For me it was basically upgradability/potential… the Dune’s better at the core, the “fat bike specific” bits are better. The Fatty is better out of the box probably but doesn’t have the same potential- the fat bike bits aren’t as good and it’s all a bit less “current”.

2 reasonable approaches tbh, the Dune cuts corners on easily replaced bits but has the heart of a much better bike if you put in a little effort, the Fatty covers all the bases but that means it can’t cover some of the important ones as well. Or, that’s what made me choose what I did anyway.

Re the tyres, yep the JJs are pretty seasonal but they’re also high quality and worth good money if you don’t like em. You could almost get a pair of Floaters for what you’ll get selling one JJ! Or, buy something else. So point to the Dune there I think

thenorthwind,the Dune is 2×8, not 2×10.

So it is. Bit of a strange choice.

Drivetrain and finishing kit is better on the fatty

Can’t really argue with that. An upgrade to 2×10 notwithstanding, I’m not sure there’s anything I’d immediately change on the Dune that I wouldn’t on the Fatty. I guess that’s personal preference.

So the upgradability and lower price (even with the 25% discount on the Fatty) wins it for me at the moment.

To be hoenst, if i was buying again now i would of gone for the Dune. Sadly it wasnt available at he time. I have upgraded nearly everything on my OOF. I am now waiting for Smokestone to release their frame which should be released in April. Luckily all my parts will swap over just the rear hub which will require new end caps.

thenorthwind – Member

Bit of a strange choice.

Very very cheap, and functional. You’d rather have 2×10 but what other bits of the spec do you want to drop to do that?

The ali fork, overall weight difference (3.5kg on paper), tapered headset, bolt-thru dropouts and marginally less offensive colour are pushing me towards the Dune.
What am I missing?

3.5kg between OOF and Dune? Wasn’t an steel forked OOF quoted at 16.7 and a Dune actually about 14.6, so more like 2.1 reducing to 1.5 with the carbon fork?

Very very cheap, and functional. You’d rather have 2×10 but what other bits of the spec do you want to drop to do that?

I realise it’s all about cost.

I would have thought the small price premium would have been worth it, but I guess it’s a case of (if I can be a bit snobbish) it being marketed at people who just want a fun bike that goes rather than your, shall we say, more discerning STW set.

So thought i would post some updated pics of my OOF now, i have spent more than a grand on her, but happy with how she now sits and rides. As my above post waiting for The new Smokestone frames to be launched which will save a bit of weight, support my LBS and are shaping up to be a great option. I have recently fitted the Aeffect cranks and a Absolute black Oval ring, with 11 speed XT. Tiny 26t chainring means The thing could climb a wall, but i do run out of gears on long flat fire roads, which is fine by me. Disapointed that the cranks have after 3 rides started to show significant heal rub! But what can you do!

Wheels are BR710’s on hope Fatsno Pro 2’s tubeless with Surley Nates 120tpi front and rear. Everyone raves on about the nate, but i find them very draggy so tempted to try something slightly faster rolling on the rear. Maybe once this current sloppy waether system passes and things harden up a little.

If you had time, then I would advise buying a nice frame and just building it up to the spec that you want.
The only reason to buy a complete bike is if you want to ride it ASAP.

I bought a Fatty Trail frame for half price and I plan to build that up as a race bike with the spec I want, within my limited budget though, so it may take a month or two before its finished.

I paid 497 for my dune with a discount code. I added a 63 pair of deore brakes from merlin And a pair of used but near new floaters for 40 delivered.so all in bang on 600 and I’ve a great lightweight pair of tyres for the summer. A much better deal than the on one I think.

If I swapped to xt m8000 1×11 and a superstar ring it’s still less than 800 all in for a fully sorted bike.

I’ve seen the stock jumbo jims sold on for 80 a pair so that would even it out even more. But I want mine for the summer as they fly on hardpack

3.5kg between OOF and Dune? Wasn’t an steel forked OOF quoted at 16.7 and a Dune actually about 14.6, so more like 2.1 reducing to 1.5 with the carbon fork?

Knock off the daft On-One tubes (another 700g saved), and the fact the Jumbo Jims are useless apart from in the summer, so you’ll need some, errrr, floaters? And you’re pretty much level. I suspect the carbon forks probably offset the added O-O frame weight (and you can lose weight drilling the fatty rims, making it lighter still). OTOH, 8 speed cassette, taper BB and cranks can’t be light, and you can buy the O-O fork separately. On the whole I think the weight of either is probably comparable.

