Fat tire mountain bike

[Rome]

Yamaha FFS. S is Six.
Haibike. I'm going to put alert on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist to flag this ebike if becomes available.
I want it.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Yamaha FFS. S is Six.
Haibike. I'm going to put alert on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist to flag this ebike if becomes available.
I want it.

Rome, my model year FFS has the Yamaha PW drive. 70nm of torque. The later ones had PW-X drives and I believe the last year (Europe sold only as H-Bike had abandoned the US market) has the PW-X2 drive with more torque at the crank.

 

[Chargeride]

I use a throttle on my fatbikes, which pretty well solves the pedal hit issue, they are superb for finding traction in rock stewn tight trails, but they also follow their own path and have a tendency to just pull you into ruts and then can't get back out of them.

They are also terrible in slimy mud if you don't have a very treaded tyre , but if you lower the tyre pressure for more grip and a smoother ride of rock gardens, you will end up with a pinch flat, tubeless can be hit or miss as well.

 

[Rome]

Ffs. I find out 3 inch tires are more better to ride fast thru. Mud cracked crevices with 5 inch tires i would have to create a new line of tracks hit that line 28mph every time of day.

 

[m@Robertson]

What's the fat vs. plus cutoff? Other differences?

I'm not sure there is a formal cutoff so to speak, but if I were to take a shot at it, I'd say anything 3.5" or below could be called a plus size. Look around at some of the better 'fat' bikes out there and you will see even 29" wheels shod with 3" tires and those are quite capable.

Basically you can give yourself the stability and comfort of the fat tire without the extreme weight. Look at how few options there are for flatproofing (no such thing as a fat thorn resistant tube as it'd weigh a ton).

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.)

The fatter the better I would say The minimum I have used in sand is probably about 4.7", but without 2wd that tire was kaka on loose sand in dunes because of the front tire's desire to submerge, being pushed by the back tire.

My Big Fat Dummy just got shod with 5.05" Snowshoe 2XLs specifically for sand riding. Those tires are capable of taking 20 psi, but they are hard as rocks at 10 psi which is fine for my ride to the dunes. Down to say 5 psi for the sand. Maybe 3. Its amazing how firm such a big tire is on almost zero air pressure.

 

[fexixav]

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 gauge is your friend and a must-have, and Nakto customer service can help with tips on maintaining optimal tire performance!

I currently own a fat tire e-bike and was curious about the top brands for fat tire e-bikes. The tires that came with my bike perform well, but I’m considering upgrading when they eventually wear out. Should I look into decking out my bike further? I primarily ride on city terrain with plenty of hills and live in San Francisco, where the weather is typically dry.