[Closed] On one fatty first impressions (anyone)

Any thoughts on the combination of a 55mm fork offset and a 68deg head angle?

What as the reasoning behind this Bant?

Tyres are looking good - any chance of an ultra light version? I really don't want to buy any more fat tyres that are 1500g!

The lawn needs better drainage and WTF is going off with the front brake hose routing? Even with the daft/wrong foreign brake levers on the wrong side setup you should be able to make it work better than that.
Other than that, looks good.

What as the reasoning behind this Bant?

It's to make it stable, yet quick.

A feeling of stability was one of the first things I noticed. Once the bike is rolling it seems to sit 'in' the trail and responds predictably to shifting your weight around. As this is the only fat bike I've ridden I can't comment on whether it's the front geometry that's doing that or something else, but it works for me!

Is there likely to be any chance of that fork becoming available seperately Brant? Numbers look ace.

36 lbs, 15 oz.

Good god these aren't bikes for light guys are they? My fastest riding buddy is a small light guy, he'd never get this around a corner, he'd shift his weight but it would just carry on ahead without him.

Is there likely to be any chance of that fork becoming available seperately Brant? Numbers look ace.

Definitely.

Groovy

[quote=mattjg ]36 lbs, 15 oz.
Good god these aren't bikes for light guys are they? My fastest riding buddy is a small light guy, he'd never get this around a corner, he'd shift his weight but it would just carry on ahead without him.
Lighter bikes are available.
Your wallet will be lighter too.

yes please for that fork. long enough for a frame that's corrected for 100mm. with option for rim brakes. I've waited sooo long for a rigid replacement for my Pace Evo (to which it looks similar).

[url= ]what you need now is one of these![/url]

Joe ...how come yours comes with gears on the front ???

[quote=singlecrack ]Joe ...how come yours comes with gears on the front ???
He fitted them himself.

Any thoughts on the combination of a 55mm fork offset and a 68deg head angle?

No, as I haven't ridden it yet. 😳 I will rectify that this afternoon, though. 🙂

Oh - and I did the soap on the tire beads. Tire hop issue is gone. Thanks for the suggestion.

The lawn needs better drainage and WTF is going off with the front brake hose routing?

Not my lawn. That's a field next to the local volunteer fire department. I had a tough time finding a place to take a photo. We got about 2" of snow Thurs into Fri. And a photo of a white bike against snow wouldn't work. The snow melted in the sun, bu the ground is still frozen, thus the puddles.

I cover the front brake hose issue in one of my earlier posts. I couldn't get to to work at all out in front of the bar. Routing it like a Fox suspension fork (clamp on the arch, route inside lower leg to caliper) will not work since the upper hose guide is so close to the top of the fork. It is probably too long, by my other disc brakes use mineral oil so I can't cut the line as I don't have a bleed kit. And knowing that it bothers someone may just mean that it stays that way! 😉

Good god these aren't bikes for light guys are they?

I didn't weigh mine as intended by On-One; I had to start swapping parts right away. 🙂

The inner tubes are made of lead; mine were 593 grams each! So that's an easy and cheap way to put her on a diet. I plan to go tubeless, so didn't spend $ on lighter tubes. I also plan to drill the rims.

Mine gained weight in the following areas:
- 2x drivetrain +221 grams (24-36-bash crank, front shifter, direct mount adapter, front der. etc.)
- KS Lev seatpost +282 grams (I did save 10 grams by losing the QR seat clamp, though :D)
- XT Race pedals +339 grams (just a big balance bike w/o pedals!)
- Ergon GX grips +10 grams
- XT cassette (- 54 grams) I got it for a good price 😳

So that's about 800 grams added, or 1.76 lbs! So that would put the stock weight at about 35 lbs. Mine is the 16" size.

Is there likely to be any chance of that fork becoming available seperately Brant? Numbers look ace.

I'll bet some fatty buyers will replace theirs with a carbon fork or a suspension fork, so likely there will be used one around before too long. I have an itch for that carbon Carver fork, but its offset is 10 mm less and I'm worried about what that would do to the handling of a bike that I haven't even ridden yet...

what you need now is one of these!

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I'm American so I'm not familiar with those at all. These would have been what we had on my side of the Atlantic:

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Edit - OMG; I just realized that I posted an orange bike!!! 😯

Joe ...how come yours comes with gears on the front ???

