First Race on a Fat Bike (Paris 2 Ancaster 70Km)
 

I've done this race a couple of times before, but first time doing this, or anything like this, on a Fat Bike.

Not going to lie, it was tough. On the flats, I did pretty well. But was a struggle when the wind was anything more than a breeze, or the hills were more than a 2%.

Oh, and the mud. This thing is definitely not good when the mud is thick. The tires grab so much of it, that the rear ones wouldn't turn. And the bike must of weighed over 60lbs (had to have it power washed before finishing the race. The bike is pretty clean in the photo).

With that said, I did however, somehow, manage to average the exact same speed as last year, which was done on my gravel bike. So pretty pleased with that.

Enjoyed it so much, thinking of entering another race in a couple of weeks time.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b20df5b5dc.jpg


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7ee845f06d.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3a27cb477c.jpg

Same time? So you either got in much better shape from the last race or the fat bike did give you some advantage.
You don't sound enthused, though

The exact same official average speed as the previous year (20.1kmh/12.49mph).

In some areas, I think the fat bike had an advantage over the gravel (shallow mud, water soaked lawns).

But, any sort of incline or wind, you really feel it compared to a lighter gravel bike (but because of the gearing, this is slower, but easier to get up steep hills).

Overall, I'm pretty happy. There's a few spots that I could have handled differently (carry, don't drag bike through mud that's a foot deep), but you learn for next year.

Another consideration is your tires and air pressure. I know when I switched to another set of tires, it seemed like the bike rode twice as fast.

I also think tires could help. I changed my wheels and tires over to 27.5 with 3.8 Hodags on my Farley 7 and made all the difference in the world. Kept most of the climbing power and seem to be much faster. In normal conditions I run @8-10 lbs. Really changed the performance of the bike! Just FYI. I ran it in a 16 mile race in Maryland and finished 3rd in my class at 60YO.;)

Still fairly new to off-roading, and especially fat biking, so not sure which tires I could have used instead of these.

I've heard great things about the Jumbo Jims, but they're probably not the best for paved surfaces (although am surprised at their speed). Was thinking of switching to the Vee Rubber Speedsters (but for this race, their width wouldn't let me into the Fat Bike category).

The pressure I'm still toying with. Did previously have them at 20psi when doing mostly road. Had them at 10psi for this race, and must say, it's a lot easier on the body (less bouncing).

Congrats on your placement!

Did you have to change your rims to put the 27.5s on (I've heard that there are some tires that fit on 26ers but have the same size as 27.5s)?

I'd really like to go with 27.5s, I just don't want to buy new rims just yet (have other bikes that need loving too, which gets expensive, and there's other upgrades, 1x, that I'd like to do first).

Thanks for the suggestion

Check out

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...t-bike-reviews

I don't believe it's 100%, but it's a good place to start

Thats surely a great suggestion.

I sure do get that! Got 34 at the house. I did change out the wheels. It was worth it. I found a set of Bontrager Jackalopes with cassette and Hodag tires on them for $300. hubs lasted about 2 years and I rebuilt with DT swiss 350 big ride. AWESOME!