Figured I would start a new thread since I didn't see any fat bike related threads up. I bought a Devinci Riff w/ Altus 8s (MTB) about 3 years ago and have loved it to death. I got a pair of "racing" gravel tyres for it and spend a good part of a summer on them but really hated it. it was a lot faster rolling but after 5 hour rides even on mostly paved trails my arms and hands hurt a lot which never happened before on the MTB's so for ride comfy I swapped back. For a few years now I had it in the back of my mind to try a fatty. I was really interested in how smooth they could ride on tarmac and dirt forest trails with a few rocks or roots.Finally did so last week at the only shop in my city that still had a few fatties (I guess I missed their peak a few years ago).I rode a Norco Bigfoot 3 with some fancy 11 speed at about 9psi and 5psi. Firstly, I was shocked how little the bike weighed. I couldn't find a sure answer online, but I strongly suspect my Riff MTB weighs the same or even a little more despite they are both aluminum. Ofc the wheels on the fatty must weigh a lot more but the frame seemed to be much thinner and the fork weighed nothing compared to my MTB one.For the way I ride, I have never practically used the front sus on the Riff. There just aren't many boulders on city park trails and the 29" wheels w/ MTB tyres was overkill for the conditions. I was thinking for a long while that I wanted to get a rigid fork to save on weight and get better power. Esp. when pedalling hard (like uphill) I can noticeably feel the front sus bouncing even on the most "rigid" setting.Cont.
I only rode the fat for like 20 mins in a very flat (but very poorly kept) industrial park area so I can't say for certain whether it was just me being excited to ride it, but I could swear that at 9psi it was FAST. Like way faster than I expected. I think the acceleration from standstill was actually better than my MTB because of the fully rigid body (maybe the more granular gearing also helped?) plus it had suction-cup-like grip, like I cornered harder than I could on my MTB and it just refused to slip.I did notice the lack of a front sus b/c I got used to running full speed onto a curb w/ my MTB and my sus just ate it, but on the rigid fork you can definitely feel the "climbing" impacts, like it can just completely stop you unlike my MTB that would depress the shock then roll over. However dropping down onto stuff was smooth as butter, maybe better than my hardtail desu. Plus it rolled over even really big potholes and random street junk no problem same as the MTB.The gearset didn't have a little gear indicator like I'm used to but the guy told me you gear by feel, and honestly it was really nice. Like after riding my Riff for 3 years the gearset on the fat just felt much more premium, it shifted instantly and I never had a failed or partial shift even on a double downshift. The gear range was also really nice, like I didn't think I would notice 11g vs 8g but it did make a noticeable difference especially at those lower speed comfy ranges. The kicker is that he offered me the bike brand new (w/ warranty) for 1k CAD, he said he literally couldn't go lower without losing money lol. From my research it seems that the bike initially was maybe 2k, but now I guess ppl are trying to get rid of them so a couple places in Canada are selling them for ~1k.Cont.
