Fat bike? Fad? Yeah or nay?

ReverendNewman

Active Member
Fatbike is the bike for Allaire.........like @Frank said, buy a lighter one. Brielle Cyclery has demo's you can take out to Allaire, call Digger and ask 732-528-9121. Full suspension fat is overkill for Allaire, hell front suspension is too.
Thanx Johnny. I've done a lot of business with them. Wasn't sure if they did rentals. I'll give 'em a call this weekend.
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
@ReverendNewman , Will you be pushing or riding this Fat bike UP Serpentine in the wrong direction Again!!?? Just checking because the Fat bikes take up more of the trail and leave less room for passing which could lead to collisions... Just sayin ;*)

http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/threads/my-rant-rave.31179/


And once again Mitch owns the thread..... BTW I have a fattie and ride the beach in the winter plus Allaire and just have to say it is a great bike to have as another ride option...
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
If you haven't bought a fat bike then really no room to talk. I don't ride mine much over the summer but it's definitely my local epic bike. I bought mine originally so I could give up my gym membership. It doesn't make sense in that light but looking back I rode more last winter than I ever have before. From night rides to endurance and beach races I have put a good amount of mileage on my fatty since december.Where does it excel? It makes sand rideable(sure, you can ride your skinny bike on the beach if you want to look like a monkey f$&in a football), soft conditions like allaire and hartshorne in the early or late winter months(less trail damage from a wider foot print and better traction up and down hill), pump the tires up and you can easily average 15-18 mph on the road, and last but not least...you will get tons of looks and questions in regards to how awesome the bike is. I fo not have any KOMs on my fatty, I do however have the most smiles, the most beach miles and the most snow miles on my fatty.Haters always gonna hate.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Pearl, I'd like to change my vote for worst thread of the year.

This whole victim card is absurd, especially when you consider that 2 of the main antagonists on the thread are fat bike riders. That's not even counting Johnny.
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
If you haven't bought a fat bike then really no room to talk. I don't ride mine much over the summer but it's definitely my local epic bike. I bought mine originally so I could give up my gym membership. It doesn't make sense in that light but looking back I rode more last winter than I ever have before. From night rides to endurance and beach races I have put a good amount of mileage on my fatty since december.Where does it excel? It makes sand rideable(sure, you can ride your skinny bike on the beach if you want to look like a monkey f$&in a football), soft conditions like allaire and hartshorne in the early or late winter months(less trail damage from a wider foot print and better traction up and down hill), pump the tires up and you can easily average 15-18 mph on the road, and last but not least...you will get tons of looks and questions in regards to how awesome the bike is. I fo not have any KOMs on my fatty, I do however have the most smiles, the most beach miles and the most snow miles on my fatty.Haters always gonna hate.
I support this and anything that gets you out to pedal is cool with me! You enjoy it and puts a smile on your face, don't stop riding it. Not that you were going to sell it anyway ;)

I also feel you, @Johnny Utah would have those Allaire KOMs on your regular bike too. You're a strong rider man. No hate for you grabbing your fat bike and ripping it up. Sucks you can't do a blind taste test to really give it a go.

This feels just like the argument/defensiveness with SS being faster than a geared bike. Both can get the job done if you are a strong enough rider. You can scream all the benefits about maintaining it, get all the kudos from the riders you see on the trail, how bad ass it is that you climbed that trail with one gear, all that crap. I did that for years. In reality a geared bike will be faster than the SS if you use it correctly. Same thing with the fat bike. I'm not saying it isn't the worst thing you can ride, but putting a fat bike up against a XC bike for XC trails, uphill and downhill... just doesn't make sense. Could a 29er going to lose some steam across a sandy beach section in a race? Sure, but I doubt it is going to be at a disadvantage anywhere else on the trail.


What it really comes down to is you, the engine. Thats why someone who crushes the SS category can jump onto a geared bike and mix it up in the open category, or the same rider can still throw down against the geared guys on his single speed.
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
In reality a geared bike will be faster than the SS if you use it correctly. Same thing with the fat bike.

I like the condition here - if you use it correctly. Totally agree. I'm personally a lot faster on my SS because I don't use gears correctly. I over-compensate shifting on climbs and then spin myself into oblivion. But gears would absolutely be faster all else being equal. There is no arguing that point as long as you have a wider range (and a higher top ratio) on a geared bike. Because ... elementary science!

