Fat Bike or Second Full Sus

[farmerfrederico]

Hello folks,

I enjoy my 3" Lenzsport Milk Money. I've had a fat bike before but lived either in Iowa or Winter Park and enjoyed it there. I'm living in Iowa again now but moving back to Boulder next summer. It looks like we'll be settling in and staying in that area for quite some time. I'll do weekly rides with some guys out of Lyons. I like technical trails, but I've always shied away from bigger ledges. I've broken two vertebra once, and we have a little boy now, so I've got to come home in one piece.

For those living on the front range...would you add a fat bike like a Moonlander to the stable and keep the Milk Money? Or would you simplify by moving the Milk Money along and getting into something like a Lenz Mammoth, or Transition Bandit 29?

Thanks!

[farmerfrederico]

Bump...trying to make a last minute decision on a used frame before I miss out. Thanks! I ride all year long.

[69erEverything]

Surly Krampus. It is such a fun bike for all conditions.

[kristian]

Bump...trying to make a last minute decision on a used frame before I miss out. Thanks! I ride all year long.

My $.02 is that you can ride a regular bike in the snow a lot easier than you can a snowbike in the summer. I know that's a gross overstatement and that snow bikes would be a blast on several trails, but you will definitely get more miles in on a Bandit 29 than you would a Moonlander during an averge year.

If you've lived here before, you know our snow conditions. It's not like Iowa where you've got months and months of winter and you're going to have nice snowmobile trailes to ride a snow bike on. Here we'll get snow and it will be 90% gone in a week. Even if it's not fully gone, you're going to be better off on a regular bike than a heavy snow bike unless you're in deep freshies--once things pack in a regular wheel works quite well.

All that being said, I really want a snow bike myself now that I have an AM 29er in my stable...

[skiahh]

Well, if it's a second FS bike vs fatty (that is, you're adding a bike to what you have), I'd definitely go with the fatty.

If you're going to sell the FS and replace it, that's an entirely different question for which I don't have a good answer.

[ignazjr]

I'd say keep your Milk Money SS and get squish and gears. Then get a fatbike another year or two down the road after you've prepped the wife for a 3rd bike

[crashtoomuch]

Hello folks,


For those living on the front range...would you add a fat bike like a Moonlander to the stable and keep the Milk Money? Or would you simplify by moving the Milk Money along and getting into something like a Lenz Mammoth, or Transition Bandit 29?

Thanks!

If you like techie trails and coming home in one piece, I suspect that you'll want more travel than 3".

Long travel 29er AND a fat bike is where you'll end up eventually.

[farmerfrederico]

I'd say keep your Milk Money SS and get squish and gears. Then get a fatbike another year or two down the road after you've prepped the wife for a 3rd bike

Wise words!!!

[farmerfrederico]

Thanks everyone...I needed the herd to push me over the edge. I'll wait until next summer to get a bigger travel 29er - fat bike looms in the future!

[TomP]

...Or would you simplify by moving the Milk Money along and getting into something like a Lenz Mammoth, or Transition Bandit 29?
...

Good lord, you see a Lenz Mammoth as a possibility and you're thinking about maybe getting a fargin' Moonlander instead!? Good God Man! If I could have a Mammoth I'd be there. Moonlanders are for goofballs, LenzSport Mammoth's are for MEN!

[calzonical]

Ride what you want.

I had a MilkMoney 3.0 - good steed but I rode the Leviathan more. I've added a Fatback to the stable and now the Leviathan sits idle. Fatties are pretty F-n fun on dirt. Looking forward to winter!

From FatBack

[kateean2]

It is such a fun bike for all conditions.

[farmerfrederico]

Good lord, you see a Lenz Mammoth as a possibility and you're thinking about maybe getting a fargin' Moonlander instead!? Good God Man! If I could have a Mammoth I'd be there. Moonlanders are for goofballs, LenzSport Mammoth's are for MEN!

Come on, Tom! If I had chosen to get a Moonlander I would have kept the Milk Money! Give me at least a little credit!

[WilburKookmeyer]

I'd say keep your Milk Money SS and get squish and gears. Then get a fatbike another year or two down the road after you've prepped the wife for a 3rd bike

Wisdom

+1

[Moustache rider]

I've had a Mukluk for two years now and usually ride in the Boulder vicinity. A fat bike will expand winter riding opportunities for sure but you can certainly get by without one. Be happy with your skinny wheel fleet first and then think about a fat.

[goldenboy]

While I would agree it's not always about the bike, if you are serious about your riding and participate regularly different disciplines, it is nice to have the right tool for the job. Like a bike for the road and/or a mountain bike. And/or DJ, DH, XC, TT or a snow bike. The difference between an older 29 FS and a newer model may be minimal, but the difference between a sport specific bike and just riding what you have can be huge. Go buy a fat bike! (I am happy to provide more justifications for the purchase since I have been compiling a list after I bought a used Mukluk last week.)