I used to ride motorcycles that had 3 1/4" tires on the front and 3 3/4" tires on the back.
4" tires on a bicycle is extraordinarily ridiculous to me but everyone to their own.
If people will buy them then manufacturers will sell them and that about sums it up.

I wouldn't use 4" tires on a bike or e-bike unless you must ride in snow or sand. I may feel different if I was a stronger rider.

In this instance I think there were individuals who made fat tires by sticking two wheels together and the manufacturers saw a potential new market. Not for me though.

There are thousands of new ebikers who haven't ridden bikes for years, now gravitating to fat tire ebikes because they (a) are inexpensive relative to a Euro mid drive and (b) remind them of the SUV's they're already driving., and (c) enthusiastically recommended by their peers, I talk to new owners every day on Facebrook groups. Once in a great while, some one misses their mountain bike, but most of these folks weren't bike enthusiast.

The cat's out of the bag. Trek, Giant, Specialized, et al missed it,

Individuals must like them too. Went to Amazon, put in electric fat bike. The first 10 rated entries were all 4+ stars of 5.

its the same reason as the post above people that don't ride much or at all are going to like them. me it would suck my bike with 1.5" tires has enough drag as it is.

its the same reason as the post above people that don't ride much or at all are going to like them. me it would suck my bike with 1.5" tires has enough drag as it is.

I switched over to a fat bike completely. I can tell you that there is a world of difference between the rolling resistance on fat bike tires and fat tire setups. The differences are dramatic. All the way from feeling like you are trying to tow start a bulldozer to gaining speed coasting against your skinny tired brethren. Take the time to set them up properly and they pedal pretty effortless at speed up to about 13-14 mph (20-22 kph). Past this speed and wind resistance becomes much more of an issue. By 18 mph (29 kph) the skinny tired bike is by far easier to pedal and beyond this speed, the drop bar road bike is king.

Wind resistance is the big issue on my bike. It rolls great at slow speeds. I am not in the realm of really going 25 mph (40kph) on a practical basis even with a BBSHD mid drive and huge battery. I know road bikers who ride this fast without electric power. Rolling resistance is not a big issue at higher speed but there are some fat tires out there that will suck as much power as you personally can put out at 20 mph (32kph) without wind resistance. Tread does not seem to make as big a difference as tire construction, tire pressures and rim width.

I have never seen a fat tire e-bike around here, but must say it sounds like a fantastic idea for many e-bikers. I got my wife an e-bike recently and it came with 28mm tires but I quickly realized she would be happier (and ride more :-) ) on some cushier tires so I got the biggest the frame would take, 42mm. She is scared of going fast and she has the power assist to make up the drag resistance so there doesn't seem to be any big downside to big tires for her. I don't know if I would take her all the way to 4" if I could, but 2" or 3" sure.

Socal and the places my wife and I ride in norcal, AZ, UT and NV have reasonable traction so 2.1 tires suffice. Mostly we're on MTB, but occasionally e-MTB traveling up to 30 mph (descents) or so. No need for fat tires especially since I shrink in fear at the thought of repairing a flat in the boonies. What seems incongruous to me are folding fat tire bikes that weigh in excess of 60 pounds but are supposedly easy to transport in the trunk of a car.

About 10 years ago I did some test rides on the fat tire 29s. I thought that they were big, clumsy, and slow, particularly in comparison to my hybrid with 700c32 tires. When my knees finally made riding less fun, I put a 500W geared motor conversion kit on the hybrid - moved up to 700c35 to compensate a bit for the added weight. 5000+ miles later the only traction problems I have encountered are in early spring where some shaded trails still have a bit of snow or ice, and I am cautious about cornering on wet leaves in the fall. It still handles fine - pedals and coasts without the assist just like it did before the conversion. That is a good thing because I had to pedal it home once when the controller blew a MOSFET.

I will concede that the fatties have their place but they seem totally ridiculous on a paved bike trail. As for the clowns riding the trails at 30+ under throttle - there will always be fools..........

I live near the beach and I have had regular fat bikes and e-bikes but for the first time I just got a fat e-bike and I have been having a great time riding it in the woods and on the beach. I had the most fun riding it on snowy trails in the woods this winter. It has a Bosch Active Line Plus mid drive motor and it will go through anything with it's 26 X 4" tires.

I own a fat tire ebike and have to say I love it. Its a cool thing for offroad rides and on wet sand, ride on the beach, etc.
Really have a lot of fun with it.

One disadvantage of fat tires - better to have an electric air pump :)

Wow, I started quite a thread around my curiosity. I did learn a lot, heck I don't even have an electric bike but there will be one in my future, I am waiting for a tax credit when you buy one :)

They can be hard to find now. When a tax credit hits they will be near impossible to find.

Fat tire bicycle
Advantage:
The ground contact area is larger, it is more stable when the speed is fast, and the shock absorption effect is also good
Disadvantages: In the absence of sufficient battery and motor support, the general cruising range will be very short. This is because the resistance caused by the large area of the tires rubbing on the ground leads to high battery consumption, and the weight of fat tires is heavier than ordinary tires. This is also a reason for increasing power consumption

If it’s just a short ride, it would be a good choice

Agreed!

I have both types of eBikes, My Himiway is a 4" fat tire bike, the MiPower has normal road cycling tires. I love the fat tire bike, I find it very comfortable to ride. Sure the larger motor on the Himiway helps compensate for the greater rolling resistance, but I like the shock absorption from the fat tires. The nice thing about the fat tires is I can now ride off the beaten path where the mountain bike tires i have on the MiPower won't take me. Both bikes are fun to ride, and I have no battery anxiety with the Himiway, 40+ miles using the power settings that make it comfortable for me to ride is plenty for me. Having fun here! Cheers

How do you transport? I'd consider two for my wife and me, but have read they weigh 90 or so pounds; never going on a bike rack; we would need a new vehicle with some sort of motorcycle carrier.

Up in Canada where you get tons of snow and bitter colds (and hardy people willing to commute nonetheless), I've seen plenty of fat tire bikes, and especially electric ones becoming quite popular this year.

I have a heavy-duty rack to carry them both by HollywoodRacks dot com (still a newbie and can't post links yet), it is not cheap but it is rated to carry two Himiway-type fat tire bikes (the rack is rated for two 80 pound bikes). My Himiway weighs about 75 pounds, less without the battery. I highly recommend it if you have or are considering a fat tire bike. You may need a "Bike Adapter Bar" if you have a step-thru type bike. For bikes with 20" rear wheels you will need a Small Wheel Adapter to prevent derailleur hanger interference. For full disclosure, the rack requires a 2" receiver. I've seen a post here of someone carrying two bikes (Incl. fat tire bike) on the back of their Corvette. HTH

Thanks; we have 1&1/4" carriers on both our vehicles, so guess it'll need to wait for the next iteration.

My ebike has 30mm width tires. I would hardly call that a fat bike.

The wider tires means there's more surface area in contact with the ground, which allows for more stability.