Front hubs, mehhh. If a £400 bluto was an option, then a £30 hub and £10 of spokes is neither hear nor there. Rear hubs, 170mm is designed to run with 100mm BB’s, 190mm with 120mm and 4″/5″ tyres respectively. Now for me the advantage is with 170mm as it allows the narrower Q-factor as I’ve no real desire to build a bike for specifically riding on fresh snow, I’d like a Lou for winter, but it’s a compromise I can live with. I doubt 170mm hubs will disappear so that’s not a worry.

The brakes are undeniable though, despite their old reputation they’ve been faultless for me (and I’ve killed 2 previous sets of Avids and a pair of Shimano XT’s, and the fat bike give the brakes one heck of a beating with all that grip), the DB5’s are as powerfull as any other brake and reliable. And we’re comparing to no-name mechanicals.

They’re both stonkingly good value by the looks of it. If the Dune fits, and maybe you have a spare set of finishing kit and gears, and budget for some wintery tyres then there’s a fag packet between them. The Dune might even please some people with an axe to grind against O-O pr P-X, although you’re buying from a shop that’s (as noted on a previous page when someone went to pick theirs up) unlikely to know which way round the forks go so………

If you’re not ‘small’ then TBH I don’t know why you’d buy the Dune over a choice of Fatty sizes. Yes I could probably squeeze onto a small frame at 6ft, but once wound upto speed the long wheelbase of the Fatty regularly comes into it’s own.

Russy that’s one of the nicest On one fatty’s I’ve, I do like that.

The 2×8 on my Dune I’ve found really works much better than I expected, If I didn’t get such a good deal on some 1×10 stuff I’d have happily kept it until it wore out.
The brakes really are pants though, but the ability to fit a bluto straight away tipped me towards the Dune as I couldn’t justify buying the Fatty Trail.

The classic fatty only comes in boring white, much prefer my neon chubby 🙂

Nice, russyh! I thought the Fatty wasn’t Bluto-compatible (straight headtube, tapered steer I assumed) or was that the earlier Fatty frame?

If you had time, then I would advise buying a nice frame and just building it up to the spec that you want.
The only reason to buy a complete bike is if you want to ride it ASAP.

I’d like to do that (mainly as I like building bikes) but if I’d did that I’d still put fairly basic parts to keep the cost down, and it would still work out more expensive. I’d rather have a whole bike, and upgrade stuff when it breaks/gets annoying/comes up cheap second hand. Much the approach firestarter has taken by the sound of it.

I like the look of the Fatty trail frame though.

Jumbo Jims are useless apart from in the summer

They work quite well on ice with gravel in it 😉

ime it takes appreciably longer for them to let go compared to thin tyres and it can be quite entertaining to provoke a long-drawn out slide

As you were.

Thanks Nick, I dont mind the white. It has a nice pearlescent flip to it. But wouldn’t be my first or even second choice. Hence why i went custom decal’s. Like i say when Smokestone launch the Henderson I will be placing an order. I have seen it through the development process and Slamman knows fatty’s! Plus it has some descent features like stealth reverb routing. Have to be honest its taken me longer than others to really like the fatbike. After upgrading to Bluto i really felt i had lost the initial charm, but as i get more miles under my belt I am really pleased with how the bike now rides. I still need to develop my technique as on tight switch backs or fast corners i dont carry enough speed so find the bike slow compared to my other normal bike. But appreciate thats me, needing to learn the specifics of riding a fatty. As per usual for me what started out as a cheap winter play thing has escalated quickly into an upgrade fest. But I do like having something unique to me and when riding with other fatty’s they are great fun.

Nice, russyh! I thought the Fatty wasn’t Bluto-compatible (straight headtube, tapered steer I assumed) or was that the earlier Fatty frame?

Nope always been tapered i believe. My firs V1 Fatty frame was tapered but cracked. My V2 (this bike) is all but the same other than the new Seat tube and different brake mount. Slam69 do loads of custom OOF, in custom paint jobs to. CHeck out his facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Fat69TheFatbikeshop/?fref=ts

I did mine myself, i couldn’t afford to BUild on all at once straight from the bat, so just upgraded over a few months. That way i could enjoy the bike and understand what i wanted to change.

Jumbo Jims are useless apart from in the summer

They work quite well on ice with gravel in it
ime it takes appreciably longer for them to let go compared to thin tyres and it can be quite entertaining to provoke a long-drawn out slide

As you were.

