[Closed] Do I want a fat bike or need a fat bike?

They're quite rubbish on normal trails IME.

Aside from the obvious snow and sand they are good on stuff like soft grassy rubbish non-existent moorland trails and also very loose pile of stones type trails in the South Wales/Peak District tradition.

Thanks this is the kind of answer I probably need as I do not ride anything like what they are intended for.

I have a 29+ bike, tbh it’s pretty good.
I don’t think I would have used an actual fat bike so much, but this is a pretty good compromise.
I will say, they are pretty rubbish on smooth terrain, but much better when it’s rough.

+1 to what @molgrips wrote (though I don't know what "normal" trails are 😉)

I know some riders who have one who use it for just about all their riding but most keep them for "off-grid" type rides - snow, sand, bog. I don't use mine a lot when compared to my other bikes but when I do use it it's in conditions or for rides I'd really struggle with on any other bike. Decent tyres make a big difference to how a fat bike rides, you really need something that can take advantage of the volume and low pressures.

They also have a "these are not the droids you are looking for" effect - ride somewhere cheeky and people you meet are more interested in the tyres than you being where you shouldn't.

By normal trails are we talking trail centres?

Anyway, I would recommend a hire if possible. I did that for a weekend and rode it where I would ride normally. I liked the way it encouraged that bit of extra exploring. Maybe just a mindset but I bought one. That waa late 2015 and I haven't bored of it yet. Mine us set up very "adventure/explorer" style rather than fat tyred trail shredder.

Personally I think my fat bike is a right hoot.

It’s at its best when the weather is a bit rubbish and the fun factor is what drags me out.

I’ve done a few beach/shingle rides, a few snow rides and actually it’s my normal woods and trails where I have the most fun. It’s just fun, not fast - fun.

It also opens up rides you might previously have dismissed as being a bit bland or boggy, you will fall off in the mud! Mainly as you’ve ridden it into far worse conditions than you ever could on a normal hardtail.

Did I mention fun?

To my surprise I was faster around brechfa, cyb and mountain mayhem than on my carbon Scott spark fs xc bike. So I gave the Scott away and am fully fat.

They are quite good in that trail centre kitty litter stuff and really stick to berms, you can thunder round them. But as soon as you hit a rock section or loads of roots then they are rubbish, you just bouncy around. Riding on beaches is fun for about 3 rides.

"molgrips

Subscriber

They’re quite rubbish on normal trails IME."

I agree. Magnificently, hilariously rubbish. I have an incredibly good bike too and what could be better to contrast it? Riding the same trail on the 2 bikes can feel very different, but, teh trick of the fatbike is that it's still capable of riding things safely that I wouldn't want to do on my old cross bike or rigid xc bike.

But as much as I love it, it's totally a second bike, there's no way I'd have it as my only bike. And I don't need it.

Tbph, unless you’re asking the same question on Fat forums you’re wasting your time here. Fat bikes *can* make ace general MTBs but they can also be shit. This shouldn’t be surprising.

It is a problem on the Fat forums that a large number of the riders are more concerned with beaches, improbable luggage requirements and some sort of inverse snobbery around the Calibre Dune (although this is thankfully starting to go away) but there are a number of riders around who do hammer the things hard. A lot depends on your intentions though- several cracked Bucksaws on the forum a couple of years ago says Salsa weren’t kidding that much when they suggested it’s not designed for big drops. If big air is your thing, the Foes Mutz is probably a better idea.

Whether a fatty makes sense as an only bike is a different matter. If you can live with the stupid hub setup you’d need then it’s always an option to run a set of 29er or maybe even 29+ wheels rather than just 26x4.whatever. Unfortunately without dropping a chunk of cash for something half decent there’s no real way to know if one suits you. It’s rare to get a fatty down to XC race bike weights, but unless everything is very cheap you should be looking at normal sort of Trail bike weights. The tyres aren’t draggy the way some make out- the big wheels do have inertia but the traction helps massively do you end up somewhere between zero sum and advantage fatty depending on choices.

