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

No, not ridden the Dune I'm afraid. It looks like a great bike and I like the way they seem to have put all the effort into a good frame and then hit the price by using cheap (but functional) components.

I've waxed lyrical about the ICT in various posts, so wont repeat it here, other than to say that I'm still enjoying it. The front end on the ICT is very low though. I'm using 40mm rider bars on mine, but mainly because I don't like the look of a large stack of spacers 😳

Riser bars Shirley?

Indeed, but don't call me Shirley. 😉

I'm about 6 or 7 rides in now on my upgraded Dune and a few things stand out.

1. I am happy to ride it in places that normally I would dismiss as boring. Pootling along through woods that are dull on my FS is fun. But it's also more than happy to roll down all my local tech.
2. Its real easy to wash.
3. If it was my only bike I'd add a boingy fork, I poop my pants every time I hit fast rocky, rooty bits.
4. I don't quite trust it yet grip wise, it feels like it might dump me on my nose at any point (Floaters at 7/8psi).

Overall, it's making me want to ride so it's doing its job. I still chose my FS for my big lakes weekend last week though 🙂

I should qualify that, the dump me on my nose bits are wet and sloppy. On firm stuff it's great. Sloppy patches and I'm a passenger.

Riser bars Shirley?

Already at 40 mm rise. 20 deg stem looks worth pursuing though.
According to that calculator NooGoat linked to, the Hope 70 mm +25 deg stem would give me 26 mm more stack for only 1 mm more reach

Just converted my Dune to tubeless last night with a decathlon exercise mat and split 24in tubes, real easy install and seemed ok this morning still.

After doing it stumbled across this on bikerumor about fatty tubeless rolling resistance and the potential gains.

[url= http://www.bikerumor.com/2016/11/09/bicycle-rolling-resistance-quantifies-fat-tubeless-energy-savings/#more-142324 ]http://www.bikerumor.com/2016/11/09/bicycle-rolling-resistance-quantifies-fat-tubeless-energy-savings/#more-142324[/url]

Exercise mat seems like a good shout, I never got round to trying that but the foam I used was only kind of good enough, it wasn't great.

Has anyone here bought and installed a Ringmaster Chainring, without changing any other drivetrain components on their Dune or Wazoo, to go 1x8?

If so, any problems with chain retention, using the default rear derailleur and keeping the front derailleur in situ as a make-shift chain guide?

I think the Wazoo needs a new large chainring, the default 38T has several chipped teeth (like me 😆 ) and I dread to think what this is doing to the ~6 week old replacement chain.

Anyone bought and fitted a set of those Jobsworth fatty compatible pannier racks to a Wazoo?

slimjim78 - Member
Yeah, it does look a bit like something Mint Sauce would ride (thats cool!).

YES!! Couldn't have put it better! 😀

Question: is it possible to fit an XD driver to these Dune rear hubs?

How are people getting on with their Minions in the mud?

Minions in mud.. NATE,nate,nate 😉

zippykona - Member

How are people getting on with their Minions in the mud?

The front, depends a bit on the mud. Thin sloppy mud is just hard for a 4.8 I think, the Bud was the same, they float a bit too much so it's a bit sketchy at speed... but if there's any substance to it I find it works really well. (it's kind of back to that confidence vs grip thing, the Bud [i]possibly[/i] had more grip but the minion lets you know how much grip you have and what it's doing, the Bud doesn't, so I can work it harder.)

Think I said this earlier in the thread but the rear isn't as toothy as I'd hoped/expected. It paddles well and when it slides it's pretty predictable though, so it's more about where its balance is than being a bad thing- it's a wee bit faster and more allroundery than I expected and the tradeoff is a bit less brute grip. If I could, I'd have a wee bit more tooth and a wee bit more drag. But it's still decent.

It's a "depends on your conditions" thing I think, I wouldn't trade them for Nates- there is riding that Nates are better at, for sure, but I don't really want to sacrifice fun stuff for a tyre that's better at muddy slogging. If all you've got is muddy slogging or that's what you enjoy then the Minion will lose out.

(kind of like an XC mud tyre- if a Mud X is the right tyre for the riding, then IMO it's not the right riding)

The cost of new tyres is putting me off ! Perhaps I'll just stick with the juggernauts for now, if it's too muddy for them, I have other bikes to go at.....Reckon I'd only go for a grippier front anyway, as that's what I do with all my MTB's. So long as I can point it where I wanna go I manage, most the time 😳

Floaters aren't the best but for the price they can't be beat.

Without wishing to be Spam-y, I have a Surley Bud and a VeeTire H-Billy that I don't need. Ran the Bud on the Front and H-Billy on the back last winter and a fab combo. Bud has probably got 150km on it, H Billy probably 100km more. If anyone is interested (plus I have the tubes as well), email in profile.

As you were 😉

Bluto's ordered. Credit card smashed.

Could use a spare crown race, anyone know if they are available for the standard Dune headset?

Hi guys, I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't seem to find it in the 45 pages. But do the 170mm spaced Raceface ride cranksets fit better than the actual 190 spaced ones?

