Wot happened to fat bikes

Ok here's my four penneth on the subject.
Fat Bikes are definitely not dead ( I am not including the travesty that are E- Fatbikes and those horrible folding jobbies). Sure they have fallen off the radar and out of the Zeitgeist but amongst the dedicated they are as strong as ever. New frames being produced, tyres, cranks forks etc. You may have to look a little harder but they are there and I think that's the way we like it.

I came to Fatbiking about 7 years ago as a way to preserving my fully carbon enduro bike from North Yorkshire bearing eating winters. Bought a cheap alloy Fatbike just for it's frame and built it up with same components as the enduro and quickly realised that Fat Bikes are FUN.
Sure they take effort to ride but so do Retrobikes and we all still ride them.
Obviously I have taken a step further and started doing winter endurance events which really showcase what these bikes can do but increasingly at home I am foregoing the "soulless efficiency " of my enduro bike for the smiles per mile of the Fatbike.

Vive Le Fat Bike😁
 
The rotor and caliper is on the right hand side

I had 2.3 DH tyres on a bike, had so much drag

what do the inner tubes look like on these fat bikes?
Look closely at the fork and you'll see why. I run tubeless so no inner tubes. Sure there is drag but also grip😁
 
I saw a road bike yesterday with approximately 2mm clearance between the fat tyre and fork. What is it with people?!? The carbon was already showing signs of wear near the tyre.
 
what do the inner tubes look like on these fat bikes?

Imagine a condom for an elephant and you’re not too far off!

The thing with fat bikes is, on the right terrain the drag isn’t that bad. You float over stuff than normal tyres either sink into or bounce off. Obviously on road they’re a chore, but not as much as you think. I had mine for 7 years and did a huge variety of riding. I live on the coast and it allowed me to explore places I’d have had to carry a normal bike. Riding along a rocky shoreline in and out of the rock pool line is great fun. In vague terrain up a Munro they are also amazing.

The main downfall of fat bikes was the media bandwagon. Magazines and websites love to jump on the “next big thing” for the attention. Push it for a few months then abandon it for the next one. Manufacturers are the daft ones for jumping on the bandwagon fearful they’ll miss out.

Plus is another example of this and ultimately where I ended up after fat. 27.5 x 2.8 gives enough float in softer or rockier terrain with less downsides on smoother surfaces. Don’t work in soft sand or deep snow though.

All this has happened before and may come back round. BMX and skateboarding were huge when I was young then disappeared from the spotlight. Wasn’t like everyone completely stopped though and now they are both having a resurgence. Maybe we’ll see fat bike racing in the 2074 Olympics. 😂😂😂😂
 
^^^ I think this is a great example of the reality ^^^

BMX and other sports/trends merely disappear from the media spotlight, people who enjoy it still do it regardless, you see the same with other latest trends, tyre sizes, HA, travel etc, if we all believed the media we would all be swept along in the consumer tide and even poorer than we already are.

Back on the Fat bike topic I have yet to try one but they look great fun.
 
BMX and other sports/trends merely disappear from the media spotlight, people who enjoy it still do it regardless, you see the same with other latest trends, tyre sizes, HA, travel etc, if we all believed the media we would all be swept along in the consumer tide and even poorer than we already are.

Spot on....when these trends disappear from the Media spotlight that's when I become more interested. Not only do you stop paying "Trend Tax" but the people left in are the right sort ( if you catch my drift)
 
Plenty of fat bikes round here.
Lots of sand dunes for them to play in.
Funny thing is they all give the appearance of being Mr Macho Man.
Whenever I see them they are having a break; seems they have more breaks than rides.
And they are all "well built".
Bikers.JPG
 

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