PRW
100 kW
from the street, to the beach, to the mountains and single track - all on one ride. Love the do-all ability of fat bikes...
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Fat bikes are the 4x4s of the bike world
- Thread starter PRW
- Start date
aroundqube
10 kW
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2012
- Messages
- 601
Nice ! What tires are you using ? Tire pressure ? Additional flat protection ?
dogman dan
1 PW
Not so sure they do great on street, but totally agree that they are the tool for a bottomless sugar sand beach.
I'd like to see 3" tires fit on most full suspension trail bikes. 8) Fat enough for most sandy patches, but not needing such low pressure. My current bikes can only take a 2.5" in the rear. Plenty o sand here in the desert, but never a need to ride through it for miles. So I can't say I must go fat for the riding here. If I lived on the texas coast, I'd HAVE to have a fat tire bike.
I have to admit, I haven't test ridden a full suspension fat bike. Here it's so rocky I really wouldn't trade a rear shock for a no rear shock fat tire.
I'd like to see 3" tires fit on most full suspension trail bikes. 8) Fat enough for most sandy patches, but not needing such low pressure. My current bikes can only take a 2.5" in the rear. Plenty o sand here in the desert, but never a need to ride through it for miles. So I can't say I must go fat for the riding here. If I lived on the texas coast, I'd HAVE to have a fat tire bike.
I have to admit, I haven't test ridden a full suspension fat bike. Here it's so rocky I really wouldn't trade a rear shock for a no rear shock fat tire.
craneplaneguy
10 kW
I like the traction I get on a steep rocky trail, and the cush ride. They suck on pavement but that's OK, I have another ride for that. In my several forays into the "regular" mountain bike scene locally, I was little surprised to not see any fatties, I had thought they would be maybe 10% of the bikes on the trail, maybe 1% is more like it.
Drunkskunk
100 GW
Yep. Owning a fat bike is like having a 2 wheeled Jeep. Those are some great pics, thanks for sharing them. I'm slightly sad that I don't have as many awesome scenery shots to share of my Fat bike in amazing locations, but I'm usually to busy enjoying the ride to remember to grab the camera. Same thing happens when I go hiking.
I can't think of any vehicle that has gotten me into more places than my fat bike. From Snowy Mountains to sweltering deserts, from sandy beaches to savage urban jungles, It's carried me well.
Fat bikes do well on the street, but you have to get the tire pressure just right. While they do have higher wind resistance than a conventional tires bike, the rolling resistance is virtually the same. I know, that sounds like total bullsh#t, but it's truth. A fat tire properly aired up has no significant difference in rolling resistance from a conventional tire.
I can't think of any vehicle that has gotten me into more places than my fat bike. From Snowy Mountains to sweltering deserts, from sandy beaches to savage urban jungles, It's carried me well.
Fat bikes do well on the street, but you have to get the tire pressure just right. While they do have higher wind resistance than a conventional tires bike, the rolling resistance is virtually the same. I know, that sounds like total bullsh#t, but it's truth. A fat tire properly aired up has no significant difference in rolling resistance from a conventional tire.
PRW
100 kW
the bike is a standard RadRover - I say "standard", but I am more and more impressed with this bike every time I ride it. Tires are Kendra Juggernaut 4.0 - on soft sand, normally 10psi, tire is rated 5 to 30psiaroundqube said:
dogman dan said:
yip, hence the analogy with 4x4s - not ideal for the street, but still work well enough.
the reaction from other mountain bikers was all surprisingly very positive - they loved the bike. Maybe because I wasn't ripping through the trailscraneplaneguy said:
pleasure - if you ever sell your bike...Drunkskunk said:Yep. Owning a fat bike is like having a 2 wheeled Jeep. Those are some great pics, thanks for sharing them. I'm slightly sad that I don't have as many awesome scenery shots to share of my Fat bike in amazing locations, but I'm usually to busy enjoying the ride to remember to grab the camera. Same thing happens when I go hiking.
I can't think of any vehicle that has gotten me into more places than my fat bike. From Snowy Mountains to sweltering deserts, from sandy beaches to savage urban jungles, It's carried me well.
Fat bikes do well on the street, but you have to get the tire pressure just right. While they do have higher wind resistance than a conventional tires bike, the rolling resistance is virtually the same. I know, that sounds like total bullsh#t, but it's truth. A fat tire properly aired up has no significant difference in rolling resistance from a conventional tire.
