Originally Posted by
Dino_Sore
I would like to get a fat bike for my winter riding, but I don't have the space to store it. I would have to get rid of one of my other bikes. The likely candidate would be my mountain bike (a steel 29-er hard tail on which I usually run 2.25" tires).
However, I'm not sure if I want to ride a fat bike outside of the winter. Do any of you swap wheels and tires to a plus-size (say 2.6 inch width) for trail riding? How does the fat bike handle with narrower wheels and tires?
I'm in Connecticut, so the local trails are rooty and rocky with steep climbs. I ride mostly old-school cross country trails; so no hucking, jumping or other stuff that is inappropriate for old farts like me.
90-95% of my off road miles are on a 4.8" fatty, all seasons.
I know of more than a few folks that ride 29er's on the fat bikes and they ride just fine. Damn near the same diameter.
Some sell 29er with fatty hubs 150/198 for a quick swap.
I have a really nimble MTB hard tail with 26x2" that is just murder on the root filled trails and has been relegated to gravel and MUP's with non-dirt friends.
Big fatties are harder to ride the same distance, there's no getting around it.
But I get a better workout and hurt less at the end of the day.