and some great photos to accompany it (and the changing interior BC seasons).
I’m in love with that dog.
Good read, and pics. That dog looks even more happy than the dude!
fat bikes seem all the rage up here in the nor’east
they’re good to ride in our 4-5 month winter.
Good read- so the takeaway for me was get a pluto fork??
Last time i checked there was no snow in Melb though…
I read and enjoyed that article yesterday - a friend (Adam @ summit cycles, you might know him) rides his fatty heaps, and loves it - though he is one of the most skillful riders I know.
I would love to try a fatty for my local trails, which are very sandy.
I’m pretty keen to give the B+ idea a go. That seems like it could be a more suitable fat experience for Victorian trails. My Rawland Drakkar will fit 29x2.3 which should work out to be very close to the OD of the WTB Trail Blazer 27.5x2.8. Having a second fatter wheel/tyreset that fits in existing 29ers makes a lot of sense to me. From previous experience , a little extra width can make a large difference. Just have to wait for them to actually make and sell the darn things.
@Ezy can attest to the dog being even more awesome IRL. Morgs has had him out on the trails since he was a pup and he has better trail manners than most riders. Can rail a berm too!
I believe he has also been peripherally involved in the new Rocky Mtn Sherpa (one of the RM R&D guys/prototype riders is a very good friend of ours). His remarks about B+ may well have been inspired by/with some of the work they did with that bike.
My first ride of a fatty was the surly pugsley. Compared to my mtb at the time it felt heavy, and handled like a manly ferry. BUT it was fun and I didn’t want to give it back for a while. It was fun because it was different but it didn’t get me jiving on it so much that I felt I would need one in my life.
The other week I went into the specialized store in Canberra and saw the Fatboy Pro in there. Man it was light!! I wouldn’t mind taking one of those out for a laugh.
I guess if there terrain called for it, riding in snow - sand etc, then yeah it would be a viable option as it would get used. But here in Canberra it would just be a bit of a novelty.
Ex FoA user simplespeed has had his fair share of fat bikes. When he lived up in northern qld he would ride along the beach on various adventures. But sold up before he was posted to Afghanistan. He is taking some time off and has been reacquainted with the fat bike since then - cruising around canada through snow and ice.
Warning - this link will make you jealous.
http://www.tydomin.com/blog/canadia
Maybe if I lived in Jindy.
Always wanted to do something like the Mt. Jangungal loop in the peak of Winter as an overnighter in the hut.
I’ve been getting to thinking that a fatbike has big potential for portaging into the truly gnarly and out of the way bits of Tassie, low ground pressure and simplicity are both good things.
Otherwise the Trek Stache sure has me interested in 29+.
Andy Fyxo said that the Stache wasn’t coming to Australia - I agree though, it looks a sweet bike.
Ugh, f***ing typical! Take a risk Trek Australia!
Also like the Singular Rooster but it looks quite possible they might never make full production.
One of my buddies over here has an ICT also. It never sees snow, instead he takes it on the beach with his his kids, or conversely into the very rough and technical backcountry (illegal) trails around my way - commonly steep, rooty and wet/muddy. And he seems pretty happy with it for either application.
And on the 27/29+ tip, I had the opportunity to ride a Krampus last winter on the flow trails of Rotorua and wan’t all that convinced by it to be honest, certainly not as a bike for smooth trails. It really handled like a really long 29er. But to be fair I do think this was largely due to the fact that the rider I was borrowing it off had his tyre pressures well off (about 5-10psi too high), and so this made the bike handle a bit like a pogo stick. That said, I do think that I would seriously consider a 27+ bike for my next trail bike (29+ just seems too big for a smaller rider such as myself). I like the idea of something that is really capable through technical terrain but is still relatively low maintenance; and seems like it could be ideal for multi-day riding on proper trails.
This bike Mag video/article is worth checking out too:
Being completely real here, even a modern 160mm travel all-mountain bike is low maintenance, relatively low maintenance compared to that standard is pretty much…a rock.
My 160mm travel bike is not low maintenance, not by any stretch of the imagination. It has two air shocks, both with complicated damper units, a hydraulic actuated dropper post, Five pivot points; thats on top of hydraulic brakes, gears and all bearings you get with a regular bike. Conversely my Rigid SS has hydraulic brakes and the run of the mill bearings and freehub, that’s all.
My AM bike is infinitely more complicated and expensive to service. Even when I add gears to my Rigid SS for bikepacking its still much, much simpler. And thats the way I like it when I’m 400km from a decent bikeshop, or even 100km from the nearest town. And thats what made me think that a 27/29+ would be a good choice for riding in the middle of nowhere.
Yeah, but all that stuff is set and forget mostly. I didn’t say simple, I said low maintenance.
As regards the multi-day, remote touring kind of deal I am with you 100% because probably nothing would happen, but if something should happen, then it’s a ball ache if things are complicated. Mostly the same kind of reasons I’d like to try either a fat or mid-fat bike for a bit.