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

Slimjim, save yourself some money and go for the Fatty Trail, im Amazed how well mine rides (and its not even tubeless yet) you could almost buy Two for the price of the Tomac 🙂

OK Mike, since we've got your attention 😉 2 things you should do imo!

1) Kick your hub suppliers up the arse. Just had to replace a second bearing in the rear. One could be bad luck, but 2 within 200 miles with no water or dirt inside says they're rubbish. Not that much more expensive to fit cheap-but-adequate bearings and it'll save you a bunch of hassle.

(owners; don't worry about it, I mentioned earlier but it's an easy hub to work on. Not sure it's worth taking it back to the shop if they put an equivalent quality part in; It's 4 6902s, they're cheap for good ones. Hope are great value, £3.78 from Wiggle. Once fixed, they'll be reliable I am sure. They are very similar hubs to what you find in a fatty btw)

2) Check the screws on the mech hanger, mine were a bit too short and only engaged a small amount of thread. Replaced mine with M4x10 countersunks, not entirely sure they're the perfect length but they're better

And that's genuinely the only niggles I have after a decent shakedown period. If you could squeeze just a little more tyre clearance into the rear of the larger frame, that'd be awesome, literally a couple of mm (particularly around the bolt boss on the seatstay bridge!)

Out of the honeymoon and still happily married 😆

Alex

Your blog is brilliant! Genuinely made me laugh! 😀

Cheers

Sanny

Was a bit breezy on the coast today... 😀

alex what new tyres are you getting?

Forgot to say I've just bought a calibre dune with the 15% code will take it out when I sort the tyres out! Anybody got any recommendations for wet muddy conditions that won't break the bank? Maybe some Sunday delayed Black Friday deals?

I'm pleased you were able to get one backmarker.

Mike....one other thing....frame protectors for the cable runs as they chew through the paint/alu forks pretty fast.
I didn't set mine up tubeless but merely whacked in a bottle of slime tube sealant in each inner tube......had first bad thorn puncture that took three CO2 cartridges to get sufficient pressure to get it to seal but not blow the true off the rim.....first thing I knew of the puncture was riding a 1psi tyre/tube up a muddy climb saying how easy it was compared to being on the normal tyres MTB 😆

Thanks normal man for pointing me to this thread!

No worries. Enjoy.

@NW i'm really surprised at your issues as we've been using 3 Dunes since Mayhem all doing well over 200miles and have had no issues? i will make contact though and make sure nothing has changed. noted on the mech hanger and will make a change to the spec.

@Suggsey will see what i can do, wont be until the new year now, but frame patches dont cost much

Fatbikes are slow and boring...

Tempted to join the fat bike movement. But what to go for...

What would be the main differences between a Dune and a Genesis Caribou?

rpallen - Member
Tempted to join the fat bike movement. But what to go for...

What would be the main differences between a Dune and a Genesis Caribou?

I haven't ridden either but in true STW style will offer a comment anyway 😉

Having recently looked at lots of fatbikes and eventually buying one, I've seen a fair few owners comments on the 2 you mention.

The main thing I've seen is that owners of both seem to go with an upgrade or 2 almost straight 'out of the box'.
For the Dune it's the brakes most often. For the Caribou it's tyres due to self steer issues.

Also it would appear to my untrained eye that the Dune is bluto ready if that makes a difference to you. This is presuming you are talking about the 2015 (orange) model Caribou.

The drive train is in favour of the Caribou too but then the price reflects that.

HTH.

I've just upgraded my dune as brakes weren't the best and the tyres slid like mad in claggy mud

Used near new floaters for 40 and brand new deore from merlin for 63 added to the purchase price of 497 is bang on 600 quid and I've the spare jumbo jims for summer

Even if I wanted to upgrade the gears it's 125 to go 2x10 deore as the front rings will still work and yes it's blutoable so a right proper bargain in my eyes even if you factor in upgrades.

I'm gonna stick with the stock gears til they die then go deore

Dune is a lot lighter & cheaper than a caribou

For the first time in two weeks since my Fatty arrived I rode a different bike today. My beloved trigger 29. I was only riding it as I got a puncturelast night riding back from a beer with Sabrina the Teenage MILF.
Darn I missed the Fatbike. The only good side of the Trigger was it being quieter on Tarmac and hard pack.
I'm a total convert to the Fatside.

