My beautiful red 16" aluminum Fatbike arrived to my house in Western Massachusetts about 2 weeks ago, just hours before the predicted huge snowfall, which never came! The bike has Speedway 70mm rims, endomorph tires, Speedway cranks, XT derailleurs and shifters (dual control) and weighs in at 30lbs. We already had a few inches of snow and I rode around my yard with about 5 PSI and promply pinch-flatted my rear tire, which was discouraging since I only weigh 140lbs and didn't do any large bumps. I repaired the flat and headed to the local snowmobile trails. My previous snowbike is a BlurLT with snowcat rims and Freddie Revenz lite tires. I am used to full suspension and was somewhat surprised by how much trail bumps were palpable through those huge endomorphs (I now had 8PSI) but was thrilled by the acceleration of full rigid. The traction and float was amazing, much better than my previous set-up. My big concern was how these tires would perform on sheer ice, which is quite abundant in our region. My question was quickly answered as I brushed the snow off and picked the bike back up. The real test was this last weekend when I rode with my buddies. On Saturday I brought my Blur because I was told the trails were all sheer ice. My friend was riding a hardtail 29er with Nokian extreme tires. There were 2 main conditions we had to contend with: 3" of light powder over hard-packed snow, and 3" of light powder over sheer ice. My snowcats/Freddies usually rule in all conditions, but that day the narrower Nokian 29" extremes were much better. They were able to cut through the fluff and the studs engaged the ice, while my fatter Freddies couldn't engage the ice and I had no control or grip. At first, I just though my friend was riding better, but I was vindicated when I switched bikes with him and left him in the snowy dust. So I wondered how the Fatback would do; would the endomorphs float on the snow and never contact the ice, providing better traction? I found out the next day (yesterday). I brought my Fatback, and met 3 friends, the 29er Nokian extreme, and 2 guys with 26" 2.1" Nokians. One guy avulsed his rear dereailleur and was finished in the first 1/4 mile. Between the remaining 3, the Fatback ruled!!!! They were flipping and flopping through the snow and I was effortlessly hammering on top of the snow. When we got to the snow-covered ice I lost the advantage. The endomorphs did stay on top of the snow and did not contact the ice unless I hit an off-camber section or large bump. Then the front wheel went right out under me. The Fatbike still did much better than the snowcats/Freddies. The other condition where the 29" extreme ruled was on very steep climbs where the endomorphs just spun on top of the snow, but the narrower tires dug in.
So my conclusions are as follows:
First, I LOVE my Fatback; it is a blast and I am still smiling from my ride yesterday. The endomorphs rule on soft stuff but are worthless on sheer ice, and treacherous on snow-covered ice. The shallow Chevron tread does not give enough traction on soft stuff when climbing steep hills. I think there would be a huge market for studded endomorphs and knobby endomorphs, especially after reviewing the others' threads. After several years of snowbiking, I remain absolutely amzed by the variety of conditions, and no single rig will be perfect for all conditions. I just hope the tire companies come through and provide move diverse fatbike options. Thanks for reading.
So my conclusions are as follows:
First, I LOVE my Fatback; it is a blast and I am still smiling from my ride yesterday. The endomorphs rule on soft stuff but are worthless on sheer ice, and treacherous on snow-covered ice. The shallow Chevron tread does not give enough traction on soft stuff when climbing steep hills. I think there would be a huge market for studded endomorphs and knobby endomorphs, especially after reviewing the others' threads. After several years of snowbiking, I remain absolutely amzed by the variety of conditions, and no single rig will be perfect for all conditions. I just hope the tire companies come through and provide move diverse fatbike options. Thanks for reading.
