matthewh wrote:Fenlason, enlighten me about these fat tire bikes i see - like the one you pictured. Is it simply the softer ride that makes them popular? I would imagine that they're tougher to pedal like knobby tires. Are they pretty much off road machines? Thanks.
The bike pictured above isn't a real fat bike.
I will first talk about fat bikes.. then go on to the bike above.
Fat bikes have 26" wheels, The same as older mountain bikes [vs the newer 29er stuff] Their rims vary in width, but most.. run from 62mm-100mm. Their Tires are around 4" in width. This wide a tire is also fairly big around, big enough in fact to give the wheel/tire combo, about the same circumference as a regular 29er. These bikes were originally made for snow and sand. The large tires [with low air pressures] provide decent float, to be able to ride over soft terrain. Some people found them fun to ride anywhere. They are more stable, and are more comfortable on small roots and rocks. Bigger stuff.. they are still on the harsh side. [Although they now have some coming with suspension.]
After some time.. some bikes got even bigger. They still used 26" wheels, but 100mm wide, and 5" tires… which provided even more float.
The Krampus [the bike pictured] is what is called a 29er+ It used a 29inch rim.. that is a little wider than a"normal" at 50mm, and one uses a 3" tire. So the circumference is even bigger than a 29er.. so it rolls over rough terrain easier than a 29er [which is better than a 26] It has some float.. and a little more cushion than a regular mountain bike.
All these bikes take special frames.. you can't just plunk these wheels and tires in to any bike. The fat bikes also have a lot of special parts, wider hubs.. definitely wider bottom brackets. The Krampus was designed to use regular mountain bike parts [yet the frame.. wheels and tires are different.] It is an inbetweener.. it's frame is designed to be more aggressive.. begging you to ride it faster. It has monstrously tall wheels… and it should be a fun and fast bike. [yet still slower and heavier than a race bike]. I think it will just be a fun in-between bike.
We have not sold any of these yet ourselves, and I have yet to even see one in person. So it will be a little bit of an experiment for me.