[dirtdawg21892]

i am the last one of my friends without a fatbike, but right now i simply can't afford it. I have been planning a half fat build for a while now. it took me a while to gather up all the parts, but last weekend it all came together and i finally finished the build. in total it cost me nothing, i used all parts that i already had or were given to me by friends who didnt want them anymore.

the first step was building a fork.

I used the upper from a trashed 180mm spinner ammo fork and the dropouts from a walmart suspension fork. gusseted and reinforced the hell out of it. it was very important that the wallyworld fork had a disc tab, and i had to look around for a while before i found it.

I got a take-off tire from a friend's upgraded beast. when mounted on a normal rim it comfortably fit inside the 100mm gap between the stanchions of the fork.

I mounted it on my winter beater, it's a tidalforce electric bike frame. i welded the fork so that it had the same axle to crown height as the crappy duro it replaced. this kept the geometry from getting too wonky.

no matter what you do to a skinny bike, it will only ever be 25% as capable as a true fat bike. i knew this going into it, but it really dose help take the edge off. the front tire no longer dives in the soft stuff and it handles the snow much nicer than it did before. it steers like a truck, but thats what you get for putting 8 pounds of rubber on your front wheel.

since sunday i have put about 50 miles on this thing and so far i'm loving it. next year i will have a fat bike, but this makes the rest of the winter a lot more enjoyable while the snow is still covering the trails.

 

[Mr. Doom]

Great hack!
Those new $595 Moto's will be ready in July, save $5 a day and you should be able to grab one.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

thanks! i'll keep an eye out. i'm hoping to find something used in the spring. if fall roles around and i still dont have one i might just go buy one of those. the dolomite was really tempting, but i wanted to wait and see how other people liked it to prevent shelling out $225 for a turd. looks like it's well worth it, but now it's sold out and more expensive. oh well.

 

[NicoleB]

i swung a leg over this thing. it's hilarious. but fun. goodjerb.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

why thank you

 

[dirtdawg21892]

it's been about a month now, and i'm still having fun rolling the half fat. sure it's heavy and slow, but handles much better in the snow than the skinny front did. i have even taken it on rail trail rides with some friends and not had too much trouble keeping up despite the 8 pound front wheel.

 

[AdamJay]

Very cool!
I just sold a trials rim to a guy building up a half fat 29er. Those bikes always look like a lot of fun to me.

That 3kg beast rubber has got to be killing you though.
I'll donate you a 100 mile old Vee Rubber Mission 72tpi 26"x4.0" (1500 or so grams) if you want it. Should fit fine.

Just pay the shipping ($18 or so). I believe you have earned it. PM me if you want.


Also, on the subject of other fatbikes. The Gravity Bullseye looks like a sweet deal to me. The 50mm rim size is pretty versatile. Symmetrical frame, way better componentry than the Dolomite, and $450 is very reasonable. I like the idea of having the stock 3" tires as a fun trail option. Definitely going to buy one of these for my girlfriend.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

Very cool!
I just sold a trials rim to a guy building up a half fat 29er. Those bikes always look like a lot of fun to me.

That 3kg beast rubber has got to be killing you though.
I'll donate you a 100 mile old Vee Rubber Mission 72tpi 26"x4.0" (1500 or so grams) if you want it. Should fit fine.

Just pay the shipping ($18 or so). I believe you have earned it. PM me if you want.

Also, on the subject of other fatbikes. The Gravity Bullseye looks like a sweet deal to me. The 50mm rim size is pretty versatile. Symmetrical frame, way better componentry than the Dolomite, and $450 is very reasonable. I like the idea of having the stock 3" tires as a fun trail option. Definitely going to buy one of these for my girlfriend.

Wow! thanks man! i will totally look into the gravity, that sounds like a good deal.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

Most of the snow has melted now and New England is a muddy, slushy mess. i'm still having a lot of fun with the fat front even though snow is less of a problem. :thumbsup:

 

[dirtdawg21892]

Look what came in today! Thanks again Adam, you're the best!

 

[dirtdawg21892]

the tire really makes a night and day difference. on top of being noticeably wider, it airs down better and smooths everything out like a fat tire should. riding is even more fun now. today i went out on an adventure that covered a lot of pavement, singletrack, and ATV paths. everything from rock gardens to deep mud with a lot of fast flowy stuff and pavement. lots of variety. the half fat does a great job handling all of it. i think it's better on hardpack and pavement than a full fat, it was really the perfect bike for the ride. i'm super happy with it.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

 

[AdamJay]

the tire really makes a night and day difference. on top of being noticeably wider, it airs down better and smooths everything out like a fat tire should.

Yea, the higher thread count casing should help a lot with running lower psi's.

riding is even more fun now. today i went out on an adventure that covered a lot of pavement, singletrack, and ATV paths. everything from rock gardens to deep mud with a lot of fast flowy stuff and pavement. lots of variety. the half fat does a great job handling all of it. i think it's better on hardpack and pavement than a full fat, it was really the perfect bike for the ride. i'm super happy with it.

Glad to hear it's working out for you!

 

[dirtdawg21892]

put on 33 miles yesterday in some crazy wind, it's riding well. still pretty hard to push, but it sure is an awesome workout.

 

[dirtdawg21892]

just ordered myself a Gravity Bullseye. next winter will be a lot more fun! i still ride the half fat everywhere, and will continue to do so until mid-june when bikesdirect actually ships. i took my ibis mojo out for a spin last night for the first time this year, pushing around all the extra weight has made me noticeably faster.

 

[npn]

I realize it's an older thread...

I just acquired a Tidal Force frame exactly like the one above and I'm not sure if it's worth investing in it. The frame itself is pretty heavy - about 2,400 grams which is a pig for aluminum composition.

Thoughts?

 

[DirtyHun]

Don't waste the time to try to make it what it's not.

 

[ak-rider]

delete

 

[npn]

Would it be worth the time to build a "regular" mountain bike?

 

[deuxdiesel]

It depends on what "worth it" means to you. Innovation is dead on this forum, which used to be stuffed with creative tinkerers who were always willing to try new things. These days, people are derided and criticized for try to either repurpose old bikes and parts for fat use, or are plain humiliated by others when they buy a cheap bike and appreciate it for what it is. If you were to take a a stab at creating a fat-ish bike that met your needs and/or budget by cutting, welding, fabbing and assembling something, I bet there are plenty of us old-timers who would love to see what you can come up with. Of course there are all the others...