I would like mainstream MTB media to take a trip to a community where people actually have to ride fat bikes in winter and they groom the single track which are proper fast fun single track trails in the summer. You need full fat tires for the traction even on packed snow because it's hardness varies constantly but the trails can be smoking fast and a suspension fork and dialed air pressure are super important. It's not as fun as dirt but it can be super fun and a proper trail bike/modern geo certainly shines just like it does when you point your bike downhill on dirt. I still see mainstream mtb media basically having no understanding that in most of Canada and many areas of the US this is our riding reality for a big part of the year and it's not about touring around in a frozen wasteland. It's ripping up our local trails and it's mountain biking, not some of less gnarly riding than gravel biking. I see it trying to be categorized as something that for a large portion of us. in its day to day guise, it simply isn't. I also have 29x3" wheels and tires for my fat bike which makes it an okay bike in summer. But it still doesn't cut it for maximum trail fun and 3" is just not enough tire for riding on snow most of the time. Even when the snow is hard enough for a 3" tire the cornering traction and support just isn't there. The float of full fat is absolutely necessary to get maximum speed through the corners (which are pretty flat). I invite you to come up North of 60 or any northern mtb town with grooming and experience it for yourself on a proper fat bike with Manitou fork (I have a bluto which is still better than rigid).
April 17, 2023, 1:42 p.m. - cyclotoine
I would like mainstream MTB media to take a trip to a community where people actually have to ride fat bikes in winter and they groom the single track which are proper fast fun single track trails in the summer. You need full fat tires for the traction even on packed snow because it's hardness varies constantly but the trails can be smoking fast and a suspension fork and dialed air pressure are super important. It's not as fun as dirt but it can be super fun and a proper trail bike/modern geo certainly shines just like it does when you point your bike downhill on dirt. I still see mainstream mtb media basically having no understanding that in most of Canada and many areas of the US this is our riding reality for a big part of the year and it's not about touring around in a frozen wasteland. It's ripping up our local trails and it's mountain biking, not some of less gnarly riding than gravel biking. I see it trying to be categorized as something that for a large portion of us. in its day to day guise, it simply isn't. I also have 29x3" wheels and tires for my fat bike which makes it an okay bike in summer. But it still doesn't cut it for maximum trail fun and 3" is just not enough tire for riding on snow most of the time. Even when the snow is hard enough for a 3" tire the cornering traction and support just isn't there. The float of full fat is absolutely necessary to get maximum speed through the corners (which are pretty flat). I invite you to come up North of 60 or any northern mtb town with grooming and experience it for yourself on a proper fat bike with Manitou fork (I have a bluto which is still better than rigid).