Caribou seems to be on some good discounts, I ruled it out at full price- fairly heavy, no Bluto compatibility, but mostly the spec isn't that good. That might sound weird, because the Dune's is worse but that was ideal because it meant I didn't mind replacing loads of it, because it was cheap. Whereas on the Caribou I'd have been spending more, and probably still replacing loads of stuff. So with the price difference it loses out big time, for me.

I think this is kind of genius from Calibre, tbh- the drivetrain, gears etc are all fit for purpose but right at the pointy end of value vs spend. So they can spend all the money on the bits nobody'll want to replace- wheels, frame, forks etc. Whereas Genesis have built a more complete bike but it's still compromised.

Some folks reckon 170/135 is going to be a dying standard, but who really knows, with standards.

Well the axle nut arrived in time for my ride on Sunday (thanks Mike @calibrebikes!)

Brakes upgraded now to hydraulic; the 160 rotors are fine. I also had a spare XT 9 speed rear mech, shifer and chain, so that's on now. Wrapped some inner tube around the cables where they pass the fork - looks OK and hopefully will stop the cable rub there. Changed the bar to a carbon one I had knocking around!

Llandegla Red was great fun, faster in parts than my hardtail... Not too bad uphill but punctured near the end.

All is good.

Picked mine up today, possibly last one in scotland looking at what was available, threw on some fatbar lites, thompson stem and SLX brakes although need to lengthen the rear hose, looking forward to getting out tomorrow night.

@doubledunter - just in time for:

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/global-fat-bike-day-2016 ]Global Fatbike Day[/url]

It's always really great to see company reps participating on the forum, in my eyes it gives such a boost to the brand that no advertising can do. I already have a fatbike but would have possibly considered one had it been around at the time. I would say for upgrades it would be nice to see an entry level premium brand crank such as Raceface Ride or AEfect cranks and some basic Shimano deore brakes. Both of these strike that level of not fancy but certainly good enough that you wouldn't feel the need to upgrade. gearing stuff it cheap enough that you can upgrade as and when yourself and pretty cheaply. I'm not sure about 1x10 as for a fatbike you want those crazy low gears to make the most of it. Also would be really nice to see a tubeless rim. Obviously mulfûts would be expensive but more oem biased companies like Alex rims make the Blizzerk 90 which although slightly wider, is tubeless and surely wouldn't add much to the build price. I would look at this as a Dune +1 as I still think the exceptional value means alot for the current Dune and allows people to give fatbikes a go without a huge initial lay out.

Over all big well done to Calibre!

just recently built an on one fat bike and they are so much fun and the level of grip is crazy i love it

Snaw!

[img] [/img]

Pretty wet snow but still, couple of inches of fresh stuff last night in the hill next door so couldn't resist. Got a [i]ridiculously[/i] wet arse but still, what a laugh.

I think the most dangerous thought in mountain biking might be "I wonder how much grip this fat tyre really has aaaaaargh"

That looks great fun NW.

No snow here, just very high winds!

Still, I've promised myself a ride on GFBD so will venture out layer after I've dropped my son at work.

How are people getting on with the on-one Floater...? I wondering if I need a pair or just let the rear kind of sashay about like the old days when we only changed tyres once the casing came through !

I decided against the floater. Bought a h-billie instead. Next Day Tyres only had one (just round the corner from me so I went and had a pre-purchase rummage) so after dithering stuck it on the back.

Here's what I've removed
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Not surprisingly some of that stuff is quite heavy. Bars especially and BB is a monster!

Here's why it looks like now

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/642/23247827659_45a7a71118_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/642/23247827659_45a7a71118_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

That's not my garage 😉

From the spares box, RF Carbon SIXC bars, SLX brakes FandR, XT 10 speed shifter and shadow+ mech. RaceFace direct mount ring, Saint BB (needed the threads as had to space out the BB a Looooong way to get a decent chainline that worked) New cassette, chain, cranks and that tyre. Oh and a reverb.

It's a bit lighter now. As is my wallet. Off to ride it in the truly horrible conditions in the Forest tomorrow night. I expect to find my way by the laughter of my riding buddies 🙂

Nice work. Had it on a set of scales, Alex?

