[Closed] Would you buy a (new) fatbike for ~£1k?

It's a tough one.. i have to admit it looks bloody great... but only in a cartoon way, like them pics you'd get on old T-shirts...

I still can't get my head around it as a bike to ride though

Yeah, it does look a bit like something Mint Sauce would ride (thats cool!). Have you ridden one?
It's been said a thousand times already, but the feeling of extra grip and sure-footedness paints an ear to ear grin on your face.

Has become my sole MTB because it does real world riding so well - and simply.
Unless you're a full on air bandit wanting to launch of every lip then it just makes great sense as an off road tool.

Did a quick slideshow vid of getting the dune up tubeless.
Decided to try using that self-adhesive weather strip you get for draughty doors etc.
It worked really well, except for the tubes I had which were Schwalbe 24x2.5" ended up being a little too narrow initially. I found that I needed to fill the valley in the centre of the rim as the tube pulled itself into there making it too short to overlap each edge.
The solution was a narrow strip of camping mat between the outer weather shield strips.

You could argue against using the weather strips at all, and this is what I did in my Wazoo which worked great, but a benefit to the strips is that you can be quite accurate in terms of placement.

nice idea. I've been experimenting with backer rods and they're a bitch to keep in place with tape/spray adhesive.

Still in the 'new toy' phase with my Dune, so enjoying the change, but I find the bike too short for stand up climbing, and the front end a bit low for descending.
I've ordered a 28T front ring so I can sit and spin more (which is comfortable), but with the pre-cut steerer I don't see how I can raise the front end enough. I tried a longer stem but that put my weight too far forward which made the bike rougher on my hands.
My gut is saying go all in and get a Surly ICT in medium and move the bits over.
Anyone ridden both?

Sounds like it is too small for you tbh....

El Guapo Outlaw 31.8mm stem, 45mm reach, 7 degree rise is ~£22.50 at the place with yo-yo pricing.

http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php says it has ~8mm more reach and is ~9mm higher than the 35mm Corto with the Wazoo's 69.5 degree head tube angle.

I've put a Ritchey Comp stem on, 30 dog rise available in various lengths
Love the comments! ^

@guitarhero

Not sure if he has ridden a Dune but RoverPig of STW fame has an ICT so I'm sure can give feedback on what a great bike that is.

Riser bars Shirley?

No, not ridden the Dune I'm afraid. It looks like a great bike and I like the way they seem to have put all the effort into a good frame and then hit the price by using cheap (but functional) components.

I've waxed lyrical about the ICT in various posts, so wont repeat it here, other than to say that I'm still enjoying it. The front end on the ICT is very low though. I'm using 40mm rider bars on mine, but mainly because I don't like the look of a large stack of spacers 😳

Riser bars Shirley?

Indeed, but don't call me Shirley. 😉

I'm about 6 or 7 rides in now on my upgraded Dune and a few things stand out.

1. I am happy to ride it in places that normally I would dismiss as boring. Pootling along through woods that are dull on my FS is fun. But it's also more than happy to roll down all my local tech.
2. Its real easy to wash.
3. If it was my only bike I'd add a boingy fork, I poop my pants every time I hit fast rocky, rooty bits.
4. I don't quite trust it yet grip wise, it feels like it might dump me on my nose at any point (Floaters at 7/8psi).

Overall, it's making me want to ride so it's doing its job. I still chose my FS for my big lakes weekend last week though 🙂

I should qualify that, the dump me on my nose bits are wet and sloppy. On firm stuff it's great. Sloppy patches and I'm a passenger.

Riser bars Shirley?

Already at 40 mm rise. 20 deg stem looks worth pursuing though.
According to that calculator NooGoat linked to, the Hope 70 mm +25 deg stem would give me 26 mm more stack for only 1 mm more reach

Just converted my Dune to tubeless last night with a decathlon exercise mat and split 24in tubes, real easy install and seemed ok this morning still.

After doing it stumbled across this on bikerumor about fatty tubeless rolling resistance and the potential gains.

[url= http://www.bikerumor.com/2016/11/09/bicycle-rolling-resistance-quantifies-fat-tubeless-energy-savings/#more-142324 ]http://www.bikerumor.com/2016/11/09/bicycle-rolling-resistance-quantifies-fat-tubeless-energy-savings/#more-142324[/url]

Exercise mat seems like a good shout, I never got round to trying that but the foam I used was only kind of good enough, it wasn't great.

Has anyone here bought and installed a Ringmaster Chainring, without changing any other drivetrain components on their Dune or Wazoo, to go 1x8?

