Fat Bike Full Time

Kaleidopete said:
I too have the Farley and love it. I mostly ride WayWay and I am considering the Bluto. My problem is I am sloooo, a real newbie, and I don't know if I'd get the benefit from the Bluto. I rode with a guy last night that had my Farley with the Bluto and he loves it, but he rides like a bear! I think I'll give it a while, wait and see what comes out this year and how my riding improves. I ride 90% trails and single track, but when I do hit the pavement it's always weird, handling the fatty. I run about 7 psi.
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I think suspension will help improve your riding skill, it makes the bike more forgiving to mistakes. Plus it is just more fun
 
Foster57 said:
Awesome to hear. Do you have a FS or just man up and go rigid?
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I have 2 fat bikes. One with 5inch tires and 90mm wheels and another with 4inch tires and 65mm wheels. Both rigid. I personally prefer the way the bikes ride rigid, but I can see a fork coming in handy at times.
 
are there folks out there with opposing views on switching to a fat?

once you go fat, do you ever go back?
 
Mr.Moto said:
Full time fat has been awesome for me. Depending on where you ride, suspension can certain help the experience.
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where wouldn't you ride a fat? I don't ride at wayway or jungle so not sure what the trails look like there
 
Last year I made an attempt to go back. I bought a fancy Carbon 29erFS and everything. I realized I was faster everywhere on the fat bike and haven't looked back.
 
jimvreeland said:
I have 2 fat bikes. One with 5inch tires and 90mm wheels and another with 4inch tires and 65mm wheels. Both rigid. I personally prefer the way the bikes ride rigid, but I can see a fork coming in handy at times.
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the physics of fat bike tires are really puzzling to me
we all know that riding mtb on a road is uncomfortably slow compared to a road bike with skinny tires
bigger meatier tires are generally going to contribute to better traction but often less agile

last week I ran 2.5 Hutchinson Octopus on the front, which is are about 1200g. yesterday I switch out to super light 1.9 Maxxis Minotaurs at 380g. Complete difference in ride at 6M. The Octopus were always rolling as if the tires had a flat spot and dragging bricks. Rear tire kept constant with Hutchinson Toros.

Would I expect to feel the effects as the larger, heavier tire? If not, what is it about fat tires which makes it different?
 
Juggernaut said:
As an aside, how's the Vanhelga as a front tire?
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I'm still trying to figure out the Vanhelga's. They are a pretty meaty tire. I get some squirm at times when leaning into turns. The front feels like it slides out a bit and catches again. I'm playing with pressures between 9 and 11 psi right now to see what works better. Otherwise they seem grippy in other situations. Zero issues setting up tubeless.
 
qclabrat said:
the physics of fat bike tires are really puzzling to me
we all know that riding mtb on a road is uncomfortably slow compared to a road bike with skinny tires
bigger meatier tires are generally going to contribute to better traction but often less agile

last week I ran 2.5 Hutchinson Octopus on the front, which is are about 1200g. yesterday I switch out to super light 1.9 Maxxis Minotaurs at 380g. Complete difference in ride at 6M. The Octopus were always rolling as if the tires had a flat spot and dragging bricks. Rear tire kept constant with Hutchinson Toros.

Would I expect to feel the effects as the larger, heavier tire? If not, what is it about fat tires which makes it different?
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Different tires are good at different trails. It's unfair to say a 2.5 tire is bad at Six Mile, because of course a skinnier one with low profile knobs will be faster with less rolling resistance. I really loved riding my factory Continental Race King at Six Mile, but the same tire wasn't good at all when it came to riding places like Chimney or Jungle... especially when the rocks were still slick in the morning. I mean, guys ride CX bikes at 6M all the time, but you don't see them at Jungle. I rather have a do-all tire so you don't have to swap between rides. Or just buy more bikes!
 
Been on fat for 2 years now , a few weeks ago at RV a guy oncoming rode past me and said" time to put the fatty away" . I thought this tool has no clue . I was at DP yesterday afternoon and bumped into another guy on a fatty , he remembered me from a year ago and said since his fatty purchase he hasn't touched his 29er . Whatever gets you out there peddling is whats important . PS i have had the bluto for a year now and it coupled with carbon wheels was the best investment i could make . its like a cadilac going through the rocks at speed .
 
