I saw a guy in the neighborhood the other day riding this very cool fat bike that he got at Academy. I know it’s possible to spend thousands on them, but this one gets very good reviews.
Anybody have one? I know they’re meant for sand, snow, and other difficult terrain, but what’s it like to ride on regular city streets?
I love new toys. So sue me.
I think about my off road motorcycle with its big tires and how hard it is to push the damn thing around in the dirt with out the motor helping. In addition, the big tires would add a whole lot of gyroscopic effect and probably make the steering somewhat heavy. I suppose you could always let most of the air out of a mountain bikes tires and ride it around to get some idea of the feel of it. Maybe you could rent one from a bike shop prior to buying one. Doesn’t appeal to me, but like they say, different strokes and all.
Usually when someone wants to upgrade an existing bike the first thing they do is get lighter wheels/tyres. A fat bike is doing exactly the opposite. Heavier wheels are harder to accelerate. The tyres are quite noisy on paved surfaces.
They’re not particularly suited for riding on streets. There are really no advantages to a fat bike in that environment and several disadvantages.
I have been wondering this same thing myself as they get more and more popular. I am told they are great to ride, not heavy-feeling like you’d think. I can see how they would be good on loose terrain, but it is hard to believe that they are anything but overly-clunky monstrosities on pavement. I guess I need to ride one and find out for myself.
I’ve been tempted to get a fat tire bike especially for riding on the snow or mud. Just seeing one makes me smile.
A few years ago I rode with a guy on a fat tire bike across 250 miles of the Katy Trail in Missouri. It’s mostly crushed limestone and larger tires such on a hybrid bike work really well. His 4.5" tires at 15 psi gave him a great ride; however, he was slow. Very slow and tired after riding about 50 miles a day. He said the ride was smooth though.
Me too. 
Fat bikes are for riding on snow and/or beach sand. As others have said, if you’re riding roads or standard mountain bike trails, there’s no advantage to a fat bike over a standard mountain bike. Mr. Athena has one that he rides in the winter, as we live in an area with both a lot of snow and one of the most mature snow-bike trail systems in the country. He’ll occasionally take it out in the summer when he wants a change from his standard mountain bike, but even he admits it’s a hell of a lot harder and slower.
The cheap fat bikes are pretty bad AFAIK - weigh a ton, dodgy wheels and no design considerations. You could ride it to the pub I’m sure, but I don’t think it would be much fun, which is the raison d’etre of owning one.
Good fat bikes are pretty impressive, OTOH - a guy in our club brings his out regular and smashes anything on it (although he’s a strong rider). You need to spend a bit to get something capable - a grand will get you one of these, which is a popular value choice around here for a good fatty.
The reviews at the Academy link I posted above state that FOR THE PRICE, this is a good bike. A couple of samples:
I was wondering if anyone here has actually ridden one regularly on the street.
What benefits do you think it would have over a reasonable mountain bike or hybrid?
There was a review on GearJunkie that indicates that it weights about fifty pounds which seams to be pretty heavy, almost double the weight of a a hybrid. I would imagine that it would be pretty slow as well.
That being said, it may be a fun bike to take to the beach or play with in the woods.
I don’t know much about bikes, and not in the market for a bike, but I am fascinated by new toys/gadgets. I don’t see where weight would be a problem for just riding around. Maybe if you’re lifting it onto a bike rack, but if you’re just pulling it out of the garage…? Who cares how fast it can go anyhow? (Not a rhetorical question: when would you especially want speed?) I’m wondering if the ride would be squishier/cushier than one of those spaghetti-thin bikes with spaghetti-thin tires.
That’s a very interesting, clever, and entertaining review! Thanks.
ETA: Another EEK! article on that page. :eek:
When people are talking about how fast it is, they are also talking about how much effort it will take to pedal up a hill or ride down the street. Basically, you would have to pedal a lot harder than you would on a lighter bike or one with narrower tires go at a moderate pace.
It would be cushier than a road bike, although much much slower. I’ve never ridden one although I can’t say exactly what the ride would be like.
Weight, especially weight on the wheels, is always a factor when riding since it takes more energy to move anywhere. It may not seem like much at first, but for a ride of any length it will be noticeable. And you’ll notice every pound when going up a hill.
In the past I commuted via bike, so time in the saddle was important. But even running errands or going for a relaxed ride it’s nice to be moving at a good clip so you can cover more distance in the same amount of time. Trying to accelerate that weight from a stoplight will be slower and require more effort.
It will be noticeably more cushier than a road bike with 110 psi narrow tires, but most recreational riders don’t ride those. I don’t think you’d notice a much difference between a fat bike and a normal hybrid with wider, lower pressure tires, especially if you’ve got a front suspension. For most folks, a conventional hybrid would be more comfortable.
I have that exact bike.
I ride on sandy beaches pretty much better than anyone.
Off road trails feel more like pavement.
I have had more conversations with other riders than ever before.
The tires create a buzzing sound on paved roads and I go about 2 MPH slower than with other bikes.
What’s the max pressure on those tires?
Cool. Is it a LOT harder than a regular bike to pedal on pavement?
One of my coworkers just got a Surly fat bike. Another coworker was riding it around the shop. Though it has a rigid fork, it feels like you have suspension (according to him) - the tires only needed 11 psi inflation.
He looked like he was having too good of a time riding so I opted not to - I thought it would be too much of a rapid state change for me to handle - experiencing so much fun so briefly and then going straight back to working. It would be kind of like when you rinse off the coffee pot with really cold water and it cracks.