Fat tire mountain bike
- Thread starter Colleen
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Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
Honestly? You can buy a good hardtail non-electric MTB for the money.
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mrgold35
Well-Known Member
Any steep hill climbing, long down hill runs, technical riding, or mostly fun rides on level off road riding on improved trail or single track?
You might be limited to rear hub fat tire ebikes in the +/- $2000 range. The average specs for those types of ebikes are 65-90lbs, hardtail (no rear suspension), 7-9 gear range (limited hill climbing gears), 750w & 75-100Nm of tq, could be a mix of hydraulic vs cable 180mm brakes, avg chance of spring vs hydraulic front fork, probably a Class II with throttle with 20 mph speed, and a mix of cadence vs tq PAS sensors depending on the brand.
It is like @Stefan Mikes is saying of you can get a very good regular fat tire MTB or basic entry level eMTB for $2000.
You might be limited to rear hub fat tire ebikes in the +/- $2000 range. The average specs for those types of ebikes are 65-90lbs, hardtail (no rear suspension), 7-9 gear range (limited hill climbing gears), 750w & 75-100Nm of tq, could be a mix of hydraulic vs cable 180mm brakes, avg chance of spring vs hydraulic front fork, probably a Class II with throttle with 20 mph speed, and a mix of cadence vs tq PAS sensors depending on the brand.
It is like @Stefan Mikes is saying of you can get a very good regular fat tire MTB or basic entry level eMTB for $2000.
Stefan Mikes
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- Europe
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- Mazovia, Poland
I meant a $2000 e-MTB was crap
A good air-fork alone starts from $1000.
A full suspension pedal MTB is well over $3000, no motor, battery or controller...
I won’t be doing any crazy technical riding-just some off road trails, should have been more specific. Hoping to get recommendations for decent fat tire bike in $2000 range. I have only ridden my Stromers for over ten years, have no experience with others. Thanks for responses!
Mike TowpathTraveler
Well-Known Member
On craigslist right now, I see a lightly used Haibike FatSix for under 2 grand, sized large. There is also ebay and facebook marketplace.
I personally would have no issue whatsoever, purchasing a used Haibike FatSix or Full FatSix as I know it was the top tier fat tired E-mtb of it's time. I say this from personal experience, having my Full FatSix since early 2017. Not one issue with the Yamaha drive system nor the battery or charger.
The early FatSix's were Bosch powered. The later ones, Yamaha powered. All had premium brakes, shocks and derailleur systems. The same also applies to a used Bulls Monster (Bosch powered) in both hard tail and full suspension and the Felt Outfitter (Bosch powered).
All of these fatties are mid drive motors, which is what you want.
Go to the video reviews on this site and search out reviews of the FatSix, the Full FatSix and the Outfitter. I seem to recall Court Rye did a review of the Bulls Fat E-bikes. And then begin your search. Oh, I believe there is a later model Haibike FatSix (Yamaha powered) in the PinkBike want ads section. Quiet Kat has their populaity with the hunters, but it will require searching on the used bike aftermarket to find something in your price range. Look for the Quiet Kats with the mid drive motor. I believe they are Bafang motors, which bears more investigation on your part.
I cannot nor will not recommend any other new fatbike with a rear hubdrive. They are heavy and made of cheap-o components, unlike your Stromers.
Haibike Full FatSix......
I personally would have no issue whatsoever, purchasing a used Haibike FatSix or Full FatSix as I know it was the top tier fat tired E-mtb of it's time. I say this from personal experience, having my Full FatSix since early 2017. Not one issue with the Yamaha drive system nor the battery or charger.
The early FatSix's were Bosch powered. The later ones, Yamaha powered. All had premium brakes, shocks and derailleur systems. The same also applies to a used Bulls Monster (Bosch powered) in both hard tail and full suspension and the Felt Outfitter (Bosch powered).
All of these fatties are mid drive motors, which is what you want.
