What’s the verdict?

My guess is 3″ tyres will work on dome sand/snow but not most/all (otherwise fat bikes wouldn’t need 4-5″)

Depending on snow type and depth, thinner is often better.

I’d consider a 5″ fatbike once my B+ is up and running as the 4″ is probably too “close” in floatation.

But if you could only have 3″ or 4″? (I appreciate fewer bikes is a foreign concept to you)

My old 26″ wheels love the snow if it’s just the right type. Not too deep but fresh and crisp snow and it’s amazingly grippy yet hides all the roots 😀

Slush and iced up slush is nasty though and deep fluffy I just don’t get anywhere and maybe a fat tyre may help. Wonder what they’d be like on ice? Wide and low pressure after all.

If I only had to have 3″ or 4″ I’s go for 3″, it’s just a bit better on regular trails but still gives a bit of float on softer surfaces.

It was also fine at the puffer this year when a lot of folks were running spikes, and that was with a knard on the back…

Took a jaunt down the coast to North Berwick the other day on my Krampus. Followed the John Muir way to Gullane, then the route of the Forth Fat out onto Aberlady sands to the midget subs, along Gullane bents to North Berwick. Only one soft sand dune caught me/it out – but it was right in front of two walkers. They were polite but I could tell they were laughing at my failure.

No idea how it would fare on snow but sand seems to be ok. And it’s the shiznizz as a ‘trail’ bike also.

They’ll work long enough to tell you that beaches are for kites, frisbees and rounders.

I’ve always said that the + sized tyres are the fat bike that most people actually need, and thats from someone with a Pugsley with a Bud up front!

As with anything bike related it depends where you actually ride. On fresh snow the bigger tyres are definitely better but how often do you actually ride that? On more compacted snow a 3″ would be just as good, but again how much of your annual mileage is actually on that?

Beach is different. On firm sand, even a normal mtb will roll along fine. In soft deep sand and dunes bigger tyres rule but even living on the coast I don’t encounter much of this. The benefit of the big tyres to me is over the rocky shore terrain I have round here. No way a 3″ tyre would cope in the rock pools and stone bars.

Now I’ve had the fat bike 3 years the novelty of riding it everywhere has worn off and it just gets used on the beach and snow when we get it. Going by the fall off it interest on the fat bike site, I don’t think I’m the only one.

Even on the Jones I’m getting a 29+ built from the front instead of the 4″ 26.

ow I’ve had the fat bike 3 years the novelty of riding it everywhere has worn off and it just gets used on the beach and snow when we get it. Going by the fall off it interest on the fat bike site, I don’t think I’m the only one.

That rings familiar. I still take my 4″ bike occasionally but it’s really for the (comparatively extensive) winters we get here. I’m not so sure there’s a tail-off in interest though, more that fatbikes are now mainstream enough not to need a dedicated, special-interest forum.

Of course if you can’t pass the extensive vetting process to get on the forum in the first place that won’t help.

Thinner will be better on some stuff, fatter better on others

Just another ‘tweener’ size to sell to the people afraid of commitment.

How do fat bikes cope with a foot of virgin snow?

On my local Merseyside sand the 29er+ is not a match for 4″ or 5″ Fat Tyres 75% of the time

So, for a landlocked Midlander, I’m better off with the b+/9+ combo I’m running…

Probably, yes.

when was the last time wales had a foot deep of virgin snow on the trails molgrips ?

fwiw they work quite well how ever at 1 foot deep i think id probably go out and have fun in the landy instead the 235/85s cope quite well in 1ft of virgin snow 😀

Fatbikes were originally designed to run on snowmobile tracks – partially consolidated and compacted snow. How they fare otherwise is very much dependant on snow condition, ambient temperature, slope, loaded weight and velocity. If you can gather and maintain enough momentum then they’ll handle almost anything 🙂

Think my next cycling “investment” may be a set of 650B+ wheels/tyres for my Fatty, and maybe a Bluto. Or maybe not.