Because there are hills where I live, and there was no way that my sorry @ss was going to be able to pedal a 36 lb+ bike up hills when the lowest gear was 32-36! 😀

As above, I added them myself.

Joe - FFS get it ridden and post photos of it dirty.

4 pages and no ride review..............

I'll bet some fatty buyers will replace theirs with a carbon fork or a suspension fork, so likely there will be used one around before too long. I have an itch for that carbon Carver fork, but its offset is 10 mm less and I'm worried about what that would do to the handling of a bike that I haven't even ridden yet...

Shorter rake will make it feel heavier steering.
We are doing a carbon fork at some point.

Which may go part way to explaining why the handling feels better than some other fat bikes.

This is a more and more used quote i would love to see put into practice...

I put it into practice by not buying a Pug + getting a Fatty 😉

Is it possible to objectively test handling? Very subjective and depends on where you want it to shine.
Fatty feels more lively and capable, I ride techy rocky stuff on most rides + being used to low long bikes with relatively slack head angles, means the Fatty will feel better to me then some other fat bikes with different design briefs.

It would be good to get someone as experienced as yourself to test say a Fatty, Pug, 907 and Krampus on different terrain.

After all you are to blame for allot of this interest in fat bikes 🙂

Be good to get some impressions on ride

What's it like on switchbacks, how does it handle muddy inclines etc

Rode some tight steep rocky switchbacks yesterday + It was great. The level of grip means you can work the bike round tight spots taking mad lines. I imagine bermed switchback's would be a hoot.

I guess it depends on the mud, It will still slither around a bit in soft surface mud , but never feels out of control. Muddy climbs, even without a granny ring, have all been doable so far. You'll be doing well to spin it out. Decent mud guards are apparently quite important to avoid pebbledashing

Mal-ec not a fatty review but this sort of thing? [url= http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/snow-demo-ti-9-zero-7-alu-9-zero-7-ti-fatback-wildfire-compared-580906.html ]http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/snow-demo-ti-9-zero-7-alu-9-zero-7-ti-fatback-wildfire-compared-580906.html[/url]

So, I took people's advice and actually took my Fatty up to the park and went for a ride. And I didn't die.

[b]Without a doubt, it is the best fat bike that I have ever ridden!*[/b]

Tire pressure 7 psi front, 8 psi rear. The traction is unbelievable. Weather here is about 40 American degrees, below freezing overnight, and some light rain. Ground frozen in spots, and trails are muddy, with frozen areas underneath. My Hans Damps would not have worked at all, and even my Trailrakers would have struggled and probably spun out on some of the uphills. No such problem with the floaters; they never lost traction. They also cleared mud well, though none of it was real sticky mud. Good job Shiggy! 😀

As far as handling, I would say that is is dead on. I left the bar and stem set up as delivered (I changed grips, though), with 30mm of spacers below the stem. I assumed that I'd want to lower it as my regular bike has the stem slammed with a flat bar. But I immediately felt comfortable on the Fatty, though I did notice that I was more upright and not as stretched out. But it worked for this bike. I'll experiment a bit to see if I like something else better, but I can ride it as is with no problem. Handling is stable, not twitchy at all. I did notice the inertia and gyro affect of the heavy tires, and needed to adjust my steering input a bit to compensate.

My regular bike has 26.5 inch wide bars. They were about an inch wider when I bought them 5 years ago, and the guys at the LBS were darn near pissing themselves laughing at how ridiculous a 27.5 inch wide bar was. But the 30 inchers on the Fatty just work. And there are some narrow tree gaps on my local trails, too. I will look at going wider on the main bike now!

I had no problem at all lifting the front wheel over a couple of logs; it felt natural. I an absolutely terrible at wheelie drops; and there is a little 12" high one on one of the trails. I nailed it perfectly on the Fatty the first time; they tires soaked up the landing just great.

I was surprised how easily I adjusted to the rigid bike after 6 years on full suspension, the fat tires absorb a good bit and roll over everything. I could feel a little bouncing at times, though.

Going to a 2x10 drivetrain was absolutely the right decision for me. I need the granny on the climbs. This is also my first experience with 10 speed, and I must say that I'm very impressed. Now I just need the $$$ to upgrade the other bike's drivetrain to 10 speed. The bike's weight is definitely noticable; there is no hiding the fact that it weighs almost 10 lbs more than my regular ride. Its not cumbersome or anything, it just takes a bit to spin it up to speed. But it's fun to ride, and hauling it up climbs will no doubt boost my fitness, which is a good thing indeed.

