Roody

AKA fat-tire bikes. Are they good for anything? Or just a fad/gimmick?

wahoonc

I think they are a niche market, but they definitely have their place. I have test ridden a Pugsley, I was riding it on a urban trail along a river, a regular MTB would have been marginal due to the extremely soft and muddy ground, the Pugsley rolled right on through. They are also good for loose sand and snow.

Here is an article from a guy that has done a lot of riding on them, FWIW he owns a bike shop and to the best of my knowledge is car free.

They are just another tool that can be used to get places where you might not normally be able to ride, or possibly to extend a riding season.

Aaron

chewybrian 

Fat tires provide a comfortable and stable ride. I would choose them if all my rides were very short distance around the neighborhood. They also provide better traction if you need to ride in snow or sand. You give up a little speed and efficiency over skinnier tires, and ultimately that costs you distance or endurance. If you want to ride centuries, or club rides, or commute long distances, or tour (in nice weather like mine), then it seems like a bad idea.

As far as I know, there is nothing special that makes a bike a 'fat tire bike', other than clearance to allow you to fit fat tires, but they probably tend to have features that users of fat tires would commonly want, like cantis or disc brakes or fender mounts.



p.s. I am assuming you mean a real fat tire bike like the Moonlander, not just a touring or rando bike with 28's or 32's.

wolfchild

Overkill for riding on city streets and urban areas... Unneccessary for commuters and utility riders who spend most of their time on the pavement. JMHO...I used to run 2.5 inch wide tires on one of my MTB's many years ago and the ride was very slow and much harder to pedal then my 32 mm tires, I can't imagine what a 4 inch tire must feel like... After experimenting with different sized tires I settled for something in a 32-38mm range.

Smallwheels

I read an article about fat tires a few years ago. It stated that the slightly wider balloon tires (2-2.25 inches) could be just as fast as regular comfort bike tires and even some skinnier high pressure tires. Their ability to absorb little bumps instead of bouncing the bicycle up and down over them was the key to their efficiency.

The Large Marge tires at 3.5-4 inches are interesting looking. I've never used one. They seem to only be useful for off road riding. Having that much extra weight just doesn't seem worth it for street riding, even on ice.

Those big tires are here to stay because they haven't gone away yet. If they were a flop the companies wouldn't still make them.

zeppinger

Apparently Fat Tire Bikes are becoming mainstream. Walmart now sells a $199 version: https://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Mongoos...ype=10&veh=aff

gerv 

A single-speed fat tire bike? I'm missing something.

JoeyBike

I got a Pugsley in 2006. Still have it. I have enjoyed commuting on it as far as 18 miles each way. 15 psi is rock hard. Most run pressures under 10 psi offroad.

The new Origin 8 tires have kevlar protection and the new WalMart tubes are thick and have shraeder valves for easier addition of your favorite punture sealing liquid.

Fixing a flat roadside is no fun. Otherwise fatbikes are a blast to ride and roll over almost anything.

Mtbr.com forum has a whole message board dedicated to fatbikes. You should visit there.

https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/

Roody

Thanks for all the information so far. I thought they were for off-pavement use until I saw a few being used here in the city. I like the way they look, so I wondered how practical they are for all around use.

kookaburra1701

They're good for bad riding conditions, like snow or sand. When I lived on the coast, a dunefield started about 500 feet from my front door. If I'd decided to stay out there I definitely would have gotten a Pugsley or Moonlander.

rm -rf

The Bike Grease and Coffee blog. On the road full time, with his fat tire bike.

Roody

Thanks, rm-rf. Your blog is amazing! I think your philosophy is summed up by what you said about the lady in Colorado who tried to talk you out of crossing the pass: "Its always funny to me how little some people know of the places they live in or how afraid they are of them."

I also appreciated your sense of humor. Like your description of the difference between sand and snow--"one of them melts in your oatmeal."

Are you still in Florida? If so, say hi to an alligator for me.

fietsbob

SUN Spider, a 2 speed kick back, on the beach, cruiser.. more than one buyer around here,
uses theirs during Clam Season, for hunting their Quarry..

Roody

Those fat bikes must be faster than they look, to catch a clam!

rm -rf

That's not me, I ride road bikes. I just linked it.

Roody

Oh, sorry. Maybe I should paste my review into the dude's comments.

gerv 

Those wide tires would likely be very useful on really rough roads and trails. Never thought of that.

JusticeZero

I can see the snow tires being useful on places with really bad surfaces, like rocky trails or New Orleans streets. They sell some of them at Walmart here, and yes the single speedness made me scratch my head a bit, but I haven't seen any of them in the wild yet.

tim24k

I love Fat Tire bikes! Not for everyday commuting but for just kicking back and cruising on a sunny day.

Roody

Why don't you use them for everyday commuting?

christo930

My legs are tired just looking at that thing. Coaster brakes, single speed, 4.25" low-pressure tires... The only thing that looks half inviting is the traditional geometry of the rider position. Most of these god-awful things have handlebars that turn so sharply inward that the grips run parallel to the frame. Also, if you look, it appears that the chain-ring to cog is about 1.5:1 (though it could just be the angle and photography, but the chain-ring looks really small). Most of the single speed bikes I've seen have much larger differences and 700C wheels. I think it's a testament to how hard it is to move that thing down the road.

Sixty Fiver

If you have never ridden a fat bike it would be a shock to find they actually roll out much better than you would think, the extremely wide tyres create some fairly low contact pressure and as such, they do not do well on icy roads unless you are running studs.

For snow, sand, mud, trails, and moderate trips they are great although there is a big difference between my commuter with 1.5 Marathons and my Pugsley when it comes to getting places quickly.

Living in Canuckistan, having a bike that handles snow as well as the Pugsley is a wonderful thing and with the excellent trails we have here it is a great all season bike... it sucks up bumps and curbs like they are barely there and will keep going where other bicycles fear to tread.

tim24k

I commute twenty miles a day for the most part in the rain on a hilly rout. I have a alloy frame bike with disc brakes and 27 speeds for that. For traveling I have a Dahon TR 24 speed folding bike. For hauling heavy loads and hauling ether bikes I have a Surly Big Dummy. For touring I have a Surly LHT and Trek 520.

And again for just kicking backing and cruising slow soaking in the rays on a sunny day, there is the Fat Tire bike, a Electra Straight 8 or the Felt V12. Different bikes for different needs. Thank God here in the USA we still have that choice! For now that is.

Ferrous Bueller

Yes. Congress is working on a bill which will require all bike purchases to be registered, and spoke count limited to 16.
It's time to panic. Stock up while you still can.

tim24k

Here in the state of Washington the Dims are working on a bill to put an extra $25 tax over and above the 9.8% sales tax if the price of the bike is over $500. And yes they have been seriously talking about making everyone register your bike.