **** Off !!! Sure the money men are rolling around laughing at the gullible 😳

Not sure if reading difficulties or trolling.

Those that claim it's marketing arseholes forcing weirdo bikes down their throats - have a look at fatbike history over the past five or six years.
In the UK, EVERYTHING sold out before it was even available, Surly and the other handful of early companies producing bikes and tyres, rims, etc were endlessly hassled by riders wanting fatbike bits.

The big guns were obviously looking on with interest and all of a sudden everyone had a fatbike in the lineup.

And then fatbikes were suddenly very noticeable and people complain it's being forced on them by evil marketing arseholes.

Yes, they are a bit shit for A) Elite level XC racing B) Downhill racing on DH specific tracks.
For everything else, fat roolz.

I finally got round to cycling to work and back for the first time this year, on my JJ 4.0 snakeskin equipped Wazoo today at ~25/28PSI. 🙂

Given my current fitness levels are positively awful, I was shocked to get there in ~22 minutes and home in ~25 minutes, very comparable to my other bikes. 😯

Now admittedly, my journey times can be influenced a lot by traffic lights (I swear Southampton is now worse than Liverpool for number of lights) and potentially a railway crossing delay on the way home, but even so I thought I would be noticeably slower.

These JJs fly compared to the Mission Commands, 38/20 gear is far more doable without my legs and knees giving me grief.

Racing, then - can someone organic use a fatbike race? Using a variety of crappy surfaces rather than just on a beach?

Um. I'm organic. I'd say I'd "enter" a fatbike race rather than "use" one.

Fatbike classes mean fatbikes are competitive. Not sure if they're organic.

There's a class at mayhem this year and Run & Ride have fat bike classes too in nearly all of their events.

Now, more importantly is it flats or spd's on a fattie?

*organise

A course unrideable on a normal bike.

I love how bikes with a tyre slightly wider than normal hard tails are now shit. An "Enduro" racing lad told me it was stupid the other day. Pointed out that its basically a hardtail MTB with bigger tyres. But it seems Fatty's are the anti-Christ of the Gnar boi's.....Oh well I will just live with it being shit. Out of all of my bikes my fat bike is the one thats most capable across all disciplines. Jack of all trades master of none, which suits me. Its definitely not my fastest bike, its just a different type of fun. I find most people that dont get it have never tried one. Most have orders in for a YT capra.. 😉

In fact I paid for my new Smokestone frame today. First person to officially "Buy" One

Te internet trolls will be hating it!

They all look a bit shit though.

l of early companies producing bikes and tyres, rims, etc were endlessly hassled by riders wanting fatbike bits

When Pugsleys couldn't be had for love or money, I made one or two fat frames - I thought they were a daft idea too until I tried one. I haven't ridden them enough to know if they're faster or slower, but what really struck me after the first ride was their imperturbability - they're just not fussed what you point them at, they'll happily trundle over things that'd make a conventional MTB skittish.

I must admit that I don't get fat bikes (or even plus sized). I can't quite work out what all the fuss is about. I can't quantify what makes them better.

But then I've never tried one. And fun is pretty difficult to quantify! So if people enjoy them, then go for it. I'll be watching with a puzzled look on my face trying work out why.

Neb - Member
I must admit that I don't get fat bikes (or even plus sized). I can't quite work out what all the fuss is about. I can't quantify what makes them better.

Easy, when there isn't a trail, you need a proper mountainbike.

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