Looking at getting a fat tire mountain bike. Any feedback?
10-04-19, 11:05 AM
#26
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In the group of guys I rode with, three of us got fat bikes, and all three of us sold them at the end of the season and went back to bikes similar to what we had before the fatties. The best thing you can do is to take your bike and a fatty that you are interested in to the trail and ride them both, several times, on sections of the trail you are familiar with. The comparison will be honest and fresh. Then decide.
10-04-19, 11:57 AM
#27
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My fat bike is literally the slowest bike I have ever owned.
But sometimes it is the only bike that will move.
But sometimes it is the only bike that will move.
10-04-19, 01:20 PM
#28
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When discussing it would be good to know what type of fat bike and/or tires people are refering to as sometimes the default reference is to a cheap, heavy steel brand with heavy clunky tires. Yes, those are slow.
I have a Specialized fatboy with 4.6 ground controls. Pumped up hard they have pretty decent rolling resistance and climb better than my hardtail 26 × 2.35 mtb. Last weekend I did a rail trail with just a slight grade and coasted for almost 5km's without pedaling.
If fact this replaces the mtb as the one limiting factor with the previous bike was bogging down in loose terrain. The fat bike does everything the mtb did plus that.
I have a Specialized fatboy with 4.6 ground controls. Pumped up hard they have pretty decent rolling resistance and climb better than my hardtail 26 × 2.35 mtb. Last weekend I did a rail trail with just a slight grade and coasted for almost 5km's without pedaling.
If fact this replaces the mtb as the one limiting factor with the previous bike was bogging down in loose terrain. The fat bike does everything the mtb did plus that.
10-04-19, 02:03 PM
#29
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Sure, put enough money into a fat bike with light weight tubeless tires with minimal tread on CF rims and it will be pretty fast, maybe faster than some slower standard tired bikes
But put that money into a standard HT and it will be faster.
How many fat bikes do you see in XC races? Very few. And once you get to the level where folks are racing to put bread on the table I am pretty sure you will see zero.
And what the heck is the point of a fat bike if you are going to pump the tires hard?
But put that money into a standard HT and it will be faster.
How many fat bikes do you see in XC races? Very few. And once you get to the level where folks are racing to put bread on the table I am pretty sure you will see zero.
And what the heck is the point of a fat bike if you are going to pump the tires hard?
10-04-19, 04:12 PM
#30
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IMHO the best middle ground between a fat bike and a regular bike would be a 27.5 or a 29'er frame which can take plus sized tires of about 2.8 - 3.0 inches. That's plenty enough of rubber to take you most places.
10-04-19, 10:25 PM
#31
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I have a fatty and a 2.8" FS. and there are some gnarly hills with loose gravel and slippery roots that are handled better with the fatty. Not to mention the sand, the snow and wet stuff
In the end, it is preference. There are people that don't like fatties and there is little one can do to change their mind. Maybe because the bikes look weird, maybe it reminds them of an ex-spouse, either way, a person can only say yes or no and do their best to communicate why (sometimes).
10-04-19, 11:31 PM
#32
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I don't know why anyone would just dislike a bike and I have no desire to push one over the other, just detailing what I have found beneficial with mine, which I bought used for $700. Not really extravagant by any means.
I pumps up the tires because I can and they roll better. With modern technologies like valves and pumps I can let some air out again when I want. I'm not stuck with a singular pressure. A fat bike allows me to roll faster on firmer tires or gain some suspension from lower pressure. I can ride hard pack but can also ride sand or sludge.
I dont buy the answer - just buy a mountain bike either. What kind? Rigid will give speed but sacrifice technical downhill. Full suspension will give technical but sacrifice speed. Try riding a squishy bike fast over long distance.
That leaves a hardtail, a compromise between the two extremes which is ok but... as soon as you want to go to those places you wind up wanting yet another bike.
Now, go to the cyclocross sub forum and say you want a hardtail mtb and people there will say a drop bar gravel bike does everything it can do better and faster. Are they right? Is a hardtail therefore a wrong choice?
There is no right or wrong answer to the question, just what best suits your vision for where you want to go.
I pumps up the tires because I can and they roll better. With modern technologies like valves and pumps I can let some air out again when I want. I'm not stuck with a singular pressure. A fat bike allows me to roll faster on firmer tires or gain some suspension from lower pressure. I can ride hard pack but can also ride sand or sludge.
I dont buy the answer - just buy a mountain bike either. What kind? Rigid will give speed but sacrifice technical downhill. Full suspension will give technical but sacrifice speed. Try riding a squishy bike fast over long distance.
That leaves a hardtail, a compromise between the two extremes which is ok but... as soon as you want to go to those places you wind up wanting yet another bike.
Now, go to the cyclocross sub forum and say you want a hardtail mtb and people there will say a drop bar gravel bike does everything it can do better and faster. Are they right? Is a hardtail therefore a wrong choice?
There is no right or wrong answer to the question, just what best suits your vision for where you want to go.
