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Anyone bored with fatbiking?

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#61 ·
We have lots of local trails now with groomers and a good community caring for them here in Ontario. We ride a ton, always snow or ice. It has helped my fitness and technical skills immensely. I like that the bikes are more basic, I am carbon all around an no suspension. No need for any upgrades.
 
#62 ·
aphilso1 said:
Personally, my fat bike is the one bike in my stable where I have zero plans to replace it.
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Same. Perfectly happy with what I've got. It's kind of nice not to have new bike fever every couple of years! 🙃

Jayem said:
That looks frustratingly narrow (sliding off the surface). But that's where we use fat bikes!
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Don't come visit here, then!

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#65 ·
Where I live it is not steep at all and it is freeze-thaw with low snow so we typically get ice ribbons not snow ribbons. My fat bike frame is a great platform for studded fat tires in the winter and 29+ in the summer. Out of area where it gets steeper and more tech I typically reach for my full suspension trail bike, but at home it's 40%-60% fat/29+ to trail bike and that is just fine.

I typically just leave my studded fat tires on my fat rims and swap at first snow/ice but this year I put the Jumbo Jims on to run our club race as a goof off. Life got in the way of that but I am thinking about ending the season on the JJs just for the hell of it.

Would I rather spend all year on dirt with faster bikes and more rowdy-ness? Sure, but that is not where I currently live so for now I will fat the winter away and love every slippy, falling over, laughing my ass off minute of it.

#notbored
 
#66 ·
mikesee said:
I think this means that we have it really good already.

I laced myself some new uber-fat rims this summer, to be ridden once the snow returns. Otherwise my snow fat bike hangs in the rafters for 6+ months of the year.

My FS fatties on the other hand...

...I ride them 3-4 days a week this time of year.

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How wide of tires are you using on your FS fatties for summer riding.

I've thought about a FS fattie for summer riding, but it seems to be overkill for where I live and ride, so I'm ok with 29 x 2.4 and 140/130 F/R. Maybe it's a difference of where you ride vs. where I ride.
 
#67 ·
I've seen more fat bikes than ever on our local trails this summer. In my part of Minnesota the winter riding has been great the past few years with several months worth of solidly groomed trails each season. Beats the heck out of being indoors on a trainer. Since I got my fat bike it's accumulated more miles than my trail bike because I also use it in wet conditions or when dirt trails are unrideable. I don't like riding 20+ MPH on paved multi use trails so the fat bike works well there to give me a good workout while keeping speeds more reasonable. As a bonus I have never gotten a flat because the tires are so much more robust than road bike tires and the tire noise helps clear pedestrians, lol. When you don't have anywhere in particular you're trying to go, efficiency doesn't matter much.

But it's not for everybody of course. I guess the industry is stagnant, but not everything needs to evolve to remain effective and fun. I would like to see internal transmissions and belt drives in fat bikes. The worst thing about winter riding is I have to haul the bike to a car wash to clean and lube it and road salt is hard on stuff.

If I was going to get rid of one bike, hands down it would be the road bike. I have no interest in playing in traffic these days. I'd maybe replace it with a gravel bike...or maybe not.
 
#69 ·
skankingbiker said:
My trails are generally groomed but being a "weekend warrior" in the winter means that I have to be lucky enough to go out to ride when: (a) there was good packing snow; (b) the trails were groomed; (c) they haven't been all ripped up due to skinny tire riders or freeze-thaw cycles or massive wind-drifts during the week; and (d) it isn't insanely cold below zero blizzard conditions. Getting all 4 factors to coincide for a Saturday or Sunday morning ride between Dec and March is difficult.
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Saturday and Sunday and one maybe two evenings during the week is when I ride in WI. And that's not just my local trails. It's all the places I ride. Save for the occasional weekend snow storm I can pretty much ride every Saturday and Sunday between December and March.

1.) Our groomer gets after it every time it snows. 2.) Skinny tires and hiking with boots are prohibited on the groomed trails.

Freeze / Thaw cycles....You must be located in the southern part of the state.
 
#70 ·
I live in snow country and without a fat bike, you're stuck riding indoors on a trainer over our long winters. No thanks. That said, I also like a fat bike for riding in our short, but sweet, summers because we also have a lot of sand on our trails and logging roads and a fat bike still rules for riding in deep sand and gravel. Even when riding hard pack, though, I still enjoy the way my fat bikes ride and, yes, I also ride a full suspension 29er and a couple of rigid mtbs, not to mention gravel bikes and more.

So, am I bored with fat biking? :) Not when a fat bike is my most trusted trail bike. Not when a fat bike is the only bike guaranteed to get me through all trails in the summer, regardless of the weather or conditions and definitely not when a fat bike is what I need for our six months of winter.

And hey, not all fat bikes are slow tanks for summer riding.
 
#72 · (Edited)
I have been looking through a ton of pictures of fatbiking back home and having a great walk down memory lane. I figure some folks reading may actually be interested to know the varied conditions a fat bike can be riddin in where a ton of fun is had. Some folks have posted that the window is narrow---I have not found that to be the case. Fatbiking is a fabulous aspect of true mountain biking and not just some silly short lived fad.
IMO.
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#73 ·
prj71 said:
How wide of tires are you using on your FS fatties for summer riding.

