(Double post)

Damascus, that sounds like the “self steering” phenomenon, which occurs if your tyre pressure is slightly too low.

Yes, the tyres have so much grip and rotational mass that cornering at speed on the road can be “interesting” if your pressures aren’t right. It’s like: OK, drop 0.5psi; OK, drop 0.5psi: OK, drop 0.5psi – OH SHIT!

Does depend on the tyre as well as to what pressure this occurs at. Starting point is weight in Kg divided by 10 then adjust by 0.5psi to suit.

Conversely on soft snow you can go really low – in Finland last year I was down to 2psi or less, which looked something like this:

More pics:

I get self steer quite badly if I drop below 8 psi in the front.

Disregarding the fact that the XL puffin is one of the best fitting frames I have owned I love my Puffin.

The latest iteration is probably the most radical build to date and if honest I think I will revert it back to how I originally built it with the exception of tyres as the Bud/Edna combo is bob on for where I ride.

Current build:

Original build in 2014

Yes they are sensitive to tyre pressure but this can be overcome and does depend on the terrain – I run 9 front 10 rear on roughly a 100kg rider.

No where near as extreme as some of the above I have ridden it in the snow 😉

And have on occasion raced it 🙂

Just had to check when this thread was started.

I just assumed he’d miss-typed ‘Gravel bike’…

But I think you really need to be on the lookout for the next niche OP not the one before last…

My proposal would be Half-Fat, hipster, mullet-gravel, Brompton…
You’ll want the following:
20×4.25″ front/16×1.75″ rear tyres, moustache bar, leather grips, rod brakes and a porteur rack all on a titanium folder…

Guessing the future is tricky.

I didn’t know if I wanted a fatbike. I bought one second hand so I could flick it on for not much loss if I didn’t get on with it.

It’s a right larf. There are a lot of loose, sandy, rubbly trails round here and it just deals with them so well, just choose the line you want for fun, not to fight for grip or traction or comfort. Fastest time I’ve posted up a very regular 8 min climb is on the fattie, no zig-zagging to find the best surface, no back tyre skipping out, all your power goes to moving you forwards and up. Snow aside, I don’t ride it as much in the winter, the loose trails are less loose, and it just throws loads more crap at you!

It was a great tool when I rode PostieRich’s Jenride a few years ago, big tyres give you so much time to deal with little trialsy moves on rocky climbs, take the sting out of the trail on a long ride, made Garburn descent pretty straightforward rather than a sketchfest. Jumbo Jims didn’t feel slow compared to riding buddies’ fast 2″ tyres on road sections. And it was REALLY fun round the fun bits of Grizedale forest. Would choose it again for something similar, 100%.

Having said all that, it’s been out of action for a year since I pinched a bunch of bits off it for a new build. getting it built up again soon, though.

In answer to your question, get one and find out. You’ll definitely enjoy it. You might sell it again because you like other things more, or the enjoyable bits don’t outweigh the disadvantages enough of the time, but you won’t know til you scratch the itch.

I did a couple of rides on one, on normal trails, and I wouldn’t use it again for that purpose. With the tyres low enough to smooth out roughness it was lethal in corners; but with firmer tyres it was bouncy as hell.

I would like one, but not for trail hooliganism – I’d use it for accessing trails in the mountains that are too crappy for normal bikes.

Yep love mine (Vir Fortis / light wheels / tubeless JJ 4.0’s) – rolls along surprisingly easy – brilliant for those rubbly tracks – just floats over them – tis superb.

I suspect Molgrips you never got the right tyre pressures or anywhere near. 0.5psi makes a noticeable difference. My fattie is fantastic at trail riding with huge grip which leads to ( for me) quick cornering

I’m lucky to be living in Norway, so my fat bike gets mostly used on snow – I have a plus bike for general MTB/summer bikepacking. Around this time of year I pull out the fatbike and I’m reminded how fun it is. Puts a smile on other people’s face, especially little kids and is a conversation starter for sure. As others have said, I wouldn’t have one as my only bike, but I can’t see myself getting rid of it either. If you’re buying used, just make sure the bb and dropout spacings are one of the more common specs, otherwise finding parts can be a pain. I run mine with 4.8 Jumbo Jim liteskins which are nice and supple, unfortunately it looks like Schwalbe aren’t going to making these anymore 😭

