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This is what I really wanted to know in my last disastrous thread.
To me this is the most exciting thing they can do but I bet it's where they spend their least time in the UK (understandably).
I've owned a fat bike for 4 years.
We haven't had snow since I bought one.
Yes, loved it in the snow when it was here, left all my much fitter and faster mates behind spinning all over the show on their H/T and F/S whenever I felt like it ,which is a first as I usually keep last place in line warm. 🙂
Have done so, but what makes them fun in snow, does so on sand too.
Done week long trip to Outer Hebrides travelling along the chain of islands riding and sleeping on beach every night and often ride the coast near me.
One of those Marmite bikes. You either "get it" or yo think of them as slow and unwieldy, which they are in some circumstances, but great in others.
Over 2 years with mine and 0 snow.
But yes I would, given the chance.
Please snow...
I don't own one, but have ridden one in the snow when I was in Germany a few years ago. It's a lot harder than you'd think!
In the brief time we had snow in South west midlands I managed 3 rides on the fatty .
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I've done 2 arctic events, Rovaniemi 150 in 2015 and last year the 300. When I got my bike 3 years ago, I was immediately struck by its capability and it gave me the opportunity to do those events. What you'll also find that as well as the Inuits having 30 words for snow, this also presents a whole range of new and different riding conditions. Fresh snow in 2015 meant that most had to push their way in 2015 - half the field didn't finish, I probably pushed for 60 miles in soft snow which wrecked my feet. Last year it was extreme cold, boots, liquids and food frozen solid, tyres stiffened and not holding a seal. I'm going back again in 5 weeks - no bike this time, just some running shoes! There's something magical about being out in the arctic wilderness
No, snow very sticks in Southampton, certainly none worth mentioning since Xmas 2012 IIRC.
There was a risk of frost and ice in the run up to Xmas 2017, so I fitted my 45Nrth Gravdal tyres (252 studs per tyre) to my 29er wheelset.
However, I did get an "ironing" moment during Xmas 2017 week... After doing a short hill rep session on Xmas Day with 700x32mm Houffalize up front and 4" JJ rear (because the cold snap had appeared to end), I decided to pop up to Old Winchester Hill on the 28th with Houffalize both ends. No probs until I reached the plateau, lovely views of snowy hills left and right, before I came mighty close to a big off on black ice and a prompt u-turn for home! 😯
So despite having a fatbike for ~23 months and knowing they originated to cope with snow, I've absolutely no idea how 4" tyres behave in wintry conditions. 😳
I ride mine in the snow. I've found that there is a pretty narrow window where its needed, compacted trails are mostly ok on a normal bike, soft drifts I sink just like every other bugger sooner or later. Bit more grip maybe, but in the variable snow we get here you are just as likely to lose it on polished ice as anyone else, sometimes find studded tyres more useful then.
I use mine year round and where it really shines are the sort of climbs where my normal bike loses grip and I'm off and pushing, and when the trail gets vague, the fatty will trundle over stuff that stops my other bikes.
Never ridden a fat bike. However, I have a business trip to Minneapolis early next month and the head of engineering has arranged for a fat bike trip. Really looking forward to it. There should be plenty of snow.
Had mine a couple of years or so now. It's only ever seen snow just recently and that was dope!
It all suddenly made sense! 😀
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4639/38697537154_d93815cf45_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4639/38697537154_d93815cf45_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/21XyZAs ]Perranporth, Cornwall. December 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]Kayak23[/url], on Flickr
It still makes total sense for local xc though, even without any snow.
It's not the most exciting terrain here in Warwickshire and so having a stupid bike makes a lot of sense.
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4596/39322293792_f73ce15a34_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4596/39322293792_f73ce15a34_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/22UM2YC ]Ice ice baby. December 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]Kayak23[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4737/38976299332_acd3017d6e_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4737/38976299332_acd3017d6e_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/22ocHSU ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]Kayak23[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4542/23920647167_324c1991ba_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4542/23920647167_324c1991ba_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/CrMz2a ]Malvern hills. December 2nd 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]Kayak23[/url], on Flickr
Snow or no snow, fatbikes just put a smile on your face I find. Wouldn't be without my normal bikes, but equally now, I can't imagine not having a fatty too.
Fat bikes are only slightly better than other bikes in the snow. Worse in some conditions.
Much prefer riding dusty summer trails to snow on mine.
To add, I'd also like to attempt either the ITI in Alaska or Yukon Ultra if I can save up enough / get a decent block of training. A couple of friends heading to Alaska in a few weeks.
What Scud said above. Snow is great but...
Riding the sand dunes on Lewis and Harris felt very similar to fresh powder fields in the Alps. Just shorter.
Oh and more brutal on the running gear.
Got mine when I was living in the Chamonix valley. Used to commute to work along a snow-shoeing trail. It was awesome.
Now based near Edinburgh and it doesn't see so much snow, but still get some occasionally. This was back in November:
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Rode it in the snow when we had some last month:
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It was remarkably good at first when the snow was fresh - almost as good as it is on dirt - but where the mud broke through it was as stable as a cow on ice
Some excellent pictures on the Facebook page today.