Pic related my current Devinci RiffI'm really torn because I didn't think I would ever be the kind of guy to consider even owning more than one bicycle, but I also bought the Riff MTB as my first real bike since I was a little kid and it was kinda the "you can do a bit of everything" bike, but now I know for certain what I actually want from a bike that I didn't know then: I know that I want the comfort of full size MTB tyres, but don't like the added weight and strange geometry of MTB frames (plus I want more attachment points lol). My ideal bike would probably be something like a gravel frame with the fattest MTB tyres with a less aggressive tread for more tarmac efficiency but still capable in dirt and forest trails. I have genuinely zero interest in sick jumps or fast downhills or speedy speedo wearing road bikes that make your hands hurt. I parked my MTB downtown for 5 minutes to take a piss in McD's and I came out and my lights were stolen and it probly would've been my saddle and wheels too if I wasn't paranoid and hadn't replaced the quick release shit with anti-theft bolts as soon as I bought it... Yeah unless your job lets you leave the bike in the office you can't realistically bike commute in my shit city so the bike for me is strictly trail riding alone for health and fitness and the enjoyment of nature. I'm really starting to suspect that a rigid fat might actually be my ideal bike...Can anyone sanity check me? Does anyone here ride fats as their year-round bike? I unfortunately didn't get a chance to check how it climbs, but my current hardtail climbs like absolute ass, and I live in hill valley mountain so yeah, it might be a dealbreaker if it climbs worse, but I hope the rigid fork will help with climbing. Sorry for the wall of text but any input at all would be appreciated. Like plz tell me that I'm stupid and wrong because I'm about to drop a grand on a second bike :crying-emoji:
>My ideal bike would probably be something like a gravel frame with the fattest MTB tyres with a less aggressive tread for more tarmac efficiency but still capable in dirt and forest trailsif this is what you want, why do you want to buy a fatbike. Buy a bikepacking bike or something, and put XC MTB tires on it. Look what they use on rides like the tour divide. Also, don't fucking blogpost like this faggot use the /bqg/ thread
Find a normal bike that takes "plus" size tires (2.8"-3.0") fat bikes are for snow.You can down size to 27.5 on most 29ers to run wider tires if you just want new wheels instead of a new bike
>>2084751>if this is what you want, why do you want to buy a fatbike. Buy a bikepacking bike or something, and put XC MTB tires on it.I'm curious if anybody here has any experience using a fat bike as a bikepacker? I just personally found that the frame of the fatty I rode was very lightweight, and at higher psi the tyres rode remarkably similar to my full size MTB tyres. If I was hell bent on using the largest MTB tyres that my frame could fit, would it make that much of a difference to just buy a rigid fatty instead? That's kinda what I'm wondering.>Look what they use on rides like the tour divide.Thank you! I'll look into it!>don't fucking blogpost like this faggot use the /bqg/ threadI'm vewy vewy sawwy I Ctrl+F and saw no fat bike thread, I would have posted this there if there was one. I was hoping the thread would attract some people who specifically ride fat bikes year round because I wanted to know what it was like compared to a max size MTB wheel on a rigid frame. Sorry I'm too excited about bicycle :*(
posting here because picture of a bike in winterI'm a lightweight rider on an old steel frame shitbike commuter currently with 700x38 no name tyres. Want to get studded tyres, probably only on the front wheel, don't know if I should get either 30, 32 or 35. 30 and 32 would be a schwalbe winter (2 rows), 35 would be continental contact spike (2 rows also). Would a much smaller front tyre really upset the weight balance to the front too much? Bikes already kind rear heavy due to the pannier rack/milkcrate/cargo, and I'm in a pretty upright position thanks to a long quill stem and a kinda small frame for my height. I'm hoping that the smaller tyre/higher pressures will offset the slowness of the studs, but I dunno how it will be on rough uneven surfaces.
>>2084755Oh wow! Is this your bike? It looks really good! Thank you for the advice! I'm going to do more research on wheels and clearance. I don't know exactly what width are my MTB tyres but they are literally the widest I could fit on my wheels. My wheels are like super skinny and the MTB tyres kinda like bulge around them. The wheels in your pick look very similar to the fat bike one I rode last week except the fat bike had like holes cut out at regular intervals in the metal of the wheel, but the one in your picture is solid. Can I ask which wheels specifically are the ones in your picture? I kinda like the tread pattern too desu. Do you think it would make sense to get a rigid fork with "plus" size clearance and stick the bigger wheels onto my MTB?
>>2084749>a gravel frame with the fattest MTB tyres with a less aggressive tread for more tarmac efficiency but still capable in dirt and forest trailsas I was reading through your posts, I was thinking "he doesn't need the fatbike for what he's doing, he should get a gravel or hybrid with clearance for the widest 29/700c tires available."you probably don't need any kind of offroad tread for>zero interest in sick jumps or fast downhills.I do light offroad gravel, hardpack dirt, and turf all the time on an 80s roadie with panaracer paselas (kinda an all-rounder road bike tire but slick)32mm wide and it doesn't give me problems even at high speed. I'll do that stuff on my fast bike with Conti gp5k slicks in 28mm but I have to go slow.you say you've only had the MTB as your first bike but that road bikes "hurt your hands." if you rode a vintage roadie, they mostly only had frame clearance for 23 or 25mm and those tires need insane pressure because of how small they are. most current models have clearance for at least 32s now and those can be ridden at comfy pressures. so I don't think you know what you're talking about, or else had a bad experience on a skinny tire bike once. anyway, you'd be surprised. but yeah, I think you want gravel or a high quality hybrid anyway.
