Hypno Toad

I was telling a friend about this custom fatbike, but I can only find this picture and no other info. Anybody have more details? Thanks!

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dhunley1

Had some great riding weather, this past weekend. Can't beat 60 and sunny for a day of riding in the woods.

I have plans to take the Fatboy out to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, in the next couple weeks, as well as a ride along the Lake Huron shore line, a week or two after Silver Lake.

justsellbrgs

jakefromst8farm

I just bought a Diamondback El Oso Gordo. I sort of jumped at the sale price of $370 and I hope it wasn't a mistake. I bought it knowing that the shifting system and brakes were subpar and would probably need to be swapped for a nicer set eventually. Other than that though, I am hoping this bike turns out to be serviceable and rideable long term. Anyone have any clue what I should expect? Any other smaller parts I should anticipate needing attention? I really couldn't afford to drop a grand on a bike right now so this was better than no fatbike.

usedbutnotup

Well if your not mechanically inclined, the first stop would be a reputable shop for assembly and lube. These things usually need the hubs, bottom bracket, and neck properly greased and adjusted. Factory rim protectors [tires] will be round and made of rubber. That's about the best you can say for them. On a positive note, unless you hit some real shops and ride some quality bikes, you won't know how bad it is.

jakefromst8farm

Based on the general responses I have received about the bike I have decided to cancel the order and look for something else in a price range of 750-1000. The search continues.

OshkoshBiker

I agree that the El Oso Gordo is not a good bike for a serious rider, however, don't discount Diamondback as a brand based on this one bike. We own two Diamondback Fat Tire bikes and race with them. The first bike is an El Oso de Acero, which has a nice durable frame and decent entry level Shimano Alivio group set. The second bike is an El Oso Grande of which has nice SRAM X5 components and is all Aluminum. The El Oso Grande is around $1200 and is a good value for a bike with thru axles and wide tires.

Another good value for a Fat Tire bike is the Framed Minnesota 2.0 or 3.0, I recently built (2.0) one up and I am having a blast riding it; they go for around $800 and you can swap out the wheels for 29" if you want.

Not everyone has $2K+ for a bike and Diamondback makes good stuff too.

Regards.

KeithNorCal

all-wheel drive fat bike: Antarctica-spec fatbike puts the power to both wheels

Don't think I'll be adding one of these to the quiver anytime soon.

Hypno Toad

On Friday, I enjoyed my first snowy ride of the season.

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And looks like tomorrow will be the second snowy ride of the season.

Hypno Toad

Found it! Antarctic Bike: Four Wheels For Polar Cycling

dhunley1

thisisbenji

Just got a new seatpost, bars, and stem. Can't wait to get out and ride, unfortunately I have to wait until the weekend.

I'm pretty stoked how my bikesdirect fatty turned out. It's really not too heavy I don't think.

mach1john

Cyclist to ride Maine-designed bike on 700-mile solo expedition in Antarctica ? Outdoors ? Bangor Daily News ? BDN Maine

Hypno Toad

Bad words used - many F-bombs - and tons of laughs

FrankHudson

For the past couple of winters my winter bike has been a hybrid with studded 700x42 tires and an Sturney Archer IGH. Short story there: studs are great, the IGH was not a perfect experience, and after three years of my wife and I test-riding fatbikes for winter use, my wife bought one last winter.

Middle of December we had our first deep snow (6 inches) and I went out on my bike on a regular five mile breakfast trip. I couldn’t get out of the alley, walked it to the street, couldn’t really get going there either (no plows yet). Brought my bike back and my wife loaned me her fatbike. Got it in the lowest gear and started out. On the clean snow I floated over well enough. Where there were tire tracks, could ride the ruts better. I came back and told her I’m buying a fatbike too.

I was not patient about things after making that decision, so I wanted to buy what was in stock that day in town that fit my needs and available budget. That’s not the best way to do things, but that’s what I did. It helped that I had test ridden at least a half-dozen fatbikes in winter conditions before. I ended up with a Jamis Roughneck. So far I’ve added a mudboard, a rear rack, and a replacement seat and set of grips more to my personal liking.

roughneck

Here’s my one month report. I have a little more than 60 miles on it. The stock tires are usable “all-rounders” not as good as my wife’s Nates in deep snow, but usable. As expected, the tires make negotiating the packed snow ruts easier. It’s definitely a workout to ride this bike, but then riding in snow is always a workout on any bike. On dry pavement or fairly smooth packed snow with low pressure (I‘ve gone down to 5 pounds) you really feel the drag, but I’ve found that around 10 pounds a happy medium for hard packed snow and bare patches. The bike feels slower than it is. Comparing it to my 700x42 hybrid on identical five mile routes with a 75 foot total elevation climb on the return leg, the times were too close to call. I felt faster on the hybrid, maybe because it’s a bit faster in getting up to speed from a light. My hybrid is geared for spinning through snow however, so on the flat, after accelerating, the fatbike is faster than the hybrid with that gearing. My sustained heart rate is higher riding the fatbike on mixed winter roads compared to the hybrid.

This is the strongest experience to report, you work harder riding a fatbike, but over a particular set of conditions (mine are fresh snow, tire ruts, broken up cookie dough snow, corduroy packed snow, ice, as well as bare pavement patches) you may be roughly as fast as any other bike suitable for those conditions. For me fast isn’t the point. There are days I can’t ride certain routes with the hybrid this winter, and other days when I’d be picking my way though trying to judge the passable ruts verses just riding it out on the fatbike. So it’s a funny thing: I work harder, but I feel more comfortable and in control on the fatbike.

One exception so far to this: ice. I gotta get studs on the fat bike. I’m still riding my studded tire hybrid about a third of the time this past month rather than the new bike because we’ve had some days when ice has been a real problem.

intransit1217

Vee speedsters are a mixed bag. I didn't find mine much faster despite running max psi to get a way from that self steer thing. Then the ride gets harsh. What's your experience?

intransit1217

Being as tires aren't rated for weight or speed as car tires are, I assume 4"' can handle more weight than a 2" would.

Anyone care to drop their .02?

KeithNorCal

I agree with that assertion. If you try bikepacking on both a fat bike and a bike with skinnier tires, I think it will be obvious. However, it also just makes sense because you're spreading the weight over a larger contact patch.

dhunley1

Nick Bain

how is there not a dedicated forum yet?

Hypno Toad

Been there, tried that

https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...own-forum.html

Nick Bain

opps i meant its own category on the forum.

NYMXer

I took my german shepherd fat biking on the packed snowmobile trails for about 6 miles. She did better than me.
I wish I could post the pics but they apparently are too big for this site. They posted easily on other sites, oh well. Imagine a happy dog chasing me on my fat bike

codyash

New to the offroad scene. Just picked up my first mountain bike if it's actually considered that. 2014 Surly Pug Ops. So far I'm loving it.

DSC00128 by Cody Ash, on Flickr

NYMXer

Another try, 3 rides (Fri, Sat and Sun), Friday with the dog for 6 miles, Sat and Sunday with the group at two different places for a total of almost 25 miles in 3" of fresh snow and temps in the teens. Hard work but worth the effort, better than riding the couch or looking out the window!