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

Injecting drugs, Opera, Morris dancing, Pegging & Fat Bikes

Sometimes it's better to go through life without knowing how awesome something "may" have been

Injecting drugs, Opera, Morris dancing, [b]Pegging & Fat Bikes[/b]

Sometimes it's better to go through life without knowing how awesome something "may" have been

😆

puzzled look on my face trying work out why

Try one and that puzzle will be solved.

Great pics epicycle !! Fantastic that you've found a bike that suits you and your riding. But honestly what are you, in the 1% of mtb'ers ?
Fat bikes are a niche bike they won't suit everyone, and my guess is that they've plateauad already. Yes I've ridden one and they're not for me. Why because they are exactly what they say on the tin FAT !!

I've posted this before (and apologies to Gartner - again)

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I suspect the majority of fatbike owners are still at stage 2. Some (already witnessed on this thread) are at stage 3. Many have move on to stage 5 - where a balance of expectation and ability has been reached and a fatbike is just one option from the quiver.

Is stage 2 also the one where they go on and on and on and on and on and on about them? Waffling endlessly about hub types and bottom bracket widths etc etc. Ride what you've got and have fun but don't be an insufferable bore about it.

My Fat Bike timeline...
Curious...
See second hand Fatty for £500...
Think I'll buy it and can flog it for £400 if I don't like it.....
Like it but will only use it as my winter shit bike......
Dry ,summer trails and still riding it.

Is stage 2 also the one where they go on and on and on and on and on and on about them?

Don't forget the fun factor. Ordinary mtbs aren't fun but the simple addition of comedy soft tyres they become fun. Driving down the motorway with four soft tyres type of fun or playing football with a punctured ball. Paddling a half inflated dingy wearing a brightly coloured bow-tie - FUN!

Ordinary mtbs aren't fun

You are doing it wrong then

Thats the thing right there.. I'm with the OP actually...

Just choose your item, add a reason for not owning it and there is the justification you are looking for to underpin the expanded generalisation for writing off the whole genre.

So in my book, all:
Road bikes
Enduro chariots
tricycles
etc are indeed, shit

stevenmenmuir - Member
Is stage 2 also the one where they go on and on and on and on and on and on about them? Waffling endlessly about hub types and bottom bracket widths etc etc.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ, sorry did you say something?

Are we at peak fat?

Just choose your item, add a reason for not owning it and there is the justification you are looking for to underpin the expanded generalisation for writing off the whole genre.

So in my book, all:
Road bikes

I have a road bike. I can confirm your suspicions.

I personally couldn't give a flying what people think about fatbikes, all I know is I haven't rode my Other sh*t bikes since I got mine, and its well capable of Anything that I am! the miles seem to fly by and the fun level is cranked up to 10 when im out on it 😀 see you all at the Sam Houghton and (GET OUTTA MY WAAAAAAAAY) Lol

Grippy as hell. Avoiding wheelspin means you can pace technical climbs better, whereas on 2.*" you'd peak into the red to keep moving when you lose traction and be in recovery in between.

On looser surfaces, the threshold of grip feels more predictable, so you can hold a fast 2-wheel-drift if you have the nerve. Foot out, dab of oppo, etc.

Downhill, the larger tyre absorbs angled rocks and roots pretty well so doesn't twitch around as much as a conventional wheel, so you can more often take the line you want, so long as you have the mass and strength to steer against the larger contact patch and larger gyro effect. First thing I upgraded on my fatbike and will upgrade on my GF's fatbike is brakes, because they descend a lot faster than you think.

In general I think they're better suited to physiques closer to "track sprinter" rather than "mountain goat". A fatbike asks more of you and if you're too weedy you will feel assaulted.

There is a lot of variation in fatbike design that tends to be ignored. Earlier bikes tend to be "retro XC"/bikepacker, whereas fatbikes like the On-One Fatty with slacker headangles and shorter chainstays pander to adrenaline junkies. My GF says her Genesis Caribou (older orange model, steel, bosses everywhere) is quite hard work now that we're out of mud-plugging season, whilst she says "[my On-One Fatty] just seems to [i]want to go[/i]".

Be a boring world if everyone liked the same things.

I love my fatty for various reasons, but I also love my bouncer, hardtail and road bike for differing reasons. All have positives and negatives and non are shite.

I love my fatty for various reasons, but I also love my bouncer, hardtail and road bike for differing reasons.

So what you "need" is a full-sus carbon fatbike with proper lockout and a second set of "Fat-Not-Fat"-style wheels 😉

Sounds like you're not at S-1 yet, so N+1 is cheaper and easier.

I was taking my fatbike off the roof of the car the other day and there were a bunch of runners milling around getting ready for their run. One of them asked me what was the point of the big tyres. I must admit, I was somewhat thrown by the question. All I could come up with was "fun I guess". I did point out that I was about to ride around in a big circle for the hell of it so there wasn't really a point to any of it. In fact "fun, I guess" would pretty much be the my only defence whatever bike I happened to be riding.

Skip to the end. I think they're brilliant.

I was taking my fatbike off the roof of the car the other day and there were a bunch of runners milling around getting ready for their run. One of them asked me what was the point of the big tyres. I must admit, I was somewhat thrown by the question. All I could come up with was "fun I guess". I did point out that I was about to ride around in a big circle for the hell of it so there wasn't really a point to any of it. In fact "fun, I guess" would pretty much be the my only defence whatever bike I happened to be riding.

