salcedo

Hi guys. I've been living in the northeast for almost a decade now, and I've been "car free" for about 5 years. We do have a var but it's my wife's car and I rarely use it.

Last year I moved to a new city in Ontario and I discovered that they only plow the main avenues here. On residential areas you have to wait for the melt to snow. Bike lanes and bike paths are even worse because they get covered with the snow plowed from the road. This means I have to commute sharing arterial roads with cars when the road is snowy and slippery and that seems a bit irresponsible.

I thought maybe I could buy a fat bike and ride on the sidewalks. But I don't know anything about fat bikes. So, I was hoping you can help me with some questions.

Would I be able to ride if there is, say about 1 feet of snow on the road?

The city is pretty flat. Do I need a bike with gears, or do you think one of those cheap fixie mountain bikes that you can only find in Walmart will do?

What should I look for on a fat bike?

Thanks!

rumrunn6

good luck with your quest!

https://www.bikeforums.net/fatbikes/

PaulRivers

Even fat bikes limit out at between 6"-12" of freshly fallen snow depending on weather (some snow is hard to get through than other snow). Here in Minnesota fat bike seem to handle about 98% of bad weather conditions, but not the other 2%.

You would definitely want a bike with gears. The situation you're describing is pretty much why gears exist. Trying battle both the fluffy snow and also a lack of gearing would make an already difficult situation much harder.

salcedo

mktfarmhouse

We have a pair of fatties here, and we love them. My wife bought her 4" fat tire years ago. I just picked up a more modern 5" beast last year. Since we ride mostly for recreation and excercise I don't mind the extra work (really not much harder to ride than my slightly older mountain bike) and prefer to ride the fatty. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than the sound of those tires flying.

However, I could not imagine riding this regularly in deep snow. It is a killer workout. Groomed trails are a blast and you are way more stable for sure.

JonathanGennick 

I would look into some studded tires. I ran a set of Gravdals last winter. 38 mm wide, some knobs to help with hardpack snow, and some studs for the ice. I was pretty happy w/them.

wolfchild

I think a fat bike is great for recreational riding along off road trails but it's an overkill for commuting on city streets...Personally I prefer using a fixed gear bike with narrow studded tires.

DaveQ24

baldilocks

2018 Snowstorm
I don't know how you did last year, but we had snowmageddon last season around the 1st of January and that pretty much killed my bike riding. I had been commuting till December 20th and took two weeks off for Christmas. I was riding with just a old Schwinn Mesa (MTB) and I would slip when I hit ice but otherwise it was ok. This year I bought some Schwalbe Marathon Winter Tyre - RaceGuard so I will have to see how those work this year. I too wonder if a fat bike would be better, but it is way more affordable to put studs on a 26 inch tire MTB.

salcedo

I don't think my bike fits 38s. The bigger I can go is probably 35mm. Last season I had 28mm tires, and they were fine most of winter, but on really snowy parts of town I had to dismount and walk.

salcedo

I've never tried studded tires, but I've heard they work great with ice but not so great with snow.

I did buy a pair of 35mm studded tires last year, but they were delivered three months after I ordered them and it was almost spring by then. Maybe I'll try them out this year,

My problem is that when there are 4 inches (10cm) of snow or more on the road riding feels very unstable. I've fallen a few times riding not eh snow, nothing serious.

JonathanGennick 

I can vouch for that. Studs are for ice. For snow, you want widely-spaced tread blocks. The wide spacing helps prevent snow from packing into the tread. Also important but not often thought about is the rubber compound. Good winter tires will be made of a rubber compound that remains soft and pliable in cold conditions in order to conform to the road surface and provide traction.

danthemanohhyea

I was in your shoes a few years ago. I commute daily about 7-10 miles and began to get worried that my road bike wouldn't make it once the snow came down because they don't plow the paths here.

This is what I learned about fat biking:

• It's a lot of fun
• It's exhausting in snow, and more exhausting in general compared to my road bike
• It's very slow compared to a road bike

Those last points are the key. I tried the fat bike a few times after moderate snowfalls and it was just too much for my commute.

Instead, I got a set of 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Winters for my road bike and never looked back. The studs allow me to grip ice as if it's not even there, and the thin tires cut through the snow down to more solid ground. There's definitely some super sketchy fishtailing sometimes, but it is manageable.

On days where we get a lot of snow I just take the bus or work from home if it's really bad.

J.Higgins 

Wife and I bought a pair of Motobecane Boris fatties a couple years ago. Too much work for a pleasurable ride in snow. That said, I'd like to explore something like a Pugsly with 29er wheels and a set of studded tires next.

rumrunn6

saw some studded 29er tires at REI recently. $130 ea. but that does sound like fun

J.Higgins 

Also, a fender setup that allows a lot of clearance would be nice. Here in New England we have those days where its slushy an yet freezing. I tried to ride my rain bike last year and the wet sticky snow started collecting so much under the fenders that it was an almost-solid icecake when I got back home. I'll have to figure this one out.

Noonievut

rumrunn6

I know exactly what you're talking about. for those conditions I've considering carrying a Cobra Plastic Drain Stick because it is flexible & long & I think I could stick it between the fenders & tires to dislodge some of the accumulation periodically. just a theory, never tried

rumrunn6

this guy has a unique solution

J.Higgins 

Thats pretty cool.

Leebo

OP, what does everyone else ride to work? Check out a LBS and see what sells the best. MA guy here. I find a 35-40 mm studded tires for a road/hybrid type bike works well and say a 2" studded tire for a mt bike works good too.

salcedo

Thanks, this is useful. I will try the 35mm studded tires first.

RowdyTI

If there's 1 feet of snow why not cross country ski? Wouldn't that be better, and give your body a different kind of workout vs what you're used to?

salcedo

I've never tried it. I guess I could learn. But I need the fat bike to get to work, and to buy groceries, and to run errands, I'm not sure I woudl be able to do all those things on skis.

wolfchild

You can do all those things on a regular mountain bike or a hybrid with studded tires. Fat bike is too much work to be used as daily transportation.