As always, haters gonna hate and fat bikes are probably second after ebikes for poorly informed hate on here.

It is a problem on the Fat forums that a large number of the riders are more concerned with beaches, improbable luggage requirements and some sort of inverse snobbery around the Calibre Dune

I've not seen that "snobbery" thing anywhere I frequent.

OP - look at the second hand market or pick up a Calibre Dune for £500. Ride it for a while on a variety of your normal trails, then consider exploring a bit of other stuff and make up your own mind. Also remember that tyre width is only one of the geometry factors and that not all fat bikes handle the same. Some are properly aimed at the exploring/bikepacking crowd and others are more aimed at normal trail riders.

FWIW my 9ZERO7 proved to be rubbish on the rocky features at Laggan Wolftrax but just ace at Glentress where the grip is immense and there are fewer issues with undamped rebound.

Fatbikes are Great Everywhere and anywhere, other than 60 foot gaps of course.

could do with getting my mojo back for riding and keep looking at fatbikes for fun

That’s a pretty good reason to get one I’d say. I bought a Surly ICT about three years ago (F&F still for sale by the way 🙂 ) after a few broken bones had made me question the whole off road gig. I rode it (and the Dude that replaced it) everywhere for a couple of years. To be honest I don’t enjoy beaches that much and even when we have snow I tend to avoid it, but the fat bike is always fun. The ideal mojo restorer I’d say. I’ve now got a “regular” trail bike as well but the fatbike is still great fun and still gets taken out, especially when conditions are crap enough that I won’t be going fast whatever I ride or if I just fancy a change. As others have said they also make a lot of sense for exploring where you don’t know what the trail will be like, or even if there will be one.

There's two "types" of fat bikes - the original adventure style intended for load carrying in the wilds and the newer style introduced by the big manufacturers when they jumped on the bandwagon that tries to be more trail oriented.* Just like other bikes they have their niche where they excel and areas where they don't.

*Highly simplified for the hard of reading 😜

My Voodoo Wazoo was great in giving me confidence to cycle commute again after my RTA. It spends most of the time these days with 29er wheels on it, but every now and again I throw the fat wheels back on.

If you're riding for pleasure, not chasing segment times, they're great fun even on tarmac with Jumbo Jim's fitted.

Brilliant for riding on the "brown snow" in my local woods. It's just so much fun!

and deffo faster than you would think

We've just got a pair because we fancied trying them out. Haven't ridden much yet apart from a couple of rides on the beach and messing about in the dunes.

So far it's a good laugh, I wouldn't want one as my only bike though but like the idea of pottering about on it locally and maybe a bit of light bike packing. I doubt they'll ever go to a trail centre.

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/new-bike-day-fat-content/

Fatbikes are sick brah. I live in the Midlands. About as far from beaches as you can get. Don't get much snow either.

Does that matter? Hell no!

I love my Calibre Dune and it's always the bike I choose for local xc. If I'm going to shred the gnar then I'll choose my 160 millimetre enduro weapon or my steel hardtail.

The fatbike is great fun on anything. I recommend it.

donkeydave
...I do not ride anything like what they are intended for.

Of course you don't. You can't ride a normal mtb in the places you can take a fatbike.

They expand the world of what is rideable.

In terms of what is rideable, they are to mtbs what mtbs are to road bikes.

Get one. Buy a quality secondhand fatbike, and that way if you don't like it, then you'll not lose much if anything.

Every year, when the weather turns to shit and the trails turn boggy, I put the full sus away and take the 29+ wheels off the Ice Cream Truck, and put the full fat wheels back on.

The first few rides you think - gawd, this is bloody awful.

However, by this time in the winter I'm thinking that I can't imagine riding any other type of bike as its so much bloody fun.

Every year the same.

Just get one and give it a go.

I ( a distinctly mediocre rider) was much faster round glentress on my fat bike than on a normal bike. Its also just great fun to ride. Main drawback IME is the drag. riding 30+ miles on it hurts much more

They really are fun. I haven't ridden a normal bike since getting it

Yes.