Right, that's it - 2 punctures last time out, another yesterday, sodding Hawthorns don't go with SV13Fs and Jumbo Jims, I'm spending as much time faffing with inner tubes as riding!

The mud has also hit the South Downs, and the Jims are struggling - plenty of opposite lock moments yesterday, just being a passenger until the grip returns.

I have a pair of Nates waiting to go on - tubeless or no? Is burping a problem? I'm not going to need new front teeth when it all goes horribly wrong?

I'm liking the FBF / FBR combo. Swapped out the JJ's from the summer and these hit the knobby price point as a 4.8 tyre. Bud / Lou were a bit spendy for me.

From JJ's they are a lot grippier, dig in well, don't slide on the traverses. Unsurprisingly a bit slower and heavier but roll ok due to a pattern of knobs in the center that's pretty continuous.

Popped up tubeless very easy indeed, as did the JJ's. Compared to Nates on my other bike, roll about the same, side walls at the moment are stiffer than JJ's or Nates which are very supple. Floaters, despite the seating problems are great IMHO at the price point they are.

The main positive Nates have IMHO again, is neutrality at all pressures, no self steer.. Minions needing front / rear pressures balancing a bit better to avoid SS... But it's not bad.

The above is based on using the almost identical frames, 190 and 170 rear, same manufacturer, same width and make of rim. Minions and Nates tubeless, on the same ride. Deep powder snow and packed snowgletrack care of snowshoeists.

do the 170mm spaced Raceface ride cranksets fit better than the actual 190 spaced ones?

Raceface Aeffect - yes.
Better Q factor and with room to spare on tyre clearance.

Not sure about Raceface ride, but I'd be a little surprised if they differed

If to compare Calibre Dune http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-dune-fat-bike-p347149
vs Mongoose Argus Sport http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Mongoose-Argus-Sport-Mountain-Bike-2016-Fat-bike_85658.htm

The raceface cinch cranks vary a bit, there's numbers here:

Ride isn't on it though, I couldn't find the stats. It's really weird that they haven't settled on one size

Just a heads up to say there are 6 Fatty Front wheels showing in stock, after they vanished completely from both stores for a while, ~£52.50 with "ENDOFWORLD" basket code.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WFOOFAT/on-one-fatty-front-wheel

They are Rear Disc Spaced, just like the Carbon Fatty Fork, which basically means the disc rotor will naturally be in the correct position between your disc pads.

"Oldskool" RDS wheels can be converted to run on FDS forks (such as the default Voodoo Wazoo), using http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-forks-c6/frame-fork-spares-c152/problem-solvers-fat-fork-disc-adaptor-p11825/s33072 .

Had my £34 front wheel for a while now, for whenever I finally install my £89 carbon fork, I've been successfully using the RDS-FDS adapter on my FatNotFat front wheel for a few months now with the default FDS Wazoo fork.

Hello everyone. Quick update from me, following my first alpine expedition on the Calibre Dune. First off, it was great. I was there with two mates and we had three bikes: The fat bike; my old HT 26 Scott scale 20 (sub 10kgs); and a ridgid 29er. The first thing that stood out was that the £0.5k fatty was simply a much better all-round mountain bike for the conditions we rode, both uphill on gravel and mud, and downhill on very rocky paths, than either other bike. By far. (even the £2k Scott). When we rode out later on tarmac for about 10km, it was also basically fine, and not noticably worse than the others.
So, for me, when people ask "what's that for? Is it for snow and/or sand?" my response now is that it is simply a great mountain bike - on gravel, up steep stuff, downhill and genuine off road. The bits I really enjoy are hooning over fields off-paths. When i swapped onto the other bikes, they felt really hard work in comparison.

Next thing was that at one point on a descent the outer chain ring got a bit damaged (it is very soft) and sucked the chain accross the chain stay and scratched it up pretty badly. I've yet to undertake a full inspection, but I am hoping that it is not a write-off. (i.e. that the scratches have not gone right through the aluminium....)

So, assuming this is not the case, (aka buring my head in the sand) I have ordered a new chain-ring - 30t - and a 1x11 Sram NX conversion kit. https://www.bike-components.de/en/SRAM/NX-1x11-fach-Upgrade-Kit-p48765/. I'm going to go 1x11, but keep the stock cranks. (i may just leave the 22t ring on for emergencies and/or bikepacking, when i can just swap over by hand.)

€139 for the upgrade kit and €40 for the chain ring. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm going to upgrade the brakes at the same time (€80 deore hydros from germany)

so, while i've got everything off the bike for my upgrades I've decided to strip the frame. (like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/bike-frame-discussion/lets-see-your-raw-aluminium-572818.html) I've done it before with an aluminium bike and i love the raw metal frame, and my wife vitriolically hates the colour of the Dune, so i thought why not? It costs about £5 to do, (just a can of paint remover) and takes a few hours. I'll put up a photo of the naked Dune when i've finished and put it all back together.

it should look something like this:

[img] [/img]

Cheers!