I don’t mind the JJ’s I’ve gone with a floater on the front and kept the JJ on the back. JJ gripped a lot better than some of the comments had be believing.

Nice, russyh! I thought the Fatty wasn’t Bluto-compatible (straight headtube, tapered steer I assumed) or was that the earlier Fatty frame?

Fatty forks are straight steerer, the frame is tapered.

To allow them to fit the other fat bikes that were around at the same time, same logic with the 135mm hub, it’s what everyone used until the bluto appeared.

thisisnotaspoon – Member

If you’re not ‘small’ then TBH I don’t know why you’d buy the Dune over a choice of Fatty sizes. Yes I could probably squeeze onto a small frame at 6ft, but once wound upto speed the long wheelbase of the Fatty regularly comes into it’s own.

The Dune’s the same length as a medium Fatty- the large is only 15mm longer because of weird on one geometry increments. Neither is a long bike really. The only dimension on the Dune that’s really “small” is the seat tube so I think that gives the wrong impression.

But for sure, the choice of sizes is a big advantage.

Ordered three lightweight tubes… stupidly ordered presta. Do I need to return them or will they be okay for rims drilled for Schraeder. I don’t want to take them out of their boxes if I have to return them…

The ali fork, overall weight difference (3.5kg on paper), tapered headset, bolt-thru dropouts and marginally less offensive colour are pushing me towards the Dune.
What am I missing?

3.5kg between OOF and Dune? Wasn’t an steel forked OOF quoted at 16.7 and a Dune actually about 14.6, so more like 2.1 reducing to 1.5 with the carbon fork?

If you’re worried about weight and only looking at a £1k budget maybe fat biking isn’t for you.

Don’t worry about the weight because if you get hooked on fat biking then you will need deep pockets for upgrades of a new bike.

Here’s my 3rd fat bike since 2010

If you’re worried about weight and only looking at a £1k budget maybe fat biking isn’t for you.

To be fair John, I was comparing the weight of a £575-10% Dune with a £899-25% Fatty (£775 with carbon fork), both substantially less than £1000 and many enjoy their fat biking that way I am sure.

I was just making the point that the overall weight difference was less than the 3.5 kg stated by the poster I quoted, and 1.5 kg less with a saving of £200 might be worth knowing!

Can anybody tell me the exact spec of the Dune’s bb please?

Thanks

Alex I’ve the same tubes in the same rims the little metal screw on retainer pops in the Valve hole to secure it. You can’t even tell

Hey Alex, I’ve bought these schrader to presta valve hole shim/convertor/reducer for bike/cycle wheel/rim http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381525094073 and then will use the normal locking ring.

Ta both!

My OO Fatty with carbon fork came in at 15.24kg when it arrived.
I think I managed to drop over 2kg by drilling rims, swapping tubes, bars, stem, seat post, saddle and other wee bits and pieces.
I’d probably lose another 1kg if I put JJ’s on, so quite easy to make it pretty light with just basic cheap mods.

I am in the process of building up a Fatty Trail to be a race bike, so I’ll be quite interested to see how light I can get that using the standard Fatty wheels.

On the subject of fatty’s….

Trying to find a front fender/mudguard for a Specialized Fatboy Pro. Has the Bluto fitted and got the muddy nutz fat face fender, but does’nt fit with the bluto and 4.6 inch tyres. Guys at LeisureLakes said that one of them had it fitted, but with the carbon fork. Did’nt think there was one that fitted with the Bluto

Any recommendations?

I’ve put a shockboard in mine just now- it’s a crown mounted guard so tyres usualyl won’t make a difference, unless it bottoms out into the guards. It’s pretty narrow though, for the job- it catches the worst spray and most water spray but it probably only stops half the thrown mud. Not ideal, but cheap, and I reckon probably better than the fat face (I made my own along those lines, it was sort of alright but it doesn’t have the length, 1 ride in snowmelt and it got relegated to summer)

lightman – Member

Northwind, I linked to the exact post.
This one –

Ah, sorry Lightman, I missed this post. When I clicked on your original link it doesn’t take me to the post with that pic, weird. Does that take up space in the rim? The Dune rim is pretty deep in the middle so there’s a massive air gap without foam, the shrinkwrap looks like it’d have the same issue but I’d be well pleased if it works…

Thats the good thing with the packing/shrink wrap, it doesn’t matter how deep your rim is, you pull it tight when you put it on and it just stretches across the rim and wont sink into the rim until you put the tyre on and start pumping it up, and then it will get pushed down and seal the whole rim.

