Who's got a fatbike?

[Gren]

Rich S said:

I have a Salsa Carbon Beargrease
set up 1x10 with a 26t front ring , and a 42t largest rear & 90mm Lightbicycle rims , running 3.8 tires

Is it fast , not especially , but it is difficult to ride it without grinning like an idiot , and with a decent engine , it wouldn't be slow (sub 25lb weight helps)

Had one of these fly past my on a fireroad the other day. I was with the wife so was going slow.....honest

[Blakeatron]

Went to hamsterly today did the black on my Orange, then went back to the van and got the Fatty out and did the black again!

Honestly I love it, everyone who tried it loved it.

Is it fast?- not really
Does it wallow around? - a bit
Does it grip like a grippy thing? - very much yes
Can you jump it? - with ease
Can you do big drop offs? - oh yes
Is it fun? - yes, yes, yes!
Would I use it all the time? - no

It is great fun, quite tiring to ride - not sure if this is the drag or weight or the fact you really have to ride it.

On my full suss I am finding myself picking a nice line and just going for it and bouncing over things - point and shoot.

On the fatty you have to ride it, and ride a lot more stood up - absorbing bumps with your knees and elbows a lot more, I do on the full suss but the fatty you have to, you would really hurt yourself on a hard landing.

The bike:

Frame, wheels, tyres - awesome but lots of paint chips so a very thin/cheap finish

Gears - terrible, my first ever sram (x3) and I really don't like them - slow change, feels awful on the shift, no clutch. Will change to shimano slx/xtr mix and probably stay 2x10 - got 1x10 on my Orange but think I will need a proper granny on this!

Brakes - avid 3, seem ok but again not a patch on my Orange - I like to one finger brake and I can't with these, also not enough adjust to get comfy. Again will go slx and treat it to some floating pads probably 203mm on the front and 180mm rear

Anything else - I feel with a front shock, rock shox have one, would transform this off-road, but I am worried it would lose its playability...

Overall very happy with my purchase - let the spending commence!

[Justin S]

Guy in Spain was running 4psi front and 7 psi in the rear. Not sure what pressures you were using, but that would soak the shock a bit. He was building a custom Shand frame fatty, which he was building up for replacing his On One. I was surprised on how light the bike was compared to my Cannondale Jekyll of 34 lb in Spain. Must have been 10lb lighter.

[vwsurfbum]

I have one, this is it from last winter, her name is Dawn and she get lots of abuse but makes me smile all the time.
I would say it makes me a better rider, definatly a better climber.
this winter i might treat myself to a set of Bluto's and some carbon rims?

(please exuse the guards, it was very sloppy that day)

[anonymous-user]

Oddly, I've never seen one on/off road and then saw 5 or 6 on Sunday coming off the Sandbanks chain ferry.

I love them, I'm worried about buying one and then not using it enough to justify it, when perhaps if I got a hybrid I'd use it a hell of a lot in the summer when my MTB can be a bit tiring on the commute.

[Incorrigible]

Got an old frame I was thinking about doing this to, can anyone recommend some wheels and front fork, and what are the overall dimensions ??

Tia

[tuffer]

Incorrigible said:

Got an old frame I was thinking about doing this to, can anyone recommend some wheels and front fork, and what are the overall dimensions ??

Tia

And what about the rear wheel?

[Blakeatron]

Just had a quick 10 mile blast up through the woods, across the fields and back down a rocky path.

Before we left I'd roped f not and back to 10psi - still a bit bouncy but much better.

Dug in and climbed well even on the wet roots, I am a lot slower - nearly 3 minutes on one climb, but just enjoying being out on it.

Across the fields left everyone behind, bogs and sloppy grass are not problem.

Rocky downhill, I was worried but honestly it flew - 2 seconds off my pb and that was in summer on my full suss!

I have ordered new brakes and gears, cannot get on with the avid brakes and hate sram!