- it's like the Unimog of fatbikes!Had a short jaunt on a Brose mid-drive and really was impressed, but not very practical for socal or the other environs that I frequent. Anyone do any kind of test to compare range with a "normal" tired bike? Also, changed a fat tire (26 X 4") for a friend and it was a bear to remove; anyone needed to do that on the trail?
Drunkskunk
100 GW
HAHAHA. Unimog of fatbikes. I like that
My own seat-of-the-pants testing shows I can get 10 watts per mile on both my fat bike and my old skinny tired 700c at around 10-12mph. That's not very scientific, though. So I fired up Google and did some research. You can pump a Fat bike tire up to 30lbs, and for the street I generally run 25-28lbs That greatly improves the rolling resistance, but the sites I found tested at only up to 20lbs. Still, the results at 20lbs put fat tires in the same range of resistance as some mountain-bike tires running at their ideal.
For example, a Maxxis Ikon eXCeption Silkworm 29X2.2" (29" because it has a similar outside diameter to a fat tire) at 18mph/55lbs uses 30.9 watts. A Surly Larry 4" at 20 lbs uses 30.3 watts. You can check other tires here: http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/
As for being hard to change. yeah. the bead is thick to hold on when you're running at just 5 pounds of tire pressure. For fat tires, you need a metal reinforced tire lever like this: https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=46025&category=2108 It is harder to change a fat tire than a normal bike tire, but not that much harder than changing a DH tire.
2old said:
My own seat-of-the-pants testing shows I can get 10 watts per mile on both my fat bike and my old skinny tired 700c at around 10-12mph. That's not very scientific, though. So I fired up Google and did some research. You can pump a Fat bike tire up to 30lbs, and for the street I generally run 25-28lbs That greatly improves the rolling resistance, but the sites I found tested at only up to 20lbs. Still, the results at 20lbs put fat tires in the same range of resistance as some mountain-bike tires running at their ideal.
For example, a Maxxis Ikon eXCeption Silkworm 29X2.2" (29" because it has a similar outside diameter to a fat tire) at 18mph/55lbs uses 30.9 watts. A Surly Larry 4" at 20 lbs uses 30.3 watts. You can check other tires here: http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/
As for being hard to change. yeah. the bead is thick to hold on when you're running at just 5 pounds of tire pressure. For fat tires, you need a metal reinforced tire lever like this: https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=46025&category=2108 It is harder to change a fat tire than a normal bike tire, but not that much harder than changing a DH tire.
craneplaneguy
10 kW
The few times I've had mine on pavement was just a short distance between trails, and I was too lazy to up my air pressure from the less then 10 to maybe 12 psi I use on the rocky trails here. I'm sure they feel better with more air!
WoodlandHills
10 kW
litespeed
100 kW
Fat bike with a Tangent drive would be the tits......me thinks!
Tom
Tom
spinningmagnets
100 TW
A 2WD fatbike is an awesome off-road option, if your forks are up to the challenge. Doctor Bass told me that if he takes the front wheel to over 2000W, he experiences excessive slippage. If we accept that as a reasonable maximum power level, then I feel it is worthwhile to consider a geared hub for the front wheel.
I have seen a few AWD ebikes with a direct drive hub on the front, but DD hubs really shine when you are reaching for 2600W+ at the rear. Of course a DD hub on the front would work, but...for less than 2000W, I'm not sure the weight of a DD hub would be worth it on the front.
I have seen a few AWD ebikes with a direct drive hub on the front, but DD hubs really shine when you are reaching for 2600W+ at the rear. Of course a DD hub on the front would work, but...for less than 2000W, I'm not sure the weight of a DD hub would be worth it on the front.
Also depends on the wheelbase length--soemthing long like my CrazyBike2 or various longtail type bikes could be better able to put more traction down on the front at higher power levels than "standard" length bikes.
MadRhino
100 GW
I find fat tires are amazing on soft surfaces, but on hard pack and pavement full suspension is a must just like with any other tires. Also, many fat tires are dangerous at high speed, and all of them do require careful setting of tire pressure to be safe speeding.
Fatbikes are the 4X4 of the bike world ?
I don't know. Most FS bikes are better on rough trails than any ridgid fat bike.
Fatbikes are the Dune Buggies of the bike world, sounds more appropriate to me. :wink:
Fatbikes are the 4X4 of the bike world ?
I don't know. Most FS bikes are better on rough trails than any ridgid fat bike.
Fatbikes are the Dune Buggies of the bike world, sounds more appropriate to me. :wink:
dogman dan
1 PW
Now, if you give me a choice of a typical fat bike, no suspension, and Drunk Skunks bike, I'll for sure choose the skunkbike.
