What do you HATE about your fat tires?

[fooferdoggie]

a non-fat biker here to say that I appreciate the extremes at the end of the bike world; while the wheelset on my road bike weighs literally half a good fattie set, and the bike less than half, there are clearly better tools for some jobs than others! I was up in the snow last weekend and I was curious if a fat bike would be rideable on several feet of fairly crunchy snow pack. my 42mm gravel wheel set most certainly wasn’t

here in the middle of the city I have to ride at least 5 miles to get off road. even then we can do it on our tandem most of the time. there are places the fat tires would work well but its not practical.

 

[mschwett]

here in the middle of the city I have to ride at least 5 miles to get off road. even then we can do it on our tandem most of the time. there are places the fat tires would work well but its not practical.

oh i know! even riding my gravel tires 5-10 miles to get to an amazing trail annoys me

 

[fooferdoggie]

oh i know! even riding my gravel tires 5-10 miles to get to an amazing trail annoys me

no amazing trails. just a few we cant do on the tandem. even 10 miles jsut gets you to one great trail and even then its not worth the effort to change ties on the tandem we just use our road tires.

 

[tomjasz]

Thank you for that info, I have saved that site, I want the Flat Black ones, as usual they are out of stock.
I am afraid of the plastic type fenders in the very cold temps we get around here.
Those flat black ones are metal, at least I can pound out the dents when I crash and burn........LOL
Tia,
Don

Yeah I’d be bummed too if my $10 fenders only lasted a season. Kidding of course, but even cheap plastics these days are not that brittle in the cold. Minnesnowta rider here with cheap chinese fenders. Minus 9F this morning.

 

[Jon A]

Any thoughts or suggestions.........

I can't help you with full length like seen on commuter bikes, but I can vouch for the Fathuggers being good. They're very tough, thick plastic and being plastic, they're very easy to modify as needed and will cover 5" wide tires. I use a front on the front and rear. While not "full length," they're pretty long for an offroad bike. I did see a guy with a Fatsix who extended the length of the front by adding a chunk of a cheaper fender. When I couldn't find them in stock in the US I got them here as they ship to the US and are usually in stock: https://slam69.co.uk/products/mudhugger-fathugger-fatbike-mud-guard?_pos=11&_sid=f73843250&_ss=r

while the wheelset on my road bike weighs literally half a good fattie set, and the bike less than half,

You have an ebike that weighs less than 25 lbs? That's impressive.

 

[Nomad]

While I don't own a fat tire are we talking bikes with fat tires or real full on EMTB fat tire bikes because there are very few?

 

[ElevenAD]

I had a dream. While asleep, I dreamt I mounted a fat tyre e-bike. Tried to move from the junction by pedalling and the e-bike wouldn't move! So I turned the throttle on, and could ride the e-bike. My impression was I was riding a light motorcycle. Yet, I tried to give the thing some pedalling. Fancy that: I felt no resistance on the pedals! I was ghost-pedalling!

I woke up to see my Vado SL still being there in my flat

Sounds Like you were dreaming of a cheap Fat Tire bike with cadence based PAS lol. If your gonna dream about a Fat Tire bike why not dream about a higher end model, after all in a dream money is no issue!

 

[AHicks]

While I don't own a fat tire are we talking bikes with fat tires or real full on EMTB fat tire bikes because there are very few?

You might ask yourself the question regarding why that may be?

 

[Nomad]

You might ask yourself the question regarding why that may be?

It's because that market is vastly untapped and the corporate boys lack vision among other things.

 

[Nomad]

Image Trek, Specialized and Giant to name a few getting behind some serious winter fat ebikes

 

[AHicks]

It's because that market is vastly untapped and the corporate boys lack vision among other things.

I guess I thought many beleive that it might be because the 27.5 PLUS sizes work so much better....

 

[K PierreR]

let's see, I went from a Specialized S Works Stumpjumper 27.5 to an e fatbike and have not ridden the Stumpy much since. I use to sweat at the range issues and constantly monitor how much I was using. I put 4 batteries on the bike and now don't really think about it much unless I am going to exceed 75 miles in one day without charging. Local rides I consume between 12 and 18 watt hours per mile but in touring mode, I will likely be over 20 and sometimes near 30 watt hours per mile. The most watt hours I used in one day was 4,700.
Part disclouse is that the wide Q angles suit me better than narrow. Tires have come a long way in the last 5 years and many have little or no self steering, even at low pressures. Time to go mount the Wazia 4.6" full studs. We finally have a lot of snow.

 

[m@Robertson]

This is one of those subjects that is all about personal preference, with a whole lot of personal prejudice mixed in. Over a lifetime's cycling, I have gone from 700x20C tires to super fat 26x1.95" tires (!) and more recently to full on 26" fatties. plus sized 2.9's, 29" enduro's at a paltry 2.5" width and downright skinny 2.0" street tires, no less.

Put it on the right bike and it works great. All of it. And all of it works great in a much broader band (terrain, use) than some people apparently realize or want to admit.

 

[JRA]

I guess I thought many beleive that it might be because the 27.5 PLUS sizes work so much better....

While I am in the same camp I also believe that if it is working as well as it seems for those posting above I am not going to argue with them about it. Enough of that going on already on EBR.

 

[ruffruff]

Image Trek, Specialized and Giant to name a few getting behind some serious winter fat ebikes

I think if you check into it, I bet you'll find the "real" fat tire bike craze has peaked.