I've thought about a FS fattie for summer riding, but it seems to be overkill for where I live and ride, so I'm ok with 29 x 2.4 and 140/130 F/R. Maybe it's a difference of where you ride vs. where I ride.
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3.8 - 4.0".

Sometimes I swap wheels and run 29 x 3" on those same bikes.

I choose shorter/fatter for steeper and more techy trails. Tall/skinny for longer days where efficiency matters.
 
#74 ·
MTB4fitnessandfun said:
I have a 29+...thinking about looking for studded tires for this coming winter. I tried to trade it for a Ti fatbike but the guy offering it for sale had an injury and wanted cash only. My wife already says I have too many bikes at 3.
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45NRTH makes their Wrathchild in 29 x 2.6" studded. Terrene makes their Cake Eater in 29 x 2.8".

Both are great for ice, but not for deeper or softer snow.

I keep both in stock if your local shop doesn't.
 
#75 ·
prj71 said:
You must live in the wrong part of WI. It's been wonderful every year where I live...


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That does look wonderful. I love all the pines in upper WI.
We haven't had much snow in Iowa the last few years but do get enough to make things fun for a few months. I also get my fatbike out and I use it when riding with slower riders even in the summer. That said, it's only ridden a few months out of the year.
prj71 said:
You must live in the wrong part of WI. It's been wonderful every year where I live...


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That does look wonderful. I love all the pines in upper WI.
We haven't had much snow in Iowa the last few years but do get enough to make things fun for a few months. I do snow rides on groomed trails as well as use it for commuting. My wife and I will also take them on rail trails. That said the fattie usually sits from mid-March through thanksgiving save for a few rides. I will take it in the summer with slower riders to make it more interesting. It's also my best bike for wheelies.
 
#76 ·
As far as activity on the forum (including mine):

I ride my fat bike a lot in the mud/snow season, but there is just not that much to talk about. Everything works fine and it all seems pretty well sorted out to me. I bought mine 4 years ago and other than getting new tires there is just not much I care about upgrading or replacing. Other than getting something lighter (I’m on a steel framed Surly with Al wheels), everything else is of no interest to me. And I’m not about to go spend the money needed to make it significantly lighter.

Its sort of like road and gravel bikes. Once I got something that works, I’m pretty much done thinking about it for many years.

Totally different from trail-oriented MTBs where I am always interested in checking out other options or tweaking things.

if I was one of those people trying to use a fat bike for summer riding on trails the way I do my regular MTB, I would probably be more active on this forum.
 
#77 ·
I’m whatever the opposite of bored is with fatbiking. I’ve spent a lot of years riding everything my area has to offer in the summer, but with fatbiking, even the familiar trails are slightly different every year, and it seems like you couldn’t ride every bit of fatbike trail if you spent the whole winter trying. With the right bike, you can transition seamlessly from multiuse trails to doubletrack to machine groomed or snowshoe-carved singletrack without ever feeling like you’re waiting for the “good part” of the ride. That latter category of singletrack, especially, is where the magic happens. Something about the snow on the trees muffles the sounds and sights of the city, even though you know you’re right in the middle of it. There’s always a touch of anguish when our short summer rapidly gives way to fall, but there’s a winter full of adventure to look forward to.
 
#79 ·
snow snakes said:
I’m whatever the opposite of bored is with fatbiking. I’ve spent a lot of years riding everything my area has to offer in the summer, but with fatbiking, even the familiar trails are slightly different every year, and it seems like you couldn’t ride every bit of fatbike trail if you spent the whole winter trying. With the right bike, you can transition seamlessly from multiuse trails to doubletrack to machine groomed or snowshoe-carved singletrack without ever feeling like you’re waiting for the “good part” of the ride. That latter category of singletrack, especially, is where the magic happens. Something about the snow on the trees muffles the sounds and sights of the city, even though you know you’re right in the middle of it. There’s always a touch of anguish when our short summer rapidly gives way to fall, but there’s a winter full of adventure to look forward to.
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so right!!
 
#80 ·
solarplex said:
Not the act its self as its a blast, but this forum, the scene. Seems like there is zero advancements in the fatbike world, lots of brands killing fatbikes or severely cutting back on models.
How long will parts and accessories be available?

back in 2017-18-19 things were hot. Tons of bikes coming out. Parts. Was exciting times, i miss it.
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Agree and disagree, the lack of design progression in fatbikes has been very disappointing but RSD has made some refinements, RM Blizzard looks fun but the cs needs to be adjustable for me to get one, that's the problem I'm kinda dialed in what I want for my next fatbike and no one is making it, oh and the new Panorama Torngat Ti with the optional Q factor crank set up is pretty cool but the geo is not progressive enough for me. I ride fatbikes year round and when trial riding I would want a fatbike with a RSD Sergeant V5 set up (which is where I will probably end up with a 70mm and 4.0 tire setup). I get most people don't need a new fatbike but most people don't ride where I ride so I'm the outlier unfortunately.
 
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