If so, any problems with chain retention, using the default rear derailleur and keeping the front derailleur in situ as a make-shift chain guide?

I think the Wazoo needs a new large chainring, the default 38T has several chipped teeth (like me 😆 ) and I dread to think what this is doing to the ~6 week old replacement chain.

Anyone bought and fitted a set of those Jobsworth fatty compatible pannier racks to a Wazoo?

slimjim78 - Member
Yeah, it does look a bit like something Mint Sauce would ride (thats cool!).

YES!! Couldn't have put it better! 😀

Question: is it possible to fit an XD driver to these Dune rear hubs?

How are people getting on with their Minions in the mud?

Minions in mud.. NATE,nate,nate 😉

zippykona - Member

How are people getting on with their Minions in the mud?

The front, depends a bit on the mud. Thin sloppy mud is just hard for a 4.8 I think, the Bud was the same, they float a bit too much so it's a bit sketchy at speed... but if there's any substance to it I find it works really well. (it's kind of back to that confidence vs grip thing, the Bud [i]possibly[/i] had more grip but the minion lets you know how much grip you have and what it's doing, the Bud doesn't, so I can work it harder.)

Think I said this earlier in the thread but the rear isn't as toothy as I'd hoped/expected. It paddles well and when it slides it's pretty predictable though, so it's more about where its balance is than being a bad thing- it's a wee bit faster and more allroundery than I expected and the tradeoff is a bit less brute grip. If I could, I'd have a wee bit more tooth and a wee bit more drag. But it's still decent.

It's a "depends on your conditions" thing I think, I wouldn't trade them for Nates- there is riding that Nates are better at, for sure, but I don't really want to sacrifice fun stuff for a tyre that's better at muddy slogging. If all you've got is muddy slogging or that's what you enjoy then the Minion will lose out.

(kind of like an XC mud tyre- if a Mud X is the right tyre for the riding, then IMO it's not the right riding)

The cost of new tyres is putting me off ! Perhaps I'll just stick with the juggernauts for now, if it's too muddy for them, I have other bikes to go at.....Reckon I'd only go for a grippier front anyway, as that's what I do with all my MTB's. So long as I can point it where I wanna go I manage, most the time 😳

Floaters aren't the best but for the price they can't be beat.

Without wishing to be Spam-y, I have a Surley Bud and a VeeTire H-Billy that I don't need. Ran the Bud on the Front and H-Billy on the back last winter and a fab combo. Bud has probably got 150km on it, H Billy probably 100km more. If anyone is interested (plus I have the tubes as well), email in profile.

As you were 😉

Bluto's ordered. Credit card smashed.

Could use a spare crown race, anyone know if they are available for the standard Dune headset?

Hi guys, I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't seem to find it in the 45 pages. But do the 170mm spaced Raceface ride cranksets fit better than the actual 190 spaced ones?

Right, that's it - 2 punctures last time out, another yesterday, sodding Hawthorns don't go with SV13Fs and Jumbo Jims, I'm spending as much time faffing with inner tubes as riding!

The mud has also hit the South Downs, and the Jims are struggling - plenty of opposite lock moments yesterday, just being a passenger until the grip returns.

I have a pair of Nates waiting to go on - tubeless or no? Is burping a problem? I'm not going to need new front teeth when it all goes horribly wrong?

I'm liking the FBF / FBR combo. Swapped out the JJ's from the summer and these hit the knobby price point as a 4.8 tyre. Bud / Lou were a bit spendy for me.

From JJ's they are a lot grippier, dig in well, don't slide on the traverses. Unsurprisingly a bit slower and heavier but roll ok due to a pattern of knobs in the center that's pretty continuous.

Popped up tubeless very easy indeed, as did the JJ's. Compared to Nates on my other bike, roll about the same, side walls at the moment are stiffer than JJ's or Nates which are very supple. Floaters, despite the seating problems are great IMHO at the price point they are.

The main positive Nates have IMHO again, is neutrality at all pressures, no self steer.. Minions needing front / rear pressures balancing a bit better to avoid SS... But it's not bad.

The above is based on using the almost identical frames, 190 and 170 rear, same manufacturer, same width and make of rim. Minions and Nates tubeless, on the same ride. Deep powder snow and packed snowgletrack care of snowshoeists.

do the 170mm spaced Raceface ride cranksets fit better than the actual 190 spaced ones?

Raceface Aeffect - yes.
Better Q factor and with room to spare on tyre clearance.

