Let's talk FAT bikes!
I have spousal approval to get a Fat Bike! Yay!
I've been doing a little research, but thought I'd draw on the Haus wisdom. I plan to use it initially for riding in the snow to/from work, mostly on flattish roads and rail trails. But I also have a secret plan to do some of Jess' Ironman training rides with her next summer. I figure it will take a lot of work to keep up with her for 4 hrs when she's on her P3. I even have a crazy back of the mind thought that if I can get strong enough, it might be "fun" to eventually do an Ironman on a Fat Bike (says the guy who's never even been on a fat bike)...
With that said, I'm not buying a clunky 35lb bike. But the thought of paying 3x what I have into my road bike is a little hard to swallow as well. But on the margin having a better bike is more important to me than saving some money. I'm probably leaning towards a 1x11 drivetrain, but am willing to be talked into a 2x10 if you have a good reason. Remember I'm unlikely to be doing any crazy hills on this thing. I was thinking Carbon Fiber so it's less heavy and holds up better with salt on the roads, etc. Should I be looking at Aluminum, steel, or Titanium instead?
Thoughts on axle width or spacing? Opinion on tire size? Tubeless or tubes? What about a front shock? Any brands you like? Any other thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I've been doing a little research, but thought I'd draw on the Haus wisdom. I plan to use it initially for riding in the snow to/from work, mostly on flattish roads and rail trails. But I also have a secret plan to do some of Jess' Ironman training rides with her next summer. I figure it will take a lot of work to keep up with her for 4 hrs when she's on her P3. I even have a crazy back of the mind thought that if I can get strong enough, it might be "fun" to eventually do an Ironman on a Fat Bike (says the guy who's never even been on a fat bike)...
With that said, I'm not buying a clunky 35lb bike. But the thought of paying 3x what I have into my road bike is a little hard to swallow as well. But on the margin having a better bike is more important to me than saving some money. I'm probably leaning towards a 1x11 drivetrain, but am willing to be talked into a 2x10 if you have a good reason. Remember I'm unlikely to be doing any crazy hills on this thing. I was thinking Carbon Fiber so it's less heavy and holds up better with salt on the roads, etc. Should I be looking at Aluminum, steel, or Titanium instead?
Thoughts on axle width or spacing? Opinion on tire size? Tubeless or tubes? What about a front shock? Any brands you like? Any other thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Its been done before! Interested to follow this thread for a future mtn Bike purchase with many of the same questions.... Would love to try out a FAT bike too!
But, I learned a lot about Fat Bikes throughout this process, but ultimately decided to go the Tim Cronk/Dino Sarti route and go "All-In" with the sickest bike I could find... I have some opinions about nice Fat Bikes at all different price points if you want any details, just ask. As for my bike, I bought something that I plan to be able to ride in ANY conditions year round, whether it's snow, mud, trails, or in an Ironman. It actually weighs less than my Mountain Bike and not much more than my P5. It's all carbon with internally routed cables, 1x11 with XX1 components (think SRAM Red in tri/road bike nomenclature). It even has Carbon wheels and lots of other Carbon goodies. It's basically a triathlete's version of a Fat Bike. The purist long bearded guys at the bike shop will actually be appalled that my bike weighs ~24.5lbs fully built compared to their 40lb mules... I figured I plan on living in MN for many yr's and can race this bike, or commute on it, or use it anytime I would otherwise want to ride a mountain bike, and in the snow... And I am a geeky triathlete after all...
Drumroll please... I bought the:
Salsa Beargrease XX1. http://salsacycles.com/bikes/beargrease/2015_beargrease_carbon_xx1
The Carbon Beargrease won out to the second place sexy Titanium "Carver O'Beast". I almost bought a much cheaper Framed Alaskan Carbon X1, which would have been much cheaper and about 6lbs heavier, but wouldn't be available until the end of January. The Framed Minnesota would have been my choice for a cheaper Aluminum bike if I just wanted an inexpensive Aluminum bike for occasional use.
After all the trail running I have been doing in Tucson this year I really have the hots for a mountain bike now. Probably going to wait until next season and take a more practical vs. all in approach on the mountain bike. Course I say that now :-)
sweet.
I have looked at Salsa's Fatbikes over the last couple years.
can't really justify one at the moment but someday.
looking forward to getting out on my new mountainbike a bit more. I have sort of the poor mans xx1 with a 1 x 10. so far gives me all the range I need.
once iron goals reached, hope to dabble in xterrra and get to maui someday.
What kind of terrain / what flavor of riding would you use a fat bike for? I can see it on snow but...what else?
I'm totally saving this thread for later:
"Hey Jess, JayDub said he had to get a fat bike so he could go slow enough / work hard enough to make a training ride with you worth the effort. Hmm. Curious..."
I've ridden a fat bike exactly one time in my life for about 10 mins and smiled the whole time. You can ride them ANYWHERE. Literally anywhere. I plan to ride mine on the lake through the snow in the winter. I also plan to commute on it when the temp is between 15 and 40 degrees. But in the spring or fall I plan to use it anywhere I would otherwise ride a mountain bike. So single track, rail trails, over rocks, etc. if I ride it a lot as a mountain bike, in the spring I may get a Bluto front shock, but we'll see how much the tires absorb first. Because of the large volume of air the tires hold, you can run them at 4-6 psi or as high as 12-15psi if you ride them on the roads. I just talked to my bike shop and he took the bike out of the box and it weighed exactly 24lbs and 12oz fully built. When I convert it to tubeless it'll probably bring it below 24lbs...
Everyone I have talked one who has tried one has loved it... I'll report back later after I have at least a few hours on it.
So yes, I will have to work REALLY hard to keep up with Jess in the spring/summer, but I'm sure gonna try...
Nice looking bike! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!
that is a schweet bike JW.
I wish i saw this thread earlier. I have been bitten by the MTB bug in the last year. I have been using a friend's "2nd bike" most of the time, a full suspension tricked out ride with all the goodies. East coast MTB is very technical, going with hard tail (which i have now done) is a bit more work.
Another friend has teased me into trying to lottery into the leadville 100 MTB in August. A very different race. (can't do the whiteface qualifier as I am doing the alcatraz race same weekend this year)
I ended up buying a bike built for leadville and not for east coast MTB. It is a top line Specialized Rock Hopper that was built specifically fro leadville, but i found a mint condition used one on Ebay for 3500 compared to the current model at around 8500. s A little less travel on the fork than I would prefer and a hardtail for better transfer of power to the rear wheel and weight savings.
Link to my bike (http://goo.gl/tqonDh) scroll down to see the pics & the specs list. The bike is under 20lbs. If i were going to have a 4th bike (tri, road, mtb, fat) I'd get a fat bike. For now, on snow, I think i probably would do fine on this with a set of studded tires.. we'll see once the shoulder healscan't wait to hear more about the fat bike experience, couldn't imagine doing an IM on that thing, but prove us wrong :-) I know you will!
JW: Nice choice. We have no snow where I currently live but we just bought a second home in Bend, Oregon where there is snow. First thing on my list is a fat bike. I really like the Salsa's. Let me know your thoughts.
Stark
P.S. This picture will be my in 4 weeks. :-)
http://www.bendbulletin.com/home/1749707-151/fat-is-in#