#!markdown
The 29×3 platform attempts to strike a balance between the bouncy, low
pressure 26″ fat bike and the 29er hardtail. You get more flotation out of the
rims and tires which means you can run them at much lower pressure than a
normal 2.3 but you avoid the bounce of a 3.8″\+ fat tire. I settled on 14/16
and pedaled up Fromme no problem Monday in a fair bit of snow where there were
some foot tracks – but even a 26″ fat bike doesn't excel in heavy/deep snow.
The bottom line, however, is that these bikes (and fat bikes) are still a bit
gimmicky / narrow niche and don't compete with modern mountain bikes for
actual mountain biking. Tire availability is quite limited and rigid forks are
decidedly not performance items in technical terrain. That's why I wasn't too
worried about "reviewing" the platform. There's not a lot to be said.
Feb. 26, 2014, 2:02 p.m. - morgman
#!markdown The 29×3 platform attempts to strike a balance between the bouncy, low pressure 26″ fat bike and the 29er hardtail. You get more flotation out of the rims and tires which means you can run them at much lower pressure than a normal 2.3 but you avoid the bounce of a 3.8″\+ fat tire. I settled on 14/16 and pedaled up Fromme no problem Monday in a fair bit of snow where there were some foot tracks – but even a 26″ fat bike doesn't excel in heavy/deep snow. The bottom line, however, is that these bikes (and fat bikes) are still a bit gimmicky / narrow niche and don't compete with modern mountain bikes for actual mountain biking. Tire availability is quite limited and rigid forks are decidedly not performance items in technical terrain. That's why I wasn't too worried about "reviewing" the platform. There's not a lot to be said.