tomjasz
Well-Known Member
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Here’s a deal. Pay shipping and donate the amount of your choice to a charity going to Ukraine relief. 2 new tubes and two Panaracer tires.
A member asked,Here’s a deal. Pay shipping and donate the amount of your choice to a charity going to Ukraine relief. 2 new tubes and two Panaracer tires.
Panaracer Fat B Nimble 4.0 – Some Serious Bang For Your Buck
Heck, shipping will be a bit high. I’ll cover half. For a donation of at least $20. Must provide proof of donation
A member asked,
"I am wondering how will they hold up riding around in the rocks etc?
Thanks,"
I just discovered these are old stock and discontinued. I’m going to donate to local High School bike repair club.I never ran them. I bought trusting Karl and I linked his review. The price is around $69 each now. $21 for two inner tubes. $159 today from Amazon.
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My Specialized Fatboy got me Fat commencing late 2015 and I have ridden nothing but Fat ever since. I estimate I put some 5000 plus miles on her, 12 months of the year. Asphalt road shoulders to NJ Pine Barrens deep sugar sand. Sun of summer, snow of winter. Self steering? Your tire pressures are too low. On this bike, local asphalt riding meant 20 psi so I wasn't wasting energy fighting wrinkled sidewalls. Snow or Pine Barrens riding? Below 10 psi, right at that sweet spot where the bike does not "self steer".
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But then, one day in 2016 while looking on the internet, I found this site. And this guy named Court was road testing a fat tired ebike called the Felt Outfitter. And a Haibike FatSix. That got me to thinking...... the FatBoy is great, but I'm not getting younger and the idea of a battery and motor assisting me further up the trail or down the local road, was really appealing. One summer ride of over 90 miles on the FatBoy had me especially drained for days afterward, so not much further convincing was needed.
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The Fatbike is the Jeep or Bronco of bicycles. Say you are pedaling along on some county road and off to your right is a trail with deep sand, kinda like the sand in this one-dimensional picture. With your trekking or road ebike, you say to yourself "Looks like a nice trail. Too bad I can't go exploring on it." When you are on your E-FatBike, you say to yourself "Looks like a nice trail. Let's see where it goes." An E-FatBike, properly aired down, floats on most deep, deep sand. An mtb with 2.3 inch tires will not cut it. I tried.
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But a FatEbike can't ride on roads! I read that all the time here and smile. With my Haibike Full FatSix, I can go everywhere you skinny tired ebikers can go. But I guarantee that YOU cannot go everywhere I can! Here is an all-asphalt road-run I did a couple years ago. Lewes, Delaware to Ocean City, Maryland, back to Lewes. 60 some odd miles. Here's a nice shot I got of the northbound Indian River Inlet, DE bridge. I like that shot. I passed quite a few road bikers on my way back north. Believe I was averaging over 16 mph heading back; spending a good amount of that time at and above 19 mph as I have a PearTune chip in my Yamaha PW motor....
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Pretty Day Lillies! On the early morning of another ride many folks here say can't be done on an E-Fatbike.......starting out from my Homebase near the Delaware River, straight east to the Atlantic Ocean at Mantoloking, NJ (many of you remember Mantoloking in the News as that was the area where SuperStorm Sandy took out the barrier island in the area off the bridge, thus, connecting ocean to bay.) All asphalt, took 3 batteries with me, one 400wh, two 500's. Just short of 100 miles and with battery power to spare.
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This was a 10 mile run taken into town last year on my local trail. 6 inches fell and after a day of sun, a nice crust was on the top. This was very, very tough going in this spot here, but still, got through. Not a fan of snow riding locally because of the road salt dropped on the local roads that lead to trails like this. But it can be done. This cannot be done on your skinny tired ebikes. A shame, cause winter riding brings out nature in a whole different light you do not experience in the summer. Another win for the E Fatbike! And what a contrast of pics from the previous one, taken mid-summer. A true 12-Month Machine!
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Back in the Pine Barrens again, those sugar sand roads lead to the end of the line, here.