Not sure about Raceface ride, but I'd be a little surprised if they differed

If to compare Calibre Dune http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-dune-fat-bike-p347149
vs Mongoose Argus Sport http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Mongoose-Argus-Sport-Mountain-Bike-2016-Fat-bike_85658.htm

The raceface cinch cranks vary a bit, there's numbers here:

Ride isn't on it though, I couldn't find the stats. It's really weird that they haven't settled on one size

Just a heads up to say there are 6 Fatty Front wheels showing in stock, after they vanished completely from both stores for a while, ~£52.50 with "ENDOFWORLD" basket code.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WFOOFAT/on-one-fatty-front-wheel

They are Rear Disc Spaced, just like the Carbon Fatty Fork, which basically means the disc rotor will naturally be in the correct position between your disc pads.

"Oldskool" RDS wheels can be converted to run on FDS forks (such as the default Voodoo Wazoo), using http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-forks-c6/frame-fork-spares-c152/problem-solvers-fat-fork-disc-adaptor-p11825/s33072 .

Had my £34 front wheel for a while now, for whenever I finally install my £89 carbon fork, I've been successfully using the RDS-FDS adapter on my FatNotFat front wheel for a few months now with the default FDS Wazoo fork.

Hello everyone. Quick update from me, following my first alpine expedition on the Calibre Dune. First off, it was great. I was there with two mates and we had three bikes: The fat bike; my old HT 26 Scott scale 20 (sub 10kgs); and a ridgid 29er. The first thing that stood out was that the £0.5k fatty was simply a much better all-round mountain bike for the conditions we rode, both uphill on gravel and mud, and downhill on very rocky paths, than either other bike. By far. (even the £2k Scott). When we rode out later on tarmac for about 10km, it was also basically fine, and not noticably worse than the others.
So, for me, when people ask "what's that for? Is it for snow and/or sand?" my response now is that it is simply a great mountain bike - on gravel, up steep stuff, downhill and genuine off road. The bits I really enjoy are hooning over fields off-paths. When i swapped onto the other bikes, they felt really hard work in comparison.

Next thing was that at one point on a descent the outer chain ring got a bit damaged (it is very soft) and sucked the chain accross the chain stay and scratched it up pretty badly. I've yet to undertake a full inspection, but I am hoping that it is not a write-off. (i.e. that the scratches have not gone right through the aluminium....)

So, assuming this is not the case, (aka buring my head in the sand) I have ordered a new chain-ring - 30t - and a 1x11 Sram NX conversion kit. https://www.bike-components.de/en/SRAM/NX-1x11-fach-Upgrade-Kit-p48765/. I'm going to go 1x11, but keep the stock cranks. (i may just leave the 22t ring on for emergencies and/or bikepacking, when i can just swap over by hand.)

€139 for the upgrade kit and €40 for the chain ring. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm going to upgrade the brakes at the same time (€80 deore hydros from germany)

so, while i've got everything off the bike for my upgrades I've decided to strip the frame. (like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/bike-frame-discussion/lets-see-your-raw-aluminium-572818.html) I've done it before with an aluminium bike and i love the raw metal frame, and my wife vitriolically hates the colour of the Dune, so i thought why not? It costs about £5 to do, (just a can of paint remover) and takes a few hours. I'll put up a photo of the naked Dune when i've finished and put it all back together.

it should look something like this:

[img] [/img]

Cheers!

Ben

Potential to sound a smart arse here, but:

simply a great mountain bike

sucked the chain across the chain stay and scratched it up pretty badly

I mentioned this issue a while ago, it was the deciding factor on upgrading the cranks as I was only a couple of rides in and already enjoying the pro's of the bike - for me, the stock cheesy soft chainring is rubbish, and the cranks weigh a ton. Well worth upgrading.

ive decided to strip the frame

This will give you an idea of what it'll look like: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201701733993

Interesting write up Babble.

Looking forward to seeing the new look Dune too.

Thanks jim. you don't sound like a smart arse at all. I thought long and hard about upgrading the cranks too, but other than being heavy, i couldn't justify the extra €140...

Frame looks good bare to me, and the 300g of paint i save will make up for the heavy cranks! 🙂

The big question is, will the raw metal bike attract less attention? that would be nice. (although maybe, looking like a slightly unfinished prototype bike, it will attract even more?)

The BIG QUESTION is: what colour should it go for in the rim strip? indeed, if i have some paint stripper left, should i go bare metal for the rims too?? With these questions answered, my life will be complete.

If you are asking for suggestions, then here I go:

Leave get rims black. Get a rim strip in pale blue then match that with grips and the trim/accents on whatever saddle you choose.

