Different is right. And that's a good thing. Fat rides are for playing bikes in the woods and on the beaches with friends. Sometimes an appropriate boulder in the sand shows itself to be a perfect equivalent of plywood laid over cinder blocks and an impromptu jump session takes place. Snow/sand angels mandatory for every crash. Sometimes the sky mirrors the water so perfectly with broken overcast throwing in blues, pinks and oranges you haven't seen, at least in a long time. Maybe you and your pals carried a few barley pops and decide it's a perfect time to pop a top and enjoy the scene before continuing on. Or you get a wild hair to really mess up your drivetrain for a bit and ride out into the waters to see how far you can go before the bike inevitably tips you over due to the life preserves-as-wheels you rode into it on. Or you head out on a night ride (minimal to no lights needed due to snow and overcast skies) to a little out of the way spot you know about and have a fire when you get there, roasting a couple sausages and laughing into the winter wind.
You can get into all that on regular MTBs, but the slower nature of porkie tires encourages a mindful slowness, a conversational pace maybe similar to what you had when you were a kid riding your bike with friends, looking for new haunts, new adventures, goofing off more than going off. I pity folx who never get to revisit that sense of wonder and joy.
Feb. 2, 2023, 7:14 a.m. - JT
Different is right. And that's a good thing. Fat rides are for playing bikes in the woods and on the beaches with friends. Sometimes an appropriate boulder in the sand shows itself to be a perfect equivalent of plywood laid over cinder blocks and an impromptu jump session takes place. Snow/sand angels mandatory for every crash. Sometimes the sky mirrors the water so perfectly with broken overcast throwing in blues, pinks and oranges you haven't seen, at least in a long time. Maybe you and your pals carried a few barley pops and decide it's a perfect time to pop a top and enjoy the scene before continuing on. Or you get a wild hair to really mess up your drivetrain for a bit and ride out into the waters to see how far you can go before the bike inevitably tips you over due to the life preserves-as-wheels you rode into it on. Or you head out on a night ride (minimal to no lights needed due to snow and overcast skies) to a little out of the way spot you know about and have a fire when you get there, roasting a couple sausages and laughing into the winter wind. You can get into all that on regular MTBs, but the slower nature of porkie tires encourages a mindful slowness, a conversational pace maybe similar to what you had when you were a kid riding your bike with friends, looking for new haunts, new adventures, goofing off more than going off. I pity folx who never get to revisit that sense of wonder and joy.