medic75

I am completely new to this fatbike thing. I do have a 29+ bike, but I doubt that counts. I was recently invited to a fatbike snow ride that was put on by a local mountain bike group in coordination with the local state park. A limited number of bikes were provided at no cost for those who needed them - super kudos to New York State for providing these 1 year old Kona Wo bikes. A local LBS brought a few more fatbikes due to the number of riders who needed a bike for the ride. I guess I don't need to tell you how awesome the cycling community is. The weather was unseasonable warm on this night and I ended up having loads of fun with some great people. This got me to thinking I may be able to turn this fatbike thing into a winter activity.

Anyway, now that you know this story, I have to say that I despise everything about winter. I become a hermit who doesn't leave the house unless I absolutely have to. I spend the winter Zwifting in my basement. Off to the computer I went searching for a reasonable deal on a used fatbike. That is when I found this slightly used Diamondback El Oso. It has some scuffs, a small dent on the downtube, and a bent derailleur hanger. Other than that, it shows no signs of having ever been ridden. I have already swapped the stock Juggernaut Sport tires for Vee Showshoe XL tires and I have plans of converting them to tubeless over the next couple of days. The new derailleur hanger will be here on Friday. Now, all I need is some snow. The weather has been very unseasonably warm since I ordered this bike and we have no snow at all. That is due to change over the next few days.

Yes, the reflectors are coming off and the dork disc will be gone as soon as the new derailleur hanger is here.

Happy Feet

Welcome to the forum.

I sometimes get hit with a bit of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) because we have so much rain but this year I vowed to take a Scandinavian approach to winter.
It is said in Norway that there is no such thing as bad weather - just bad clothing.
So I am out almost every weekend doing something or other. This evening after work I went XC skiing around my neighborhood for a bit of exercise because we are having a week long blizzard with sub zero temps.
The fat bike is great for such wet season forays as you don't really need to worry about snow or mud or puddles/potholes.

Last weekend I tried using my Sorel winter boots on my fatbike. The curve of the wide Q factor cranks gave enough room for them. That opens up a whole bunch of terrain as one needn't worry about cold feet if one has to hike a bike for a bit.

MarcusT

Welcome. Nice looking bike.
Show us where you ride

medic75

As of current, I really don't know where I will ride. I want to do my best to stay away from roads because I have no way to clean the salt off the bike before I put it away. I am open to riding almost anywhere else. This is a photo from last night's short MUP ride. I learned 2 things on that ride. 1. Snow isn't slippery at all & 2. Riding this bike is a real workout. I did attempt to convert this to tubeless after reading some horror stories about these wheels. So far I have failed. I am going to give it one more try. After that, I will continue to ride with tubes and consider new and more tubeless friendly wheels next winter.

MarcusT

I would not be too worried about the tubeless thing. It's more of a convenience than a necessity. Unless you're plagued with punctures.
The workout is a combination of several things. Snow is a very hard workout, due to the resistance of the snow and the very low tire pressure. When I ride river beds, it is very strenuous, but then on more solid ground, I raise the tire pressure and it is easy going.
Happy trails

qclabrat

yeah snow!, I'm in NJ and feel your pain. I remember you from the MTB forums, so welcome here as well
We have an inch of frozen tundra at the moment and expecting 2 inches of rain this weekend, expecting mudfest and suspension of trail riding for at least week as temps aren't changing much.
Ride the bike as is for the season, though the 'split tube' method may be your only option with those rims. I also gave up on tubeless on my winter wheelset with Weinmann rims, also on the Snowshoe XLs. People usually quote needing tubeless to drop pressure to single digits and tubes at those pressures would create pinch flats. But in the snow, it's pretty forgiving and you can run in the low teens with no issues, unlike on dirt. If you plan you ride the fatbike all year you'll want different tires anyway. The XLs are horrible on anything but snow and self steer like nuts.

Wait till the first dumping and trail breaking on 8 inches of snow, its heck lots of fun, but man is it a workout on the upper body... enjoy

seydisehir

Thanks for your share