Like the OP I had an itch for years after trying an OO Fatty, compromising on a 29+ Krampus as a +1 to my FS and going back to a 1 bike does all (BFe) so I finally built a Wednesday.
So far my thoughts are-
Makes sloppy crap bridle tracks fun
Gets me out in weather/conditions that I would not entertain before, embracing the mud as I will be wearing it
Really fun on blue trail centre kitty litter, icy off camber chalky trails and in what snow we got
Makes me look forward to "different" riding- beaches, heaths etc
Wheels/tyres are critical, going tubeless makes a big difference
Would not want to ride it at BPW...

So far its got my mojo back and is a good contrast to my BFe, so I'd say try one

Fat bike did you say?

:shamelessplugemoji:

https://singletrackmag.com/classifieds/advert/surly-pugsley-fat-bike-medium-plus-spares/

I bought a fulk ridgid trail oriented fat bike 3 years ago as a 2nd 'winter' hack bike. I had a Whyte t129 as my 'main' bike and sold it in the summer the following year - I literally hadn't used if in over 6 months. The Fat Bike was just too much fun.
It's been my main bike for the last three years now, most of that time full ridgid, but recently succumbed to a set of Blutos. I've done xc races, enduros, adventure rides, trail centres and of course local bridalway and singletrack. It puts a bigger smile on my face that any other bike I've owned.
It's really brought me back to the fun of mtb's that I had in the 90's.
OK, it's draggy on the road, others may tell you other wise but my experience is that while 4" tyres provide loads (and I mean LOADS, of grip) they also cause more drag on flat hard pack stuff. Point the tyres at a greasy rooty trail and they are great.
I've never used it on a beach and found fresh snow much harder work as pushing 4" wide tyre through powder is hard going. Icy trails or hard pack snow was great fun though.
Seeing full on enduro types faces when you beat them on a full ridgid fat bike is also a laugh.

They aren't for everyone, but I love mine.

If you're into exploring, riding anywhere then they give you the chance to ride stuff that might trouble other bikes - might not be the best at all conditions, but are capable across the widest range of conditions.

Big grip means you have half a chance of getting up slippery or loose stuff that would probably defeat other bikes. Likewise, you can roll/mince your way down stuff that you'd probably avoid like stone cut steps on the Cornish Coastpath.

The big tyres and geometry means they have very stable handling, even when fully loaded which is very handy when you're knackered at the end of a long ride.

Taken mine to the arctic in winter a few times - a few inches of fluff isn't 'snow'

I asked pretty much the same question on this here forum some months ago. Built a pugsley up with Alfine and loving it! Used mainly for beach and boggy rides or just for the love. It will only ever leave my stable for another of similar (or greater) girth. If it’s not gonna make you poor why the hell not?

The big tyres and geometry means they have very stable handling

Yes because there are loads of fatbikes out there with 62 degree head angles aren't there...
If you want one just buy one and ride the shit out of it no matter how inapropriate it is.
Then sell it as you no longer want to ride it.
Nothing wrong with trying new bikes until they don't interest you any more then selling them.
They're not like dogs or tatoos.

Slack HAs aren’t the only way to make a bike stable though. Get a 3Kg wheel up to speed and there isn’t much that will knock it off line.

I know I owned one of the first Mukluks in the UK...

Thank you so much for the thoughts, it seems like I thought a bit marmite, has anyone got any thoughts on either the calibre dune or genesis caribou?.

I can't speak for the Caribou, but the cool thing about the Dune is it's basically solid out of the box (apart from the brakes, but replacement decent hydraulic brakes cost literally dozens of pounds) and gives you a great taste of fatbikerism.

But it's also incredibly upgradable, so should you get the bug. All the modern standards, takes 4.8 tyres if you want... And tbf the frame and fork is good enough that if it said Salsa on the side people'd pay as much as you do for the whole bike. They knew what they were doing- all the money is in the things that matter and that you'd not want to upgrade in a hurry, all the real shortcuts are in things that are easy and cheap to replace. Clever speccing.

genesis caribou?

