Plus or Fat

[voodoo_simon]

Rumour has it that Surly are about to launch a Fargo-alike which will take 'plus'.....

Where be this rumour ?

https://bikepacking.com/gear/ortlieb-ha ... qr-review/
If you look at the bike its got Surly written on it. There are links to the 'leak' in the comments bit

Re self steer - fat bikes don't self steer with the right tyres. JJ's and bud = no self steer (even at 1psi). Maxxis mammoths quite a bit of self steer below 10psi. Vee buldozers - as per the name - they go wherever they want to!

[Charliecres]

I ride my fatbike as a trail bike - most often when the trails are filthy and I don’t want to wear out the full sus. It’s the only other bike I have with suspension. I never ride beaches and although there’s a teeny bit of sand round this way and it snows every once in a while, I don’t have a fatbike for that, I have one because it’s different and variety is the spice of life.

[substandard]

Having done gbduro, National level cross country and a 10 mile road time trial on fatbike, I’d say that fatbikes are ace!

Probably doesn’t help your question but fat should always be the answer!

[woodsmith]

Probably doesn’t help your question but fat should always be the answer!

Unless the question is " how does this dress/ these jeans make my arse look?"

[Fat tyre kicker]

Cheers htrider and voodoo_simon....looks interesting

[Jurassic]

I ride my fatbike as a trail bike - most often when the trails are filthy and I don’t want to wear out the full sus. It’s the only other bike I have with suspension. I never ride beaches and although there’s a teeny bit of sand round this way and it snows every once in a while, I don’t have a fatbike for that, I have one because it’s different and variety is the spice of life.

Charliescress pretty much echoes my thoughts exactly. I now have a second pair of wheels (fat hubs built on to 29er rims with 2.6 WTB Rangers) and with the options of fat wheels or 29ers I can pretty much do it all on my fat/not fat bike. I've just done the Cairngorms Outer Loop/ Tour of the Cairngorms on it and it took everything it's stride. My fat bike is a Smokestone Henderson which definitely falls into the trail orientated fat bike category.

[DickieH]

I just have a FS trail bike and a fat bike with bluto and rigid forks, + 26x4.4 and 29x3 wheelsets. Many bases covered.

[summittoppler]

I've been trying not to post on here as its pretty obvious were my thoughts lie on fatbikes.
For me over the last 8 years have been totally amazing due to riding fatbikes. I very much doubt I'd go back to a 2" tyre again.
I recently rode the WRT on my loaded Mukluk, and I know there was a few out there who frowned on my bike of choice. But you know what, I had as much fun as others did on their 29ers.
They offer so much more, feel great loaded up, fantastic for beach riding and you will never* get the front wheel washing out.
Here's a film I put together last year:
https://youtu.be/0kByfoQltuM

*not as much as a 2" tyre anyway

[ootini]

Thanks for all the input folks. So it seems the consensus has definitely steered me toward a true fat bike, as opposed to plus.
Question now is, which fat bike? I have a budget of around £1500-£2000 give or take. Based on my own research the Surly Wednesday, Sonder Vir Fortis or Kona Wo look pretty good options.

[whitestone]

My wife has a Wednesday - more mounting bosses than you can shake a stick at! Seems pretty capable. I think the current models have gone 1x, hers is 2x. Have seen a few Vir Fortis around but not had experience of one.

Self-steer: very much tyre and in particular pressure dependent. When I got mine I was running 45nrth Husker Dus at about 7.5psi, really scary at 40kmh on the road Stuck another 1psi in there and all was fine. The tyres have so much grip anyway that dropping pressure means they have even more grip especially on road that turning is more like wrestling a Moto GP bike to get round the bends. At the other end of the scale I've been down to 1.5-2psi in soft snow to be able to keep moving. Well worth playing around on sand or snow to see the effects of high and low pressure.

Fat bikes are also brilliant on moorland tracks, those with lots of embedded rocks and boulders, they just roll over and round pretty well everything.