Last edited by Happy Feet; 10-04-19 at 11:37 PM.
10-07-19, 02:36 PM
#33
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A few years ago I sold my '06 Iron Horse MKIII Team full suspension with "normal" sized tires and went back to a hardtail. No particular reason. Just felt like switching it up. I got a REI brand Co-Op DRT 2.1 which they no longer make apparently and I gotta tell ya... I'm happier than a pig in poop with it. Don't regret it one bit. At 2.8" tires it's not really a "FAT" tire bike, rather, an in-between sorta. I just love the darn thing.
Last edited by H2Orat; 10-07-19 at 03:07 PM.
10-07-19, 02:56 PM
#34
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Sure, put enough money into a fat bike with light weight tubeless tires with minimal tread on CF rims and it will be pretty fast, maybe faster than some slower standard tired bikes
But put that money into a standard HT and it will be faster.
How many fat bikes do you see in XC races? Very few. And once you get to the level where folks are racing to put bread on the table I am pretty sure you will see zero.
And what the heck is the point of a fat bike if you are going to pump the tires hard?
But put that money into a standard HT and it will be faster.
How many fat bikes do you see in XC races? Very few. And once you get to the level where folks are racing to put bread on the table I am pretty sure you will see zero.
And what the heck is the point of a fat bike if you are going to pump the tires hard?
Fat bikes are slow NO matter what!
10-07-19, 06:18 PM
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IMO the MKIII DW-Link was the best suspension design I have owned (including other DW-Links that came after). I had a 2007 for a few years, but it (like all the others) cracked. It is such a shame what happened to Iron Horse, they had some great bike designers and designs in the mid-late 2000s (including DW himself), but the QC got botched on some models and the pile of poop who ran the company screwed a lot of people and bankrupted the company.
10-07-19, 07:12 PM
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On the paved sections to and from camp to the Trails. My FS bike was doing an easy 24 mph. which is honestly about where I'd be pushing a Gravel bike. I don't think a Fat bike will be doing that. Some of the local strong guys KOM kings take their fat bikes to the Time trials. 18 mph average!
Fat bikes are slow NO matter what!
Fat bikes are slow NO matter what!
Last edited by Happy Feet; 10-07-19 at 07:16 PM.
10-07-19, 09:09 PM
#37
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Are you suggesting 24mph sustained on a full suspension mtb with downhill knobbies. I find that hard to believe - especially if you are at the same time suggesting fast riders can only do 17 on fatbikes. You realize you are saying you can ride 7mph faster than them on a downhill mtb right.
Dude should be riding the Tour de France.
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10-07-19, 09:30 PM
#38
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Here's a comparison between a trail bike and a fat bike. Times breakdown starts at 4:30. Sort of blows the whole "fat bikes are slow" BS out of the water.
10-14-19, 10:03 AM
#39
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I'd just get the fatbike. There doesn't seem to be any other type of bike that people police as heavily as a fatbike, it's really quite remarkable just how many rules people try to impose on those riding them.
"Look man, I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but you know that if you ride that fatbike on anything aside from snow or sand, you may create a paradox that will result in the heat death of the universe, right? I mean, you wouldn't want to destroy everything we know and hold dear by taking that bike on summertime singletrack, or, God forbid, pavement of any type, would you?"
I'd just not worry about what other people tell you, I'd get one and ride it like mad. They look like fun.
"Look man, I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but you know that if you ride that fatbike on anything aside from snow or sand, you may create a paradox that will result in the heat death of the universe, right? I mean, you wouldn't want to destroy everything we know and hold dear by taking that bike on summertime singletrack, or, God forbid, pavement of any type, would you?"
I'd just not worry about what other people tell you, I'd get one and ride it like mad. They look like fun.
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10-14-19, 12:59 PM
#40
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Guess what I got it, love it tried to get on the trail and it was flooded by river over flow LOL I road on the street with it actually rides way different than my 18 year old mountain bike. I need some recommendations for gear to add need rear rack and bag recommendations
10-14-19, 06:35 PM
#41
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Guess what I got it, love it tried to get on the trail and it was flooded by river over flow LOL I road on the street with it actually rides way different than my 18 year old mountain bike. I need some recommendations for gear to add need rear rack and bag recommendations
Also, see this list: https://bikepacking.com/gear/rear-racks-for-fat-bikes/
10-15-19, 01:12 PM
#42
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Ran into to two people on a RailsToTrails path that were on electric fat tire bicycles. They loved them because they could go twice as far in a day than a normal rider. They both had jobs that only let them ride on the weekends. They passed me multiple times going quite fast. They would stop and look at the scenery, I would pass them and then they would catch up to me again.
Logically, the fat tire part of the equation may have been "somewhat" less a factor than the electric part.
10-16-19, 02:18 PM
#43
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They'll probably have to replace the electric motors yearly on those phatties. The electrons will complain about cruel and unusual punishment.
Last edited by Clem von Jones; 10-16-19 at 02:31 PM.
