Fat bike for the (win)ter
 

Around here we are deep in heart of winter with consistent cold and frequent snowfalls which make conditions on the roads ever changing. We've got sheer ice, black ice, packed snow, plowed snow, loose snow, fresh snow, icy snow, piled up snow, cookie dough snow, blacktop, and any combination of which is different every, oh I'd say… 10 feet or so. Yet we ride. I'm lucky that I have a great town to ride in and some great gear to do it with.

Over the past few weeks I've been alternating bikes on my commute. My Surly Moonlander with aggressively knobby (bud and lou's) non studded 4.7" tires @13PSI and my Cross-Check with studded Nokian 106's 35mm @45 psi on the same route, same clothes, general conditions, and times of day. Surprisingly according to my Garmin 200, on average the Moonlander is faster than the Cross Check. Yes, faster. Not a ton, but faster. The fat bike has the ability to simply roll straight over anything, no need to pick lines or swerve around or get bogged down. You just put the power down and ride straight through. The only day that the Cross-Check was a better choice was after a freezing rain coated every surface with ice and the studs were essential. Riding the fat bike is not just more fun, but honestly it's less stressful and arguably a bit safer.

I know a lot of people look at fat bikes with 4"- 5" wide tires as clown bikes and oddities, only good for limited uses at best and assume that they must be terribly inefficient. Then they ride one, and they can't top smiling. Then they can't stop thinking about buying one. Then they buy one and they can't stop riding it all the time because they do so many things so well all year round. Then they start threads about them on bike forums…..

I own a small collection of really great bikes but the fat bike has become my favorite one of all. If you are trying to avoid having an N+1 moment, do not test ride a fat bike.

Not me! I'm a regular visitor to the Surly website and I think those fat bikes are gorgeous! I have drool marks on my computer keypad lol. For a city like mine (which is severely undeveloped for cycling) one of these monsters would be perfect, especially for my style of gonzo street urban riding. The next time N+1 hits me I may drive to the nearest Surly dealer (300 miles away!!) and do some business.

I took my Pug out on Saturday... it had warmed up to freezing and things were a touch slushy with a few icy patches and for this no bike I have is any better. I was rolling on my Endomorphs at 10 psi.

The only thing a fat bike is not good for is ice, unless you are rolling on studded tyres or find some chains.

I have a dedicated winter bike with studded tyres for those icy rides and also have an Extrabike with an electric assist that makes it all wheel drive... it does not get much better than that when it comes to stability, speed, and traction.

The most fun I have had with my Pug is riding singletrack and trails and hitting the river side where it can go other bicycles cannot... I would not buy one for urban assaults when a hardtail or rigid mtb with wider higher volume tyres will perform better in the speed department and handle the same abuse.

right now I feel like I need a fat bike. Maybe in a month when the snow melts I won't feel the same way, but right now my mtb isn't cutting it

I wish I needed a fat bike. They plow the snow too fast here, and the remainder turns to ice.

I think they're really cool. There's a guy around here I see from time to time on a Pugsley towing his kid in a big trailer.

One of these days I'm going to stop and ask if I can look at it as I've never seen one up close in person.

I have a Salsa Mukluk - it totally rocks. Excellent for any surface save pure, slick ice. Mixed terrain? It's awesome. This is the one winter I've been hoping for literal dumps of snow to ride in. Nope. I south enough in Ontario that the bad weather, including the whopper that hit Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, and the US Northeast, usually misses us.

Ah well... there's always the beach in the summer! ;)

...then they get a flat tire on the rear in the dark and want to kill themselves.

I bought a Pugsley in 2006 for use in sand and all around commuting (some off-road options). My 9-speed rear cassette, disk brake, and horizontal dropouts make getting the rear wheel off a hellish nightmare and getting the wheel back on even worse. Hauling a spare "car" innertube around ain't much fun either, nor is trying to fill that thing with air after a flat repair.

I had a love affair with the Pugs too. Now I could cut it up with a sawz-all with glee. Been holding my breath for Surly, or someone, to make a decent heavy tire for the thing, or at least a heavy duty tube. I have also taken many tire sealant showers too. Those big tires blow a ton of Stans no-tubes into the air with a nice puncture.

One rear flat in a downpour or with frozen fingers and the luster will tarnish a bit. Trust me.

Party pooper. :notamused:

Well, I was out riding with my Salsa, got a flat rear tire, and did a field change. First time in a long time: took 45 minutes, but it was manageable. I had to swap it when I got home and it only took 20 minutes. I had to take it to my LBS to fine tune the brakes, gears, etc. anyways, so they checked things over.