 

[K PierreR]

I think if you check into it, I bet you'll find the "real" fat tire bike craze has peaked.

I do believe that the "Craze" portion of the fat bike phenomenon has peaked but I do not think that fat bike numbers have peaked. I think fat bike numbers will continue to climb into significant sales.
Fat bikes are a prime example of how not to introduce a significant new product. That is evident in this thread and the reason for a craze that has passed. 5-10 years ago fat bikes had significant issues that made them intolerable to many buyers who purchased them. Tires, geometry, wheels, frame spacing and knowledge of setup to name a few. There was terrific hype about fat bikes and they did not live up to the hype. Fat bikes left a bad taste for many buyers of those bikes and the hype market was quickly saturated. The big bike manufacutuers got out because research showed the market had been posioned and there was significant dislike for the fat bike craze.
The fat bike itself in not a craze but a unique tool where most of the serious issues are no longer present except in the bargin builders. The E bike market is changing the dynamics and bringing in new blood that is not tainted.
I ride all the time and talk to people, there is a perception among the less abled and elderly that e fat bikes are safer, more stable and give better traction than a traditional hybride or comfort bike. Much of that comes from the fact that in any biking circle involving this segment of the population, there is always talk of an accident that happens from running off the pavement of a mutipupose path into a soft berm and over the handlebars. The talk always boils down to the width of the tires. Correct or not, the perception is that fat tires significantly decrease injuries and increase comfort. The e bike has equalized the energy issues and the problems with self steering are largely disappearing.
Saddly, this big segment of the market is also totally convinced that the ideal saddle is the Cloud 9 tractor seat
All the education in the world will not change the perception of those burned by fat bikes early on and they will not change the older comfort riders from choosing fat tires and Cloud 9 saddles for the bike paths.

 

[Nomad]

I think if you check into it, I bet you'll find the "real" fat tire bike craze has peaked.

Im not talking bikes that just have fat tires. I'm talking real fat bikes trek makes some non e versions for snow riding and such. A 27.5 plus tire is not quite the ticket for true snow riding. so yes bike that just have fat tires have peaked but not ones that are built with purpose.

 

[Robbie_D]

Slime has worked well for me in my 4.5" fat tires. I just installed the Tannus Armour inserts on all of my bikes. Haven't ridden with it yet.

I am curious to know which brand of tires you use? I am using Kenda Crusade Sport 20x4" and i get a lot more flats than i ever did on my regular mountain (peddle) bikes over the years. It's ridiculous how many flats i am getting.

Since owning my ebike... wait... (What is with the screwy quote function in this forum??? Whenever i press enter to move down a line, it creates ANOTHER quote box. Do i have a virus or something? Is this normal? I am not allowed to press enter during a response?)....anyway, i bought my ebike in Nov. 2020 and i've had about seven flats, mostly in the back tire. I keep my PSI at 30. The bike weighs about 58 lbs with the battery; my saddlebag weighs about 10 lbs with the tools needed to do flat repairs on the road (too often); and i weigh about 160 lbs with all my winter clothes on. Oh, and i have been riding the bike everyday, sometimes, all day (as i have two batteries). I could say that i ride this ebike 50% more than i ever rode my regular mountain bikes.

 

[Gordon71]

I do believe that the "Craze" portion of the fat bike phenomenon has peaked but I do not think that fat bike numbers have peaked. I think fat bike numbers will continue to climb into significant sales.
Fat bikes are a prime example of how not to introduce a significant new product. That is evident in this thread and the reason for a craze that has passed. 5-10 years ago fat bikes had significant issues that made them intolerable to many buyers who purchased them. Tires, geometry, wheels, frame spacing and knowledge of setup to name a few. There was terrific hype about fat bikes and they did not live up to the hype. Fat bikes left a bad taste for many buyers of those bikes and the hype market was quickly saturated. The big bike manufacutuers got out because research showed the market had been posioned and there was significant dislike for the fat bike craze.
The fat bike itself in not a craze but a unique tool where most of the serious issues are no longer present except in the bargin builders. The E bike market is changing the dynamics and bringing in new blood that is not tainted.
I ride all the time and talk to people, there is a perception among the less abled and elderly that e fat bikes are safer, more stable and give better traction than a traditional hybride or comfort bike. Much of that comes from the fact that in any biking circle involving this segment of the population, there is always talk of an accident that happens from running off the pavement of a mutipupose path into a soft berm and over the handlebars. The talk always boils down to the width of the tires. Correct or not, the perception is that fat tires significantly decrease injuries and increase comfort. The e bike has equalized the energy issues and the problems with self steering are largely disappearing.
Saddly, this big segment of the market is also totally convinced that the ideal saddle is the Cloud 9 tractor seat
All the education in the world will not change the perception of those burned by fat bikes early on and they will not change the older comfort riders from choosing fat tires and Cloud 9 saddles for the bike paths.

Ok,so if I'm riding along the road in my area where there are no shoulders and a pavement drop of 2-4" followed by a drainage ditch a few inches deep you are saying skinny high pressure tires would handle that better than fat low pressure tires if I had to leave the pavement for any reason?

 

[Robbie_D]

Hmm. Interesting. I asked what do people HATE about their fat tires, and almost every reply is praising fat bikes and fat tires with photos and long stories about their love for their fat bikes. It, kind of, makes me not want to read any of the replies to my question. What would happen if i now ask what people love about their fat tires?