Going FAT... blasphemy?

[ultrazenith]

I'm about to get hold of a steel 29er frame, and I'm considering using a rigid fork with either a fat front wheel, or a 29er wheel with a 3" tire. This would be a fun, retro-inspired build (may use thumbshifters and bar ends, etc.).

Unfortunately, I'm not very clued up about new fangled things like fat wheels and fat tires, and I need some advice about some practicalities.

For example, is is possible to (safely) use a 3" tire on a normal 29er rim? Or is it necessary to use an especially wide rim?

 

[al]

Quiff... check! lumberjack beard... check! arm full of tats... check! fat bike... ''BINGO''!!


al. ;-)

 

[KDM]

Re:

You need this http://www.ukfatbikes.co.uk/ they have a section in there for half fats

 

[A.D.R]

Re:

Depends on the width of the rim, 29+ bikes such as the surly krampus use 50mm wide surly rabbit hole rims, you can fit 2.4-2.5" wide 29er tyres on them, but I think if you fitted a 3" tyre like the maxxis chronicle onto a normal 21mm 29er rim you'd likely get a few pinch flats, and roll over on corners.

I've looked into using wide rims on my Kona Unit and a quite a few riders are using 47mm wide unicycle 29er rims which are a good bit cheaper than the surly rabbit hole rim.

Just go for the fat front . Love my fat bike, just be prepared for an increased gyroscope effect on the larger front wheel when cornering.

Andy

 

[ultrazenith]

thanks for the answers guys. I'm defo going to check out some 29er unicycle rims.

 

[66 triumph daytona]

Quiff... check! lumberjack beard... check! arm full of tats... check! fat bike... ''BINGO''!!


al. ;-)

+1 to the power of infinity.

 

[sancho]

If you can get past the way the half fat looks, go with that. Ultimately you will have more options because you can still build up a 29" or 29+ front wheel for those situations when you don't want/need a true fat tire up front.

Keep in mind also that If you don't have the clearance to run a 29+ tire in the rear, having a 3.0 in the front is going to change the geometry a bit. However, having a half fat gives you options that keep the geometry closer to the original angles. For example, I've found that a Husker Du (4.0) paired with a 2.4 Continental Trail King give me a geometry that is very similar to running Husker Dus front and rear.

As for 29+ rims, I'm a big fan of the Velocity Dually (45mm), which will take a regular 29" tire and a 3.0 tire with no problems and is a bit lighter than a Rabbit Hole.

 

[A.D.R]

A few 29+ rims for you to compare

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/rim29nimbusdominator2.html

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/29-kris-holm ... e-rim.html

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/sur ... 3712-p.asp

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/vel ... 4191-p.asp

Andy

 

[clockd]

Hi, tried all combos over the years, I own a pugsley, spec fatboy and a krampus. Fit the tyre on the front, the maxxis is not as good a tyre as a largish chunky 29r tyre but it rolls well. You should have lots of front wheel clearance but be aware this is a 'large volume' 29 tyre and is really tall.
Never tried the surly 29x 3 so I have no comparison.

Rims, try the ones you have before parting with some $$$. I'm sure if you are really super aggressive you could flat the tyre on a narrow rim but people have been running 4-5" tyres on 65mm and narrower rims for years, the problem is if you want a standard size tyre on in the future you get bloody rock strikes all the time
Hope that helps