Fat Bikes vs Regular Mt Bikes
 

I like to ask, who here is going to ride their fat bike on the dirt trails for summer over regular mt bike now that you bought a fat bike this year.

Tell us why or why not you will use a fat bike on regular dirt trails

or tell us why you will just ride your regular mt bike on dirt trails

also why for some of you will never us a fat bike ever? etc

this could be fun to hear all your answers

Although I have a 20-year-old Kona Cinder Cone, I intend to use my Salsa Mukluk as my primary off-road bike. So far, it seems to be more forgiving on the rocks and roots I usually encounter on the single-track around here. However, the durability of those expensive tires is an unknown, and could very well change my thinking.

Bob

yeah I've been wanting to upgrade my MTB and considering how infrequent I go MTB'n... am I considering a Fat Bike instead... Have test rode a few and I do like them... but yes as the above mentioned... $$$ tires.

I have a fatbike and a 29er hardtail. Thusfar I am splitting my time between the two. Hard to say which I prefer, they are both a blast for there own reasons!

I talked to a guy on the trail who was riding a fatty, He said It's a whole different experience.
He confirmed what I'd been reading. A fatty is fun untill the speed gets up there on the drops, then with out full suspension the fat tires start bouncing like a basket ball..

He said it has replaced his hard tail 29er but not his full suspension 27.5"

Just a handful of single tracks in my area. I ride a 1/2 mile track to the beach, then onto the beach with the fat bike (as no other bike can).

I went from ss mtbs (26", 29") to fatbikes and have loved it! More traction, float, and stability.

Essentially, I bought myself some skills. :P

I don't ever see myself on a fatbike. I just don't see the point. In the winter I am either downhill or cross country skiing. If the dirt roads around my house are not covered in ice and I want to ride, my mtn bike works just fine. Maybe if I were made of money I'd buy one for the three times per year I'd actually ride it...but since I'm not made of money, I'll stick with what I already have. Just my two cents worth.

Two months later, and I have not had any tire issues. Considering the rocky slopes that I climb, I expected to shear off some of the lugs. Hasn't happened.

I bought an air pressure gauge that measures no higher than 15psi so that I can get a better feel for tire pressure. Sometimes, I go as low as 3.5 psi.

I really like my Mukluk.

I bought a Salsa Bucksaw1 this spring. I probably have 700 miles on it so far. The first 2 weeks (and 175 miles) were tough on me. The bike weighs 34 pounds, which is about 10 pounds heavier than my other mountain bike. The wheels are also more mass, which is harder to get going.

Going into the third week, the smile came back. My body adjusted, and it was not so tough anymore.

I see my bike having two suspension systems. The tires are at about 14 psi, which absorbs the small trail chatter of rocks, rain ruts, and washboards. When I hit a big bump or drop, the fork and shock come into play.

The way I am looking at it now, riding a heavier bike is only making me work harder. My buddies (on their carbon fiber, hardtail 29'ers) got a two-week respite from me taking them to task. Now I am right back to the front of the line, and I know that I ALSO have a carbon fiber hardtail 29'er in my quiver.

On the fatbike, I am NOT MUCH slower going up hill, and I am WAY FASTER going down.

Why am I spending all of my time on my Bucksaw? Because my bike is a smile factory. It is KILLING IT in the foothills of Boise.

It also gets a lot of attention from the other trail users.......

I've ridden the Foes Mutz and it's pretty fun...on the descents. I found that it's slow accelerating and real heavy to "throw" around.

On the downhill...it's a freaking blast. The huge tires at about 8 psi rolls over everything.

At least for my areas...I'll stick with my HT 29er. It would make a fun secondary bike for shuttling use.

I have a Salsa Beargrease carbon and love it on trails. I sold my 29er Hardtail as it wasn't getting any use.

Here's the way I look at it - if you're a skilled rider, fast, perhaps a racer or someone who watches lap times, then yeah, you can get your FS MTB to go faster over rough terrain than a fat bike.

But if you're a relative novice or intermediate rider, and you want the same level of thrills as some of the fast MTB riders without the risks and the spills, then a fat bike is the way to go.

Why? 'cos you can pretty much point them in the direction you want to go and just pedal. You don't have to obsess over picking the right line or worry about hitting a rock or gnarly tree root. When you do hit that rock the bike will just deal with it for you.
Yes, getting tire pressures set properly is a trial and error exercise that takes a little while to figure out. That's why it's best to use a low-range gauge that reads no more than 20psi and to keep a log of front and back pressures on different types of track. Eventually you can set it by feel.

With the right tire pressures (and there's always a juggling act between speed, traction and shock absorption with a fat tire bike) you can just go out and blast around the trails having fun.

And it carries over onto other types of riding too. I've been doing some bikepacking and hauling the tent and gear on the Beargrease is a lot more enjoyable for me than on the gravel bike. With the load on the gravel bike I'm focused on the trail surface, always looking for a rock or pothole that can bust a spoke or throw me in a ditch. On the fattie, I've got my head in the clouds watching the scenery go by with not so much as a care in the world. Sure, it's a little slower, but so what? I don't need to get anywhere fast these days.

I think Fatties are way cool and I rode a hard tail fatty in the single tracks once, it was fun and yes the smile factor was big.

But IF I could justify/afford one It would absolutely have to be a full suspension bike tuned for those super heavy wheel~n~Tire set up's
I don't care if they are carbon and tubeless the wheels are massive and handle as such.

If I ever have an extra 4 grand burning a hole In my pocket I will own a bucksaw but I will say It's just a want as I have no need for more traction or control because my current skill set takes me where I want to go..

I did find It a bit too much work to do fast twisty switchbacks, and the back end traction went down hill as the speeds came up as I went down hill.

They are fun but not very efficient, what with all that energy going into your upper body controlling the rolling mass.
That's fine and all but so much of my riding needs speed to get up the next hill...