Fat bike for short riders

[drzmat]

Hi guys, i am looking for my first e-bike, probably a FAT bike since i would like to use it all year long, and that means snow in winter for us, we have some nice dedicated trails in my area.

I will mostly ride with my wife and 3 kids(6y twins and 9y) so i dont need a fancy expensive ultra quick bike but i dont want a really low quality bike either.

We will do mostly trail riding and maybe some tarmac...

What would be a great option for a 5'5" rider like me?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PedalUma]

This type of bike is not for me. My friend likes his and he has your body type. It is a folder with a low stepover. It is a Green. Talk to a local bike shop first and have them assemble it and service it. Bikes in this price range often arrive with problems and there is no local support unless local arrangements are made in advance. The Sondors are very popular in this market segment. Do not expect extended climbs or technical maneuvers from these bikes.

 

[drzmat]

Yeah ive seen tons of those bikes, they looks more like toys and the 20" wheels seems less than ideal for offroad....

My last regular bike was an old 17" frame specialized FSR back in the days that i was using for cross country/downhill, the size was ok so im not necessarily looking for a folding bike but a 19" frame would be a bit too much....

 

[PedalUma]

Just get a men's Medium/Small. What I like is not what everyone else likes. Good used regular bike work great. I will take a bike and put a motor at the low center. The same place you would put weight into a sailboat design. This improves handling. Then I will have a better bike that the ones online and for less money. I will also attach the smallest, lightest battery I can afford at the low center of the bike. And avoid ugly wires as best I can. Are you confident with some mechanical things? Or do you want one from a local dealer that give local service? Just some ideas.
Photos of electric bikes.

 

[drzmat]

I can do maintenance and mechanical stuff no problem. i dont mind ordering online and take care of the bike myslef/ordering parts.....

But i was looking more at an e-bike to start with, and modify later if needed....

 

[indianajo]

Personally I don't understand why everybody thinks short people deserve to have their teeth rattled by 20" wheels. We're not children, nor teenagers so poisoned by testosterone that we ride over curbs & rocks for fun.
In fat tire bikes that come from a dealer, there is the Pedego 24" trail tracker: https://electricbikereview.com/pedego/24-trail-tracker/
In the Canadian sourced catagory, the blix juggernaut comes in a 17" frame: https://electricbikereview.com/biktrix/juggernaut-ultra-fs/
The surface boar hunter comes in a 17.5" frame. https://electricbikereview.com/surface-604/boar-hunter/
I'm leaving out rad, that has 30 posts under known problems for loose spokes, and this week had a post of a fractured wheel. Yes they are very good at sending you a replacement part. You yourself are responsible for relacing the wheel. In one case 4 times as a lady in scotland stretched 4 spokes in 4 rides.
I'm trying to accentuate dealer sold bikes, because of the problem that one gets a lemon with unsolveable computer problems. But I don't know about biktrix or surface.
Here is all courts fat bike reviews. Look for 16" or 17" frame on a bike with 24" wheels or above, IMHO. https://electricbikereview.com/category/fat/

 

[drzmat]

Personally I don't understand why everybody thinks short people deserve to have their teeth rattled by 20" wheels. We're not children, nor teenagers so poisoned by testosterone that we ride over curbs & rocks for fun.
In fat tire bikes that come from a dealer, there is the Pedego 24" trail tracker: https://electricbikereview.com/pedego/24-trail-tracker/
In the Canadian sourced catagory, the blix juggernaut comes in a 17" frame: https://electricbikereview.com/biktrix/juggernaut-ultra-fs/
The surface boar hunter comes in a 17.5" frame. https://electricbikereview.com/surface-604/boar-hunter/
I'm leaving out rad, that has 30 posts under known problems for loose spokes, and this week had a post of a fractured wheel. Yes they are very good at sending you a replacement part. You yourself are responsible for relacing the wheel. In one case 4 times as a lady in scotland stretched 4 spokes in 4 rides.
I'm trying to accentuate dealer sold bikes, because of the problem that one gets a lemon with unsolveable computer problems. But I don't know about biktrix or surface.
Here is all courts fat bike reviews. Look for 16" or 17" frame on a bike with 24" wheels or above, IMHO. https://electricbikereview.com/category/fat/

I am looking seriously at Bixtrix, surface 604 and juiced options.

I was looking at the pedego 24" as well but looking at the specs, i just cant understand why its so expensive compared to the others.

Availability is a concern as well, bixtrix duo hub drive ships in july only, juiced doesnt seems to ship to canada....

Surface 604 shred, which is not really "FAT" looks interesting with the 2.8 tires, has nice reviews online....

 

[indianajo]

I was looking at the pedego 24" as well but looking at the specs, i just cant understand why its so expensive compared to the others.

High profit, demonstrators, actual real estate. Warrenty protection. Not made of lead/tin/brass/copper scrap. Wheels big enough to hold a tire on. There is a Pedego store within 15 miles of here. Next nearest ebike outlet is 70 miles away. The defects found on Rad remind me of the $200 kiddie MTB I used to ride. Wheels so small the tires fall off. Cranks that wear out in 2000 miles, that are glued on. Cables that stretch & need constant adjustment. Pedego has a cheap hub motor, which is an advantage if you pedal yourself unpowered. If you're considering juiced you haven't read the known problems thread yet. There are 2 kinds of reviews, New + features court covers. How long it lasts, nobody covers except the known problems thread under brand forums. My brand has 1 entry, the seat is uncomfortable. Rad has a dozen pages of entries. Juiced has 30 pages. Pedego has 3 pages.
If you're handy consider getting a kit from the people in vancouver and putting it on a quality bike. People that are looking for a motor driven experience buy bafang mid drives all the time and put them on frames. You have to ride 50 miles to get a cardio workout on one of those. I pedal unpowered 30 miles in 3 1/2 hours, except when the headwind would stretch my trip to 6 hours at 140 bpm. Too much high winds these days to commute. Had to skip the warm day last week, 35 mph gusts.