FAT BIKE, all about bicycles with fat wheels

Everything you need to know about Fat Bikes in this complete post. Is the Fat Bike a modern invention? Which Electric Fat Bike Should You Choose? What does it offer me regarding a traditional mountain bike? That and much more, just by reading on.

Origin of the Fat Bike

Although the Fat Bikes have been established in the cycling imagination for a few years, the reality is that this explosion that has taken them to stores around the world and many houses of fans of this sport is more of a retro or vintage recovery than a modern invention. .

In fact, the concept of what we know today as Fat Bike has its roots at the end of the 19th century, when there is already graphic and written documentation of bicycles with a concept identical to the wide-wheeled and bicycle wheels that we all know today and whose authorship Some brands have even tried to win the award out of ignorance or interest.

The areas where they are believed to have emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are Alaska – they were used by gold prospectors – and the Sahara desert. Areas where, due to the conditions of the terrain, it was and still is not feasible to ride a conventional bicycle.

Fat Bike

What does a Fat Bike offer me?

We all associate a fat bike with snow or the desert and, as we have just said, this is its natural habitat. However, its use does not have to be reduced exclusively to it, since despite having certain drawbacks for traditional use, it also provides advantages that must be taken into account.

First, they are ideal bikes on rough terrain for riders. The tire itself, which due to its width can be carried at low pressure, acts as a kind of suspension, guaranteeing comfort and lightness in the transit of these terrains. In the same pavé they could unfold very easily.

Fat Bike

Second, they are a guarantee of fun and safety on the steepest mtb descents. Again, its tire – the main and almost unique feature of fat bikes – allows a level of maneuverability on the bike unattainable in a traditional one. Even the least skilled or poorly experienced biker can afford certain risks on a fat bike thanks to the sense of control and stability offered by its tires.

Finally, they are ideal in very muddy conditions. Immersed as we are in some very rainy weeks throughout the peninsula, owning a fat bike ensures you can go out without fear of encountering an impractical mud: they can do that and much more.

Fat Bike

Six things you should know about Fat Bikes

His weight weighs

Obviously, they are not light bikes. When starting, when it comes to pedaling at the exit of a curve or facing a steep climb, our overweight will take its toll.

Fat Bike

It is difficult to puncture, but expensive and complicated to solve it

Rarely will he puncture a fat bike. Their covers are prepared for it, as is logical for the terrain that they usually travel. However, in case we get the coupon of misfortune, tubelizing is very complicated -more than in a conventional mtb- and the replacement of the camera would cost us a peak: at least 100 euros.

They can be 2×1

As can be seen in a video at the end of this article, many fat bikes allow the wheels to be interchangeably and easily exchanged for those of a 27.5 Plus, which automatically turns them into a 2×1, versatile and useful in infinite situations. .

Not on asphalt

Although we have seen above that a fat bike is more versatile than is often said, there are certain terrains in which its performance is very reduced. On the asphalt we will not be able to reach the desired speeds and, in addition, the noise from the tires can be annoying.

You will not go unnoticed

Although this factor has been greatly reduced as the use of fat bikes has been normalizing and becoming habitual, you will not fail to draw attention to one of them. Faces of astonishment as you pass and becoming the center of attention of your group, at least the first few days, will be the toll you must pay to enjoy its virtues.

Fun

In the end it is what you should weigh the most when making a decision, what we all look for when riding the bicycle: enjoy and have fun. And that, friend, a fat bike guarantees it. It is a new way of living the mtb on which you will experience sensations that you have never felt before.