>>2084778Thank you for the reply! Yeah I spent most of yesterday googling and reading. I think a fat will be overkill and have worse climb performance than a 29+. I'm looking into getting a 29+ compatible fork and am probably going to get a steel one. Google tells me there are things you can do to minimize the galvanization effect from mixing steel with aluminum parts. I was looking at either the Salsa Cromoto or the Surly Krampus. I'm still looking at wheel options. >so I don't think you know what you're talking about, or else had a bad experience on a skinny tire bike once.Like I said b4 I spent most of a summer on some fancy Italian race gravel tyres and though I don't remember the width exactly and they come in a range, but I'm almost sure it was in the 40's of mm. I experimented with different psi and even at the lowest on very long rides I personally felt a massive difference to my hands, wrists, and upper arm bones. Maybe you guys are made of sterner stuff than I, but I cannot imagine going as small as 32mm. That's why I imagine that a real road bike would be too uncomfortable for me despite never having ridden one.
>>2084759>people who specifically ride fat bikes year roundthere's no thread for this because people don't do that, it's a bad idea all around. Also, putting a rigid fork on your MTB is not going to suddenly make it a light fast bike. You're basically spending time and money to turn it into a bad gravel bike or a bad MTB. Though it looks like your starting point is a pretty crummy hardtail anyways so maybe a rigid fork WILL be an improvement.>>2084834Were these tires on your MTB or on a racing bike? Because it sounds more like a bike fit issue than a tire size issue. By seeking out a fat bike you are looking to treat the symptoms not the cause, aka bigger tires = more comfy. And to an extent that is true but it's at the cost of literally everything else that makes a bike nice to ride (efficiency, handling, weight).
>>2084865>there's no thread for this because people don't do that, it's a bad idea all around.Yeah I didn't know enough about the topic to know this lol. >Also, putting a rigid fork on your MTB is not going to suddenly make it a light fast bike.Yeah I know but my current cheapo front sus weighs almost 2.5kg and has no lockout so its heavy and is just unbearable on long and steep climbs! The Krampus fork I'm looking at isn't even light weight (it's 1.133kg for the QR vers.) but it will be rigid and save me over a kilo just on that one part.>You're basically spending time and money to turn it into a bad gravel bike or a bad MTB. Yes :) but desu I already spent the money on the bike and it was a really good learning experience. I got it at a really good price and it has virtually zero resale value so I might as well tinker and have fun turning it into a weird frankenbike xDIf I ever get into group rides and need a proper gravel bike to keep up (not likely lol) then I'll have to buy a proper bike :)>Were these tires on your MTB or on a racing bike? Because it sounds more like a bike fit issue than a tire size issueIt was on my MTB, and to be fair the bike is fully aluminum including the fork so I guess vibration dampening was worse than maybe on like a carbon or fancy titanium roady, but the effect of a larger volume tire on road comfort is fairly uncontroversial I think? Maybe my bike fit isn't 100% (maybe I have too much weight on the bars idk) but the MTB tires made it more comfy despite that.>at the cost of literally everything else that makes a bike nice to rideYeah ur right about that fr fr. I think fatty's are cool and if I had more money and space I would buy one as a second bike. I realized for my riding conditions the fat tyres would hurt efficiency too much particularly on climbs.
>>2084884just going to second that bike fit is super important. step one is buying the right sized frame. two is putting the saddle rails in the middle of the clamp and leveling the nose and then find the saddle height. everything else depends on those. 3: bar height, then you can fool with the reach if it bothers you, as well as the tilt of the bar, the brake levers, and the shifters, or even getting a different bar. but generally you have to lay down some serious miles before you know the bar itself is bothering you. if it's a flat bar and it's too wide you can saw the ends downold pic still relevant, will get you started
>>2084865>because people don't do that, it's a bad idea all around.Lol
