Any chance of finding a new fatty?
- Thread starter Tim
- Start date
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
Real talk. You build the 29x3, you won't ride anything else again.
I hear there's someone here who's not @jimvreeland that can get some nice 29" carbon rims from a certain manufacturer that begins with a T.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Giant?
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
Well, if you wanna go there, Formula.
Tim
aka sptimmy43
Ok so seriously... What's the deal with 27.5 fat? Is there something those wheels/tires can do that 26" wheels/tires can't? Why are new bikes from Trek and Canyon coming 27.5? Is 27.5 x 4.5 as good as 26x4.8? Is it better? I'm also not planning on any trips to Alaska...
I could see building up another set of wheels for 29 x 3 at some point but I don't see having both 26 and 27.5 fat wheelsets.
I guess what I'm trying to wrap my head around is this:
Is 27.5 fat > 26 fat = 29er > 27.5?
I could see building up another set of wheels for 29 x 3 at some point but I don't see having both 26 and 27.5 fat wheelsets.
I guess what I'm trying to wrap my head around is this:
Is 27.5 fat > 26 fat = 29er > 27.5?
27.5 has less sidewall height - so the tires contribute less to the "suspension"
if going rigid, airing down the 26rs to the 6-7psi range provides plenty of cushion,
until bombing the DH - which ya just don't do if it isn't relatively smooth.
a fat fork weighs in around 5lbs.. or a full 20% of the current bike's weight in the case of my Framed.
putting the 29r on really changes the bike - it rides higher and feels faster - while the 3" tires
just roll over everything - (i'm coming from a b+ setup that I think is also very confidence inspiring)
Why do "they" seem to be going 27.5" - probably racier for the XC people? a little better angle of attack
for tech, higher bottom bracket, a little less tire roll-off in the turns, less self-steer.
also -
over-filling a 26x4.8 turns it into a pogo stick - put 10psi, and it will launch the bike off the trail at the first babyhead.
I haven't tried a 4.0 or 4.5 27.5 yet. Guess i should - but at the speed i ride, aiming the 26r at something
and just keep pedaling works most of the time. if it doesn't, i just practice a stoppie to front dismount.
I do like the 29rs on there, but they need a fork to make it really work.
if going rigid, airing down the 26rs to the 6-7psi range provides plenty of cushion,
until bombing the DH - which ya just don't do if it isn't relatively smooth.
a fat fork weighs in around 5lbs.. or a full 20% of the current bike's weight in the case of my Framed.
putting the 29r on really changes the bike - it rides higher and feels faster - while the 3" tires
just roll over everything - (i'm coming from a b+ setup that I think is also very confidence inspiring)
Why do "they" seem to be going 27.5" - probably racier for the XC people? a little better angle of attack
for tech, higher bottom bracket, a little less tire roll-off in the turns, less self-steer.
also -
over-filling a 26x4.8 turns it into a pogo stick - put 10psi, and it will launch the bike off the trail at the first babyhead.
I haven't tried a 4.0 or 4.5 27.5 yet. Guess i should - but at the speed i ride, aiming the 26r at something
and just keep pedaling works most of the time. if it doesn't, i just practice a stoppie to front dismount.
I do like the 29rs on there, but they need a fork to make it really work.
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bergsnj
Well-Known Member
i have a mayor V4 with 26 x 4.8 minions. It is a blast to ride in all seasons. i've actually put down some decent strava times on it. i ride with 7-8 psi in dry conditions. I have not tried 27.5 fat wheels/tires yet. Some of my friends have them and they like them. The advantage, in theory, is the shorter sidewall should be better in corners. I have never had an issue in corners or thought that the 26's were wobbily.
Tim
aka sptimmy43
Why not? To change it up? Because riding bikes is fun? Variety is fun? Riding in snow is fun? Riding on the beach is fun?
The better question is why do you ride road bikes in Florida and post about it on a mountain bike site in NJ?
....J/K 🤘 😝 🤘
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
What geo does the RSD have? I should look that up. The difference between the wheel sizes is in the frame design. Specialized uses their 29er frame geo from the Epic HT to make the bike a mountain bike with big tires instead of a snow bike. Look at the geo between the Mukluk and Beargrease as those guys have it nailed.
Tim
aka sptimmy43
The complete bikes they sell are 26x4.8. Alex from RSD recommends 26 as that is what the frame was designed around.
Perry Lesko
New Member
I have thousands of miles on my fatty. I started out with rigid and converted to a fork and it was a great improvement! I highly recommend a fork even if you’re main use is snow riding.
tonyride
Don't piss off the red guy
I mentioned it in another thread but Framed Alaska is available in large. $1999 you get a carbon frame, carbon fork, 27.5 fat (3.8) aluminum wheels/tires, and NX Eagle. For carbon wheels add $500 but getting a wheelset built can be fun too, that's what I did. Join Active Junky and get 12% back. I think @Patrick has/had a Framed fat bike. Maybe he can provide testimony.
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I love my Framed Carbon Alaskan - it is the last rev, so 26" wheels. It looks more like a XC machine with fat tires.
$1,000 wheel upgrade to nextie wild dragon 90mm - jim built (2x for the back)
@Leftymuk knows all things Framed (it was his frame/wheels b4 me)
Tim
aka sptimmy43
I saw your other post and I appreciate the heads up. When I looked Framed had 22" bikes in stock, which according to their chart are too big for me. Anyway, I ended up ordering an RSD Mayor V5 frame/fork.
As for the wheels, @jimvreeland is gonna work his magic and lace up some Nextie rims to Hope hubs. I wanted to go with i9 hubs but they literally stopped making fat hubs like 2 days ago.
If there wasn't a pandemic and resultant bike shortage I probably would have bought a Trek Farley 9.6. With no previous fat bike experience it seemed to be almost what I wanted right out of the box and the couple of nitpicks I had could have been upgraded over time. Now with the custom wheel build the RSD is gonna come in a few hundred bucks more expensive than the Farley would have but the parts are all what I want. I don't have to mess around with take-offs, etc. If I would have stuck with off the shelf aluminum wheels I could have built the RSD for pretty much the same price as the Trek.
Through this whole thing what boggles my mind is how many complete fat bikes come with SX drivetrains. I mean they are marketing NX as the "high end" build. WTF? Academically, a major problem with fat bikes is keeping the weight reasonable. Why put the heaviest possible cassette on a bike that already has heavy wheels and tires? Is that just what's available in the quantities needed to manufacturers right now?