Ask them what the point of going for a bike ride without a bike is?

Like fat bikes, running is probably slower, and probably climbs better, it's just not 'fun' though!

Ask them what the point of going for a bike ride without a bike is?

Like fat bikes, running is probably slower, and probably climbs better, it's just not 'fun' though!

Actually, they weren't even "going for a run". It was apparently a "speed session", which was going to involve running up and down a short section of hill at the start of the trail over and over again, not even getting to see the view. And they thought I was mad 🙂

Someone mentioned hardtails.

After years of trying them I have come to the conclusion that they don't have the immediacy of a good rigid bike or the cush of a full suss, while picking up most of the bad habits of both.

I have now purged the garage of all hardtails. Except my son's.

Can I therefore suggest all hardtails are rubbish.

I'll be back to state that road, bmx, cross, full suss, rigid and balance bikes are rubbish when I can be bothered.

In fact all bikes are rubbish. Save yourself the hassle and just send the cash you were about to drop on one direct to me. It'll save you frustration and disappointment in the long run.

Do you accept Paypal gift?

Depends where you live. Don't think it'd work for me and my local routes any better/more fun than a decent normal tyre but doesn't make them shit, merely inappropriate.

taxi25 - Member
Great pics epicycle !! Fantastic that you've found a bike that suits you and your riding. But honestly what are you, in [s]the 1% of mtb'ers[/s] [b]Scotland[/b] ?

Fixed it. 🙂

If you live in a place where you have unrestricted rights to the countryside, there's only one sort of bike that does the job all year round. For a dry summer and shoulder months a plus bike is good enough (which has been most of this year).

But if you are to have but one bike, then it's got to be fat* or you're restricted to hardened trails.

*Add a plus size wheelset for the easy seasons.

Well if I didn't ride a fat bike I wouldn't have been able to enjoy a week riding in the Outer Hebrides last week.

https://fat-bike.com/2016/06/outer-hebrides-fat-bike-tour-by-jeff-price/

and Summittoppler knocks the ball right outta the park 😀 Top man, Fatties rule!

Well if I didn't ride a fat bike I wouldn't have been able to enjoy a week riding in the Outer Hebrides last week.

https://fat-bike.com/2016/06/outer-hebrides-fat-bike-tour-by-jeff-price/

Wow, would love to give something like that a go.

summittoppler - Member
Well if I didn't ride a fat bike I wouldn't have been able to enjoy a week riding in the Outer Hebrides last week.

A great read. Must do it.

Sounds like you had a great time because of where you were and the fact you were on a bike. The fatty seems rather irrelevant save for the beach maybe, but I've towed over 70lbs of trailer using a 26er on 2.4s across a flour sand beach...not easy and I didn't dare stop, but doable for a few miles.

Cheers guys, it was pretty special 🙂

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Folks posting(mainly riding alone) backs up my theory 🙄

Buy something really odd all your mates rip the piss relentlessly !! Realise after riding you've made a huge error but your loathe to admit it so ride solo taking pics to prove your actually riding it ..

Then it slowly gets brought out less and less till its binned 😆

You know, some of us don't buy bikes cos they are fashionable and we also don't worry about what our mates think. MTBing is different for different people you know. This isn't golf, or triathlon.

Buy something really odd all your mates rip the piss relentlessly !! Realise after riding you've made a huge error but your loathe to admit it so ride solo taking pics to prove your actually riding it ..

Kind of true I guess 🙂 I mostly ride on my own, because that's what I prefer, but that does mean I have the freedom to ride a stupid bike if I feel like it. I wouldn't take it on any of the (rare) group rides that I do. Not because I care about the piss taking, but because it has different strengths and weaknesses, so doesn't suit being in a group with lots of "normal" bikes.

epicyclo also makes a good point. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a fatbike if my only (legal) riding options were trail centres and bridleways. It is the fact that I have the right to ride my bike (responsibly) anywhere I like coupled with the large expanses of untracked heather and peat moorland (which has snow on it for a few months most years) that makes a fatbike look like a viable option.

Buy something really odd all your mates rip the piss relentlessly !!

I wouldn't bother with a fatbike if my only (legal) riding options were trail centres and bridleways

Well, a lot of bridleways in Wales are essentially non-existent anyway so the effect is the same.

molgrips - Member
I wouldn't bother with a fatbike if my only (legal) riding options were trail centres and bridleways
Well, a lot of bridleways in Wales are essentially non-existent anyway so the effect is the same

Having attempted to find the one that goes from the Old Aberystwyth Mountain road to Elan Reservoir in Rhayader I can wholeheartidly agree

Fair enough, fatbikes all round then 🙂

This is the same conversation we were having 5 years ago. Just replace the word Fatbike with 29'er. Or 3 years ago with '650b / 27.5'

see, no fun whatsoever here, shit basically
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Having attempted to find the one that goes from the Old Aberystwyth Mountain road to Elan Reservoir in Rhayader I can wholeheartidly agree

I like riding my skinny tyred bike over rocks and roots. Sketchy as hell but keeps the skills sharp and a good dose of adrenaline.

Go outdoors have them for £500...

I like riding my skinny tyred bike over rocks and roots. Sketchy as hell but keeps the skills sharp and a good dose of adrenaline.