Not yet. It was a tad over 29 I think before. Even with the reverb, I think it'll have lost maybe a pound and a half. When I get those tyres running tubeless, it'll lose a bit more. Even with a compressor tho, that wasn't happening. I need some Schrader tubeless valves. Currently assuming don't need to do anything else.

where are you? I have some 24" schraeder inner tubes, sent to me by mistake about 5 years ago. Apparently just the ticket for tubelessing fatbike rims.

That sounds good. Ross on Wye area. Based on the spare tube I have, I expect postage to cost about the same as chartering a private jet 🙂 But if we could sort it out that'd be great. I'm assuming the fabric covering the rim holes probably isn't airtight.

I wrote another thing: http://pickled-hedgehog.com/?p=3554

GFBD East Lothian 🙂

Fatbiking for Sustrans 😆

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/volunteer

alex, nowhere near me, I'm afraid! But coastkid on here has a blog in which he describes the steps in tooblessing fattie rims with a split 24x2.0" schraeder inner tube.

you can get em on line for £2.30, which is probably what it would cost to post you mine!

Will a 2 inch tube work for a wide-ish rim? I had a random 24 inch tube for who knows what reason but it's too narrow.

Bigger 24 inch dh tubes seem pretty expensive...

I used a Schwalbe AV7DH tube (2"-3") tube in 4" tyres for a while before I went tubeless. 🙂

Thanks Ned.. I'll have a look back to find Coastkid's blog. For the moment, I'm doing wonders for my fitness carrying round a spare fat tyre tube!

How wide is wide-ish? When I was tubelessing mine I had a look at a normal 24" tube with 80mm rims, no chance of that working. Had to pay the extra for 3" ones.

80mm here so yeah, think it'll be the same

Coast kids tubeless guide

http://coastkid.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/tubeless-tuesday-finally-sorted-weekend.html

Thank Eddie. Mate gave me a 24inch tube last night so I'll give that a go this weekend.

First night ride. 22kms not a single one of them was dry! Bike is much nicer to ride now with proper brakes, wide bars and crisp (well to start!) shifting. Reverb was great too although I need to look at the routing. As there are not TT guides, it's going on the downtube and it's only just long enough. Might need to extend cable.

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5703/23647464715_c200bea8ed_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5703/23647464715_c200bea8ed_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/C2DroT ]First Fatbike night ride.[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/603/23647488565_8521b18fbe_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/603/23647488565_8521b18fbe_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/C2Dyu6 ]First Fatbike night ride.[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Really didn't want a puncture so started with too much pressure. The lower I went the better it go. Had a blast. That Jumbo Jim is hilariously useless in those conditions so going to see if I can get another Billie or might go with a floater.

It's off out tonight in the Malverns. Have a feeling those rocks might test my skills a bit more. Still if it wasn't for the fat bike, I doubt I'd bother going out!

Looks like fun Alex.

Did you note the weights of the components you took off? Might help other owners prioritise their upgrades if on a budget.

What pressures are you running?

I've just got a topeak pressure gauge so I tune it in more detail on my fat bike.

Hi NM, they are in my shed so when I get a minute I'll weight them for you. Assuming my scales read high enough to measure the BB 🙂

I kind of pumped the tyres up with a track pump in the dark so not sure of pressure. At least 15 tho, dropped them a lot over the course of the ride. Probably to 10 or less. I'm getting that gauge as well. Really just guessing using a track pump.

I do not the lower I went, the nicer it felt especially over roots and rocks. Wrists were taking a bit of a pounding with the higher pressures. Looking forward to going tubeless but still experimenting with pressures. Even small changes seem to make huge differences to the ride.

Thanks Alex.

If you are getting a gauge I'd recommend the Topeak smarthead d2 on first impressions.

Initially I went for the SKS model but could not get a clear reading without air escaping. As you have seen, with fat bikes even 1psi in either direction can make a difference.

The Topeak one was more expensive but seemed easy to use. You still need to be careful (make that positive) with it but much improved. Also the 'tune' setting was excellent.

Happy fat biking!

TopPeak one is the one I'm getting so we're all good there.

Right did a quick weigh in

Seatpost: 295 gr
BB: 415
Callipers: 185 each
Rear Mech: 310
F/Mech with bracketry: 270
Cranks: 795
Bars w/brake levers, shifters and cables still attached: 1060

Hope that helps.

I'll weigh mine when I get my second H-Billie and go tubeless. Reckon it's going to be 2 lbs lighter than stock!

If I worked that out correctly, that's a bit more than 4 lbs removed. No wonder it feels lighter!

