Hello everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has experience with Fat Bikes? I've been looking at them online and watching some videos, but I'm wondering how bad the rolling resistance is on those things vs. a 'regular' mountain bike tire. I was looking at maybe buying a Surly Moonlander for cruising some heavy sand trails here in Florida and also doing some beach runs. Since the bikes carry a pretty hefty price tag (for me), I'd like to know just how much those tires make you crank up the effort? We've got miles and miles of trails here in Florida to ride. Is 'bike-camping' with one and some 20-40 mile rides a possibility or are they pretty much good for not much other than a couple miles of ripping through some tough terrain?

My wife rides her Pug Ops 30 to 40 miles on some days for her job. She cruises through anything, snow, big ass rutted ice shelves, whatever. She loves it. She does go a bit slower than on her summer whip - to be expected.

We've ridden some singletrack together, her on her Pug and me on my Monocog. She can definitely make it over loose sand and rougher terrain on her 4" tires easier than I can on my 2.3 - 2.5" 29er tires. I guess that's the "float" they talk about. I've ridden her bike quite a lot and I love how it can just go anywhere. Point and shoot. I'm saving up for my own pugs as we speak.

So yeah, 20 to 40 miles no problem depending on the condition of the engine and available fuel. Plus, these bikes have LOW bottom end gearing. And people bike camp all the time with those bikes. Personally, I'm planning on building up a 29er blunt 35 wheelset to throw on and use it as an ECR type camping rig in the summer.

Since I got mine back in Sept. I have to say it's my favorite ride! I have miles & miles of barrier islands and beaches here in the panhandle....I know I can spend all day exploring on it! Plus it's fun in these state park trails I just discovered.




I'm sure you can find out here what a lot of folks think..https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/ plus you got quite a bit to choose from now.

Yeah there are a lot of cheaper options out there now. I've been really tempted to pick up one of the bikesdirect fatties but I just bought a used surly karate monkey and can't justify yet another bike.

BD, Nashbar & Framed bikes all have decently-spec'ed versions out for less than $1000. Framed's newest offerings, the Minnesota 1.0 & 2.0 are $799 & $899 and they're even offering an early buy promo special that includes an extra complete 29'r wheelset for free. I just purchased the 1.0 version.
For flatland-type areas(FL), I'd look at the Origin8 Crawler with Nuvinci gear; no derailleurs or exposed cassettes to deal with...
Tho' certainly nothing wrong with the Moonlander; one of the best out there.

Thanks for all the advice! I think I will look into some other buying options as the price tag on the Surly is pretty steep. It's good to know the bikes are so capable. They look like fun, but if the only real mileage I could get out of one comfortably is a couple miles, then I couldn't justify the purchase.

Look into the Framed bike mentioned. The extra set of wheels they're giving out now come complete with disks & cassette, so it's almost like getting another 29'r thrown in on the deal. Fat-bikes really respond to different tire pressures; at higher PSI you can get all the daily riding mileage you'd want, in normal MTB conditions, then drop way down for very specific conditions....

I just got in my Motobecane FB4 from BikesDirect. I was pleasantly surprised that it feels lighter and more agile than my Xtracycle that gets everyday use. I glides over the trails and snow I have ridden it on so far. It will not win any acceleration races but can get up to a pretty good clip on roadway.

Dr. Joe