I've just got one, the green 2017 with tapered head tube so it would take a suspension fork if you wanted (I can't see me wanting to though).

It's well built, fits me well, and rides well with 1x10 gearing. The tyres are set up tubeless (not by me so no idea how easy they went on). I've no idea how hard it will be to get replacement hubs or cranks if needed as I don't know the standards etc yet. Has hydraulic brakes.

Mine was £425 with £150 worth of tyres fitted.

Like I said up there not ridden it much yet but impressed so far.

I was put off the Dune by the number of cracked frames I read about while looking.

After yesterday's filth fest I just hosed off the chain ,lubed it and now it's ready to go again.
It's a rigid bike with suspension.
It's the business.

Exactly what Epicyclo said

"They expand the world of what is rideable.

In terms of what is rideable, they are to mtbs what mtbs are to road bikes.

Get one. Buy a quality secondhand fatbike, and that way if you don’t like it, then you’ll not lose much if anything."

I was unsure, then found a decent one secondhand. Love it, it's still worth what I paid for it, not that I would sell it anyway, only to replace it with another fat bike. Beg, borrow or buy one without futher ado!

I spend a lot of the year trying to ride fast on my trail bike so its a pleasure to chill out over winter on my Fatbike (massively uprated Dune). Something about it makes every ride special.

And in the right hands they can be proper fast, a mate of mine holds a few local KOMs on his Mastadon shod ICT.

To conclude, I wouldn't have one as my only bike but I wouldn't be without it either. And as someone has already said, I have no interest in beaches but I do love a bit of snow 🙂

And my Dune frame is on its third winter and its still in one piece at the mo. I don't know whether to be happy or embarrassed but I do know that I jump it and ride like my Rocket, albeit a little slower, apart from bigger drop offs which seem best avoided. In fact it handles beautifully in the air, must be the gyroscopic effect?

I bought one 2nd hand (cube nutrail) as I saw it for sale at a reasonable price. It's the most fun bike I've ever ridden. I've since changed the frame to a carbon canyon "dude" as the cube was a bit short and upright, plus the carbon frame was lighter. Now it's even better.

If it's smiles per miles then they can be very good. In the mud though it's a nightmare, but that is purely down to the tyres (jumbo jim) and the same can be said of any other bike with the wrong tyres for the conditions. Speaking of the tyres, they're very sensitive to pressures and a digital pressure gauge is a must.

Things like roots in woods, you fly over them, barely notice they're there. Descents, I've hit almost 60mph on mine off road. I wouldn't do that if it didn't give me confidence. It is a bit of a blunt instrument though so not the best on tight/twisty singletrack.

Put simply whilst it's not my only bike it's the one I like riding the most. As I said, smiles per miles.

After yesterday’s filth fest I just hosed off the chain ,lubed it and now it’s ready to go again.

The same could be said for any bike, that's not really a fatbike thing.

Ok so still massively undecided, this is a massive long shot and a big ask, anyone in the West Midlands area that would be willing to let me try there fat bike?, really do not want to waste my money if I do not like it prefer to save up and buy a 27.5 or 29er but that is a new thread!
Thanks all

Not wanting to page anyone, but I think Rocketdog is in your neck of the woods?

What size do you need?

You do know that a 26" wheeled Fatbike is an effective 29'er considering the rolling circumference of a fatbike tyre...

Yes you need one. But with a fork for trail riding.

Yes you need one. But with a fork for trail riding.

Agreed. Also, if I stick my fatbike next to my 29er hardtail, the overall circumference of the fat bike tyres are noticeably bigger. That's 4.4" jumbo jims compared to 29x2.35 specialized purgatory grid.

There's a large Canyon Dude for sale on ebay at the moment. I have one and love it.

