Anyone still riding fatbike (got an itch)

Yes – Beargrease. I live by beaches but it’s a great tool for moorland, especially those quadbike tracks all over the Southern Uplands.  An invaluable mobility aid as I find walking awkward and painful, and has lengthened my hillwalking career. Not my main bike, but not one I would get rid of.

And it’s a hoot – does not attract much attention around here due to the fact that they were once common. I don’t see so many tracks out on the beach as I used to.

Still my primary bike after 11 years of FB riding.

Local Hampshire/Berkshire trails are mostly singletrack and not very rocky so the FB is the perfect machine.  Also do a fair bit of bikepacking, including a recent 500 mile loop of Wales.

For me, the FB is the perfect compromise ‘do it all bike’.   Great for chasing mates around the forest or out on all day epics.

As Hot_Flat says – its just a big BMX and still makes me grin on every ride.

I’ve also got a long travel enduro bike for big away trips.

Set up is either 3.8 or 4.3 tyres, tubeless on LiteBicycle carbon rims and Mastadons

Thoroughly recommend itching that itch!!

Hiya,

I have one I built you can have for £90. It is an unsual OnOne with a strange Q factor, but it works.

Ping me direct if interested and in North Somerset somewhere or nearby.

BR

Jerry

Full fat on 4″ or 4.8″ was utterly shite.   29×3 on a Trek Stache Carbon however was great fun for a while.  Proper hooligan bike.

I have a rigid Norco on 4.8s set up tubeless that I still use as my winter bike. Lots of fun and riding fully rigid every now and definitely teaches me how to use my body to remain quick / not get beaten up by the trail. The huge tyres give help give near full-suspension levels of grips through regular chunder but when things get a bit rowdier it’s more of a case of holding on and trusting that the bulldozer-like handling will safely see you through.

I lose track of the “I bet that’s heavy” / “I bet those tyres are expensive” / “That looks slow” comments. Obviously I’m not riding it for bagging Strava KOMs.

Thanks Jerry but I’m up north.

sandy sloshy New Forest mud

That might be a good description of what they are good at…(though you can stick y’er New Forest ;_) )

I’ve commented before that I thought mine awesome in mud and others have replies that they thought they were terrifying. I suspect it’s the type of mud. I’m lucky to live somewhere that does very little mud but the bits that can get muddy are loamy or quite sandy. There’s a bit on my local loop that can flood or become sloshy and if you got off you’d be most of the way up your shins. The fat bike just sort of floats through it, finding grip where none should be possible. Ride into it with my FS on 2.5″ rubber and you come to a halt through the resistance and spinning rear wheel and have to do the wade of shame to get out.

If I was back in the South Downs with its special brand of bike killing claggy clay and chalk combo I might well have a different opinion.

Looks like I might be riding the puffer this next edition and I think the dude with either it’s proper fat wheels on or its 29×3″ depending on conditions will be my bike of choice.

others have replies that they thought they were terrifying. I suspect it’s the type of mud.

Very much so…

I’ve done an couple of xc races on mine in the mud, I was the only fatty and the only one to ride all of both courses with now running (and yes it was quicker to ride). However if it’s the type of mud that the fat tyres sit on top of and float, then it can be a little sketchy. I would suggest that those claiming fat bikes are no good in mud are more than likely using OEM Jumbo Jim’s which are imo only good for dry fast conditions.

Yeah, I remember feeling that way with the 4.0 JJs, weirdly the 4.8 turned out to be massively better at most mud, not to mention less orrible when it gives up. I wonder how many people get put off by crap OEM tyres? Especially back when good ones cost a million quid.

I had Surly Ednas and they still went sideways in mud.

It was from slow ,I actually had a road PB on it. The wheels seemed to have a flywheel effect , where if you got puffed and stopped pedalling the wheels would have enough momentum to let you catch your breath.

My Wazoo fatbike sitting in the shed still, needs a replacement drive side crank after shearing through the pedal axle summer ’20.

Would love to get it rideable again, especially after putting 16Kg on over the last two years of long covid, now 96Kg.

Those 4″ Jumbo Jims were fun on tarmac, never did get chance to fit a 4.4″ on the rear, as I didn’t have a front wheel that worked with the PlanetX carbon fork, so often had a 29*2.35″ G One Speed on a PX FatNotFat wheel set.

Far more fun a bike than the Voodoo Marasa hybrid that replaced it… And lighter too in 29er mode at ~10.5Kg!

Good lord, I don’t understand this at all.

Each to their own etc.

I’m on the cusp of throwing in the towel with my Wazoo, absolutely wayward handling seemingly unimproved by any tyre pressure I could find. I’ve read that the Wazoo’s Vee tyres were particularly prone to that but I haven’t had the courage to spend money replacing them in case it’s not a major improvement. I presume from the happy riders on this thread that it’s possible to have a normal handling fat bike? What would be a reasonable recommendation? (and if anyone’s got any lying around…)

My first fatbike came with Vee tyres, not sure which model but I felt like the bike was trying to kill me as the steering was so unpredictable!

Replaced them after a couple of rides with a set of Jumbo Jim’s and it transformed the bike. I would suggest doing that before getting rid of the Kona.

And then sell your Vee tyres to some Deliveroo guy with a shit Chinese ebike, like I did :-)

Thanks Sefton for this thread.

It reminded me that now it’s getting damp it’s a good time to take out my 9 year old Trek Farley. It’s great fun to ride up and down, until the Surrey Hills trails build up their winter mud – which unfortunately the front tyre floats over in whatever direction it fancies, makes for exciting riding.

Jumbo Jims far better than the Mission Commands that came with my Wazoo.

And if not going tubeless, those Schwalbe  sv13(???) jump tubes expand fine inside JJs and are only ~390g iirc, big weight saving compared to standard fat tubes.