[Gingerdamous]

Hey guys,
I need some guidance. . .

I went out for three hours of riding on Saturday in the -17 degree celsuis (without windchill) weather and it was beautiful. My only issue is that i was limited to woods roads used by logging companies even though I am surrounded by snowmobile trails. I turned on a few of the snomo trails and tried to ride them, but my 2.2 Nevegals on Bonty RXL rims never gave enough float as I was doing more sinking than forward movement.

I know that a fatbike is the best option for snow riding, but I am wondering if anyone here was tried a combo of 2.4 Racing Ralphs on Chris Homes rims(the widest ones) ?
If you have tried this set up, or any other really wide snow set up, how did it work ? will it suffice or is a fatbike the only option ?

I spent all my free time since that ride agonizing over tire size and rim widths. I am not oppose to a fatbike, i'd just prefer to keep it a 29er as I love 29ers for spring/summer/fall riding, and I dont have to worry about really expensive wide rear hubs . . .

any insight appreciated. I'd appreciate any numerical data involving width measurements, even though i dont have calipers to measure my current set-ups width . . .

thanks gents

 

[nolan17]

I have a fatbike but I have ridden Maxxis Ardent 2.4's on Velocity P35 rim with low pressure and it was a lot harder and less fun. My fatbike friends were way ahead and talking trash to me to make matters worse. Fatbikes are way faster and more fun in the snow even on snomobile trails, you should get one and feel like a kid again. IMO

 

[CLONG]

The width difference between your current setup and a KH with Ralphs is going to be, what...about 6-7 mm?

If you can't get a fat bike, just learn to enjoy the logging roads. Go for night rides to make it more exciting. You can always wait for the right conditions to hit the sno-mo trails. I got a few good rides in a couple of years ago on ignitors on an XC rim.

FWIW, I pop 29ers in my fatbike in the summer, and my Pug uses the same 135mm hubs as most MTBs.

 

[Gingerdamous]

Thanks guys, you have both kind of just confirmed what I though. . . That a fat bike is the best, and only real practical option, for this type of riding.

I'll make do for the rest of this season on my rig, and then shop and build up a fatty over the summer . . . Fatback Alu will likely be the winner.

Thanks again for replying.
If anyone else reads this thread and wants to chime in, please dont hesitate either, though I am now strongly leaning towards a bike similar to the women i enjoy . .

 

[NYrr496]

I'm running Bontrager FR3's on Salsa Gordo rims. Makes for a very wide tire. I ran em as soft as I could and was able to ride the snowmobile tracks in the deep snow. Only problem was when the snowmobile track branched off to go home, I was forced to turn around and go back the way I came.

 

[bikeny]

I managed to squeeze some fatties into my 29er frame. It's a Carver Ti frame with VERY generous tire clearance and sliders. I managed to squeeze Larry tires on 32mm wide rims, but still had to do a bit of work to get it to fit. Depending on your frame, you may be able to fit a 26x3.0 tire on a wide rim in the back.

Here is the thead I satrted about it on the Fat Bike forum:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=678482&highlight=carver