Fatbike upgrades: Cheers and jeers.
 

What do you highly recommend? :thumb:

What do you regret? :(

Really like my Portland Design Works Dave's Mud Shovel Rear Fender.

Lets see it!

Tubeless. If your wheels can be set up tubeless, do it. If they can't be set up tubeless, it is time to upgrade.

Besides converting to tubeless and buying winter tires with studs I didn't change a thing (ignoring pedals and grips).
The key is to buy the bike you want to begin with - saves money.

Grips: I upgraded the stock grips to Ergon GA2 grips. These are a lot more comfortable.

Pedals: the stock plastic pedals were, as was predictable, rather awful. Hence, I used my spare set of Shimano MX80 flat pedals. They grip the soles of my shoes very well and you do feel almost clipped in most of the time, such is the level of grip provided. Also, the platform area is supremely comfortable ensuring no aches or pains in your feet.

Framed Minnesota 3.0

Shaved BFLs for the beach and Woodchippers allow wind piercing. Stem brought bars up and back. Rear d really helped shifting.

Salsa Woodchipper drops w/Salsa bar end shifters, Tektro brakes
Ritchey adjustable stem
Shaved BFL tires
Wellgo Mg1 pedals
SRAM BB
Specialized Toupe saddle
SRAM X9 rear d
Bars have a triple wrap up, double wrap on drops
22-40 front cogs

Does plus (3") count as fat?

I'm looking for a used Krampus, and I think it's silly to see Krampi listed on various CL that have been 'upgraded' with a suspension fork or a double or triple crankset.

THIS ^^^

I just got help with my tubeless conversion (thanks to Tonka Cycle, couldn't have done it myself with Marge Lite rims). The 6 miles home left me grinning ear-to-ear, like a new bike!

Every fatbike should be delivered tubeless!!

I started with a Pugsley, and made a few changes that I haven't changed back:

• Salsa Woodchippers for endurance/gravel rides/races
• The bars required changing out the shifters, I got the Gevenalle CX shifters; however, I think I'd like bar-end shifters better. But it's not 'bad enough' to change them out.
• I changed out the stock Nate tires for Panaracer Fat B Nimble tires in summer and 45NRTH Dillinger 4 studded in the winter.
• Tubeless conversion (posted above) - this should have been a bigger priority earlier; every fatbike should be tubeless!!

Attachment 594320

seems that I have upgraded a lot on my bike:
Original Stock Surly Ice Cream Truck - Blue

Swapped handlebars for Jones Loop Bars - love it

Swapped pedals for larger platform pedals - not entirely necessary as I loved the stock pedals but I did enjoy a few rides past week with my big and warm LL Bean rubber boots and the large platform pedals definitely helped

Swapped the Clownshoe Rims for Nextie Carbon Rims - love it

Went tubeless - love it

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4594/...f60a444f_b.jpg

Added Salsa cages - I haven't yet 'needed' them but there are some upcoming camping trips where I will utilize them

On my Salsa Beargrease - White
Swapped handlebars for Jones Loop Bars - love it
Swapped bicycle seat for brooks B17 - love it
Swapped marge lite rims for Nextie Carbon rims - love it
Upgraded to Shimano Eagle 1x11 - LOVE IT
Swapped the pedals for larger platform pedals - love it

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4549/...f888005a_b.jpg

Get a 2018 Trek Farley EX 9.8 and forget about any upgrades! Seriously, it needs no upgrades!

Set up your wheels/tires to run tubeless.

See https://www.bikeforums.net/fatbikes/...l#post20095405

Fenders. There aren't a lot of good ones for fat bikes, but nothing throws up road glop like those fat tires. I won't ride my Pugsley without fenders, particularly in winter.

Do you have the kind mounted to the downtube, or do they make fat fenders that could actually go around the wheel?

Big O fenders are full coverage, and I'm going to get some, just haven't done it yet.

Currently I'm using a Planet Bike Big Buck on the rear, and an SKS Grand D.A.D. on the front. The forward extension on the Grand D.A.D. is critical to not eating salty slush while riding.

+1 the Dave's mud shovels. When I got them they seemed pretty flexy, but they also shed the snow and not hold on to it.

45NRTH Dillinger studded tires. I would not ride Nov to April without them.

Jones Loop bars.

Store - H-Bars - Jones Bikes

I installed an absoluteblack oval chainring.
Much smoother power delivery under low rpm in deep snow.

They are neat looking there is no doubt.
So,is there more to it than hard easy hard easy etc?

with oval chainring you basically have two moments of a lot of force on the chain (when pushing each leg doen) and the remainder with little force to the chain. When you go fast enough you coast through the deadpoints. but on deep snow i noticed that on the downstroke i have too much force almost slipping, and when in deadpoint i get stuck in snow (since the snow doesn't allow coasting through the deadpoints).

Now the oval chainring from AB has the larger axis of the oval pulling when you are on downstroke, and the shorter axis when in deadpoint. So you move a bit faster through deadpoints, and slower through the push down points. Sot eh force to the chain is almost even or averaged out. This helps traction in loose conditions. If you just look at your right leg and imagine a 30t oval chainring it mean when you push down (at 3 o'clock position) the chainring is 32T, and when you are at 6'o clock position you virtually have a 28T chainring.

It works well for me. You don't get mroe pwoer, but it makes thigns easier. Maybe it is just confirmation bias....

The 1st mod I do to my bikes is the handlebar. All my bikes have the On One Mary style bars. (Metropolis, VO Postino)
I have the Origin8 Space Carbon UL8 Off-Road Handlebar with a carbon stem and ESI extra chunky grips on my Farley 9.6.

https://s20.postimg.org/bs3asj6yl/Origin_8_HB.jpg

The next mod I do is for comfort for the arse. Most of my bikes have a Brooks leather saddle. I had been borrowing an Aged B-17 from another bike for my Farley. All along I had been planning on getting one of those Cambium saddles for it. Just got a C-17 All Weather the other day.

https://s20.postimg.org/w9sui4qi5/20180211_104947.jpg

Upgrading the tires are next. My Farley came with 27.5" x 3.8" Bontrager Hodags setup tubeless. At the time there wasn't much to choose from in 650b fat tires. I didn't have to wait long as the 4.5" Bontrager Barbegazis came in. Great tire and at a similar weight as the Hodags.

https://s20.postimg.org/62pmu2vst/farlet_c17.jpg

And usually, I get the Wellgo MG-1 pedals for my Fat bikes.

I did the usual: Pedals, saddle. This year I put on bar ends, but I think I'll remove them and this is why: I like to ride along a path or trail and if I see an opening in the woods, I'll zoom right in to see where it may take me. I'll usually end up bush whacking with branches in the face and stumps hitting my feet, but the bar ends catch branches and hook them in. Where before the branches would just be pushed aside.