Deffo strip the rims if you're keen on riding Robocops bike.

Rim strips, pick from orange purple yellow or green, preferably neon.

If stripping my frame I'd jazz it up with a bit of blended in colour at the headtube/ST/BB area a bit like those tasty old Cannondale paint jobs

Just this minute had a delivery man knock on the front door..

[URL= http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/IMG_0396_zpsobeqoijq.jp g" target="_blank">http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/IMG_0396_zpsobeqoijq.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Ooh. What travel?

80mm. May convert to 100mm dependent on how front end feels when I've tried them out.

Charlie the mongerer has them at £349 currently.

Nice....just need to wait for the £ to drop a little more....(and for the wife to be not looking...)

Please update with how they perform slimjim, I managed to get a bluto for £200 off amazon following a psa a couple of months ago. On the back of that bargain I've bought a dune and spent a silly amount of money upgrading it but I haven't felt the need to fit the blutos yet.

what have you done MikeG? (and if you ever hear of a Bluto for that money again - let me know!!)

meanwhile - bloody hell this BB is in tight. Just got the non-drie side off (normal threaded) and i am trying to get the drive side off (backwards i.e. clockwise - right?) It's as tight as a nun's nasty!

update - done. ow. thought i would break the frame. Thread was dry with a bit of sand in. will grease it up when reinstalling.

Well I've ordered the 170 spaced RaceFace Ride crank I'll let you know how I get on with the chainline.

I love my blutos on my Dune, makes you realise how stiff and twangy the alloy fork is.

and following researching the online user manual today - Im fairly confident I can switch the travel on my Bluto to whatever I damn well choose.

Bit gutted I missed out on a 110mm air shaft on the bay for <£16 now

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/VEETIRE-CHICANE-MTB-26/2012

First time I've seen these in stock in the UK, I got all excited, given they are slicks... And then saw the weight.

[b]1500g[/b] for a slick tyre that costs £48 each!!!11!!1! 😯 😯 😯 😯

Might as well buy three Speedsters http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/VEETIRE-SPEEDSTER-MTB-26/2011 and cycle with one around your torso to get the same weight as a pair of Chicanes. 😆

... Or just wait to see the price and spec of the upcoming 4.5" Vee Apache Fatty Slicks.

No but I just bought this for £1499,£900 off hope its as fun as this thread has made them sound, sadly can`t try til C[img] [/img]hristmas day as it is my present off the good lady and kids, happy days

looks fantastic smith! I don't think you will be disappointed.

Meanwhile in Dune news, some things you already knew if you have read the thread:

- the cranks and bb are heavy (as pointed out many times) - 1.1kg to be precise. That means if you went with an upgrade (slx or nx could be had for €110 + BB) you would be looking at saving 350g+)

- I changed the stock cassette for an NX 1x11. The NX weighs in at a storming 550g, which is exactly the same as the weight of the existing cassette (aprox 330g) + the front derailleur (aprox 220g) together (i.e. I will only be saving around 180g from the front shifter and cable by going 1x11) (not that i am trying to save weight - i just thought you might be interested.)

- i am keeping the heavy front cranks for now, and have put my race face narrow-wide 30t ring on it, and pulled off the other two soft damged ones. Note: the 30t ring is smaller than that crank spokes, so there is very little room for the chain to fit in between the teeth of the ring and the spokes of the crank. I may have to add some washers to create a little more space, but probably not, with the thinner 11 speed chain. I let those of you thinking of the minimalist 1x11 conversion know when i put the bike back together.

smiththemainman

that looks the tits - let us know how you get on with it. I'm sure you'll love it.

meanwhile i think with the 25% off sale these racks are looking good value:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BAJOAPR/jobsworth-disc-brake-compatible-adjustable-pannier-rack

Meanwhile - does anyone kn ow how long the Dune seat-post is? I want to order a longer one now, while i order this rack, but i am at work, so can't measure it...

Note: the 30t ring is smaller than that crank spokes, so there is very little room for the chain to fit in between the teeth of the ring and the spokes of the crank.

Usually 30t and below includes an inbuilt spacer one side to get around this on a 104bcd no?

yes, it does - it should be alright for the intended 11 speed chain, it just looked a bit tight when i wrapped the stock chain around it.

Cheers babble and slimjim78 , cant even have a test ride as Smith junior wants one for Christmas (need to decide around £500-600 mark) and if he spots one speck of dirt on it my life will be hell that I have used mine and he cant :-)!!

so, i found out. the seatpost is 350mm. I've bought a new one along with my fatbike rack. Feedback will follow after Christmas when i pick it up in the UK.

anyone know the spindle length on the dune bb ? Also a cheap servicable replacement ? the on-one bb seems to have dishapeared .

