Fat bikes any good?

[canuckamuck]

Haven't owned a bicycle in 20 years. I am thinking of getting a bike for me and my daughter. We are the same height. Need it more for exercise than going places.

We are in the mountains and there is more off road than on road here. Thought a fat bike would be cool.

Not wanting to spend a bunch though I see them around for 10k

[Pdaz]

Fat bikes are like fat chicks.. Fun to ride, but you wouldn't want your mate to see ya on one 

[HooHaa]

If you want to ride something heavier and slower, go for it. 

[canuckamuck]

1 minute ago, HooHaa said:

If you want to ride something heavier and slower, go for it. 

Surely there must be an upside too?

[HooHaa]

Just now, canuckamuck said:

Surely there must be an upside too?

Sure, sand, snow or pure downhill.

 

Every fat bike buyer i have known has had the bike up for sale in a matter of weeks or months.

[canuckamuck]

Thanks guys

[HooHaa]

to offer a more thoughtful reply, they are much heavier and unless you are riding extreme terrain on which you will benefit from enhanced traction and way lower tire pressures, you sacrifice alot in terms of wight and efficiency.

the big wheels do drag substantiall if you are just riding roads and loose gravel.

while a fat bike may benefit you on a very sketchy slippery climb, if you are riding dry single track or again, gravel or road, it will just suck energy.

they are however fun for shuttling downhill, bombing around the beach at low tide (which will kill your fatbike just as quick as your regular mountain bike) or taking it up the lifts to ride in the snow, its just not worth it, especially if you are buying a 10000 baht chinese version, which will have compromised components and not likely be up to these challenges anyways.

[CNXBKKMAN]

A 10,000 baht fatbike will be low quality, very very heavy and basically a torture machine. A 10k MTB will be a lot better than a 10k fatbike for riding enjoyment. A decent cheaper fatbike will cost 30,000 baht and up. A fatbike is a niche bike that you buy in addition to your roadbike/mtb/cyclocross bikes.

[Deserted]

The thicker the tyre the slower you will go. It can only work if you want to lose more weight as you will expend 4 times the amount of energy.

[Denim]

Maybe ok on sand but otherwise like peddling through treacle .

 

When I got my bike even the knobbly tyres  made long distance riding hard work. Through them out and got some tyres that were only knobbly on the sidewalls but smooth along the contact line. Perfect. Easy to ride but with a bit of traction through light muddy tracks.

 

[bobfish]

9 minutes ago, Denim said:

Maybe ok on sand but otherwise like peddling through treacle .

 

When I got my bike even the knobbly tyres  made long distance riding hard work. Through them out and got some tyres that were only knobbly on the sidewalls but smooth along the contact line. Perfect. Easy to ride but with a bit of traction through light muddy tracks.

 

Thread is about Fat Bikes. Smooth Fatties are in fact best for sand, around 8psi. 

Ridden a couple of Fatties, and agree with CNXBKKMAN. I live near a beach, but can't justify trashing a BT30K bike in salt that's compromised elsewhere. 

[Deserted]

Some people would argue an MTB more than qualifies as a fat bike.

[bobfish]

On 15/10/2017 at 2:19 PM, Deserted said:

Some people would argue an MTB more than qualifies as a fat bike.

Yes Deserted, I guess some people would, and still do .... Maybe a misconception of Tyre vs Bike: indeed Fat Tire Ale is one of my favourite brews. Notwithstanding, a Fat Bike qualifies as a type of MTB. Google it.

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, bobfish said:

Yes Deserted, I guess some people would, and still do .... Maybe a misconception of Tyre vs Bike: indeed Fat Tire Ale is one of my favourite brews. Notwithstanding, a Fat Bike qualifies as a type of MTB. Google it.

I have the same tyres on my road bike as on my mountain bike - 35 mm, running at 85 psi because I'm a fat bas****

[Deserted]

Well there are quite a few people I know who will not ride less than 28mm in BKK given the quality of the roads, and frankly, that's quite sensible I'd say but the drag from 35mm and up just slows me down too much. 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

8 hours ago, Deserted said:

Well there are quite a few people I know who will not ride less than 28mm in BKK given the quality of the roads, and frankly, that's quite sensible I'd say but the drag from 35mm and up just slows me down too much. 

 

 

I think its the pressure rather than the size that creates the drag; so mine are pumped up to the upper limit of their rated pressure - 85 psi, compared to 110 psi that my buddies ride on 25 mm tyres.

 

Before I got the floor pump with a pressure gauge, I think I was running about half that pressure, and I was plagued with punctures.  Now, less than one in 1,000 km I would say

 

SC

[impulse]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

9 hours ago, Deserted said:

Well there are quite a few people I know who will not ride less than 28mm in BKK given the quality of the roads, and frankly, that's quite sensible I'd say but the drag from 35mm and up just slows me down too much. 

 

 

I think its the pressure rather than the size that creates the drag; so mine are pumped up to the upper limit of their rated pressure - 85 psi, compared to 110 psi that my buddies ride on 25 mm tyres.

 

Before I got the floor pump with a pressure gauge, I think I was running about half that pressure, and I was plagued with punctures.  Now, less than one in 1,000 km I would say

 

If the purpose of the bike is to get from point A to point B efficiently, skinny, high pressure tires are the way to go. 

 

I'd say most of us are in it (at least partially) for the exercise, and fat tires aren't a bad way to go to work those atrophied muscles. 

 

On an aside, I didn't even notice a difference when I took my MTB from 50-60 PSI trail tires to hybrid 100 PSI road tires.

[Deserted]

Yeah, I think a lot of it is what you are used to.  

[ttakata]

I've had/have many bicycles: road, mtb, and folding.  I love my fatbike because I think a blind person could ride it.  4" wide tires adds a lot of cheap suspension but the best thing is you can roll over any road imperfections instead of looking to avoid it (I will never ride my 23mm roadie on Bkk roads again).  A fatbike is the only bike that let's you go through sand and hard mud easily.  True they are mostly slow tires, but the Jumbo Jim rolls faster than many cheap road tires.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/fat-bike-reviews

A fast road bike is not exercise until you ride a long distance, but you can get a faster workout on a heavier, more comfortable, and slower fatbike.

 

My friend got a Panther Hercules Pro and has ridden it hundreds of kilos with no problems.  I have a Totem KDS-D (15k THB) and it's great value for the money, but it's a higher end beginner bike with quick releases.  They both cost similar and have sealed bearing hubs.  You need thru axles for good suspension/hard riding IMO, but those are 30k and up. 

 

I think the greatest single bicycle would be a full suspension carbon fatbike since you can ride anywhere in any weather, even snow.  You can also have a second wheelset with skinny slicks if you want to go fast.  You can always put faster wheels on a fatbike but any other bike can never get much more floatation.