Presumably you've replaced most of those components with something else, though? Or is that weight difference...?

Hi @Sniff just to let you know the Dune has arrived at Inverness for you. glad the rest of you are still loving the bikes - might see you around on mine sometime, I wont miss any of you that's for sure 😉

@fadda I did, but lighter ones. 1x10 XT drivetrain, Reverb (not much heavier than that post), SLX brakes. I need to weight it again on LBS scales but it certainly feels lighter. Oh and it stops 🙂

@ calibrebikes.

Will these be available via mail order again? or will they only be store pick up now?

@fadda, I beat mine almost down to 13kg with the reverb, then fitted a bud and muguards and chased the weight back up, ah well.

The h-Billie isn't that heavy surprisingly. It's ONLY a 4.25 tho. See how it holds up. I've just been sorting mine out from the mud-slog last night. The threads for the rear axle on the mech hanger are a bit mangled. Only taken the wheel out about twice! Did Mike/Calibre say they'd got some spares we can order now?

I really need to get my helitape head on as well. Or just let things slide and go for the bare metal look 🙂

Oh NW - did you route your reverb down the down-tube? After removing front mech I had a spare set of cable grooves so thought it'd be the best way. Ended up using two reverb guides so the cable bends in the right place (and not into the rear wheel as originally fitted!).

Mine is spectacularily bad, hose was too short 😆 Goes halfway down the seat-tube then crosses over open space to about halfway down the downtube. And lots of cable ties

What crank sets are you upgraders upgrading with.....I've eaten my outer ring already.....too thin for my weight and Jack of finesse and tree trunks....I've acquired a Samox replacement for now but am intending to go 1x10 with expander ring in due course.....maybe sooner if I can sort cranks and BB at a reasonable price.
I'm still running the Jumbo Jims and surfing the deep deep mud.......I would also like to know what's the widest tyre folk have slipped into the rear end as I do fancy some aggressive treads for replacements when the Jims are bare.
Despite it being super muddy at the Chase last night I surprised myself by getting air over a jump and a longer than expected manual on it without crashing 😆

I'm not *too* fussed about the weight on mine. I may have already said above that I have a reverb and mudguards, some magura hydraulics to replace the sketchy original cable brakes and I've gone 10 speed - I just need to get rid of the front mech and get a chain guide on there, now.

I changed the front tyre for a floater, and have just taken delivery of a Nate, which will go on the front, and I'll swap the floater to the back.

The reverb hose currently is cable tied to the top tube. Not sure its long enough to go down the down tube when the front mech comes off, but replacing the hose isn't hideous. Not unhappy where it is, though.

Thing is, I'm having too much fun riding it, to do some of these things. The reverb needs a service, I have everything here to do it, and stop the rocking/creaking, but I'd rather just ride it in the time I have available, rather than fix it up! 😆

I think mine will get aeffect cranks, they seem like a real sweet spot of weight/value as well as working with proper, normal BBs.

The Bud 4.8 sort of fits in the rear- posted about this earlier in the thread but, inflated to higher pressures it grows so much that it jams but at operating pressures it has [i]sort of[/i] enough clearance, like 5mm or thereabouts all round. Not ideal... Bud doesn't pick up much mud though. Still swithering about getting it a Lou.

Oh- incidentally, only done one ride really but oval rings seem like a good thing on fat bikes, takes away that boingoingoing that you can get when pedalling seated in a low gear.

Northwind thanks for the pointer.... Was looking at the Hope Cranks but was then thinking that the axle on them would present an issue for BB sourcing.....whereas the Aeffect is spot on for sensible value and Bb availability......so guess that will be my route eventually.
I must admit I was being a bit lazy not going back through the thread re the rear tyre......but I guess 4.8s big enough and I only run them at 8psi on the rear anyway.....too much effort to add air when I'm out and about riding....

Mine is spectacularily bad,

but oval rings seem like a good thing on fat bikes

I have the RF effect cranks. Had to space them out with two spacers on the drive side. Which then meant I had a bit of a dither about the thread depth on a hope BB and lobbed a Saint in there instead. Light and stiff cranks and not silly money.

If I can't get another Billie in a week or so, I'm going for a floater. Or maybe a nate and stick the billie on the front. To be honest anything would be better than the jim! @suggsey - I haven't ridden anything other than the billie or the jim but the billie is 4.25 and there is LOADS of space out back. Seems pretty grippy as well. Guess I'm running about 10PSI but until I get my digigauge it's not much more than guesswork.

