what width fat front rim for a front fat?

[ifrider2]

Building up a half fat bike, mainly for use in summer on dry stuff. What width rim would you all recommend for the front? Something like a marge lite or holy rolling darryl? Is there something I need to stay away from when I am going to have a 29er rim/tire out back? Thanks for your advice and knowledge.

[XJaredX]

Personally, I would use a Marge Lite. I am not speaking from experience with a half fat, but more with what rim width I'd prefer for summer singletrack use. I am having a set of Marge Lites built up for my Pugsley because I am not super thrilled with the width of the Rolling Darryls for super rocky and techy stuff. But I'm sure you'll find people who will say Rolling Darryl is a good choice too!

[nitrousjunky]

I've spent a good bit of time on my custom 29er with a couple different fat front setups. I ran a 65mm Marge XC for a good bit and now have a 47mm Schlick Northpaw rim on it.

Every bit of my use has been on normal trail riding (rooty/rocky singletrack and some smooth XC trails). For this type riding, I strongly prefer the 47mm rim. One of the main reasons is weight. With the 65mm Marge XC/Qtube/27TPI Nate combo the weight balance of the bike was totally off. I have very short CSs and a decent height BB, so getting the front up wasn't an issue. However anytime the bike left the ground it's like a magnet was pulling the front tire back to the ground. I also could tell the weight throwing off the bike in fast twisty stuff.

Jump forward to the 47mm Northpaw/Qtube/27TPI Nate setup, weight balance is back and it handles way better. However I haven't noticed any negatives as far as cush/traction or anything else by going back to a more narrow rim.

My honest opinion, for a fat front setup either go with 47mm Northpaw or a Marge Lite, NOTHING heavier.