My proposal would be Half-Fat, hipster, mullet-gravel, Brompton…
You’ll want the following:
20×4.25″ front/16×1.75″ rear tyres, moustache bar, leather grips, rod brakes and a porteur rack all on a titanium folder…

Pretty sure Ben at Kinetics has already made 3 of those 😉

In answer to the OP, yeah, they are a laugh, and with normal width 29” wheels they work pretty well as rigid commuters/gravel bikes. Wouldn’t have one as an only bike, but as an N+1 for a massive change from the norm, they are ace.

Love mine too, but mine is a Kona Wozo so more like a fat trail bike.

Ok this could possibly be about to be expensive but…..

Does anyone know what they like over really loose sand / shingle? I live close to loe bar in west Cornwall. Have loved riding the coastal paths but th thought of just riding the sand is very appealing

Does anyone have any knowledge?

Yes – they just work. Astonishing to be able to ride on dry sand

Okay, I think I’m sold. Off to eBay. Can’t wait to report back.

Cookeaa will be pleased to learn that I also have saved searches for moustache wax, fedora hats and cravats.

I had no idea tubeless was even possible, by my the way. Presumably that’s not advisable on drilled rims?

Mine is tubeless on drilled rims. I think tubeless is the norm – the inner tubes weigh half a kilo!

Mine is tubeless on holed rims (not drilled, they were just like that). Just PVC tape keeping teh air in. It was a pain in the arse to set up, mind, but fatbike punctures suck (even with a really good pack pump like my 2 stage, it still takes about an hour to reinflate)

I suspect if you have ridden a decent size motorbike, riding a fatbike will feel natural, eg countersteering.

If all you’ve ridden is a bicycle, ten a little adjustment may be needed.

The worst thing about owning a fatbike is when you get back on your other bike and discover, no, you can’t just steamroller over those lumpy great rocks.

Both my fat bike and my wife’s use holed rims – just fit a suitable PVC tape in the colour of your choice and then set up tubeless as normal. Hardly any less faff than with non-holed rims, I think I took half an hour to swap both PVC & Gorilla tape and new tyres on my wife’s bike.

Soft sand is basically the same as soft snow – just keep letting air out until you can keep moving: “When in doubt, let it out!” See my shot above for what the tyres can look like. You just have a play around to find out what works for your bike/tyre. It’s bloody hard work though!

As with any bike/tyre type it will excel in some areas and suck in others.

As we are doing some gratuitous bike photos, for inspiration of course…..

Mine is parked outside my shop and if you could have seen how excited a 2 year old has just been touching it’s tyres you would all be going aaah.

😊

Do many brands still have them in their range? Genuinely, the only fat bikes I see now are neds on cheap shiters in the dodgier bits of town.

Yeah you probably do , I got one and it was really fun but as my rides from home involve road bits it was hard work so I sold it and got a plus bike as I thought it would be a good compromise, it isnt if anything its worse, i now run that mostly as a 29er,i then also got a px London road with offroad tyres on (which would compliment a fat bike perfectly) so in hindsight I should have kept the fat bike and bought the london road as two complete opposites but hey ho, if a fat bike is different enough to the other bikes you have they are definitely worth having
I have come to the conclusion that despite me getting a versatile 29/27.5plus bike i don’t really use it as such I should have just had both ends of the spectrum with fat and gravel

Do many brands still have them in their range?

Some but not many – definitely dropped back into the “niche” category rather than the “here’s something we can make a fuss about and sell lots” line. Mostly American so it’s up to the importer as to whether anything makes it over here: Surly, Salsa and Kona are the main brands I can think of that still do them, Specialized? Not sure without looking. Alpkit are sticking with their Vir Fortis for now. Cube still have them in their range.

I’ve been fat-curious for a while now. Probably since I subscribed to Pat Smage on youtube he is pretty much able to get them to do whatever he wants.