Give me that skunkbike, over a Sondors cheap ass fat bike.
Hell, any bike he's had, over the years, has been superior in every way.
I just don't buy it, that fat tires and no suspension beats a good FS MTB. Shocks beat soft tires.
But combine them both, yeah!! I doubt the fat tires wear out any faster than the soft compound knobbies I run in 2.5" size.
Fat bikes with a front shock I liked, when I rode them last fall.
Give me that skunkbike, over a Sondors cheap ass fat bike.
Hell, any bike he's had, over the years, has been superior in every way.
I just don't buy it, that fat tires and no suspension beats a good FS MTB. Shocks beat soft tires.
But combine them both, yeah!! I doubt the fat tires wear out any faster than the soft compound knobbies I run in 2.5" size.
Fat bikes with a front shock I liked, when I rode them last fall.
Chalo
100 TW
dogman dan said:
In terms of squishy ride, sure. But that's not the whole picture. Like for like, compared to fat tire only suspension, mechanical suspension makes a bike weak, flexible, heavy, expensive, high maintenance, failure prone, gross weight specific, and generally worse in every single regard except squishy ride.
If fat tires can give you good enough ride quality and traction to do the job, while buying back all the other virtues you'd lose by using mechanical suspension, I think they represent a win.
That's part of what I like about the 2.5" Shinko moped tires on SB Cruiser (vs even 2.5" bicycle tires). Soaks up a lot of bumps and holes none of the other stuff I had before did. (and isn't much of a Wh penalty, nowhere near as much as I expected).
dogman dan
1 PW
Well. when you are riding up and down rock staircases, the squishy ride is mandatory. You grew up here, you know how the mountain trails here are.
But I wouldn't require the squishy ride at the beach, where a fat tire bike would rule hands down, and you would not need a squishy ride.
Best fat bike I test rode at interbike, was the one with the best front shock fork. Very similar rocky trails at the test site. The fat bike with no suspension was ok, the fat bike with cheap ass front shock was better. but the one that shined for me was the one with a half decent front shock. The better the front shock, the more control I had steering it at higher speeds.
But nahhh, not going over the bars into cactus and rocks is nothing anybody would want.
I have to say,, with the big fat tires, I didn't miss the rear shock any.
But I wouldn't require the squishy ride at the beach, where a fat tire bike would rule hands down, and you would not need a squishy ride.
Best fat bike I test rode at interbike, was the one with the best front shock fork. Very similar rocky trails at the test site. The fat bike with no suspension was ok, the fat bike with cheap ass front shock was better. but the one that shined for me was the one with a half decent front shock. The better the front shock, the more control I had steering it at higher speeds.
But nahhh, not going over the bars into cactus and rocks is nothing anybody would want.
I have to say,, with the big fat tires, I didn't miss the rear shock any.
MadRhino
100 GW
And SPEEDChalo said:
When you have to slow down at walking speed in mountain trails, I question the need for a bike in the first place. All the fun of riding the single track with a bike is speeding down the hills, with a good FS ebike we can speed UP the hills too. 8)
Speeding off road is well worth the inconveniences of building and maintaining a real single track bike. Speeding on a hard tail Fatbike you soon feel like on a bucking horse, and if it is a mid drive I am not sure that is is any less maintenance than a DH built with a hub. Let's face it, most fatbikes are made to ride 10 Mph.
PRW
100 kW
well, sometimes you can ride a bit faster....MadRhino said:
maybe I should have titled the thread "Fat bikes (with adequate front suspension, or possibly full suspension, of sufficient quality), and sufficient power to enable travel at a speed of greater than walking pace, are the 4x4s of the bike world." Not sure if this would have fitted in the subject line.MadRhino said:
see proposed change in subject line suggested above.MadRhino said:
Seriously though - there are different tools for different things. The fat bike is a very blunt instrument off road - for which I have been glad a couple of times, coming down a steep track where the brakes are only slightly limiting the speed, and you hit a root or angled rock that would possibly (not in your case, MR, I know) throw you off line and into the trees. The fat tires just mush over it with a bit of a judder. Yip, not as fast as a FS bike on single track. As per the great Sage Hyena's words - "you can have more than 1 e-bike"....
Chalo
100 TW
dogman dan said:
When I came back to the Franklin Mountains with my MTB years later, it was more like a walking stick on the ascents. At least it was light.
craneplaneguy
10 kW
PRW
100 kW
Nice scenery - what bike is that?
dogman dan
1 PW
Loose sand that size, does need a fat tire.