[Incorrigible]

tuffer said:

And what about the rear wheel?

Yes, I would need both wheels, obviously. Anyone know where to get them, and the dimensions

[TheBALDpuma]

Blakeatron said:

Went to hamsterly today did the black on my Orange, then went back to the van and got the Fatty out and did the black again!

Honestly I love it, everyone who tried it loved it.

Is it fast?- not really
Does it wallow around? - a bit
Does it grip like a grippy thing? - very much yes
Can you jump it? - with ease
Can you do big drop offs? - oh yes
Is it fun? - yes, yes, yes!
Would I use it all the time? - no

It is great fun, quite tiring to ride - not sure if this is the drag or weight or the fact you really have to ride it.

On my full suss I am finding myself picking a nice line and just going for it and bouncing over things - point and shoot.

On the fatty you have to ride it, and ride a lot more stood up - absorbing bumps with your knees and elbows a lot more, I do on the full suss but the fatty you have to, you would really hurt yourself on a hard landing.

The bike:

Frame, wheels, tyres - awesome but lots of paint chips so a very thin/cheap finish

Gears - terrible, my first ever sram (x3) and I really don't like them - slow change, feels awful on the shift, no clutch. Will change to shimano slx/xtr mix and probably stay 2x10 - got 1x10 on my Orange but think I will need a proper granny on this!

Brakes - avid 3, seem ok but again not a patch on my Orange - I like to one finger brake and I can't with these, also not enough adjust to get comfy. Again will go slx and treat it to some floating pads probably 203mm on the front and 180mm rear

Anything else - I feel with a front shock, rock shox have one, would transform this off-road, but I am worried it would lose its playability...

Overall very happy with my purchase - let the spending commence!

Isn't ~£1k for that spec on a rigid bike pretty steep!

[Blakeatron]

To be honest yes - but the money is in the wheels, tyres and frames.

Comparing it to others on the market it seems about right, dropping it off at my lbs tomorow for some modifications - will update pics when it's finished!

[tuffer]

Incorrigible said:

tuffer said:

And what about the rear wheel?

Yes, I would need both wheels, obviously. Anyone know where to get them, and the dimensions

No, how are you going to fit the wide rear wheel into a standard frame?

[Justin S]

Fat bikes have a wider bottom bracket and crank axle to compensate for the wider off set chainstays. You will need a frame to be able to fit a back wheel.

[Bobley]

Went to a CX race today. There was a boy spectating sat on a specialized fatboy bike. The boy was a bit fat too. All looked a bit sad really.

I'd love to give one a crack round the local woods. Tis always a bit gooey round here.

[Incorrigible]

Justin S said:

Fat bikes have a wider bottom bracket and crank axle to compensate for the wider off set chainstays. You will need a frame to be able to fit a back wheel.

I appreciate that PH is mainly inhabited by pubescent boys trying to impress/troll/do their home work etc.

However there are still a few middle aged engineers (with welding plant) on here that just want to know if anyone's got some suggestions for specific wheels, where to buy them and what the dimensions are

TIA

[neilski]

Surly would be a good place to start looking at wheels.

http://surlybikes.com/parts/wheels

There's also a list of their dealers on their website.

http://surlybikes.com/dealers/#United_Kingdom

[Sideways Tim]

Drop me a PM if you like. Been building and selling fatbikes for about 8 years now.

[GreatGranny]

I've got a Boardman MTB Urban which is a less extreme version really.
Bought about 3 years ago and I do quite a bit of off road on it as well as road stuff when I put slicks on it.
Really light and stiff up front with carbon forks.
Its quite hard work with the off road tyres fitted on road, must be tough on a fatbike.

[Incorrigible]

thanks chaps

[Incorrigible]

Sideways Tim said:

Drop me a PM if you like. Been building and selling fatbikes for about 8 years now.

Cheers Tim, roughly what would a pair of wheels/tyre cost me ??