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And a surprise encounter with this critter, whom I moved off the trail so he won't get run over by a passing Jeep or enduro motorcycle. These are just some of the things you are going to find when you go deep-off road with the best All Purpose Bicycle ever invented, the fat tired, electric assist mountain bike.
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"But....but.....but.......it's alot harder to pedal a fatbike compared to a skinny tired bike" No, it's not. A good mid drive fat bike will have a premium derailleur system with the latest, super-low gear cassette cogs that can allow it to climb any mountain or slog through any deep snow or sand with ease. Do NOT compare these drive systems by Shimano or Sram with a hub drive featuring a steep 7 gear cog with gear ratios that a Lance Armstrong might find agreeable with. "But you don't get as much range on a battery charge compared to my trekking machine" I can get up to 40 miles per full charge on my 500wh battery using the High Power Setting. "But, but.....a fat bike is only good for snow riding." My H-Bike is a 12 month/4 Seasons All Purpose Do Anything Go Anywhere Bike. Yours is not. "But, but.....those tires are noisy!" Yes, they may be to you. They are music to my ears. And they certainly get the attention of absent minded trail walkers who always turn to see what that approaching noise is. "But.....those tires are expensive!" I exclusively run on the Schwalbe Jumbo Jim and they are as pricey as any other premium bicycle tire will be. I got about 6 thousand miles on my rear JJ, just changed out for a new one 2 months ago. The front shows minimal wear. 'But, but......why would anyone want a bike that is only used in the winter months of the year and it's going to sit the other 10 months?" A fat tired ebike can replace every other bike in your collection. And as you see on my odometer reading here, I use my bike for every kind of riding I want to do.
I am here to tell you, that my personal experience runs completely counter to the Flat Earth/Anti Fat E-Biking Crowd that assumes control of these conversations. And I think I have the time in the saddle and the miles on the odometer, to back up my opinion!
Yes, but there's the "cool" factor some feel with a fat bike. That, along with some current marketing campaigns, are going to have a lot of fatties for sale in the not too distant future. My hope is that people that fall into this trap aren't completely lost to the e-bike idea. To my way of thinking, a fattie is a specialized bike that works great in certain conditions requiring the fat tires. People looking for a daily rider should be looking elsewhere most of the time. That's me though, FWIW.IMVHO, a quality, mid-drive fat eMTB is a thing of beauty and an absolute weapon in the right conditions, and perfectly adequate under normal circumstances (if, perhaps, sub-optimal). I'm a Plus guy, myself (for the moment; probably go with 2.5s once I wear out my 3.0s), but considered building on a fatbike at first.
What bugs me is when someone new to ebikes is considering a "full suspension" fat bike with a 500w hub motor for $1400, intending to ride it on the beach and in the snow. Pretty sure a little geared hub will quickly expire if asked to do actual fat bike stuff. Sure, comfy for commuting and fitness rides, I guess, but nothing a suspension seatpost wouldn't handle.
And don't get me started on the 20x4 "scrambler" bikes...Yes, but there's the "cool" factor some feel with a fat bike. That, along with some current marketing campaigns, are going to have a lot of fatties for sale in the not too distant future. My hope is that people that fall into this trap aren't completely lost to the e-bike idea. To my way of thinking, a fattie is a specialized bike that works great in certain conditions requiring the fat tires. People looking for a daily rider should be looking elsewhere most of the time. That's me though, FWIW.
and that's exactly what a fat tire bike should be used for.Sure. And dirt--deep dirt, loose dirt, wet dirt, gravelly dirt, powdery dirt.... And rocks--big rocks, small rocks, slick rocks, wet rocks, loose rocks.... And vegetation--thick, nasty, tough vegetation (sagebrush, etc), tall, thick waterlogged vegetation... And not so firm ground--wet ground, marshy ground... And to do it while going uphill--low traction slopes steep enough my 29er MTB just hopelessly spins the rear tire.
And of course to do all that as well as possible in the winter, with snow on the ground, with the myriad of different depths and "types" of snow conditions that exist each winter.
