Prepare for the flood gates to be opened. (thanks for the heads up Inspectoraptor) http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/03/31/ned-overend-spotted-with-specialized-fat-bike-prototype/
I'm sure Cannondale isn't far behind. This first week on my fatbike has been amazing. I've enjoyed 100 miles of really great riding. The looks and questions; they are non-stop. I know it's not for everyone; I'll be curious to see if fatbikes really take off, or if they'll enjoy the same type of market share that bikes like single speeds or fixed gears have now. I'm not looking back; I'm having too much fun, and the work-outs are amazing. I think once the dust settles, and standards are established with rear spacing, bb width, etc, I'll probably build a chi-chi Ti fatbike. After this past week, I cant imagine spending another dime on a full suspension rig. This is your fault Steve C; and we've never even met! lol. Who's doing Rwanda fat? I signed up for the 25 miler. Come on!!
Building the Moonie now. Can't wait to finish it, but doing this on spare time and funds is gonna take some time. I love the rigid SS, but this one is gonna have gears and of course - more tire volume. Guessing the other bikes will gather some dust once this one hits the dirt. Regarding Specialized getting into the action, I'd like to see some uber fat tire versions of their popular MTB treads soon. I've been on a Schwalbe tire fetish lately, but an imaginary pair of 26" X 4.8" Hans Dampf SS in TS compound would be awesome!
After this last fall & winter riding around Lake Superior up to Polar Bear Nat Park, I've decided. I'll keep a cross bike for Road, CX, & light XC, but off road, it's big, fat, full-size tires for me from here on out. Wish we had these tires 20 years ago. Completely changes the experience, and makes riding 2.3's again feel ridiculously, almost dangerously undersized. Assembling a 70mm rim onto a King 20mmx110 front hub at the moment. Then on to lowering a White Bros Groove 200 down to 140mm... & softening it up... a lot.
sounds like we're going to have a nice little group of fat bike riders here! Here's a great parking solution- Today's project after my fat ride was to make a stand for my Mukluk. I found this fantastic link to some easy to follow instructions. https://nuxx.net/blog/2011/11/28/low-cost-fat-bike-stand/ here's how it turned out. Total cost was roughly 13 dollars at Lowes. Works great! Works on front tire works on rear as well, even with a rack and awesome for keeping the bike in place when spraying it down
Very nice! Mine just kind of leans against something. Might have to build one of these. Thanks for the link How are those Nates working out for you? I'm in need of a tire with a bit more agressive tread. I low-sided a couple of weekends ago trying to drag knee like a streetbiker.
Now, not only am I fat, but I've got junk in my trunk! diggin' this set-up so much over having a back-pack. Tijeras Creek this morning. Who's riding fat on Rwanda?? Anyone? Anyone?
DUDE! Nice bag! Who makes it? I just put the exact same rack on my Fatty. The prospect of not having to wear a back pack is awesome. As far as Rwanda, I'm out this year. --------------------- Over the weekend I joined in on the Blackstar ride. Finally made it up to the golf ball I think this was a pic of me coming down. Not sure exactly what's going on. Dying It's pretty big in person. Balls Introspective MTBer shot LOL Thanks for the awesome shots as always, Indy. I got a lot of comments on the fatty that day.
LOL....it's in the trunk Brownie! Steve- the bag is made by Arkel; they're a Canadian company. MSRP is 115 bucks; you can buy direct, or buy on ebay and get free shipping. They come in red and black. They're spendy but so is a nice Camelback. I love high quality bags, and this one doesn't disappoint. Ballistic fabrics, rubberized waterproof YKK zippers, two outside pockets, and the trunk itself has really great compartments to keep everything organized. It also has a built-in rain cover that you cant see, but pulls over the entire trunk if you're in a down-pour. The difference in weight vs. a Camelback isn't even worth worrying about. Lifetime warranty on all the seams and zippers; I dig it. Plus, it fits really well on the Salsa rack. It also does a great job keeping crap off your back if you like bombing creek crossings. http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categories/seat-bags-trunk-bags/tailrider.html
So I've been doing a lot of reading on reducing weight on fatbikes. I can't say that I'm really excited about taking a hole saw to my rims, (sure I want nicer wheels, but I'll buy a set when the time comes) and I am certain that I don't want to run a ghetto tubeless set-up. And while I would love to put some sexy, lighter 120 TPI tires on my beast, I like the durability factor of my 27's. Well, since I was looking to save rotating weight, the only place left to go was lighter tubes. I've read the articles; I've watched the videos, and it seems that you don't need to run a genuine "fatbike" tube in your fatbike tire. Regular 26" downhill tubes work fine according to what I read, and there was a substantial weight savings. How much exactly? I couldn't find a straight answer, so I did the homework myself. Want to know how much a stock Mukluk tube weighs? How about a Surly Toob? And how much can you really save by swapping the tubes out? Here you go my fatbike friends: Here's the stock Mukluk tube that I removed Next, a replacement Surly Toob that I bought when I was under the impression that you needed this mammoth tube And finally, the Specialized downhill tube As you can see, you can save just over a quarter pound per wheel by swapping out the tubes. Here's a shot of the stock weight, and the new weight of my front wheel. Still chunky, but a quarter pound of rotating weight is a great savings. And the total cost for the tubes at a local shop here in So Cal? Twelve dollars, and ninety four cents. Yep. $12.94. The tires appear to have seated on the rims just fine; I did talc the inside of the tires, and Sunday I'm going to pre-ride the Rwanda route, so I'll let you know how everything works out. So far, jumping off curbs and going down stairs out front is great.
You could get away with a regular 26x2.7 tube......you don't need to go with the DH tubes. I use the QTubes Superlight 26x 2.4-2.7(and shop that deals with QBP can order them). They're light and they stretch out just fine. I've been using them for 3 years with 1 flat. The flat was due to the stem getting bent while futzing with tire pressure(ever get a flat at -20f....and then realize that your pump is broken?). BB