Thanks for the feedback Alex.

@Northwind there are only bikes available in store at the moment, but we have more bikes coming early New Year

So intrigue got the better of me & a quick spin on some kind strangers Fatty Trail on Cannock Chase has resulted in me being the proud owner of a hardly used Fatty... couple of great days out at Swinley & night rides on Cannock Chase in the past couple of weeks & I'm hooked.

Really like the look of those Dunes too

First chance I've had for a ride since making a couple of changes. Swapped brakes to deore tyres to on one floaters and stuck on a pair of mucky nutz fenders

Did same route as last time but this time it was even more boggy Muddy and waterlogged. Bike slid way less I had some self steer but mostly managed to correct it only had to dab foot a couple of times where as last time out it was much worse.

Brakes well shimano just work don't they 🙂

And mucky nutz kept me way cleaner than last time out. I May fashion a diy job for the chainstay bridge to help out even more

Overall pretty cheap upgrades that made a huge difference and I still have my jumbo jims for summer 🙂

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Good to know about the mucky nutz fenders, as I've just ordered the rear one for my Pug.

A mate of mine is selling a Genesis Caribou 17.5 2015 for £700 if that's of interest to anyone? Email in profile - I can put you in touch. Hardly used, and in great condition. Just been professionally stripped and rebuilt.

I've just gone and ordered a pair of floaters in white......as they're £29.99 each instead of £39.99 for the green or black, I'm looking forward to less skating on the local clay based mud and a tiny bit more traction...........save the Jims for summer too...... 😆

I found that the Floaters have reached their limits locally on the horse torn trails. Nates here I come.

I found that the Floaters have reached their limits locally on the horse torn trails. Nates here I come.

My OOF has Floaters, but I have a pair of Nates to go on at some point:-)

Just testing the water, would anyone be interested in my Large fatty. Standard spec, with carbon forks?

Could upgrade to a 777mm kunckleball carbon bar and a reverb (125mm drop, 420mm post, shimmed 30.9 to 31.6). Front is tubeless'd, rear is still tubed.

Strava says it's done 600 miles.

And could throw in a new bosch hole saw and a can of cutting fluid if anyone want's to drill the rims. Also a choice between 1x10 SLX with N/W ring and 2x10 X5.

Not desperate to sell, but itching to upgrade to something with a Bluto in the new year.

^^^ Possibly interested, email in profile ....

Proud owner of a Dune now thanks to the terrific service from @calibrebikes and the Inverness store.

Will post a pic soon.

@Sniff - glad it arrived and you're now part of the super bright crew 🙂

@calibrebikes quick one for you. If I decided to go 1x10 and swap the cranks to say the racetrack affect fat what chainline would be required? I would probably just keep the cranks for now but handy to know
Someone above mentioned a bit of trouble getting chainline when swapping cranks

And if I went 2x10 the front mech as standard is 3x8 I'm presuming I'd need a 3x10 rather than a 2x10 mech due to running a 22t granny ring

Also standard fit is the etype with a plate attached I'm struggling to find any more modern mechs Other than direct fit with plate is there any other options

1x10 looks the easier option tbh if my legs can handle it lol

Thanks for your time

You think it's bright with the stock Jumbo Jims on it, fitted my white OO Floaters to mine today and it's lighting the dark garage interior all by itself now 😆

Now the proud owner of a Calibre Dune maiden voyage tomorrow, can't wait!

Any pics with the white floaters?

First snow ride was great fun. Jumbo Jims were sketchy in the mud though.

Swapped out the bars for something from the spares pile.

It's still bloody bright even with the mud left on 😀

What's the opinion of Dune verses Voodoo?
As I've mentioned elsewhere it will also have to be my rigid road bike. Which bike will be easiest to source narrow wheels for? It will run cycle cross tyres in road mode.
Which bike comes equipped with the best tyres for sand/ shingle riding? I have spare brakes and transmission so those need not be part of the equation.

Dune would be my choice, the 190 rear making it easier to fit 5" tyres. The dune tyres might not be perfect for the beach but the voodoos tyres are shit everywhere. The voodoo could use on ones 29er fat not fat wheelset but they also have some cheap ones in the dune sizes, albeit wide and they do some fat road tyres too.

When is the large dune's due?