Yes - had a few outings in the snow around the NW Alps...great fun but can be hard work in fresh deep powder.
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Yes, but only once a year. Heading off to the Fatbiking Europe winter camp in chamonix in a couple of weeks
I did when we had some snow last month... Yes, it rode better than a "normal" bike, but it also took a load of effort keep it moving. Much prefer riding it in the summer, where I can put the faster, trail hugging JJ's on & just have a hoot on it...
Cheers all. V interesting.
Beach riding doesn't really excite me, snowy wilderness does, but I get that there's a likelihood that one might not be any better than my B+ bike.
I'll not bother or wait till prices fall further I think (I'd costed one up for £220 worth of bits)
I have done. Got the pictures to prove it 🙂 But I'd agree with some of the comments above. I think the idea of a fatbike as a snow bike comes from America, where they have lots of groomed (snowmobile?) tracks. On natural UK snow there is a narrow window where they perform better than a normal bike. That can be the difference between getting a ride in or not sometimes. But there are also some snow conditions where a normal bike is better and to be honest, given a choice between two routes, one with snow and one without, I'll pretty much always take the one without. Fatbike or not, riding in snow is often just a slog. It can have its moments though.
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finally riding it in the snow convinced me to get rid of mine, because in the conditions its supposedly designed for, it was even slower and shitier than normal!!
had a lot of fun in the sand dunes on it, but living nowhere near the sea there was no point keeping hold.
was good for tag-along school run duties for a while actually. ive got nothing to tow that thing with anymore...
No more than I ride my other bike in the snow, really, I love riding in snow and I don't think you really need a special tool for it most of the time. I was quite surprised to find out how often the fatbike doesn't work at all in snow, though- if it's too deep, too soft, too wet, too cut up. The last one especially, if you're riding a busy trail
When I saw this thread I knew what you were getting at.
Unless you particularly want a fatbike, a Plus bike will give you some of the added versatility. Snow (and sand) is so variable that there is guarantee of ridability regardless of tyre width. Also - the original fatbike tyres were designed for pisted snowmobile trails. It can be argued that we've pushed the boundaries much further since they reached the UK.
I can confirm that a half fat bike is probably about half as good as a Full fat bike in the snow - Now that we have finally had some!
It goes downhill tremendously :D.
Up hill - depends on the depth and gradient.
Ah yes, pisted trails 😳
On the Rovaniemi 150 they ride the off-road parts of the route a couple of times on snowmobiles. This basically makes a raft of compacted snow a couple of metres wide and about 10cm thick. Leave this at your peril! 🙄 Getting back on the trail/raft is akin to getting out of a swimming pool while wearing waders 😆
If you've got a 29er that will take 650B+ wheels/tyres then that's probably a more suitable option for the UK.
Not until last december
Must have had the wrong tyres 😉
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Whenever the opportunity arises. As others have commented, there may be more suitable (or equally unsuitable) bikes for typical UK snow conditions, but I don't really care because silly big tyres make me smile. I put this down to a double whammy of ridiculous monster-truck-ness and general Mint Sauce imagery. Probably in roughly equal measures
hopkinsgm - Memberbecause silly big tyres make me smile. I put this down to a double whammy of ridiculous monster-truck-ness and general Mint Sauce imagery. Probably in roughly equal measures
What a great thought. Genuinely made me smile.
I think the idea of a fatbike as a snow bike comes from America, where they have lots of groomed (snowmobile?) tracks.
Fatbikes were simultaneously developed in Alaska for riding events like the Iditarod Trail and in Colorado to ride sand. Some gratuitous fatbike somewhere in the arctic piccies:
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As Bob / Whitestone said, go 2 feet either side of the track and you'd be up to your armpits - last year there was loads more fresh snow that made falling-off a regular event.
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Whilst a Plus bike would work in a couple of inches of snow, once you get deeper, beyond the depth of tyre and rim they'd struggle. You also have to adjust your concept of what riding on snow means - above walking pace is good and when you're in seriously cold conditions, you don't want to work too hard / sweat
Fatbikes are pretty hard work in ungroomed snow, especially when you start pedal scooping. You end up wobbling all over the place and thinking this is a mug's game.
Then when you return to your start hours later you see all the weaving around of skinny tyre bike tracks and none of them have got more than 50 metres into the track before giving up - usually with splash marks. 🙂
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However there is still need for much wider tyres IMO, although who will have the legs to turn them will be another story.
If you rarely venture off-piste then a plus bike is the answer for 11 months of the year. Off track is where a fatbike excels - you don't actually need a trail.
Did my first ride and it was in the snow out here in Illinois last weekend.
Bought a used Trek with 26x4 tyres, it is going to be really tough in soft snow but huge levels of grip on compacted trails. Generally after about 10mins any trail is compacted.
My Orange 5 with 2.4s went past plenty of fatties on the same trails just before Christmas.
Bought it to ride in the snow but also a good reason to have a fully rigid bike. Bit of fun with a completely different ride.