syoungs

So im looking at getting a new bike, its been a few years sense I have been riding regularly, and then I was riding a Iron horse FS, did the trick, but I prefer a solid bike, as I have gained some weight.

Part of the reason I am ready to start biking again, besides health concerns, is to be able to use it hunting, towing a trailer with my waterfowl decoys in it back into some spots I like to hunt. A fat bike would be just about perfect for it, as its usually muddy, sandy and sometimes full of snow.

Researching fatbikes, I like the more upright seating, the fact its a solid fork, yet still "mountain bikey", and doesn't look like a cruiser, (fitting in with my friends while riding will keep me at it longer). one thing I haven't been able to find, is how strong the wheel sets are, I know people bikepack off of them, and some even tour, I figure they are probably somewhat stout, and with a squishy tire, probably not as much as a concern vs a regular wheel.

does anyone have any feedback? im looking at lower end bikes, bikes direct models between 499-599 right now, and will generally be on groomed hard pack dirt, paved bike trails, and 2 track farm roads for now, my weight is around the 380 mark, and I don't plan to have any luggage or trailers until my weight is under 300 again.
Thanks in advance!

DanWho

When I started biking again I was at the lbs talking about a surly fat bike. The salesman said the surly was 300#.

c_m_shooter

Sounds like the Cogburn would be perfect for you. If you want to save a few bucks, look for an older Pugsley with the double walled rims. They are just about bombproof but heavy. Most of the newer bikes are coming with drilled single wall rims now, and I haven't heard of anyone having any problems. I drilled my doublewall rims last year, and have suffered no ill effects.

syoungs

The cogburn is a pretty sweet . actually what made me l look into fatbikes in the first place. I went to ,you lbs's yesterday, one told me a giant talon 27.5 would hold my weight fine, one refused talking to me about anything but a cruiser, said I wouldn't be able to handle riding any other bikes, even after telling him I've been riding my trek 820 the past few weeks, and that up until I broke my back a few years back I was riding daily, and knew about what I wanted.
the last shop I went into though, which I hadn't been to in 5-6 years, was confident they could true and stress relieve a fatbike just fine, and could possibly build the wheel set with a better rim, though they thought I wouldn't need to.

If I had more money I might have bought a cog burn , or the used fat boy I saw yesterday. After reading a ton of reviews, I'm buying in my budget, and going with the gravity bullseye monster. The stock 50 mm rims will allow me to use a wide variety of tires while still running some 4.0s for when needed.

chriskmurray

Sounds like the last shop you went to is familiar with how to make a durable wheel. After you get your bike I would pay them to stress relieve and retension the wheels on the bike you bought. Chances are they will last a very long time, if not you can look into upgrading the wheels in the future. There are plenty of fatbike rims that could handle your weight just fine, Surly and Turnagain rims without a doubt would be fine with a proper build.

syoungs

Yeah hopefully I can get a couple months of easy riding in on stockers, I don't mind paying to have a quality set built, but I'm purchasing 3 new bikes this month, as well as a bunch of accessories I imagine, the kid and wife are wanting to get better bikes and start riding with me as well.

The shop I did find that I liked, treated me well, (the others kinda looked down their nose at me and were not real helpful), but more importantly, they treated my son well, answering his questions as if he were equal, and demonstrated confidence in their ability to keep a bike on the road. I'm going to pay them to assemble, true the wheels and tune the bike when it gets here.

chriskmurray

Sounds like you found a good shop! Congrats on the new purchase, I would guess you will get a lot more than just a couple months of easy riding on the wheels, most low priced fat wheel are pretty over built.