First ride on a Fat Bike

[neilether]

I borrowed a fat bike for a quick morning ride today. I've been very skeptical about the fat bike "fad" and sadly to say, I have not been converted. I secretly wanted it to be super duper amazing in some way, but in almost every aspect it was quite unremarkable. Not bad, just....not that much different than a hardtail 29er would be.


Climbing, I felt hardly any difference at all. I actually thought it felt just as good as my regular hardtail. However, it was actually a bit slower than my average time (2 minutes on a 30 minute climb) and my perceived effort was essentially the same. Could be lots of factors, but some of it is probably bike related.


Descending was fine, but again not that much different. The one big difference is it required a lot of rider input to get the thing to turn. I'm assuming that would come very naturally after a couple more rides. I had a bit of an advantage on the other guys in a couple slippery sections where I hooked up better than they did.


I did not play with tire pressure or anything like that, and this is on one, frequently used and hardpacked trail. I reserve the right to change my opinion at some future date.


Bottom line
I don't get the enthusiasm for riding one of these beasts in the summer. Seems like it's fairly similar both up and down, but marginally worse in both cases. I do think it would be an advantage in mud and I've yet to try one on the snow. I will admit that it looks pretty bad-ass though.


http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h206/neilether/Ebay%20Stuff/CA708056-7A14-4B95-B1A6-A7C9EA458A98_zps6kruplg6.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/neilether/media/Ebay%20Stuff/CA708056-7A14-4B95-B1A6-A7C9EA458A98_zps6kruplg6.jpg.html)

[accadacca]

Yeah fully agreed and I don't need to ride one. I wouldn't mind having one for the winter, but it would sit for 9 months out of the year. It's totally a fad and I could see a lot of them being unloaded for cheap when the cool factor wears off.


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[tallsteve]

I got to ride one several times this past winter. I thought they were a hoot and I totally get the appeal for snow riding, however I have no desire to ride one during the summer. I enjoy my mtn. bike too much. Bottom line for me is, given the choice, I still prefer x-country skiing vs. snow biking. It does my body and psyche good to cross-train on something other than a bike during the winter.
I don't think fat biking is a fad. They are here to stay. An interesting observation from working at my local bike shop a few hours a week: we brought in several of the lower end ($1,600 or so price range) Surley fat bikes last winter thinking that's what would sell. The reality is that the hottest models are the more expensive ones. Guys buying them want them as light as possible with the better components in the $2,500 to $5,000 range. Who would have thought? We ended up having to nearly give the Pugsley's away but couldn't keep the expensive ones in stock.