I didn't read through this whole thread, but is this seriously four pages of people arguing the merits of fat bikes over whatever else? Who seriously gives a f*ck? Ride what the f*ck you want. Hell, ride one of those old Schwinn Stingrays on the trail* if you want.

* I would really like to ride an old Schwinn Stingray on a trail some day.
 

Matt_

I Get Jokes
I didn't know XC races were held at Allaire. Do we care which bike will be 130 seconds faster over the course of a race, if we're talking about trail riding for fun?

When it comes to mtb for fun/pleasure/enjoyment/excersize, there's no wrong "toy" for the job. All these arguments become OBE.

..... now back to your regularly scheduled which is better for racing discussion :)
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I support this and anything that gets you out to pedal is cool with me! You enjoy it and puts a smile on your face, don't stop riding it. Not that you were going to sell it anyway ;)

I also feel you, @Johnny Utah would have those Allaire KOMs on your regular bike too. You're a strong rider man. No hate for you grabbing your fat bike and ripping it up. Sucks you can't do a blind taste test to really give it a go.

This feels just like the argument/defensiveness with SS being faster than a geared bike. Both can get the job done if you are a strong enough rider. You can scream all the benefits about maintaining it, get all the kudos from the riders you see on the trail, how bad ass it is that you climbed that trail with one gear, all that crap. I did that for years. In reality a geared bike will be faster than the SS if you use it correctly. Same thing with the fat bike. I'm not saying it isn't the worst thing you can ride, but putting a fat bike up against a XC bike for XC trails, uphill and downhill... just doesn't make sense. Could a 29er going to lose some steam across a sandy beach section in a race? Sure, but I doubt it is going to be at a disadvantage anywhere else on the trail.


What it really comes down to is you, the engine. Thats why someone who crushes the SS category can jump onto a geared bike and mix it up in the open category, or the same rider can still throw down against the geared guys on his single speed.

Good write up. This is why fat bikes rule the fat bike series which is essentially a wet and mushy xc course at times. Obviously skinny bikes would sink in. Flotation is what does a fat bike good. Honestly, I would get bored riding the same bike all the time. This is why I have 4 and looking for a 5th. You have to break it up or get burned out. Long story short, the KOMs I have managed to get are either on my ss or my road bike.
 
Last edited:

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I like the condition here - if you use it correctly. Totally agree. I'm personally a lot faster on my SS because I don't use gears correctly. I over-compensate shifting on climbs and then spin myself into oblivion. But gears would absolutely be faster all else being equal. There is no arguing that point as long as you have a wider range (and a higher top ratio) on a geared bike. Because ... elementary science!

I didn't read through this whole thread, but is this seriously four pages of people arguing the merits of fat bikes over whatever else? Who seriously gives a f*ck? Ride what the f*ck you want. Hell, ride one of those old Schwinn Stingrays on the trail* if you want.

* I would really like to ride an old Schwinn Stingray on a trail some day.
I've often pondered having a 2 speed ad perfection for me. I think an easier climbing gear(i run 34-19 at my local area) like a 34-22 for climbing and a 34-14 or 15 to be able to spin with geared bikes. Now to get a front derailleur and tensioner to give this a try.
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I've often pondered having a 2 speed ad perfection for me. I think an easier climbing gear(i run 34-19 at my local area) like a 34-22 for climbing and a 34-14 or 15 to be able to spin with geared bikes. Now to get a front derailleur and tensioner to give this a try.

Why not just get a flip-flop hub, carry an extra chain, and practice changing them to get really quick at it?

Once you have two gears, you are riding a geared bike so why not just go full retard with it? Even if you didn't use most of them, shifting would be a lot easier than the span you refer to here?
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Why not just get a flip-flop hub, carry an extra chain, and practice changing them to get really quick at it?

Once you have two gears, you are riding a geared bike so why not just go full retard with it? Even if you didn't use most of them, shifting would be a lot easier than the span you refer to here?
Consistency. I'm either in this one or that one...not one of eleven. I already deal with trying to do that on my fatbike.
 

Trail Conditions

Current Conditions

powered by Trailforks.com
Top Bottom