In downpour or freezing conditions, I'm not sure if whether the bike was a fatbike or not would make much difference.

For a tubeless tire, wouldn't you carry a plug kit rather than a patch kit? That way you could fix a flat without having to take the wheel or tire off at all. For a patch, you could also leave the wheel in place, and just peel a section of tire wide enough to put a patch on, or on the tube, if you're running tubes in your tires...

I'd be too lazy to bother taking an entire wheel off, unless I absolutely have no choice, with one of those... :innocent:

Has anyone ever tried installing a liner in a tubular tire?

I am running tubes AND Stan's. Works great for small punctures, wires, staples, etc. Yes, I too am lazy but it is impossible to peel a small part of the tire off the rim for such a flat fix. Like peeling a little bit of a dolly wheel off. Even if it were possible, the tires are so thin and light that the bead would probably be ruined.

That bike cost a bundle. I have experimented at length to discover an easier way. But I am always willing to hear suggestions believe me.

YOICKS! I am suddenly cured of any desire to have one of these, barring a complete redesign of the fat-tire-to-fat-rim interface!

Just wait until someone makes a "real" street tire for Fatbikes OR a thorn-proof/heavy-duty tube. Either one will solve the problem. So many manufacturers are making fatbikes now that it is just a matter of time before a flat resistant tire - like a Marathon Plus - is manufactured. I hope.

A good tire will be heavy as hell, but I don't mind pushing the pedals a little harder as apposed to spending an hour of quality time in the hood disassembling and reassembling my "curiosity" bike with a crowd of spectators wanting to "help" me.

For sand and snow...:D

For city streets covered with glass and other sharp bits...:cry:

I can't wait for spring...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...12pugride6.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...2pugride10.JPG

:D

I would think that with tires this big that normal tubeless tires like a car uses would be the norm. Is that not the case?

I run the stock wheels on my bike with tubes... I think they weigh more than the tyres.

:)

I have no problems with the tires off road - sand, snow, mud, rocks, etc. City streets - not so lucky with punctures. The rubber is REALLY thin. Like Sixty Fiver mentioned - the tubes seem heavier than the tires.

I have commuted on it as far as 18 miles each way - all but 3 miles were off road. Beautiful.

This is my purple beast in it's natural habitat:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...93276887_n.jpg

Yeah I could see that, but really the majority of bike tires are not good at that not just fat bike tires. You are right, the equivalent of a Schwalbe Marathon Plus or similar extra flat proof tire is not available for fat bikes. But you could run 29'' rims on your Pugs with a much more street worthy tire. Then swap in the fat tires/rims for the more off-piste adventures. Your city streets sound a lot more treacherous that ones I normally ride on.


A complete redesign of the interface? It's a clincher tire and a large tube, not exactly a radical design. And IMHO not that hard to fix a flat. I'm prepared for it, I've done it, and I'll be doing it again. I agree that changing a flat in sh**ty conditions sucks on any bike. But until I get that follow car with the mechanics in it I am fully willing to take the risk. I consider it a very acceptable part of the cycling adventure not a reason to throw the bike away.

You have to know what your limits are and draw your line in the sand or the snow or the street as the case may be. This isn't even close for me but, obviously YMMV.

Nice bike, nice shot!! I remember warm weather. We do have it here sometimes.

lol when I see these fat tire bikes I think "hey man, nice motorcycle/dirtbike, but... ya forgot the motor" :lol: I do think they're kinda cool, would like to try one out sometime.

My LHTrucker with 26x2" good tires get flatted once every five years. Literally. The Pugs - twice a month at least. Not acceptable to me.

Yeah, I have considered that. The thing is, I can ride a 15 mile route (as my commute) on the Pugs and be in the dirt, rutted gravel double-track, or on bike paths more than half of the ride. So I want the 4" rubber every ride. That is why I bought the bike. The solution for me is better tires. I gotta start bugging Surly about it. I would put a motorcycle tire on the Pugs if possible. I don't care how much the tire weights. I am certain the weight of a good tire, combined with the low demand for such a thing, prevents tire companies from doing this just yet.

Here is a link to my facebook album with photos of my potential commuting routes IN THE CITY! on my Pugs for illustration of my dilemma and why I want the fat rubber:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9077106&type=3

That is only an issue with tubeless.

One issue with the rear dropouts is that fixing a rear flat also requires you to removed the brake caliper unless you are able to fix the flat with the wheel in the bike, which is a good technique to know.