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Can't say I've ever bounced on any of my bikes or turbo trainer...25 Years of riding.
Seem to remember someone saying an oval chain ring helped with this.
Oval ring does help.
I think there's 2 things here. One is yes obviously lots of undamped bounce in the tyres. The other is that I tend to be in a lower gear- the last climb of the day is when this was most obvious and I'll often be sat down, spinning and trundling, that's going to highlight any lack of smoothness.
I'm honestly not sure if it matters though. The bounciness feels wasteful but does it make you slower, or does it just feel bad? Still, I fitted an oval and it's the only time I've really felt like an oval lived up to the hype, it just smoothed things out a bit.
Riding a fixed gear is a great way to get a smooth pedaling style. Spinning at 180rpm down hills soon makes you adjust.
Last weekend I was in Finland doing the Rovaniemi 150 fat bike race. Quite a wide variety of surfaces from frozen rivers to ploughed roads to sugar snow to a couple of hike-a-bike sections. I use an oval chainring and I wouldn't say my pedalling style is anywhere near perfect but I didn't experience any pedalling bob. 99% of the race was done sat down - you just can't apply even traction in snow when stood up (well I can't). Actually I fitted the oval to provide even traction rather than deal with any pedalling bob.
I think the bounciness is more evident as I've never experienced it before.
Feels weird and I can only imagine looks odd to any bystanders. 😀
I'm going to pump my tyres up to 25 psi and see if the bounce is still there. If it is I know it's my peddling, but in the event it's not I'll give an oval ring a try.
Just need to wait for the next 25% off superstar, for a cheap solution.
Chears for the oval suggestion
25psi 😯
What we feel when riding on a bike is rarely obvious to bystanders - they are highly unlikely to spot any pedal bobbing.
It wouldn't surprise me if those of us running short stems like my 35mm are typically putting >60% of our weight through the rear wheel, so we should be putting >10% extra pressure in the rear tyre to compensate... Especially those of us that weigh north of 80Kg when kitted out to ride!
When I run my 4.0 JJs on solely tarmac rides, I typically run ~25/28PSI, but this hasn't happened that often since getting my FatNotfat 29er wheelset.
On rides that include some off-road, I'll drop the JJ pressures to ~18/20PSI if it's been raining heavily, because the ride will still include ~5+ miles minimum of tarmac riding to get there and back.
Must admit, when I first got the bike and pumped the tyres up to my normally thumb test..a little bit of give.
Zoomed round the block and didn't get any bounce.
It's only since I've dropped them Down to 10/8 psi.
I get some bounce on my Dune too when I bring the pressures down.
When you drop the psi there is a greater chance of your tyre not being seated properly and possibly bouncing you up and down as it goes out of shape.
Finding the psi sweet spot for your riding style/weight can be a pain and if you have cheap tyres then it'll be even more tricky.Good tyres cope with the lower psi better and some cheap ones will be a right pain in the arse to keep seated at any psi 😐
Opinions please, do I keep my Dune frame or Fatty frame?
My Dune is heading to the point where the only original bit will be the frame. Due to buying an on one bundle it is now sporting a 120mm Bluto.
I'm about to order Hope hubs (using my diggers discount) but need to choose which frame to keep first.
In the Fatty corner, it's designed for the longer fork.
Resale wise I would be able to rebuild the Dune as it came and resell it.
Both have easily damaged paint.
Anybody ridden both?
Seat tube angle is slacker on the dune if the specs are to be believed, but the fatty has old fashioned (at the moment) rear spacing.
Tricky one. Both have their flaws, but could come out ok. Would have thought the Fatty would have better resale though at least for now due to being a known frame.
I have a history of Inbreds too, most of them in fact..
Hope hubs are QR or bolt through and there are still plenty of 170/177 frames.
Cant be more than a few quid in resale price between the two. I'd personally stick with the wider rear end and drop the travel on the Bluto to 100mm
slimjim78 - MemberUp for a SDW Dune ride collective this Summer chaps?