I have now done both my OO Fatty wheels, Clownshoe and just did my Rolling Darrly a few days ago.
All of them went on and up without any problems at all.

I have loads of packing wrap and Im in Porty, you’re welcome to come down and I’ll show you how its done 🙂

Ah that’s very cool, need to try this… I’ve got some packing wrap which I think is more or less the same stuff. What’s the purpose of the foam, in this? The DUne rims have a pretty good bead fit (they need foam in the middle but none at the edge) so I’m not too sure about adding extra stuff there…

Oh- does it keep working? The big practical drawback of the foam (apart from weight obviously compared to this) is that the foam compresses so what works on day one, then needs redone with more foam after a while to fit another tyre. I get the impression that the shrinkwrap will end up permanently blown out? Or, does it pop back out so it’ll mount the next tyre?

(if it needs redone, no big deal but if it doesn’t then **** inner tubes man 😆 )

Oh and a minor Dune News update- the Minion FBF is way nicer looking than the Bud, it really is a humungous Minion (with an extra row of intermediate knobs). But is about 50g heavier and might work out slightly narrower, because obviously it was measured with Maxxis’s rubber ruler. (also, it doesn’t seem to be as stretchy- Bud expands a lot with pressure) Testride at the weekend.

@Northwind are these the new Maxxis fat tyres where did you buy it from?
I didn’t think they where readily available over here yet.

Going through a warranty return process on my Dune at the moment, left hand crank arm kept coming lose. Took it back to the shop gave me a loaner crank so I can carry on riding but I’m now on week number two!
Store has been great and they recon it’s cause there is so little stock of the bike they’re having to recall a bike from a shop to steal the crank arms!

Also for anyone out there with a VooDoo Wazoo or thinking of getting one, my mate bought one and took it back for a refund within two rides. The fork had creased on both sides and wasn’t far off folding forward completely. Might have been a one off or something to look for on anyone else’s bike.

Got mine from amazon in the states- ended up costing a wee bit less than a new Bud would have here even after tax, I just wanted to be FURST!!1!. I think the german stores get stock next month.

haha guessing there is plenty of clearance on the front for the 4.8″?
you plan on running that just for winter?

I’ve still got the JJ on the back at the moment with a Floater on the front, may consider the Maxxis n move the floater on the back

Yeah, tons of space- back’s a little tighter but I’ve got a 4.8 JJ in there (bigger’n either the Bud or Minion) with a wee bit of room to spare. (and 1×10, not sure it’d work with a granny- I think it’d all fit but with very little clearance) Pretty obvious the bike was designed with big tyres in mind tbh, it’s not like squeezing 4.8s into an older frame.

Not really sure what I’ll end up doing, if the minion’s as good as I hope then it’ll probably be in the front and bud rear- bud’s pretty good though. We’ll see eh.

I trust you’ll be reporting back after a proper test ride 😀

Nah, I only like talking things up with no useful information, facts are boring 😆

Northwind – Member
Ah that’s very cool, need to try this… I’ve got some packing wrap which I think is more or less the same stuff. What’s the purpose of the foam, in this? The DUne rims have a pretty good bead fit (they need foam in the middle but none at the edge) so I’m not too sure about adding extra stuff there…

Oh- does it keep working? The big practical drawback of the foam (apart from weight obviously compared to this) is that the foam compresses so what works on day one, then needs redone with more foam after a while to fit another tyre. I get the impression that the shrinkwrap will end up permanently blown out? Or, does it pop back out so it’ll mount the next tyre?

(if it needs redone, no big deal but if it doesn’t then **** inner tubes man )

I really don’t know why he used the foam because in my experience, it is not needed at all.
You don’t need to build up the middle as when you apply the wrap tightly, it automatically raises the middle giving it a good seal against the tyre when you first put it on, and that makes it 100% inflatable with just a normal pump.

Unfortunately, you will have to re-wrap it if you change tyres, but it is very cheap and only takes minutes to do.
Its just like the split tube method without the extra weight and expense of buying new inner tubes to cut up.

To me, its the best of the lot.
If you do want to have the rim sealed all the time, then you’d have to use the Gorilla tape method, but even then, you’d still have to build up the centre of the rim (usually with foam, that would get squashed and need replaced every time anyway!) unless you got yourself a compressor and can pop the tyre on that way.

new fat hugger from mudhugger available in 2 weeks