PSA for Dune owners - I just picked up an El Guapo Stallion stem which comes in a handy 7 degree rise, helping to lift the slightly low front end on the Dune - for the princely sum of £8 in the current clearance sale.
I actually considered one of these at full RRP of £38 quid a few weeks ago as they are nicely made and the rise is rare on a shorter stem. Then I decided i'd rather shove wasps up my arse than give O-O £38 for a stem.

They also have the coloured floaters down to £13 again. At that price im almost intreagued to see if its possible to turn MORE heads.

dale - Member

anyone know the spindle length on the dune bb ? Also a cheap servicable replacement ? the on-one bb seems to have dishapeared .

I don't but I should be able to measure it on wednesday.

It is servicable btw, cartridge bearings- they're some funky size though, I had a vague google and could only find the bearing under that code from aliexpress. Though, maybe it's a standard one under another code, I didn't bother looking further.

I should be able to measure the spindle this evening - drop me a message if I forget to post.

Bottom bracket from mine was 100x151.

indeed. mine's here in front of me it says 100x151 ENCBC1.37x24t on it.

it is the ch 52E

look for the fat bike 100/151 for all measurements.

Cheers people

Dale, you can have mine for the cost of postage if you like

Why didn't I think of that? Well played holyzeus

dale - you can have mine for the price of a set of new upgraded cranks and a specific fatbike BB! (i'll even throw in my old cranks - i'm feeling generous)

Just thrown a 1x11 drivetrain on the Dune.

30t Uberbike front ring
11-46t Sunrace cassette (it's kin massive!)
Xt mech
Xt shifter

Not tried it in anger yet but a couple of street miles sees it shifting very nicely.

[img] [/img]

So, so nice to get rid of all that front mech shizzle.
The Sunrace cassette is a thing of beauty. Big, big beauty.

that's basically what i am doing, but with an NX 1x11 upgrade kit (only 11-42) Bit heavier, bit cheaper.

Out of interest: did you just pull out the front mech and put it all back together, or did you need to put a spacer of some sort in?

Hmmm - looking at it I can get your set up but with SLX (not including the 30t ring) for €175 delivered vs €145 for the NX. I might swap...

I would defo go the Sunrace cassette over the Shimano. It really is nicely made. I have this one and a ten-speed one on my hardtail now. SLX is spot on anyway.
Got the Sunrace from Bikediscount.de and the rest from CRC and Uberbike.

Yeah I took the bottom bracket-mounted front mech off and put a spacer back in the drive side where it was.
BB was mega tight but got it shifted eventually and had to turn the garage upside down to find my long redundant crank extractor to get the square taper cranks off.

Shifts really nicely, but we'll see how it goes when the climbs get steep and draggy. May find I want a 28t front. For that I'd need direct mount cranks though... 😕 £$£

done. I bought the lot from bike-discount. The nx set is going on my kona unit (which i am converting to a geared bike to use a second bike for my mates when they come to visit me in France.)

thanks for the video on going tubeless too by the way. Just watched it - very interesting. Not sure i understand the need for the inner-tube at all though, to be honest.

[b]Did anyone here buy that Sram X5 fat crankset including GXP BB for £55 from PX overnight?[/b]

I spotted the item early yesterday evening, but only one in stock and I had no idea if I could fit the whole package to my Wazoo and get it run nicely with my Shimano drivetrain/shifters (8-speed at mo).
Wanted to post for advice, but a single item in stock at what seemed a good price made things rather awkward! 😳

Few fatbike upgrade bits at PX at decent prices, matching the best we have seen all year, such as...
Wheelset £144 (for most combos)
Carbon fork £89
Bung for above £5
Knickleball bars £34
Pannier rack £13
Short stems £8-21

I spent €200 at bike-discount yesterday, only to see that everything is 10% off today! bugger! (it was shipped last night, so no cancel and re-order possible. Germans are far too efficient....)

What did you spend €200 on, that we could get for €180 today and rub it in? 😆

At 5'8" has anyone got any advice as to whether a M or L Dune would work best? Sadly not got the chance to get to a store and try before I buy...

5'8" here with 60mm stem ,its a nice reach for me on the medium

I'm 5'10 on the medium, on paper it's a wee bit small but I like it. But the triangles are compact so you can probably go up a size if you want added length and reach. I'd go M if I was you but it's going to be a matter of taste

A smidge under 5'8" on a large with a 50mm stem, feels fine.