Other fatsters accepted
Most definitely. Two days and overnight camp? Or a single day thrash?
Just stop calling me a fatster!
The Dune rides well enough at 120, I haven't noticed any negatives.
Tyre wise, I'm happy enough at 4" for trail riding so unless all new trail fatbikes end up at 197 I'm not it matters.
Fatty frame must be a little bit heavie.
Noticed that there is still 25% of UK made at superstar. So going to pick up a oval ring.
I've got an e-thirteen double 22/36 Chainset on the dude, 11-36 cassette.
So far I've hardly used the 36th chainring, if I was to go for a 1 x10 setup. Loose a ring,shifter and front mech and save a few grams.
Which chainring could I get away with? 30th?
Just noticed that superstar don't have a 30th oval chainring 104bcd, any other cost effective options?
Two days and overnight camp? Or a single day thrash?
I'm certainly up for a camp if others are. Let's settle on a location. Norf, Mids, Sarf? The SDW thread has me inspired to ride it in full..
From what I've read on this thread it seems that the dune is a fairly good frame and fork combo. If I did buy one I'd almost definitely upgrade lots of bits.
The question is, is the frame combo as good as something like a salsa beargrease? I could get one of those and upgrade a couple of bits and suspect I might end up with a better bike.
If a could start all over again I'd probably save the pennies and drop them on something like a beargrease or dude, but I had no real way of knowing if I'd be wasting my money on a fat bike.
The Dune took much of the monetary risk out of if for me, so I'll reward the frame (the only original part left!) with a couple more seasons riding before finding something a bit more upmarket perhaps.
After putting all the plus's and minus's down on paper I reckon your right, the Dune wins due to the 197mm rear end.
Comparing the two frames side by side, the medium Fatty is at least 3cm longer up front and slightly shorter at the rear. And yes the seat tube angle is steeper. I'm a bit of a short arse so I'll stick with the large Dune (50mm stem)
http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/VEETIRE-APACHE-FATTY-SLICK-MTB-26/2457
£107 rrp reduced to £97! 😯 😆 😯 😆 😯 😆
Regarding pedal bob I know what you mean. Years of full sus riding has given me a sloppy pedalling technique.
Fitting a suspension seat post has got rid of the problem.
After a year Ive finally got to give my bike some coast action. Loved it.
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Few fatbike related bits at PX at decent prices...
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOASTLIN/airshot-tubeless-inflator £40
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBOOKNUCK/on-one-knuckleball-carbon-handlebar £40
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CROOTHTH/on-one-ringmaster-chainring £15
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TUVILIMTB/vittoria-lite-mtb-inner-tube £4
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BAPXSAPO/planet-x-saddle-pod-saddlebag £10 (frame bag)
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYMAMA/maxxis-mammoth-120tpi-tubeless-ready-folding-tyre £30
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BAJOAPR/jobsworth-disc-brake-compatible-adjustable-pannier-rack £10
Airshot is probably the highlight, but I keep wondering about the pannier rack and then some panniers for food shopping... Or are they likely to fall apart/rust within months?
Cheers n0b0dy0ftheg0at! Pair of Mammoths ordered for [s]when[/s] if the summer arrives! 😆
zippykona - Member
Regarding pedal bob I know what you mean. Years of full sus riding has given me a sloppy pedalling technique.
Fitting a suspension seat post has got rid of the problem.
After a year Ive finally got to give my bike some coast action. Loved it.
Zippy, where was that picture taken mate?
Looks like a Cornish beach I might know? 🙂
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVEVMFB/vee-rubber-vee-mission-fat-bike-folding-tyre
These also may be worth considering for £10 a pop. They may well be crap, but could serve as a cheap back up or something.
Incidentally, what fat tyres for mud? Sticky gloopy South Downs mud, after all these showers I'm going sideways as much as forwards at the moment on my Floaters - and it's a matter of time before I lose the front end
That's a good deal on the Maxxiss mammoth tyres...
But what does Dry/ All-conditions tyre mean?