The air pressure thing sounds like a faff though, puts me off. I’m very lazy when it comes to setting up suspension, set it up once and then never touch again, not sure I can even tell what difference all the adjustments make!

Problem is I’m not currently allowed to buy a new bike (for good reason, and I accept that) 🙁

Air pressure is much easier than setting suspension. You just need a decent tyre gauge. Took me 2 rides

I think self steer is also tyre specific. I had no issue even at silly low pressures (62kg at between 3 and 4 PSI) on a set of Surly Nates but as soon as I switched to Knards I had the dreaded self steer by the bucket-load!

I let a mate ride my Canyon Dude fat bike last night, we swapped bikes for a few miles along the South Downs with me riding his Orange Crush HT. He got off my bike and said he wished he bought one of those instead.

I’ve also compared it to a Santa Cruz carbon chameleon and it’s got similar geometry to that, with the fork on mine at 120mm travel. I’m having a 2nd set of wheels made at the moment so it can take 29 x 2.5 – 3″tyres. Most fun and versatile bike I’ve ever owned. Plus it’s bloody light for what it is.

I bought a Salsa Mukluk from Merlin at midnight after coming back from quite a session in the pub….woke up in the morning and thought bugger I did do that didn’t I.

Anyway thought i’d give it a whirl and punt it on. That was a couple of years ago and I have no intention of flogging it yet.

I’ve used it with a dropper and short stem as a trail bike when its muddy and with a thudbuster, longer stem, anything cages and bags as a bikepacker – both incarnations work really well. With rigid carbon forks, a 1×11 and carbon bars etc its not even that heavy.

To answer a question above, I’ve ridden mine on plenty of shingle beaches and it flies over them.

Like most of us here, I’ve several bikes but if I could only have 2 then they would be my gravel bike and my fatty – that would cover all the bases. I’ve even ridden it to work which is a 25km mixed ride with 15km of country roads!

Its suprisingly ok on tarmac but it will wear the very expensive tyres down in no time.

I let a couple of mates ride my Specialized Fatgirl (Hellga) last year. One immediately ordered her own fatty, and the other immediately booked a fatbike week in Finland. Says it all, really!

Last time I saw one was in Fukuoka city in 2016 when a Japanese girl crossed my path on one. I was wobbling over a pedestrian crossing on my bike with a bike box under one arm. I thought back then that they’d become a bit of a hipster ride.

soon as I switched to Knards I had the dreaded self steer by the bucket-load!

Quite how a tyre with so little tread can steer so badly I don’t know.

To answer the OP, yes, you deffo want a fatty.

I’ve had one since 2012 and rode nothing but fat for about four years. That included trips to Morocco, Spanish Sierra Nevada, and all over Scotland riding all the good stuff. Sometimes, rigid, sometimes Lauf, and now Bluto.
So yeah, it’s a viable alternative. My current one is a ChiTi one with great geometry rolling on 4.8 tryes. Love it!
If I had to clear out the collection and keep one bike, it’s most likely the one I’d keep as the best allrounder.

I have a new fleet addition! Norco Bigfoot. First impressions (i.e. riding it up and down my street last night after picking it up from the seller)… My cheeks are going to hurt from grinning. And yes, it rolls and rolls and rolls.

Now need to work out how to set tyre pressures, as the gauge on my Joe Blow starts at 20psi

Get a low pressure gauge. After a while you just get used to feel and it’s a case of add/remove a little to deal with the terrain. As per a previous post, a change of even 0.5psi can make a big difference.

Self steer ought to be a thing of the past for most folks, there are tyres that don’t really do it (not in the “aaargh this is horrible” way at least) so why in 2020 would anyone ride on tyres that do? I’m sure there’s specific cases like super wide snow tyres and the like but for everyday, nah. Not something you should tolerate.

FWIW, 9 years in and I’ve never owned a low-pressure tyre gauge.

I had a Norco Torrent with 3″ tyres and a 130mm fork and it was the most fun bike I’ve ever owned. Gutted I sold it last year but finances dictated at the time. It climbed well, descended brilliantly and had that all important grin factor

This might do someone.

Edit. There’s a Dune for £300 on the FB fatbike selling page.