Maintenance....none to minimal. Riding....fun, much more enjoyable on loose terrain like sand, snow or low traction dirt. Hard pack and rocks suck on fat bikes but you can make do. 4" tires are fine for everything from beach to snow. Too wide and too much float slows you down on sand but don't have an answer on snow. Knob style is key. pressure is key. There isn't really a gray line. It's either too much traction or too much bounce. Anything under 30b is enjoyable for a fat bike. Anything more and ascents suck. Tubeless is the only way to go for me. I have had two flats in three years on tubeless and one was on my skinny while the other was a 3/4" diameter stick went through the fat bike tire. People love the blot, I think it's too heavy. Some say it makes dirt riding a bit more enjoyable. Specialized ground controls are very durable, decent weight and last forever. They set up tubeless easy as well. Upgrade wheels, bars and post and be done with it. @jimvreeland will hook the Next's and I9s up.
I had a small puncture during and out and back ride. No tool bag, stupid I know. Not that it would have helped me. Luckily, I was a half mile in and turned around in a panic. I asked the locals there if anyone knew how to fix a tubeless flat, they all laugh at me and said I was screwed. Anyway, not knowing how to repair it (as I was new to tubeless, even though I still couldn't imagine how to get that off the rim, cause lord knows I tried) I canceled my ride. Bought it to my local wrench and said, yup, u panicked. All u had to do was let the sealant do its job and add more air on u would have been on ur way.
It's partly your fault i saw how cool it was.
Thanks!
^this, I demo'd a Farley a few years back and was completely turned off by the self steer phenomenon. I learned later on its all about the tires and pressure.
Brielle Cyclery has some nice selections to demo.