In other words, the job for me is to be the most capable tool for riding up and over and through anything--providing the best possible traction, the best chance of making it through whatever I run into. And in less challenging conditions, to cover rough ground really fast while providing a really good ride with excess traction and stability providing a large safety margin.
And they still handle well enough and are fast enough to fulfill most of my high-speed MTB-type riding in a manor fun enough to keep my poor 29er in the garage more often than not.
But other than that, they're just terrible.
Stephan how in the world did you have over 1,000 wh of battery power on your Vado? I've lost track of your bikes, so that's a Vado and not a Vado SL? Still the Vado only comes with a 500 wh battery doesn't it?Mike, no doubt you are a self-aware rider, and your Haibike is a sweet machine. However, I wouldn't think even a good fattie e-bike were an allrounder. Think of the energy you're spending to overcome the rolling resistance. Here are my metrics of a 104 mi/1900 ft elevation gain road ride, 2" Schwalbe Smart Sam on Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0:
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I guess I could have reduced the assistance to 35% and be within the capacity of 1000 Wh, or the equivalent of two 500 Wh batteries. Meaning, your third 400 Wh battery is wasted for overcoming the rolling resistance (simplistically speaking).
While you're using your fat e-bike to a good effect, I cannot even imagine that a single e-bike could do it all. For instance, I hated taking my 2.6" tyre Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro on-road. It was noisy and slow there. The e-MTB was behaving as if telling me "Please ride me off-road only!" And there were only two terrain types I wouldn't ride with the e-MTB: sand beach or fresh deep snow. Because I made marshes on my Trance, too.
Having said the above, I can tell you my 2" tyre Vado 5 can take me almost anywhere.
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December 26th, 2021. The trail had soon turned to a hilly singletrack. I have studded tyres on my all bikes during this winter.
Now, am I 100% happy with the "big" Vado? No. It is still heavy and shaky in rough terrain. So I ride my 17 kg (37.5 lbs) Vado SL wherever I can. A perfect gravel e-bike with flat handlebars. Because there is something Mike you didn't mention: the e-bike weight. What happens when the trail is blocked by a fallen tree and there is no way around it? I would personally not be able to lift a fat e-bike but I can lift my Vado SL with one hand...
The 2017-2021 Vado 5.0 came with a 604 Wh battery (and that size is the only available as a spare -- the battery form-factor was identical for all models). I own as many as two spares now. As the batteries naturally degrade with use, the capacity of the two original batteries is now closer to 500 Wh each. I take a spare battery in the pannier for any long ride I'm planning. It will be doable for me to travel with two panniers loaded with spare batteries for super long trips.Still the Vado only comes with a 500 wh battery doesn't it?
Thanks, @Captain Slow, I appreciate those kind words. I completely understand the riding needs & requirements of how and where I want to ride will run counter to what others may need in their own areas of riding. Variety is the spice of life and all of that.....Mike Towpath, cool pictures and wow great usage of your bike. I think it's great you're getting so much use out of it.
I respect how you use your bike and I agree it's the best type of bike for you. But it's still not suited to how I want to ride. Mostly because I likely a sportier and more responsive ride. In fact since last year I've been riding my Aethos a lot more than my Creo because I just find the Aethos is a nicer and more responsive ride.
16,000 miles on your bike that's just awesome. I have to think most bikes don't ever see that kind of mileage. I've never had a bike reach that kind of mileage, I've always sold them before I get that high, and I have multiple bikes so the mileage gets spread around several bikes. Maybe in another 5+ years when I might retire then I'll have time to really rack up the miles. I've never had a year where I've ridden 10,000 km's. Maybe when I retire and the kids are older I'll have the time to do that.
I just got some fat LZRDs put on tonight myselfGood reading this thread.
My Lizard fat Lizzy.
She's the fattest.
What size tires are those?I have been riding this beast for the past 3 years and i have zero complaints, things started a little rocky but man i ended up loving this bike!
The tech is so old and basic but the bike is just amazing!
BBSHD any day! Bafang can keep the new mids...I have been riding this beast for the past 3 years and i have zero complaints, things started a little rocky but man i ended up loving this bike!
The tech is so old and basic but the bike is just amazing!
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