[ColinC]

I've been riding a carbon Trek Farley for the last couple of years. Do anything bike, I found myself only riding it so sold FS and Ti 29er Hardtail.

As others have said change the tyres change the bike. I have three sets of wheels, two 27.5 x 80mm rims mounted with 4.5" studdable Gnarwhals and 3.6" Minions, and more recently a set of 29" x 50mm rims mounted with 3" XR4s. Three kinds of ride. The Gnarwhals are super fun downhill, momentum, rollover, and grip like nothing else I know, but more drag. The minions more nimble and bombproof trail tyres. The 29"x3 Xr4 still super grippy and stable like a fat bike, but lighter and much faster rolling. No auto steer with more than 6psi in any of them.

I swithered between Farley and Stache, both having the same dropouts which I was after .. but the Farley can do pretty much everything the Stache can, but not the other way around. Currently riding it with Manitou mastodon 120mm forks. Single speed with carbon forks and 29x3 it's 10.6Kg with a reverb dropper and pedals. If you haven't ridden one the bb is wider - I mostly single speed it and like the wider stance, but YMMV. You can carry a wider frame bag though!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cojacal/a ... 3828419618

[fatbikephil]

Thanks for all the input folks. So it seems the consensus has definitely steered me toward a true fat bike, as opposed to plus.
Question now is, which fat bike? I have a budget of around £1500-£2000 give or take. Based on my own research the Surly Wednesday, Sonder Vir Fortis or Kona Wo look pretty good options.

Go with something that has a 197 back end so you can bung 4.8 tyres in - i.e. if you are going fat go very fat. That said a Wednesday is a very nice bike (I'm told) but Ice cream truck gets my vote. Or there are some good buys around from the big manu's. I think Scotroutes got a bargain priced thing (er can't remember make Colin) with an alloy frame and good components. The Kona looks good, I nearly bought one when I had an attack of the weight weenies a couple of years back.

[Boab]

I keep flip flopping between wanting an Ice Cream Truck and Bearegrease. Mainly as the ICT will take 26 x 5.1" (rear axle position), while the Beargrease will only take 26 x 4.6". But one's carbon and the other steel, so much heavier... And round and round we go. :face_palm:

[fatbikephil]

I keep flip flopping between wanting an Ice Cream Truck and Bearegrease. Mainly as the ICT will take 26 x 5.1" (rear axle position), while the Beargrease will only take 26 x 4.6". But one's carbon and the other steel, so much heavier... And round and round we go. :face_palm:

Yeah I've been round that loop a few times. In the end I stuck with my ICT (we've been through a lot together). It's about as heavy a fat bike as is out there but it doesn't feel too heavy in isolation, only after I've picked up someone else's full carbon everything fat bike......

[stevenshand]

Didn't think I'd like it but had a shot of a friends Canyon (Dude?) and have to say that for the money, it seemed like a pretty well specced bike. Didn't ride it enough to form much in the way of ride opinions but seemed ok to me.

[ScotRoutes]

I think Scotroutes got a bargain priced thing (er can't remember make Colin) with an alloy frame and good components.

A Cube Nutrail. I only bought it as a donor bike for a planned Ti frame but I'm not in any hurry for that now as the Cube is just so nice

There's a Large for sale on the UK Fatbike Selling page on Facebook at the moment. Looks like a good deal at £700.

[fatbikephil]

Didn't think I'd like it but had a shot of a friends Canyon (Dude?) and have to say that for the money, it seemed like a pretty well specced bike. Didn't ride it enough to form much in the way of ride opinions but seemed ok to me.

Chrisps on here has just ridden one round the Highland Trail

[Loki]

I love my fatbike, this is my second one over the years, even on normal trails they are a mass of fun and they are great conversation pieces with people you meet on the trail. I am lucky, I have about 14 miles of beach to play on, it is a fecker when windy but I love it, mid winter is the best time for my up there.