6-10 inches of snow fell here yesterday... while cars were staying home and cyclists were wallowing in the half packed snow on the roads, I was cruising along pretty happily and when I hit those big piles of snow just kept rolling those fatties.

Fat bikes are really gaining in popularity here despite their cost... they are an excellent winter bike.

If I ever move to where it snows more than 0-5 days out of the year, I'm definitely going to get the Pugs or moonlander.

I understand that, but outside of the riding in the dunes scenario and possibly snowy trails, can't think of too many rational reasons to own one. Even less so for expensive models, at least the WM bike is relatively cheap.

They are great on the trail too... rocking the big rubber eliminates any need for suspension and the traction and hookup is great.

What is "hookup"?

Yeah - being a winter commuter myself, I rapidly came to the conclusion that people that talk about skinny tires 'cutting through the snow better' are probably talking about driving on plowed roads. Even with Nokian 240's in a 700x40 size, I found riding ruts and churned snow more of an adventure than a commute. Heavily treaded 26x2.5" tires actually offered more stability.

And there's always the 'Hot Wheels' fun factor anyway!

Beat me to it

Hook up.... they dig into the dirt and provide lots of grip in soft soil/gravel.

Damn. I thought maybe it was that it emitted some sort of pheromone that made the rider irresistible to the gender of their choice.

Probably be more than ~$1200 or so if that was the case.

Not always. I've been on an organized cycle tour over a high mountain pass on my 23s. 6" (15cm) of wet heavy snow had fallen overnight and the road was closed to cars and plows. None of the very fit MTBers could move through it. They'd only bog out. There was no ice or packed base underneath. My tires found pavement and I could ride it all. It was a revelation.

I think it would be best to describe the Walmart boat anchor as "fat bike shaped object".
All of its appeal would disappear the moment one tried to lift it, or ride it.

The single speed gear ratio on that bike is not going to work in deep snow or sand.

Not quite ready to take that at face value. Maybe you're riding some kind of totally custom made rig that I've never seen before. Please post pictures.

None of my bikes are stock, but anything I put a 700x23c tire on will have less than 4" of pedal clearance. Pedal (and boot) strike in six inches of wet packed snow has been, in my experience, more of a problem than tire size. It effectively stops the bike. And wet snow does tend to be self lubricating and make it very easy to spin-out road tires - which have almost non-existant tread. Even with studded tires, when the back end can't get traction - the front end doesn't go anywhere.

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I have never seen a snowfall where ALL "cars stayed home", yet there was still someplace for a bicyclist to commute to.

I have seen crummy snowy and icy roads where the motorists were NOT staying home, and were driving all over the road, slipping and sliding and trying to find their way forward. I hardly think any bicycle tire would make bike commuting on such streets or roads with cars sliding all over, a worthwhile let alone "cruising along happily" experience. Maybe if a cyclist rides on nothing but trails for a commute it might work.

Steel road bike. Normal wheels. 23C smooth tires. You can picture it.
Yes, my feet got wet and cold from hitting the snow, but I could get through it. Not easy, but way easier than walking. I do understand that the conditions I'm describing are aberrant for city riding. Virgin snow on slush on pavement. But in those conditions, skinny was the only way to go.

Curse you OP for posting this, now I want one too! The bike is inexpensive enough that money is not the issue, but space for another bike that likely won't be used all that often is.

Can anyone tell what the gearing is on there? I imagine changing it wouldn't be too difficult.

The first review is in! https://rideonpurpose.blogspot.com/20...ose-beast.html

I still think the low rider mounts on my Pugsley's fork were worth the extra $1800.

We received 10 - 20 inches of snow (depending on location) and there was a 300 car pile up on the highway... I guess that when the news stations said "Only travel if you have to" most people took this seriously, so although not every little piggy stayed home, there were hardly any cars on roads that would have otherwise been quite busy.

I had friends who were also out riding and where they found they had to walk their bikes, I just kept riding... which made me a pretty happy camper and the Pug does turn riding in these conditions a fairly enjoyable experience even though you can't relate.... but then you live in Iowa and I live in Alberta.

Now we are looking at weather and road conditions where skinnier tyres with studs are the way to go as things have been packed, plowed, and we are cycling between a thaw and freeze cycle and many of the roads are slippery enough to skate on.

Maybe you cannot envision any need for a fat bike and that is fine... I commuted for five years in some of the most extreme conditions and very rarely was it ever an unpleasant experience while driving and walking in the same conditions was often heinous.

I have also ridden in Portland during snow storms that shut the city down and had a blast as you really do get the roads to yourself for the most part.

Gecho: Thanks for the link to the review. It sounds like I'm a bit tall for the bike (without some minor changes) but it probably would be worth the price to tool around locally once in a while.

Walmart has a 90 day full refund return policy, (must be returned in original carton) so one could test it out risk free. Heck, you could even order it at the beginning of the month with the credit card, play with it 3 or 3 and a half weeks and then have the credit posted to the same billing statement. %100 free. Just thinking out loud here...

I'm pretty sure if I got one I'd end up keeping it though.

Exactly. If you put it all together yourself and get everything adjusted right it will run fine. Its a cheap bike and mostly because it has low end components which can be upgraded as time goes on. You won't wear it out unless you use it for trail riding all the time. The frame should be fine as they are mostly all 6061 alluminum made in Asian countries using modern CNC welding practices. So the quality should be consistant. Its not a Surly Pugsley for sure but good enough for occasional jaunts in soft snow or trail riding. If I were to need a fat bike for my commute, I would save up for the Pugs but the roads are always plowed well here no matter what kind of storm we get.

65 mentioned the hubs being a weak link and he's right. First thing I'd do is re-pack and readjust the bearings. Many failures on these cheap hubs are due to incorrect factory adjustment (usually too tight, but sometimes too loose) or insufficient grease.

As long as you don't expect it to stand up to abuse, I don't see how you'd have any problems with this for quite a while. Personally, I'm only 130 pounds and not planning on doing any cliff drops... so yeah, I'd be surprise if I didn't get many years of service out of it.

I like the reviewer's comment "90% of the fun at 10% of the cost."

If the public was advised "Only travel if you have to" what/where were you commuting to that was open? Since this is the commute forum I consider that a relevant question.

I can relate to having a specialized bike good for specialized joy riding, but not a commuter bike that has a sole advantage of being roadworthy when everything worth going to is closed, and is otherwise inferior to almost any other bike on the market.

I was riding to the bicycle co-op and was pretty pleased to see that all of our regulars made it and they all rode in from varying distances... it is pretty hard to convince the winter riders here that any day is too bad not to ride. Most of them have taken my Pug out for rides and have all been very pleased with what it does in the snow... you'd have to try it to understand.

They all have some rather winter specific bicycles that all have their pluses and minuses... I find the Pug to be a rather useful bicycle as we have long winters and it is also a great bike in the summer where it gets used for joy riding in the valley and on the trails so it does not go into storage like my dedicated winter bike.

I couldn't resist, a blue one is on order and shipping today. I dont intend to use it as a serious off road bikepacking workhorse, just a toy for the snow and something different to ride, it could be my tour de fat bike this year. I'll post next weekend after I get it put together and ride it for a bit.