Go to the video reviews on this site and search out reviews of the FatSix, the Full FatSix and the Outfitter. I seem to recall Court Rye did a review of the Bulls Fat E-bikes. And then begin your search. Oh, I believe there is a later model Haibike FatSix (Yamaha powered) in the PinkBike want ads section. Quiet Kat has their populaity with the hunters, but it will require searching on the used bike aftermarket to find something in your price range. Look for the Quiet Kats with the mid drive motor. I believe they are Bafang motors, which bears more investigation on your part.
I cannot nor will not recommend any other new fatbike with a rear hubdrive. They are heavy and made of cheap-o components, unlike your Stromers.
Haibike Full FatSix......
Nvreloader
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Colleen
Here are some models you might want to look at,
these first 5 are Step Thru Mid-drive motors,
and then the rest are Step Thru Hub motors
All have motors from 500W up to 1000W,
and are Fat tire models.
Here are some models you might want to look at,
these first 5 are Step Thru Mid-drive motors,
and then the rest are Step Thru Hub motors
All have motors from 500W up to 1000W,
and are Fat tire models.
| |||||||||||
| Bee Cool PathFinder ST | $1199 | ||||||||||
| Rattan Pathfinder ST | $1249 | ||||||||||
| Lectric X Peak ST | $1299 | ||||||||||
| ET Cycle T720 ST | $1299 | ||||||||||
| Go Trax Tundra ST | $1399 | ||||||||||
| Velotric Nomad 1 ST | $1399 | ||||||||||
| Mooncool MC 3 AWD ST | $1399 | ||||||||||
| Heybike Explore ST | $1399 | ||||||||||
| Himiway Zebra All terrain ST | $1499 | ||||||||||
| Bandit X Trail Urban ST | $1499 | ||||||||||
| Freesky Wildcat Pro ST | $1549 | ||||||||||
| Senada Herald All Terrain ST | $1579 | ||||||||||
| FD Freedare Eden ST | $1599 | ||||||||||
| Rad Rover 6 Plus ST | $1599 | ||||||||||
| Haoqui Antelope Pro ST | $1599 | ||||||||||
| Haoqui Eagel Long Range ST | $1649 | ||||||||||
| Velowave Rover ST | $1699 | ||||||||||
| Vetanya Alligator ST | $1699 | ||||||||||
| Magicycle Ocelet Pro ST | $1699 | ||||||||||
| Coffman's Ridgeline ST | $1699 | ||||||||||
| Vtuvia Raindeer ST | $1799 | ||||||||||
| Denago Fat Tire Bike ST | $1799 | ||||||||||
| Aventon Adventure 2 ST | $1799 | ||||||||||
| Velowave Ranger 2.0 ST | $1799 | ||||||||||
| AIMI Big Sur ST | $1799 | ||||||||||
| Ride 1 UP Rift ST | $1895 | ||||||||||
| Hovsco HovAlpha ST | $1999 | ||||||||||
| Velowave Pony Compact ST | $1899 | ||||||||||
| M2S All terrain Scout ST | $1999 | ||||||||||
| Velowave Grace ST | $2000 | ||||||||||
| ET Cycle T1000 ST | $2099 | ||||||||||
| Magnum Nomad ST | $2199 | ||||||||||
| M2S All terrain ST | $2199 | ||||||||||
| Mokwheel Basalt ST | $2199 | ||||||||||
| Troxus Explorer ST | $2299 | ||||||||||
| Stalker Forester ST | $2325 | ||||||||||
| Ventanya Kodiak ST | $2399 | ||||||||||
| HJM New Toury ST | $2399 | ||||||||||
| Juiced Rip Current S ST | #2399 | ||||||||||
| Magicycle Deer ST | $2499 | ||||||||||
| Juggernaut Hub Duo ST | $2499 | ||||||||||
| Excell Camo 26 ST | $2599 | ||||||||||
| QuietKat Villager ST | $2799 | ||||||||||
| Cyrusher Trax All Terrain ST | $2799 | ||||||||||
| Predator Sabre ST $2875 | |||||||||||
| Pedego Trail Tracker ST $2995 |
m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
If you are used to Stromer's level of quality/engineering you will have to dip down WAY below that to reach a $2000 price point, and part of that descent will be taking on the compromise of a hub motor, which will give a dramatic performance degradation on trails in hill country. So dramatic you could find the bike unusable at times.
