I have two Radrover 4" fat tire bikes with about 1200 mile between them since Sept/16 I use mostly to commute to work. The second bike is the wife's; but, I switch off bikes to keep wear/tear the same. I also like riding after work and weekends (paved bike trails down to single track). I put around 45-75 miles per week depending on the weather. My work commute is only 6.5 miles one way; but, I sometimes take detours to ride the bike trails near the Rio Grande river. I can do 20-25 miles on a single ride if I do that.
My likes for the fat tire bike are:
- Fat tires do an excellent job smoothing out the ride as I transition from paved roads, side walks, curbs, dirt lots, hard packed dirt trails, sandy trails, pockmarked/washboard trails, and rocky conditions on a single ride. I also added the Bodyfloat seatpost that also helps smooth out the ride if your ebike doesn't have a full suspension.
- Only need 15 PSI plow through sand that would stop thinner tires or 20 PSI for paved road to improve battery/motor efficiency. I split the difference at around 17-18 PSI to handle both surfaces on a single ride.
- Having a front suspension is helpful in smoothing out the ride
- Stopping power, I think my +70lbs fat tire ebike stops better than my 32lbs 700c bike because of the larger contact patch of the tires (both have cable disc brakes).
Some dislikes are:
- knobby tires are noisy on asphalt/concrete. Upgraded to Vee Rubber 8 26X4 120 tpi tires and they have less road noise and still have very good grip on hard packed and softer trails.
- At 62lbs+another 10-12lbs for rack/bag/accessories makes it a heavy bike if you need to pedal without power
- HUGE, takes up a lot of space and hard to stuff in a back of a SUV and hard to lift on a bike rack. My wife at 4'11" and 130lbs cannot lift the Radrover onto or Saris Freedom SuperClamp 4 platform bike rack
- zero public transportation options. You need a full size SUV, pick up bed, or push your bike if you have issues.
I was able to purchase two Radrovers for the price of one of the more expensive eMTB. I think if I had to do it all over again (since the wife hardly rides her bike), I would looked into a 2.25" 2.8" tire eMTB with full suspension and mid-drive. You still get the fat tire benefits, easier to perform tire maintenance (front/back quick release), more balance bike because of no rear hub, lower center of gravity, usually greater range/power, usually lighter weight, smaller size, and easier to handle (public transportation back on the table).
