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The Great Fat-urday Ride

2K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  Enduramil 
#1 ·
Awesome outing today with fat tire brethren. We went to Durham Forest hoping there would be some snow but fatties are almost equally as much fun to ride in cold but perfect conditions as they are in snow. That was the maiden ride for my new toy - carbon Salsa Beargrease fatty. If anyone is on the fence about owning one - go for it. IT IS FUN!

Will take it to Agreement Forest tomorrow, for some rocky fun riding with Trail Bullies.
 

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#2 ·
They are tonnes of fun! We had a group of about 15 out today on the Barrie trails. Conditions were more like a skating rink but regardless we all had fun.
Oggie, take care of those Escalators, they aren't making them anymore :( Best fatbike tire IMO particularly for the amount of snow we get up here in the Barrie area.
 
#5 ·
:) i purchased the last 3 of them from a guy that rode and won Iditarod... Love the bike. Took it to the rock today with a couple of friends, bumped into Peter Weldon and his group as well, on St-Helena's trails. I was kinda nervous as to how the bike would perform in such a technical terrain, but my nervousness was quickly dispelled by confident and predictable handling and great efficiency. And we don't even have any snow yet. This was a great buy and it will be a lot of fun.

Hoping that I will find some time to come up north to the real snow belt, and ride some fun trails in snow, for which this bike is also made for.
 
#11 ·
if you're on the fence about a fat bike, DO IT! I picked up a very budget-friendly Norco Bigfoot last week and had a boatload of fun in the snow over the weekend. It certainly won't replace my trail bike but for the winter and mucky shoulder seasons this is definitely the ticket for me...

so much fun you'll forget it's even winter out.

Clothing Tire Bicycle wheel Bicycle tire Automotive tire
 
#13 ·
Saturday must have been a fatbike day. As I arrived at Christie with my yellow Pugsley, someone was just leaving with 2 fatbikes on a rack.
Must have been a lot of people out on the trails in the thaw earlier in the week. Lots of tread marks, some rutting in the open areas. Running over the frozen tread marks on the fatbike sounds like popcorn.

I am of mixed feelings on fatbikes for snow. Last year was my first time. I was shocked and disappointed how poorly they handle any real amount of fresh snow. It's a very fine line between packed enough for the fatbike and packed enough that any MTB could be used.
In Southern Ontario around the lake we get so many thaws. Last year we would get a good dump of snow and then a few days later a thaw. The trails would get all torn up and then freeze again, all ice.
I think I would have got more use out of studded tires on a normal bike.

Having said that, the fatbike is great in soft, not quite muddy conditions. It actually improves the trail, rolling the ruts and hoof prints down. On frozen ground that usually vibrates the crap out of you, the fatbike smooths everything out.
 
#14 ·
it's a very fine line between packed enough for the fatbike and packed enough that any MTB could be used.
Ahhhh...no! Come to Muskoka or anywhere that has a substantial snow base and try riding sled trails or out on the lake on a mtbike.
Have had many a rider try to ride with us and they typically give up in the first couple hundred yards! No traction, won't track etc etc.... just becomes a ****-show and they go home!
 
#3 ·
Carbon fatty. Sweet! Noticed quite a bit of fat tire fossils in the frozen mud at Glen Major today. (just south of where you were) Looks like they've really taken off. Might have to put a limit on my bank card incase I get a chance to throw a leg over one.

Are those carbon hoops on that?
 
#4 ·
Carbon fatty. Sweet! Noticed quite a bit of fat tire fossils in the frozen mud at Glen Major today. (just south of where you were) Looks like they've really taken off. Might have to put a limit on my bank card incase I get a chance to throw a leg over one.

Are those carbon hoops on that?
Carbon rims are certainly available for these bikes, but I did not end up buying them. I just went with Holly Rolling Darryls. Weight was not so much my concern nor reason for going carbon. The bike just looked so sweet and I could not resist. It weighs 27 pounds, though it can certainly be built much lighter than that.

Fat bikes have certainly taken off. Salsa is on backorder for most of their fat bike models.. Norco, Surly, Pugsley, Specialized - all have their fat bike offerings now... FUN! and a great change from skinny light XC bikes..
 
#7 ·
That is an awesome addition for sure, and it is sweet. I am thinking of going for a more modest option for one. I just can't seem to pull the trigger on it. I have managed on my two bikes through a few winters and I would be back to 5 bikes again and it would make one of my bikes redundant. Still I feel I should have one. I guess I have to justify it to myself somehow. Maybe when some snow falls here.
 
#16 ·
Umm, since #5 is the perfect number of bikes i had to part with one in order to get this fat beauty. Tallboy - my winter/fun bike will keep pleasing someone else.

Secret Agent - 5 IS the magic number of bikes. There is no doubt about it in my mind.

To my surprise - Beargrease handled St-Helena trails with authority. On my first technical ride with it. I second Captains statement as well. Fat tires handle snow way better than skinny tires, to the point that it is a game changer when the snow is not packed down nicely.

If on the fence - go for it. Even though i had second thoughts before i took a plunge - they were dispelled after the first ride only. :)

BCD - cant wait to ride your neck of the woods.
 
#19 ·
I am not giving up my Tallboy. I look at the picture above and I wonder how much of that I can find around the GTA. I drive around enough in the summer, and I don't know that I want to be heading up north every weekend though I would love to. The conditions around the GTA I find can be handled with a regular MTB pretty well. Just not sure how much or the benefits, though I think it would be fun. I'll see how the Holiday spending goes. Still no snow here, so I am not itching yet. Still considering a higher end gravel grinder, though I could scrimp a bit and get both.
 
#21 ·
fat bike is not necessarily just the snow bike. so far on my 2 rides in pretty much bone dry conditions - it was a lot of fun. even in the rock of Hilton Falls/St-Helenas/Agreement Forest - it rode really well, and i was comparing it to Tallboy and Epic, which i took to the same area as well. It is a very, very fun ride. Good complement to any other bike in the stable. Snow ability is a bonus.
 
#20 ·
I love the idea of the fatbike, and I am sure it would be an absolute blast to ride on the snowy trails in my area. I just can't yet get past the fact that, in my case it would be sitting idle for 8 months a year (even more as I love getting out on the XC ski's in Durham/Glen Major/Walkers Woods once we get a good base of snow).
 
#22 ·
If anyone is interested, I just saw a large yellow Pugsley in the Toronto Kijiji for $1500. Don't know anything about it. Yellow is last year's model. Mine was just about $1900 after taxes and it was a good deal - drove to Ottawa to get it. Stores around here wanted 1900 before taxes.
 
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