The used Haibike would be ideal. Just for starters finding a quality ebike that is fat is more difficult than it once was, and it was never easy. I ended up building most of mine frame-up as a result of that. But since fat tires have largely been displaced by plus sized tires (similar benefits with fewer consequences) it has cut back the availability of manufactured fatties.
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
What's the fat vs. plus cutoff? Other differences?
Perhaps off-topic, but given your experience with sandy beach riding, what do you see as the minimum tire width for loose, dry sand? (My 2.3" hybrid tires are fine in damp sand — the kind available within a hour or so of low tide — but worthless in the loose, dry stuff.)
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Mike TowpathTraveler
Well-Known Member
Yep, fully agree. There are fat bikes and then, there are high tiered fat bikes. And the good ones seemed to have stopped production or just flat out left our US market as Haibke did (they even discontinued the fat ebike from their german catalog).
Building one from the ground up, using high quality components, is another way to get around. I know that @PedalUma built a super nice e-fattie using a Specialized Fatboy.
@Colleen might want to consider seeing if Rick would be interested in commissioning two Fatboys. Or whatever other high quality fatbike for that matter.....
Mike TowpathTraveler
Well-Known Member
If I could take a swing at your questions.....
I've had my Full FatSix in the deep sugar sand of the NJ Pine Barrens many, many times. The FFS comes with 80mm width rims and 4.0 tires. For truly deep sand riding, you need the width of those rims to support a wide tire, deflated anywhere to 5 to 10 psi for the best possible traction and float upon the sand. Go to any fatbike forum and folks there will say the 80/4.0 combination is at best, the bare minimum required to ride on sand or snow. Some of those folks are running 26 x 5 inch wide tires.
Not sure what kind of bike you are riding, but if you were to go beyond a 2.3 inch width tire tread, you run the risk of the tire rubbing against the chain stays, etc, especially when you go to air down your tires when going through deep sand.
PS: When running a fat bike, a good tire pressure guage is your friend and a must have!
CodyDog
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- Region
- USA
- City
- Colorado
I was waiting for some response to the OP initial post before I responded.I meant a $2000 e-MTB was crap
A good air-fork alone starts from $1000.
A full suspension pedal MTB is well over $3000, no motor, battery or controller...
Stephan is correct in his response as far as the dollars to obtain a decent FS MTB (non electric). It comes down to what your real application is. Intermediate and up trails (including some beginners) will require a higher end spec gear set and shocks. The $2,000 price range doesn't get you close. Many fat tire bikes are advertised as a Mountain Bikes but in reality only suited for dirt roads at best.
Many years ago I purchased a Rad Rover Fat Tire bike anticipating it having the ability to handle moderate MTB trails (my first ebike). Fun bike but not mountain bike trail worthy and too heavy. Since then I have owned 4 e-bikes ( 2 EMTB's) and 2 analog MTB's. I am sharing this with you so you don't over estimate the trail ability of a lower end EMTB.
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
Many fat bikes have chainline issues, like the chain rubbing the rear tire in first gear; then there are 'Q-factor' issues. They are really only good for things like snow. With the fat phase over there could be some good deals out there on five-year-old bikes that have only be ridden a few miles.
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
The fat phase in ebikes seems far from over here in coastal north San Diego County, where many seem to function mainly as cruisers, posing platforms, surfboard carriers, and schoolkid transporters. They seem to be heavily favored by renting tourists as well.
Nothing wrong with that, mind you — as long as they're ridden responsibly. Most represent a car not on the street.