The saddle was instantly comfortable, and will probably stay on the bike till it wears out. The stock seatpost was nice, but it is not a dropper, so I replaced it with a KS Lev. Worth its weight in gold, I tell you!

I do need to adjust the tension on my pedals, though. I fell over once. 😳

I'm a Magura fan myself and had my doubts about the entry level Avid Elixr 1 brakes. I've seen lots of posts with horror stories with people complaining about Avids. But my Avids just worked. No noise. Good lever shape. Pretty much invisible, which is how good components should be. Of course, one short ride doesn't say anything about their durability, but if they continue to work this well and don't need constant attention, they'll stay on the bike.

So overall, I'm thrilled with the Fatty. If you're thinking about a fat bike, you should definitely go for a spin on one. And if regular trail riding is what you'll use it for (as opposed to snow and beach) then the On-One Fatty is worth a look. Overall, great job Shiggy and Brant (Except for the orange decals, that is!) Photos to follow...

[b]*Note - it is also the only fat bike that I have ever ridden.[/b]

Yup, the orange decals suck a fat one

If you're thinking about a fat bike, you should definitely go for a spin [u]on one[/u]

nice work 😉

Fatty on the trail
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Tight squeeze (yes, I rode it 3x!)
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Tight squeeze from rider's perspective
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Not much room for error
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Looks like others had a little trouble, though
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Swoopy stretch of trail
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Love the look of the Fat Bikes but are they just for Sand ???
just feel i'll be dying trying to ride on a forest trail !
Am I wrong ?

Love the look of the Fat Bikes but are they just for Sand ???
just feel i'll be dying trying to ride on a forest trail !
Am I wrong ?

Yup, you're wrong, they are ace in the woods... Especially at this time of year with the mud & gloop...

A 4" mud tyre makes it all the more fun.. 8)

Was out in Delamere yesterday, as pretty much every day..

Great fun.

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

^^ Your bell is PINK! 😆

Love the look of the Fat Bikes but are they just for Sand ???
just feel i'll be dying trying to ride on a forest trail !
Am I wrong ?

Do you see any sand in any of my pictures?

Yes, you are wrong! 😀

ok 😉

Second ride on the Fatty this afternoon. I did not die this time either. So now the cost per ride has now been cut in half. And I added a computer that I got for Christmas. 🙂

I lowered the tire pressure by 1 psi to 6 psi front, 7 psi rear. It felt a little bouncier this time with the lowered pressure. The tires also sounded a little different. Its hard to explain, but they sounded more like my regular bike tires when I run them tubeless. No issues with the sidewalls folding or anything, and I'll continue to mess with the pressure.

I also had the Shadow Plus clutch turned on the whole ride this time. Last time, I forgot till I was almost done. 😳 To me, its not noticeable while riding. No real rough areas to really test it, though.

And I had to tweak the derailleur cable tension and tighten up the headset as I felt a little play. I backed the tension screws out on the pedals, but not enough. I need to spend a few minutes and get them set up right. And I have to figure out where to put the battery for my lights. On the other bike, it goes on top of the stem. This stem is too short for it to fit. It needs to be accessible, though since the switch is on the battery.

I put a new chain on the bike when I built it, assuming that the larger chainring would mean that the original chain was too short. But the original chain was actually longer than the one that I put on! I put a mid cage XT rear derailleur on, so I guess that the SRAM X5 that was stock on the bike had a long cage. So now I have 2 chains, and may try that chain switching thing that some folks do to try and minimize drivetrain wear.

And I need to get some fenders. Those fat tires can throw a lot of mud and water. I'm liking the looks of the PDW ones, but need to come up with $50 first. I also remembered to take a jug of water to rinse some of the crap off of the bike when I was done.

They're calling for 2-4" of snow tonight into tomorrow. Or rain. Or a rain-snow mix. It depends on which website/TV/radio station you check. So, maybe a snow ride soon! 😀

We got about 4 inches of snow overnight and today. Once the snowplow cleared my street in the afternoon, I decided to take the Fatty out for a snow ride!

3-4 inches if fresh snow was about the limit of what I could ride in. Its hard work, too! It didn't take much of an incline to be the lowest gears. And if got steep at all, there wasn't enough traction to keep going. Steering is tough, the front wheel washes out easily. Its fine when the ground under the snow is flat and firm; when its rutted or off camber the bike goes in the direction that it wants to.