Dry/ dry mud, dry snow, dry rain..
@slimjim78 Those Vee Missions are 24" tyres, not 26". 😉
http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/fat-bike-reviews/maxxis-mammoth-2016
Mammoths are much more draggy than I thought they would be, especially at lower pressures. They perform better at high pressure, making them more suitable for tarmac riding, but they will still be draggy compared to Jumbo Jims.
£30 is the cheapest I've seen them, but the low price comes with compromises.
I would inclined to pay the extra for JJs, they were as cheap as ~£42 a month ago, now ~£51 from https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/sports/cycling/cycling-tyres/fat-bike-tyres?dir=desc&order=price
Great little spot re the inner tubes...thanks just ordered a couple for my Dune replacement (the son in law now has the Dune). I've only gone and bought a new Specialized Fatboy (the one with carbon forks). To be fair comparing it to the Dune, it rides like it cost 3x the price and I can't recommend it highly enough if your budget stretches to Specilaized prices. The great thing is the son in law is already buying stuff to carry on riding the fatty in all weathers too.
Racebiek! At the Elliot Campbell Mountain Timetrial, which is a sort of XC race for the mental, or enduro race for people who don't like being able to breathe- a single 22km lap using an assortment of red route, pushup paths, swamps, downhill trails, enduro trails, and swamps.
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Muddy death today at innerleithen, had a totally predictable otb purely because a mud hole I tried to ride through, was too thick and sticky and it just grabbed the tyre 😆 Really not fatbike territory but I had a good laugh and wasn't last. Remains to be seen by how much I was not last, I'm going to guess I was in the bottom 20% 😆
I know bar width is a personal thing, just interested to see what most people are using.
Might be that numbers are all over the place.
I've got 780mm bars on mine, which are definitely to wide. Wondering how narrow I can go without the steering feeling odd..740mm?
780s on mine, and perfect for me but we're all different shapes. The golden rule is, cut em down, and eventually you'll reach the point where you've definitely cut off 20mm too much.
The fatty I borrowed had narrower bars than I'm used to and it felt like Ike it was steering itself at times. I'd move the your grips in and try it narrower before cutting.
Anyone able to confirm if a 4.8 JJ grips any better in muddy conditions than a 4.0 Floater?
Not really, but if it does the the floater mush be pretty awful 🙂 Certainly comparing a Bud/Lou combo with 4.8 JJs is chalk and cheese (and pretty slimy cheese at that).
Poops coop picture was taken at Poly Joke.
I read that the 4.8 JJs run much better than the 4.0s
@slimjim78 I'm finding Nates working really well in South Downs slime, much better than the original JJs - upon which I did lose the front end, put my hand out and sliced my glove and palm neatly in two on a flint....
The Nates are great, almost too grippy in thicker/deeper mud so you need to keep driving through to stop them bogging down, and draggy on firmer surfaces, but no slidey dramas like the JJs used to have.
I've not tried 4.8s mind, and I know Northwind rates the 4.8 JJ over the 4.0.
Yep, but it's all relative, the 4.8 is still bad in mud, it just slides a bit nicer and deals better with "mud on hard" like say a wet trail centre trail
Out of curiosity what is the minimum size of inner tube I need to carry as back up in the event of a puncture & my fatty stripper tubeless setup failing? Running 4inch Floaters.
Would I get away with a 26x3 ?
zippykona - Member
Poops coop picture was taken at Poly Joke.
Ah yes! Can see the sign better on the pc.
Happy times hiking round to there from Crantock not so many years ago.
Cheers bud, brought back songs great memories.
Fantastic place to ride a fat bike I bet!
I can confirm after tonight's ride that Floaters go mostly sideways heading downhill on mud but grippy climbing on mud. Everywhere else great fun (not, not fun on mud but definitely wild..)
This winter has been relatively mud free till February, is a Nate up front the equivalent of a Shorty?
I've ordered one of the Planet X pannier racks, I'll fit it at the weekend and let people know how it performs.