I was on a 26er and nearly went fat bike early last summer.

i was looking at the dune and a variety of variants. Its a maze of varying BB standards and mess of cranks and q-factor. that kind of put me off. lots of the secondhand market dune's can have either shoddy or nice upgrades on (like theres one hard to get race face crank that fits).. seems like the chainrings on stock ones are not good. i was purely considering this as a +1 bike, a toy. not a replacement.

i ended up waiting, and luckily for me my work bonus timed up with when i decided a fat bike was off the table, and i doubled my budget to 1k. i was set to get a marin hawk hill (rrp 1200, but findable under 1k new) to replace my ageing santa cruz superlight. (i also looked at the bossnut and didnt like and is also prone to this reverse snobbery phenom.) in looking for that i came across a deal on a marin b-17 and did some reading about 27.5+. rrp for the b-17.1 then was 1799 (its now 1700) and i got it for 1299.

mid fat/plus is great, its fun. its not a fat bike though but does get rid of trail chatter while adding tonnes of grip. most 27.5+ bikes can take 29er wheels so i've added a 29er wheelset and swap between the the two depending what kind of riding i'm doing. 29er wins out for longer XC style rides as the weight and drag of plus does get noticeable. its like having 2 bikes for one and both still fun.

OP you havent said what you ride, what type of rides you do?

I'd say get whats fun, but also consider how much you'd use it and whether this is an extra bike or "the one to rule them all".

Hi all and thank you very much for the messages back, I would need a medium in pretty much anything!.

Lots to think about and research and probably a million more questions that need answering.

The kind of riding I do mostly is straight out the door road, bridleways, cheeky trails and have been known and would like to get back into going to trail centres (god forbid!), also would not mind dipping my toe back into fun xc type racing so I suppose a 29er might be better.
But as said before something to get my mojo back and get me out there.

There is a great spec carbon full suss lefy fork fatbike on Pinkbike right now to suit a rider up to 5'8" and a very good price.

No stealth ad, its not me selling

@donkeydave - General consensus on the Dune, and there's a very very long thread on here about it (fat bike for under £1k), is that it's a good bike for the money. I've not had one but know a couple of people who have and it's more than good enough for a supplementary bike. Of course at that price point there are going to be compromises and it's not going to be up to the standard of a £3K carbon framed top of the line bike but that's an unfair comparison.

Bottom brackets, cranks, axle/dropout sizes: these went through a bit of an evolution. Dropouts went from the Pugsley's 135mm front and rear to what might be considered the current "standard" of 150mm front, 197mm rear. BBs are pretty much all 100mm shell width (with the usual threaded vs press-fit shenanigans) but there's two standards for cranks: one for 170mm rear spacing and one for 197mm.

It's actually quite simple: fat gives the most smiles per £.
Don't take it too seriously. Until you are with others at the bottom of a steep slippery climb that normal bikes cannot look at. Plus, as others have said so many times, on cheeky trails, slippery roots, off camber mud and slow speed techy, twisty descents, it'll give you a huge grin, more so than any normal bike. I'm lucky to have options but for so many rides, it's the fatty that comes out of the shed first.

I never really understand why people think there rubbish on normal trails, this stigma about only being any good on snow or sand is rubbish IMO.
They are like any other MTB, have the correct tyres on and buy a decent brand/model and they are a total blast on the trails, climb really well and bounce down the descents, lots of fun and they don’t hang about either!
I really regret selling mine, but personal reasons got in the way.

Just get one, make sure it’s one with front suspension though, so you're going to get the most out of it on any kind of trail/terrain.

Fatty rider here.
Bought a Salsa Mukluk from Merlin when they were on offer, fitted some Mastodon forks.
I love it. I also have a 29er hard tail which hasn't seen daylight for months.
I live in the lakes so ride it all around, trail centers natural rocky stuff. It really is ace. The amount of grip from the tyres is amazing. And that is the thing..tyre pressure is really really important. I run mine with tubes at about 10-14 psi. This seems to be a sweet spot otherwise I found the tyres a bit "wandery" and would be a pain to steer.
Try one. If you go to Keswick you can hire an efatty!! Think how much fun that would be...

