Fat bikes for ever..

[GirishH]

Hello Claudiajohnston, In the past, when I had space to own/store multiple bikes, I did have a road bike, a hybrid bike, and a fat bike. But, once I got rid of most of my belongings, the road and hybrid bikes went to new homes too. :-)

I am not racing, so I'm not really concerned about the percentage of extra energy I have to spend to pedal the fat bike.

I rode it for 9 months while bikepacking through South America and am now riding it through parts of India. While I might go slower, I have a lot of confidence in its grip and safety whenever I am forced to take unpaved roads or when traffic forces me onto unpaved shoulders. Long distance and duration bikepacking is a solo journey and this fatbike has been a great a complice..

https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/mistergordo/chimbarazo-dia-4-de-semana-3-en-tembr/

Regarding flats, during my 9 months in South America, I had about 4, all of which could be attributed to the same thorn that I didn't properly remove.

I am sure time will make me rethink, but I love how the fat bike acts like an icebreaker, helps break barriers, helps me connect with strangers, and even got me invited to strangers' homes.

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Trailjoe, please try a fatbike when you get a chance.

I completely agree the it's not the fastest or nimblest.

I consider fatbikes to be Jeeps/ ATVs. One can take them anywhere without having to think twice. Because they are ATVs, they are not great on mileage or elegance but ride quality is next level and you feel so ground. Folks are always curious and love to come talk to You to find out reasons for the fat tires and such..:-)

Like i mentioned earlier, i had to leave the pavement a few times here in India and felt very safe, stable because i was riding a fat bike. Some of these unpaved shoulders are as deep as a foot or 2 feet high..

Again, i love it for the joy it brings..

(04-21-2024, 10:18 PM)TrailJoe Wrote:  I have yet to experience riding a fat bike myself. While I am intrigued, I imagine I would likely return to my reliable road bike. However, the idea of trying out a fat bike for a few weeks does sound appealing.

[aronhoustongy]

At the present time, I am running a 100 mm wide tire on the front, and a 50 mm wide tire on the back. I have done this to reduce the rolling resistance. There is more weight on the back, so it affects rolling resistance more. If I ride through mud or sand, I still have the benefit of the fat tire on the front. In the long term, I plan to stop using 100 mm wide tires.