It was much better on packed snow, which is no surprise. I started on the asphalt park road which had been plowed but still had maybe 1/2 inch of snow left on it. The tires gripped great, but they sure are loud! The bike also rode fine where it hadn't been plowed, but a car or truck had packed the snow down. As long as you stayed in the tire track, that is. Riding on the unplowed section of th eroad was possible, but hard work. Where the snow from the plow was added to the fresh snow, it was too much so impossible to ride.

Singletrack was challenging, as the front tire tended to wash out on every twist or off camber section. It helped some when the tire was in an XC ski track. (I stayed out of the XC tracks on the wider doubletrack trails, but this is impossible in the singletrack!) And once you are stopped, getting started again can be difficult. I probably went down as many times today as I did in 6 months of regular riding. 😳 They were all low (or very low) speed offs, and the snow cushions things, too.

Only issue - I did notice that both tires wobbled left and right at the end of the ride. I don't know if any of the crashes were enough to unseat the bead or exactly what happened, but I'm thinking that I really need to get these set up tubeless!

I came across a couple of cross country skiers. Ski chick "Wow, you're really hard core!" Ski dude "I've never seen anything like that; super cool!" 8)

Sorry; pictures are crap. It was really overcast, and I can't work the tiny camera buttons with fleece gloves on!

Tracks left to right; turkey, Fatty, XC skier
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Fatty laying on the same trail
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Bike again
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And again
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Joe, you may have already answered this, but whereabouts are you based?

I'm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the USA.

Just down the road from me kind of, I'm in Queens, NY. I think we're getting your snow at the weekend, alas no fatbike for me, are you commuting on it at all, or is it just for off-road use?

Same time zone, at least.

I think we're getting your snow at the weekend

No commuting or anything. Just a second bike for riding trails. Part toy, part physical fitness plan to avoid being as round as I am tall.

Oh god, the snow....I'm chief shoveller on my block due to being surrounded by lots of old ginks who's shovelling days are well and truly behind them.

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and have been out a few times, on 'normal' trails plus the beach a few times. First impression was that I couldn't get the bloody mech on properly for ages, and like Joe I couldn't get the powerlink off (never had any problem with 9 speed ones!) but after I'd got past my mechanical incompetence I got it onto a trail.

First ride was on some mixed trails with a mix of surfaces including quite a lot of boggy bits. It was ace fun, felt quite different to normal MTB, probably harder work but encouraged me to take different lines - have never gone seeking mud before. Going through mud the tyres would slide, but it felt controlled, much more stable than normal tyres. Left the tyres relatively hard for that as didn't want to end up pumping up on the trail - about 18psi which felt like a good starting point for normal trails, though will try a bit softer next time.

After that I have been out on the beach a couple of times. Both rides have been at night, so can be hard to tell what sort of sand you are on until the bike's reaction tells you - as with Joe on the snow, when it got deep and off camber I found it hard to steer on the direction I wanted, suspect there is a technique point here - any tips? Not came across any sand I couldn't ride through yet ( except when I tried towing the kids in trailer!). Had the tyres down to maybe 12 psi, then tried even lower last night (sub 10) and that started to feel too low, especially on road on way home, felt really squirmy.

As for the bike, so far I have found the 1 x 10 to be about right for what I will use it for - mainly playing around on local/beach trails which don't have massive hills. It's clearly a pretty burly thing, but again for what I'll use it for that's no issue - and is as expected. It does feel very stable at low speeds - has felt quite confidence inspiring when mucking about on rocks at the water's edge - plus when I have got a bit of speed up it felt pretty planted. Do think I will chop the bar down a bit. Traction is impressive - if you can keep the pedals turning I think you could pedal up a wall.

Only issue I have is that the rear brake feels terrible - lever coming to the bar, unless I pump it a few times - after which it bites earlier but then quickly reverts to pulling to bar again. Front is better but still a bit inconsistent. Obvious diagnosis would be that it needs bled but seems a bit strange when it's brand new - any suggestions...?

Elixir 1's do that. Bleed does not help, nor will replacing it with another E1. Get a Deore as a replacement.
We have been replacing all E1 brakes on new bikes with Deore as they are effectively pants.

TBC, cheers. Not an encouraging answer, but useful to know nonetheless!