I never really understand why people think there rubbish on normal trails,

I did two rides on one, with varying pressures, and I found it bouncy as hell. I didn't find that particularly fun. I still want one, but I still think it'd be less fun on singletrack descents.

I decided I didn't need a fatbike and then bought one just before the snow.. It was fab, now just need to get out as test it in 'normal' conditions. I have a feeling it's going to quickly become my favourite bike..

10-14 psi

Is not a sweet spot where fat tyres are concerned, that's like saying a nuclear bomb is a precision weapon. If you'd said 10-10.5psi then fair enough but a 40% range, no. Usual starting point is 1psi for every 10kg of your dressed weight.

Hard trails I'll run 8-8.5psi but for loose or soft terrain I'll drop that to 6psi, soft snow might be 4psi, never ridden proper powder but that might be 2psi or less.

I like my fat bike. I’ve not ridden it in summer, but I plan to this year.

Personally, I wouldn’t have gotten one if I didn’t live in a snowy place as Id have just spent the money on an even more expensive summer bike. That shouldn’t stop you buying one. As some one said above, buy used and give it a go. If you don’t like it, punt it on.

One word or warning, you will never look at a normal mtb Tyre again and think it looks anything but dangerously narrow.

I have a fat bike itch. I can see the Solway from my window so beach riding is a possibility, that and general daddy daughter rides.

Anywhere to keep an eye open for a secondhand bargain other than eBay/gumtree?

As above - have a look at the Calibre Dune in Go Outdoors, currently £549 before any "deals". For dipping your toe/tyre in the water it's a bargain. You'll get lots of giggles and "Look at daddy's fat tyres!" comments 😉

A couple of years ago I entered the Rovaniemi 150 fat bike race so my wife thought she'd do the shorter race but didn't have a fat bike and because of the "Fat bike for under a grand" thread I did look at the Dune for her. In the end she went for a Surly Wednesday but the Dune would have been capable of the race, possibly with more aggressive tyres.

Breadcrumb - uk fat bike selling page on facebook

I have eyed up the Dune, if it drops below £500 I might use cycle2work for one.

I'll check out Facebook too.

rickmeister

Subscriber

There is a great spec carbon full suss lefy fork fatbike on Pinkbike right now to suit a rider up to 5’8″ and a very good price.

There is nothing in biking that I like more than a fatbike with a lefty, they're just so ridiculous

The Dune is looking tempting. I've got a half decent 1*10 drivetrain sitting about and a dropper too. Are the Tektro brakes up to the job? I've got some 180 rotors in the spare box too.

How are Go Outdoors prices? Do they fluctuate much?

@breadcrumb

Add one to your basket, go to checkout and try promo code EXPOTH10

£494.10 🙂

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Thanks, although that's not helping my wallet...

Standard Dune Brakes are shit almost dangerous, I got a doner bike and converted to hydraulic it's not hard.

The standard bottom brackets on dunes are crap and fail within a year of hard use. Very hard to replace. (I've got an alternative replacement coming in 8 weeks from go outdoors pressed in one)

I found an original replacement but God knows if it will fit ?? https://www.ebay.it/itm/movimento-centrale-fat-bike-100mm-alluminio-bsa-151mm-NECO-scatto-fisso-vintage/232989159959?hash=item363f3c7217:g:GR8AAOSw1Exb2urJ

The rear derralier hanger snaps screws like carrots. Not too bad to replace
www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/scott-big-jon-replacement-derailleur-hanger-p298404

As for the frame and wheels for what I do on flat proper muddy tow path I love my dune, although standard juggernauts are easily punctured.

The frame is super lite but the rear end is not up to landing hard on the rear or steps imo.

I've had mine 2 years 15miles a day, every bearing was bollocked's but I've spent best part of £300 to give me another 2 years fun and transport.

Gonna post but might have to edit this server us sloooowwww

For what dunes cost it's a no brainer, the grin factor is well worth it.