The vast majority I see are on pavement. Very few on beaches and our generally sandy trails — the very places where they'd actually make some practical sense around here. That includes the surfers, who generally park on nearby pavement and walk to the water.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
The pedals are quite a bit further apart, which results in more pedal strikes, not just leaning over and ground clearance, they also do worse in trenches, also your derailleur is further out to take hits
jabberwocky
Well-Known Member
Really depends what sort of mountainbike trail you want to do. In general, as a longtime MTBer I'd steer away from fat tire bikes. They enjoyed a brief stint of popularity for trail riding like 10-15 years ago, but it has largely dissipated for the reasons chargeride mentioned. Really best left to the niches they were originally developed for (beach riding and snow biking). And yeah, I know a lot of ebike brands have tried to bring them back. They aren't bad per se, but don't really have many advantages and come with a lot of drawbacks.
I'd try really hard to get a mid drive. Riding trails requires a lot of precise power control which is much easier with a torque sensing mid drive. You also get a lot of variety in grade so having the motor go through the bike gearing helps a lot there. Nothing inherently bad about hub motors, but actual MTB trails are about the worst suited places for them.
I'd look at an entry level mid-drive conventional hardtail from a brand your local shop handles. Giant Talon, Trek Marlin, something like that. You'll probably have to stretch your budget a bit above 2k but inventory is high and maybe you'll find your dealer willing to cut a deal, especially if you buy some stuff with the bikes or find someone with last years model they want to be rid of.
But the answer to this question really hinges on info we don't have. What sort of trails did you want to ride (MTB trails vary a lot, from basically dirt roads you could ride almost anything on to super technical trail that is difficult to even walk on). Were you thinking mail order or do you have a local shop you like (and if so, what brands do they deal)? Bear in mind that riding trails tends to beat up even high quality bikes so you need to assume you're doing regular maintenance yourself or working with a local shop.
One last thing to keep in mind is that entry level bikes from established brands are basically commodity items. Meaning there isn't that much difference between them.
I'd try really hard to get a mid drive. Riding trails requires a lot of precise power control which is much easier with a torque sensing mid drive. You also get a lot of variety in grade so having the motor go through the bike gearing helps a lot there. Nothing inherently bad about hub motors, but actual MTB trails are about the worst suited places for them.
I'd look at an entry level mid-drive conventional hardtail from a brand your local shop handles. Giant Talon, Trek Marlin, something like that. You'll probably have to stretch your budget a bit above 2k but inventory is high and maybe you'll find your dealer willing to cut a deal, especially if you buy some stuff with the bikes or find someone with last years model they want to be rid of.
But the answer to this question really hinges on info we don't have. What sort of trails did you want to ride (MTB trails vary a lot, from basically dirt roads you could ride almost anything on to super technical trail that is difficult to even walk on). Were you thinking mail order or do you have a local shop you like (and if so, what brands do they deal)? Bear in mind that riding trails tends to beat up even high quality bikes so you need to assume you're doing regular maintenance yourself or working with a local shop.
One last thing to keep in mind is that entry level bikes from established brands are basically commodity items. Meaning there isn't that much difference between them.
babycaptain
Member
- Region
- USA
I had ridden road-bikes, hybrids, gravels all my life and then a friend gave me an old Walmart-type fat bike (Iron horse). I was skeptical but fell in love even though I only rode it on road and didn't do any jumps or use it on trails until a long time later. Then I did some long distance rides to test my crazy idea of bikepacking on a fat bike and then gave away my other bikes. I started bikepacking with my fat bike in Colombia some 6-months ago and have loved every moment of my time with it as it's well suited for every terrain we have encountered. It also helps me make friends of strangers as people are curious if I have a motor, why I have tires bigger than those of some motorcycles and jus Why?
Please let me know if you are into fat bikes and what purpose do you use them for? What's been your memorable experience on a fat bike?
