The Best Fat Bikes you'll Buy immediately

The Best Fat Bikes you'll Buy immediately

A fat bike is that the perfect tool for extending your riding season if you reside where it’s snowy or wet, or where riding a regular-tire all-terrain bike is futile, not fun, and might damage the path​s. Fat bikes also are highly functional for bikepacking, and for riding on sand, because larger tires that are run at low float over soft surfaces, which may smooth your ride even on a frame without suspension.

Recently, fat bike tires are becoming wider for more float in extreme conditions, and therefore the bikes are being built lighter with higher performance in mind. Dropper posts are getting

increasingly common on stock builds, making it easier to ride technical terrain and remount in deep snow.

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And more manufacturers are listening to Q Factor (or stance width), which is that the distance between the surface of 1 crank arm to the surface of the other crank arm. to make the clearance for wider tires, brands use wider rear hub spacing (up to 197mm—a typical all-terrain bike features a 148mm -wide rear hub). Wider rear hub spacing requires that the crankset be shifted outboard to take care of an inexpensive chain angle for correct shifting, which increases the stance width of the cranks. Wider-stance cranks can

cause knee or hip pain in some riders. If this is often you, search for a fat bike with a narrower bottom bracket shell (less than 100mm).

A hardtail with a rigid fork is the most affordable and commonest sort of fat bike. Because most of those bikes use four- to five-inch-wide tires, and since you sometimes run those tires at low , even a rigid bike can desire it's suspension because the tires conform to irregularities within the trail. If your riding surface is especially uneven, rooty, or rocky, otherwise you want to run your tires at a better pressure for fewer squirm, consider buying a fat bike with full suspension. A full-suspension setup can assist you maneuver better, keep you from feeling beat up after an extended ride, and make the ride more enjoyable if you swap fat rims for normal all-terrain bike rims. However, if you sometimes ride in

extremely cold temperatures, a rigid fork could also be more reliable.

Wheel Swapping

Some ​fat bikes are designed to accommodate both fat-tire rims and standard 27.5 or 29-inch all-terrain bike rims. If you don’t want to ride fat tires all year, buying a frame with multiple configuration options allows you to have one bike with multiple personalities. In snow or sand, run it with a fat-tire setup. Buy a group of all-terrain bike wheels with narrower rims and equip them with smaller tires, and you've got an alternative choice that’s lighter and should be better suited to everyday riding. All ​fat bikes are built with different hub standards, so you’ll likely need to buy a fanatical second set of wheels if you would like to enjoy different options.

Wheel Size Most ​fat bikes ​use 26-inch wheels, though 27.5-inch builds aren't uncommon. Larger wheels are faster rolling and make trail obstacles even easier to push over or through. Fat tire wheels are available in many various rim widths, starting from 60 to 100mm.

Generally , the broader the tire you would like to use, the broader the rim you'll want. However, a narrower rim will save weight and make the bike feel livelier.

Tires The fatter the tire the cushier the ride. Five-inch tires give more float on soft ground than four-inch models. But fatter tires are heavier, slower, and bouncier on firm ground. For riding on firmer and drier trails, and at higher speeds, a narrower tire goes to supply a more satisfying, and fewer squirmy, ride. Whichever you select , consider setting them up tubeless and running low pressures for fewer chances of flatting. Just make sure the tubeless sealant you select works at subzero temperatures. If you’ll be riding in icy terrain rather than snowy trails, you’ll want to shop for or make a group of studded tires for enhanced grip.

Tire Pressure Tire pressure is the best tool you've got to fine-tune the performance of your fat bike. With five-inch-wide tires within the softest conditions, you'll be running pressures as low as two psi. In firmer or rougher terrain, or for higher speeds, you'll want to use more pressure to extend the support the tire offers, and to sharpen the bike’s handling. you'll even want to vary your tire pressure several times on one ride as you encounter different conditions. For the simplest fat-biking experience, you’ll want to take a position during a good digital tire pressure gage , because differences as little as a half-pound of pressure make a big difference within the feel and performance of a fat tire.