Fat bikes are not everyone's cup of tea and definitely not full day adventure bike but yup I love my fatty.

Yeah, the brakes are pish, fine for bimbling but considering how cheap decent hydros are you'd be daft not to.

The BB actually uses replacable cartridge bearings, though the bearing size is a weird one- I found some but only from aliexpress 😛

Are the mech hanger screws still too short? I got a very early one and both screws were way too short, easily fixed but annoying. Never had any bother since and Mike said it'd be fixed as a rolling revision.

I know we've seen some chainstays break but mine has had a proper beating and never complained... 2nd proper ride:

[img] [/img]

Probably about a year later:

[img] [/img]

Fair to say, if I did break it at the Golfy I wouldn't grumble, that's clearly not what it's for but it did alright. Mine was the first on STW so it's been tested 😉

Oh and if you don't already have a good big backpack pump like a truflo 2 stage or something, get one! You're almost certain to flat as you work out your pressures (IMO you pretty much want to get them as low as you possibly can, that's when fatbikes work best- so you're going to flat finding out how low that is) and reinflating a fatbike tyre with a little pump is funny for about a minute then not funny for the next 19.

Lastly... This might sound sort of insane, with a new £500 bike, but you can get a Maxxis FBF 4.8 120tpi for £60-ish, or a JJ 4.8 for about the same. That'll absolutely transform it, if you're riding tricky/squishy stuff. The Kendas aren't awful but they're limiting. Fatbikes absolutely live and die by tyres and pressures. I paid some stupendous amount to import my fat Minions when they first came out, never regretted it at all, at one point something like 1/4 of the entire value of the bike was in the tyres!

It does seem a lot of bike for £500 by modern standards. The description says Kendas, the photo shows Jumbo Jim's?

How easy is it to set it up tubeless?

It looks an ideal bike to put the Mac-Ride on for a daddy daughter bimble.

Just one note of caution on the Dune. If like me you end up upgrading every bit apart from the frame over time then you might be better off buying a better one in the first place. Having said that I am truly happy with mine and won't swap the frame unless it breaks.

Another way to look at it is as an easy way to sneak a another bike into the fleet, 'its less than £500 dear, its a bargain'!

As above though I had brakes, dropper, saddle, bars, 1 by, stem, etc from myb hardtail so just needed a fork, £300 from On One with a free frame, bars and stem, etc, and a pair of DT SWiss wheels with Specialized GC's £300 off FB fat bike page. And then waited till some Aeffects came up second hand at the right price.

I have some Truvativ cranks that fit the Dune if anybody needs a set. I ran these up until this winter even though I already had the Aeffects because truth be told they worked well enough just not as blingy.

How easy is it to set it up tubeless?

Very easy. I used the split tube method. It transformed the handling.

Absolutely love my Dune.

Tubeless, I did the standard Dune rims with Gorilla tape and tracker rod taped in place as a gutter/shelf bead and this worked just fine with Floater tyres.

I use Fatty Strippers on my DT Swiss and if I was doing a standard Dune rim again I would use Fatty Strippers and tracker rod like Baltobrewer in this thread

https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fatty-stripper-tubeless-solution-989657.html?fbclid=IwAR2br37Z1rtzlMmj3xTDbEwcgt1ZclsK3kafnIdbnlNaf50mtSN-w_k5oo0

The Dune has always been one of the best budget fatbike options, but second hand prices are so low that I’d probabky go down that route.

For example, I toyed with the idea of selling my large Canyon Dude a while back. Carbon frame, Hope hubs, DT Swiss rims, Hope brakes, reverb and nice tyres, but I still reckoned I’d do well to clear much more than £600 (after shipping, fees etc). That’s basically what it would cost for a Dune one you’ve swapped the brakes and tyres for some that actually work. That’s just a random example, but there are plenty of good cheap fat bikes on the market at the moment.

I'll keep an eye on Facebook and eBay. I'd sooner move one of my bikes on to make room than just keep adding to them. Road bike hasn't turned a wheel since June so that'll be the one to go.