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Recommend me a cheap winter fattie please

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Recommend me a cheap winter fattie please

Old 11-02-18, 02:28 PM
  #26  
rumrunn6
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Originally Posted by prj71
Cable brakes run the chance of the cable freezing due to moisture in the housing.
had that happen to a rear derailer cable. most annoying
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Old 11-02-18, 03:41 PM
  #27  
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Walmart, but they're geared high, so you need another crank.. but they're cheap.
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Old 11-02-18, 07:31 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by baj2
Also, a word of caution on the Target/Walmart/whatever $200-300 models - they tend to be VERY heavy with really cheap components and tires.

A friend bought a Mongoose (53lbs, $250) just for grins and I tried it - the mechanical disc brakes were horrible (they certainly make better, but apparently not on a $250 fatty), the shifting was annoyingly sluggish, and the extra weight was very noticeable.

He busted the chain on his first off-road ride. He also said the tires weren't that great in the snow (I rode it in Summer). You want it for riding in the snow, and tires can make a huge difference, so that's one more thing to look for when shopping. But also keep in mind that tires are an easy upgrade, I've seen pairs of decent 4.5"x26 tires on ebay for under $100.
i have a Redline Griz. It’s heavy but not horrible. Mine is still stock out of the box and I have had no trouble with it. I did have a professional build it out of the box when I got it.

A few upgrades like tires and a 1 x and this could be a good bike for cheap.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Redline-B...Blue/846818614
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Old 11-02-18, 09:16 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by HerrKaLeun
Too subjective to compare brakes on different bikes and setups. The different brakes you had had different pads (friction factor!), levers etc. I upgraded a bike from cable to Deore brakes and it was much better. With cable I had to use the full hand to still not stop well, with hydraulic i could 1-finger brake.
If we can't compare, why is it even being discussed? The point was made with regard to braking power. For the record, my 2003 with the mechanical BB7s has smaller rotors than either of the my hydraulic systems. It's 15yo tech and still has comparable braking power to current hydraulic brakes.

You do have a valid point on actuation force though. Hydraulic wins that one easy IMO, I don't know if you could create enough mechanical advantage with the lever/actuator to equalize that on a mechanical system.

Hydraulic has at least one inherent advantage, it doesn't have cable stretch, which is wasted force. the mechanical advantage on hydraulic and mechanical brakes could be the same depending on the specific design.
I would think this would only help with mechanical brake's modulation problem.

All my experience is not a scientific setup or proof. but i think there is a reason why almost every new bike comes with hydros. Cars and motorbikes got rid of cable brakes a long time ago because of the inherent advantage of hydros. i don't know anyone riding a lot who got rid of the stock hydraulic brakes to gain the advantage of cable brakes..... If you are right, the entire industry must be wrong
Comparing MTBs to vehicles that are 10x to 200x heavier really doesn't make any sense. And I never said hydraulic wasn't better, I love mine. I was just trying to correct the MYTH that mechanical brakes don't have the same stopping power as hydraulic. Certainly there are varying quality of components across the $ spectrum. But at or near the top end, both have very good stopping power.
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Old 11-02-18, 09:29 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
A few upgrades like tires and a 1 x and this could be a good bike for cheap.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Redline-B...Blue/846818614
Got specs? They are out of stock according to the link above, and no specs. Redline's own website doesn't even list them, perhaps they are no longer in production?

My old road bike is a Redline, it was a good low-end road bike. And though I've upgraded just about everything but the fork, frame, and bars (I've put almost 20,000 miles on it), I still consider it a great purchase. I don't see road bikes on Redline's website either, perhaps they are refocusing on their core synergies, or some other business nonsense.

Heavy alone does not make a bike bad. Some of the mid-range steel framed fat bikes run in the neighborhood of 40lbs and are still very fun to ride. Durability and quality of function are more important in my book. My fatty came with SRAM X5 shifters, I bought new XT shifters to replace them with before I even received the bike. But I thought I'd give them a try, and the X5's have worked great. I still have the XT's NIB.
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Old 11-02-18, 09:32 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by baj2
If we can't compare, why is it even being discussed? The point was made with regard to braking power. For the record, my 2003 with the mechanical BB7s has smaller rotors than either of the my hydraulic systems. It's 15yo tech and still has comparable braking power to current hydraulic brakes.

You do have a valid point on actuation force though. Hydraulic wins that one easy IMO, I don't know if you could create enough mechanical advantage with the lever/actuator to equalize that on a mechanical system.
this is the internet, so we need to discuss even the obvious

One could create the same mechanical advantage with a cable, a hydraulic or even a lever system. All convert distance to force and vice versa. the problem with cable is, some force is wasted on stretching the cable. Hydraulic fluid is nearly incompressible and therefore transmits the force nearly loss-less.
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Old 11-02-18, 09:56 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by HerrKaLeun
One could create the same mechanical advantage with a cable, a hydraulic or even a lever system. All convert distance to force and vice versa. the problem with cable is, some force is wasted on stretching the cable. Hydraulic fluid is nearly incompressible and therefore transmits the force nearly loss-less.
Sure thing Archimedes. ;-) But if you need a 12" long brake lever with 6" of travel to get your 1-finger braking that's not really practical.
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Old 11-03-18, 03:38 AM
  #33  
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Check Craigslist in your area they have some great deals on Surly Pugsley’s I just purchase one for $500
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Old 11-16-18, 09:40 AM
  #34  
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not a serious thing for me, but i think i'm going to try an aluminum dk duke as my fat bike. i mostly pick up cheapie fat bikes to cut up for other experiments, but since i can't weld aluminum (but got a good deal on this used)i'll leave it alone and it'll be my try at having a regular fat bike. i'm hoping being aluminum it'll be a little lighter than the normal cheap fat bike, but i'll need to swap around some wheels to get rear disc brakes too (comes with rear rim brakes, but has a caliper mount point).
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Old 11-24-18, 10:50 PM
  #35  
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Call around or stop into some bike shops and ask if they have anything left in the back room. I just bought a brand new/leftover 2016 Felt DD70 for well under $1k out the door at my local shop. He didn't have it out on the floor; it was tucked off in a corner of the back store room. The compromise at this price point isn't durability, it's weight. (This one weighs in at an even 34 lbs which isn't bad at all IMO).
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Old 11-27-18, 12:01 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Walmart, but they're geared high, so you need another crank.. but they're cheap.
this

I do enjoy the Redline Grizz. Bought it cheap just to try the Fatbike thing. I like it and will upgrade a few things on it over the next few years.

Its a remarkably good bike bike for the money. I did have a professional put it together out of the box.
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