Wondering about 29×3 vs 27.5 x 3.5

If you’re tall enough then 29×3 should work. Not sure there are any real 27.5×3.5 tyres yet and I think you’ll need a 150mm hub and 83mm BB to get tyre clearance. Or use a full-fat frame with a choice if wheels.

Wondering about 29×3 vs 27.5 x 3.5

As above, most 650B+ tyres measure up narrow. Panaracer FatBnimble 3.5″ measures 71mm on a 45mm rim…..
the Spesh tyres are looking more realistically sized.

tevenmenmuir – Member
Of course if you can’t pass the extensive vetting process to get on the forum in the first place that won’t help.

I registered and was accepted a couple of hours later, hardly seems extensive to me?

I wonder how the contact patch varies in size between 650b+ and 29+

molgrips – Member
How do fat bikes cope with a foot of virgin snow?

Better than skinny bikes.

But once the snow is deep enough that you’re scooping it up on each pedal stroke it’s bloody hard work, and the slightest incline becomes a major challenge.

You can see here how my path became more wobbly on the rise (and you may even recognise the frame 🙂 )

Full mudguards in snow? Has thing ever actually managed a high enough speed to require protection from tyre spray?

helpful1 – Member
Full mudguards in snow? Has thing ever actually managed a high enough speed to require protection from tyre spray?

Ever ridden in slush for 6-8 hours? In winter I often spend all day out in the mountains and it’s nice to stay warm and dry.

Also goes ok for 24 hours in the StrathPuffer. I stay clean and dry and don’t get hypothermic.

It’s not intended to be “fast”, it’s never exceeded 25mph, it’s intended for all day comfort.

Gotta have guards for long distance on a fatty, those tyres throw up a huge amount of trail even at low speeds

3 inch can work I crossed Iceland on 29+ and that is a damned big desert.

Locally I find 3 inch ok on most sand. But there is some hoofed up paths through the dunes were even 4″ struggles

cynic-al – Member
But if you could only have 3″ or 4″? (I appreciate fewer bikes is a foreign concept to you)

Gave this some thought. I’m tending to use the fatbikes for 2 seasons now, ie wet and winter.

The rest of the time offroad I’m perfectly happy on my 1×1 with 2.8″ Dirt Wizards, although I’d like a bit more cush, or on my general purpose road/mtb with Big Apples.

I reckon a 3″ bike with plenty mud clearance that used standard components, ie 68mm BB, 135mm rear, would work as an only bike, but it would deny me some of the real fun stuff in winter which is my favourite riding time.

I don’t like riding on beaches, it’s fun, but I cringe at the thought of where all that salt is going.

I don’t think I get much clearance on my bike with 3″

registered and was accepted a couple of hours later, hardly seems extensive to me?

Well maybe they sorted out the issues they were having although it always struck me as slightly strange that you couldn’t even look at the forum without signing up. What if you were only fat curious?

If we must have winter, then please let us have some snow this year. Not a flake last winter.

How do fat bikes cope with a foot of virgin snow?

In my limited experience of ‘virgin’ snow in the UK, nothing is wide enough to float, and you’re best off with a 1.9 mud tyre. If you’re somewhere where the snow hangs around long enough to freeze/thaw a few times and builds up to a couple of layers, then a fat bike is better, but that isn’t much of the U.K.

A 3″ tyre will typically measure up at around 10mm wider than a ‘normal’ tyre like a 2.4 Scwalbe so expect it to feel almost the same. That’s my experience anyway.
A full fat has double the footprint and much bigger volume so is a totally different experience imo.

Riding snow (in the UK) and sand is really quite pants anyway so I wouldn’t worry about it.

Riding snow (in the UK) and sand is really quite pants anyway so I wouldn’t worry about it.

sort of depends where in the UK

sort of depends where in the UK

True, but our snow is so often wet and just wrong for riding on.