Ben

Potential to sound a smart arse here, but:

simply a great mountain bike

sucked the chain across the chain stay and scratched it up pretty badly

I mentioned this issue a while ago, it was the deciding factor on upgrading the cranks as I was only a couple of rides in and already enjoying the pro's of the bike - for me, the stock cheesy soft chainring is rubbish, and the cranks weigh a ton. Well worth upgrading.

ive decided to strip the frame

This will give you an idea of what it'll look like: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201701733993

Interesting write up Babble.

Looking forward to seeing the new look Dune too.

Thanks jim. you don't sound like a smart arse at all. I thought long and hard about upgrading the cranks too, but other than being heavy, i couldn't justify the extra €140...

Frame looks good bare to me, and the 300g of paint i save will make up for the heavy cranks! 🙂

The big question is, will the raw metal bike attract less attention? that would be nice. (although maybe, looking like a slightly unfinished prototype bike, it will attract even more?)

The BIG QUESTION is: what colour should it go for in the rim strip? indeed, if i have some paint stripper left, should i go bare metal for the rims too?? With these questions answered, my life will be complete.

If you are asking for suggestions, then here I go:

Leave get rims black. Get a rim strip in pale blue then match that with grips and the trim/accents on whatever saddle you choose.

Deffo strip the rims if you're keen on riding Robocops bike.

Rim strips, pick from orange purple yellow or green, preferably neon.

If stripping my frame I'd jazz it up with a bit of blended in colour at the headtube/ST/BB area a bit like those tasty old Cannondale paint jobs

Just this minute had a delivery man knock on the front door..

[URL= http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/IMG_0396_zpsobeqoijq.jp g" target="_blank">http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/IMG_0396_zpsobeqoijq.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Ooh. What travel?

80mm. May convert to 100mm dependent on how front end feels when I've tried them out.

Charlie the mongerer has them at £349 currently.

Nice....just need to wait for the £ to drop a little more....(and for the wife to be not looking...)

Please update with how they perform slimjim, I managed to get a bluto for £200 off amazon following a psa a couple of months ago. On the back of that bargain I've bought a dune and spent a silly amount of money upgrading it but I haven't felt the need to fit the blutos yet.

what have you done MikeG? (and if you ever hear of a Bluto for that money again - let me know!!)

meanwhile - bloody hell this BB is in tight. Just got the non-drie side off (normal threaded) and i am trying to get the drive side off (backwards i.e. clockwise - right?) It's as tight as a nun's nasty!

update - done. ow. thought i would break the frame. Thread was dry with a bit of sand in. will grease it up when reinstalling.

Well I've ordered the 170 spaced RaceFace Ride crank I'll let you know how I get on with the chainline.

I love my blutos on my Dune, makes you realise how stiff and twangy the alloy fork is.

and following researching the online user manual today - Im fairly confident I can switch the travel on my Bluto to whatever I damn well choose.

Bit gutted I missed out on a 110mm air shaft on the bay for <£16 now

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/VEETIRE-CHICANE-MTB-26/2012

First time I've seen these in stock in the UK, I got all excited, given they are slicks... And then saw the weight.

[b]1500g[/b] for a slick tyre that costs £48 each!!!11!!1! 😯 😯 😯 😯

Might as well buy three Speedsters http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/VEETIRE-SPEEDSTER-MTB-26/2011 and cycle with one around your torso to get the same weight as a pair of Chicanes. 😆

... Or just wait to see the price and spec of the upcoming 4.5" Vee Apache Fatty Slicks.

No but I just bought this for £1499,£900 off hope its as fun as this thread has made them sound, sadly can`t try til C[img] [/img]hristmas day as it is my present off the good lady and kids, happy days

looks fantastic smith! I don't think you will be disappointed.

Meanwhile in Dune news, some things you already knew if you have read the thread:

- the cranks and bb are heavy (as pointed out many times) - 1.1kg to be precise. That means if you went with an upgrade (slx or nx could be had for €110 + BB) you would be looking at saving 350g+)

- I changed the stock cassette for an NX 1x11. The NX weighs in at a storming 550g, which is exactly the same as the weight of the existing cassette (aprox 330g) + the front derailleur (aprox 220g) together (i.e. I will only be saving around 180g from the front shifter and cable by going 1x11) (not that i am trying to save weight - i just thought you might be interested.)

- i am keeping the heavy front cranks for now, and have put my race face narrow-wide 30t ring on it, and pulled off the other two soft damged ones. Note: the 30t ring is smaller than that crank spokes, so there is very little room for the chain to fit in between the teeth of the ring and the spokes of the crank. I may have to add some washers to create a little more space, but probably not, with the thinner 11 speed chain. I let those of you thinking of the minimalist 1x11 conversion know when i put the bike back together.

smiththemainman

that looks the tits - let us know how you get on with it. I'm sure you'll love it.

meanwhile i think with the 25% off sale these racks are looking good value:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BAJOAPR/jobsworth-disc-brake-compatible-adjustable-pannier-rack

Meanwhile - does anyone kn ow how long the Dune seat-post is? I want to order a longer one now, while i order this rack, but i am at work, so can't measure it...

Note: the 30t ring is smaller than that crank spokes, so there is very little room for the chain to fit in between the teeth of the ring and the spokes of the crank.