From the few fat bike owners I've talked to, it sounds like they excel in certain types of snow and are more of a burden in others. I asked a delivery dude about his on Monday and his response was that he'd had forgotten how much work it was to ride sometimes. He said that last year was the first time he'd ever lost weight during the winter.

There were many times last year when I pined for one as I was trying to negotiate rutted paths and streets that the mammoth tires would help smooth out. Like with any bike/tire combination in the winter though, it sounds like there are tradeoffs.