Certainly do what makes you happy, but I put the Mukluk away when it gets warm. I ride it all winter and love being able to extend the season but the need for speed takes over in the spring.
It is pretty weird when I start riding the 29er again, front tire looks so damn tiny!😀
 
I'm with Dave. Love my fattie for the winter (last two seasons in a row have been stellar for snow riding) and for the beach. I do enjoy the big tires at Allaire for the sandy sections, otherwise I find them overkill. But when the dirt is warm and the rocks are a'calling, it's the "regular" 29er MTB's for me. For technical riding, its' my 29 X 2.5" FS bike.

A few years ago, I theorized that the best all-round set up for NJ trail riding for me would be 27.5 X 3" X 120MM FS, which would essentially be a 29er with more traction and contact patch. Seems like that's where things are headed....

http://fat-bike.com/2015/04/sea-otter-day-1-b-plus-or-baby-fat/

P1150792.jpg
 
qclabrat said:
where wouldn't you ride a fat? I don't ride at wayway or jungle so not sure what the trails look like there
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I pretty much ride fat exclusively at all the places I ride. North Jersey rocky and technical terrain is ride-able rigid. I tend to be slower and pickier about the line I take with the rigid. With the fully, I plow through much of the rocky stuff and let the suspension do its thing.
 
qclabrat said:
Would I expect to feel the effects as the larger, heavier tire? If not, what is it about fat tires which makes it different?
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Last week my average speed on the fat bike was 1/2 mph faster than on the 29 FS with 2.2" tires. I think the difference is corner speed, with more traction mid corner, I'm carrying more exit speed and more momentum. Plus I'm not as worried about hitting the best line
 
Foster57 said:
Hey All,

Bought a Trek Farley this winter and fell in love with it. I've been using it in place of my Trek Marlin even now that there's no snow on the ground. I'm considering putting a Bluto front suspension on it and just using it as my full time bike in place of the Marlin 29er.

My question is, would I be doing myself a disservice by committing full-time to a fatty? I've only been riding for about two years so I haven't really experienced riding a traditional mountain bike better than the Marlin. I know the purists will scoff at this question, but the Farley is just too damn fun to stop riding!

Thanks guys
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Any chance you were at Mahlon today? I saw a trek fattie on Cascade.
 
We love our fat bikes and have ridden them almost exclusivly since purchase. However we enjoy riding together also and Pat is significantly slower than I. We started riding the tandems for that reason. So as the weather warms we have started to switch off to the tandems on both the road and trails. I don't really see the fattys gathering dust for the whole summer though......so many fun bikes , so little time!
Ed and Pat
 
jimvreeland said:
I have 2 fat bikes. One with 5inch tires and 90mm wheels and another with 4inch tires and 65mm wheels. Both rigid. I personally prefer the way the bikes ride rigid, but I can see a fork coming in handy at times.
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Why the two tire widths?
When 6" tires come out will they serve a purpose in NJ?

The @icebiker suggestion of a 27.5 3" is intriguing but not sure it will ride well in deep snow
 
Summer and Winter riding. The big tires are for snow, the little tires are for singletrack. The 27.5+ is for summer use as well.
 
qclabrat said:
the physics of fat bike tires are really puzzling to me
we all know that riding mtb on a road is uncomfortably slow compared to a road bike with skinny tires
bigger meatier tires are generally going to contribute to better traction but often less agile

last week I ran 2.5 Hutchinson Octopus on the front, which is are about 1200g. yesterday I switch out to super light 1.9 Maxxis Minotaurs at 380g. Complete difference in ride at 6M. The Octopus were always rolling as if the tires had a flat spot and dragging bricks. Rear tire kept constant with Hutchinson Toros.

Would I expect to feel the effects as the larger, heavier tire? If not, what is it about fat tires which makes it different?
Click to expand...

Less rolling resistance since your weight is spread on a wider plain.

Also less work, the wider tires allow more mistakes.
 
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