Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Fatbikes
Reload this Page >

Optimizing for trail riding

Notices
Fatbikes Designed for use in sand, mud or snow, Fat bikes are the right choice for true all-terrain riding. Check here for the latest on these fun, adventurous two-wheeled machines.

Optimizing for trail riding

Old 02-20-19, 10:01 PM
  #1  
DarKris
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
Optimizing for trail riding

So I’m planning well in advance for this, but I want to get an idea for how to set up my fat bike for riding trails in the spring/summer. My Spec. Hellga came with 90mm wheels 135mm/190mm QR and 4.6 Ground Control wire bead tires. My goal is to get a somewhat lighter wheelset with narrower rims to fit smaller tires.

From what I’ve seen I have a couple of of options: 26 x 4.0, 27.5 x 3.8, 27.5+ (2.8-3.0), or 29+ tires/wheels. I don’t know what I would “need”, however I don’t plan on adding a front suspension to my bike as I don’t think it’d be cost effective for me, nor do I know if one would work on my bike. So with that being said I want to see what would be an optimal wheel+tire combo for riding single track on a (rigid) fat bike.
DarKris is offline  
Old 02-21-19, 12:13 AM
  #2  
MarcusT
Senior Member
 
MarcusT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: NE Italy
Posts: 1,617
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 759 Post(s)
Liked 600 Times in 340 Posts
That's a good question. As you may have seen the thread about a fat bike being the only steed in the corral.
I personally no longer have an MTB, the fat bike replaced that, and other than some more effort on the uphills, I am more than satisfied with that.
As far as which wheels? You may consider just getting new tires, (3.8") if cost is an issue. A wheel set will cost $400-1,000, plus the tires, cassette, rim tape, tubes, discs. Double that if you want to go carbon.
Any way, in the end, I think a 27.5" X 3" would be a good match to your bike. Just not sure how common a 27.5" rim comes with fat bike hub widths
The 27.5"X 3.8", I don't believe would give you any weight savings.

Let us know what you do. Cheers
MarcusT is offline  
Old 02-21-19, 12:37 AM
  #3  
Howard70
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 57
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 10 Posts
I'll second the suggestion of MarcusT for a set of 27.5 x 3.0 or 2.8" wheels/tires for spring/summer/fall. My wife and I have two Salsa Mukluks with a total of 3 sets of wheels: 26 x 5 (stock, tubed, which I studded for snow), 26 x 4 (stock rims, tubeless Jumbo Jims, wifes usual setup) and 27.5 x 3 (built by Mike Curiak at Lacemine29.com, tubeless Rocket Rons, my usual set up). I've put about 6,000 miles on the 27.5 x 3 with no suspension on the bike & I love them. If starting over again, I might consider 29 x 3 or 2.8" to help with long stretches of washboards while bikepacking. I wouldn't worry about what is commonly available. Contact Mike & he'll build what you need at a reasonable price. I definitely recommend going tubeless for any setup outside of snow.

Howard Snell
Howard70 is offline  
Old 02-21-19, 06:32 AM
  #4  
DarKris
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
I was thinking of just getting new tires for my bike but the rims are 90mm internal and from what I've seen 4.0 tires would work better on 65-70mm rims. If getting new wheels ends up costing more than $500 however I might have to reconsider as I don't think I would be able to spend that much in the next few months... so that might also be a problem
DarKris is offline  
Old 02-21-19, 01:24 PM
  #5  
Craptacular8
Senior Member
 
Craptacular8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 643
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 182 Post(s)
Liked 36 Times in 31 Posts
Rim Width Versus Tire

Originally Posted by DarKris
I was thinking of just getting new tires for my bike but the rims are 90mm internal and from what I've seen 4.0 tires would work better on 65-70mm rims. If getting new wheels ends up costing more than $500 however I might have to reconsider as I don't think I would be able to spend that much in the next few months... so that might also be a problem

There are tons of fat bikes out there with 80-90mm rims and 4" tires. Surly's rims for their 3.8" Nates stock were on 82mm rims. I see on 45NRTH's website for the Dillinger 4's, they specify that they are for rims of 64-94. If you want new rims in the 65-70 size to shed weight, that's a whole other ball game.
Craptacular8 is offline  
Old 02-21-19, 01:30 PM
  #6  
DarKris
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
Originally Posted by Craptacular8
There are tons of fat bikes out there with 80-90mm rims and 4" tires. Surly's rims for their 3.8" Nates stock were on 82mm rims. I see on 45NRTH's website for the Dillinger 4's, they specify that they are for rims of 64-94. If you want new rims in the 65-70 size to shed weight, that's a whole other ball game.
Well my thought was that a 90mm rim with a 4” tire will cause it to be more “square” and affect the riding characteristics from what I read. I’m not 100% on how it would play out but what I thought was that a more rounded profile would help with cornering and also leave the sidewalks/rims less exposed.
DarKris is offline  
Old 02-22-19, 10:14 AM
  #7  
5teve
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 212
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 69 Post(s)
Liked 65 Times in 29 Posts
65mm-ish internal rims with 26x4"-4.4" Schwalbe Jumbo Jims is a pretty super summer set up.
5teve is offline  
Old 02-24-19, 11:31 PM
  #8  
MarcusT
Senior Member
 
MarcusT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: NE Italy
Posts: 1,617
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 759 Post(s)
Liked 600 Times in 340 Posts
Just to throw this into the discussion. Perhaps you could get a used 27.5+ MTB. Price would be about the same
MarcusT is offline  
Old 02-25-19, 06:38 AM
  #9  
DarKris
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
Originally Posted by MarcusT
Just to throw this into the discussion. Perhaps you could get a used 27.5+ MTB. Price would be about the same
I used up my N+1 when I got my fat bike. I don’t think I’d have enough space to fit another bike into my living space.

What I ultimately decided was to ride what I have. I picked up a pair of Maxxis Minions in 4.8 to swap out for my Ground Controls when spring rolls around. I’m not worried about weight al too much at this point and since I’m running rigid I think I’d prefer the extra volume of the 4.8s.
DarKris is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Happy Feet
Fatbikes
13
07-26-19 08:37 PM
jackb
Fatbikes
11
05-19-19 07:12 PM
jrickards
Fatbikes
11
01-09-18 02:09 PM
TurdFerguson2
Mountain Biking
37
06-20-17 10:22 AM
CanadianBiker32
Winter Cycling
7
01-16-15 09:07 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.