Rambling questions about moving to the fat bike world

[fortel]

The short question is - do you guys already riding fat bikes have any experiences and opinions on Framed fat bikes?

The important and rambling path to the question is this - I'm looking for a fat bike with a budget cap of thousand bucks give or take a few dollars.

Please don't say save up for a better bike because budget constraints will not let that happen anytime in the next few years. I've got a kid fixing to hit college years, I'm paying for a set of braces, just added a teenage male driver to my insurance, the list goes on and on and on. Waiting just means more time without being on the trails on a bike.

I have basically been cut off from riding mountain bikes (current MTB is a Stumpjumper Comp hardtail 29er) due to the retina in my right eye detaching two different times over the last couple of years. Where that leaves me is with permanent damage in three different ways - field of vision partially distorted, a paralyzed pupil that no longer dialates/constricts with changing light conditions, and an eye that rapidly dries out when riding. WylieX sunglasses with the climate control gasket has adequately fixed the dry eye part. Here's what happens with the combination of the other two problems - imagine riding singletrack where going in and out of dappled shade/sunlight sets off a light show inside one eye and every root or rock visually moves just when you are setting your line. The few times I have tried riding my Stumpy this year have just ended up being a white knuckle stress session and I really don't want to take a header from crapping out on a line. It sucks that as a member of our local trailbuilding association, I'm not getting to ride the trails I spend so much time building and maintaining.

So why the fat bike? I have just been on one a couple of times but it was enough to see that going from the 2.4" tire which is the biggest I can fit on the Stumpy to a 4" or larger fat tire would give me the line-picking forgiveness to make getting back on the trails less stressful. My main ride right now is my cross bike but I really miss singletrack. And I'm 6 miles from one of the trailheads for the Katy Trail which, when covered with snow in the winter, gives me a fantastic riding opportunity when no one else is out.

I've been riding since '78 and understand the whole crap vs quality vs money balance but a $1,600 - $1,800 starting point just simply will not happen. So spending a lot of time over the last week looking a various offerings from the low end of the spectrum, I keep going back to Framed's Minnesota series, specifically the 2.2 or the 3.0 with rigid fork. I'd really prefer a Bluto up front, but that pushes me beyond the budget constraints. The 2.2 or 3.0 are reasonable spec'd for the price point and would give me a frame/wheelset combination ready for a direct Bluto swap without rebuilding the front wheel if money came available to do so later.

I've talked to a big shop in St. Louis that sells Framed and they say they are getting good feedback from customers who have bought them. Reviews generally seem good considering the price point. I know it wouldn't be a Blackborrow, much less a Bucksaw, but it would get me back in the woods on trails instead of pavement which would be a very good thing.

Feedback is appreciated, there's a great fall riding season coming up and I would like to be back on dirt.

 

[Co-opski]

Fortel,
I'm fat. When it came time I sold my 3 bikes SSCX, SSXC and vintage bar cruiser. Living in a ski town with a healthy downhill community and lots of backpacking/hiking trails. None that were suitable for a ridged SS XC bike or SS cross bike. I brought my Midwest riding styles and bikes to Alaska from Wisconsin 10 years ago. I found that I was riding less and less as I struggled on the trails. I remember the day I went into Speedway and test road my first Fatback in 2009, I knew I needed one. It was not till 2013 that I got onto a Fatback.

I find myself riding year-round on rock and root covered backpacking trails, river bottoms, beaches, snowmachine trails, and just boondocking through the woods. Finding the right air pressure you will have a very comfortable ride with copious amounts of traction. You will not get their as fast as other bikes (yes even the lightest carbon creations have speed limitations) but you will get out more on the trails you described missing.

As for Framed I have not seen there bikes in Alaska (mostly 9:zero:7, Rocky Mt, Fatback, Surly, Salsa, Kona, Trek). They look like a good bike. Find a frame that fits, components you like (SRAM, Shimano) and get to know the wheel standards. You can always upgrade forks, wheels, and components on the Famed bike later if you get a good fitting base bike. Riding the bike is more important than price, if you ask me.

135mm offset rear frames, 170/7mm symmetrical frames QR and Thru Axle, 190/7mm Symmetrical QR or Thru Axle.
If you can try riding a 190 Thru Axle bike as it will most likely fit any tire combo you can toss at it (29+ 27.5+ 26x4 and 26x5) and becoming the fat standard at least this week.
Front forks are common to have 135mm front disc spacing QR and Thru Axle. But with the RS Bluto the 150mm Thru Axle is the front wheel fork combo that will be the new standard in ridged and suspension. Old styles that still may be around are 135mm QR rear disc spaced hubs and 100mm hubs that were very popular on early Surly and Salsa fatbikes.

 

[fortel]

Hey man, thanks for the reply. The versions of the Framed Minnesota I'm looking at have the tapered head tube, 150mm front hub with 15mm thru axle so its ready for a Bluto swap if funds allow in the future. The rear is listed as a 190mm quick release, not a thru axle. Rest of specs are mainly X7 which is decent middle of the road stuff I can live with. The speed train left the station a long time ago, and the eye problems will still be there, so going fast isn't even being figured into the mix.

In another space and time I would be looking at a higher starting point, but it just isn't in the cards. I just want to find a reasonable bike to allow me back onto the trails since the other option is to punt on singletrack altogether.

So thanks again for the info. Every bit helps build my knowledge base of the fat world.

 

[ripperj]

A lbs by me sells the Framed, I played around with them on demo a few times, I like em. ,i was going to get a couple for my teen son and I, but never got around to it. Will probably do it soon. I can't recall the Web site, but there was a place that had them cheaper online, but I will throw the $ at the local shop
As a data point I have a couple high spec road bikes, a Specialized Enduro and Stumpjumer, both mid level components

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[ripperj]

I believe the ones I rode were the 2.0 version

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[Co-opski]

Hey man, thanks for the reply. The versions of the Framed Minnesota I'm looking at have the tapered head tube, 150mm front hub with 15mm thru axle so its ready for a Bluto swap if funds allow in the future. The rear is listed as a 190mm quick release, not a thru axle. Rest of specs are mainly X7 which is decent middle of the road stuff I can live with. The speed train left the station a long time ago, and the eye problems will still be there, so going fast isn't even being figured into the mix.

In another space and time I would be looking at a higher starting point, but it just isn't in the cards. I just want to find a reasonable bike to allow me back onto the trails since the other option is to punt on singletrack altogether.

So thanks again for the info. Every bit helps build my knowledge base of the fat world.

I went to their website and looked at the line of bikes they have and they seem to offer a good mix of options. You can swap from Bluto, carbon or alloy forks as your price point or wants/needs arise. Frames offer big tire clearance if you want to run big tires and that is only other mod I could see is finding a tire that works well for you. Their house tires may be just fine, or you could go with a slow rolling big lug 4.7 tire or want to have a smoother smaller 4.0 faster rolling tire. Those are mods that you can do latter once you get some time on the trail and find what you like. Tires and forks are not cheap, so it is good to find what will work best for you before you drop more cash.

 

[fortel]

Thanks guys. I feel pretty good about the 2.2 and the 3.0. My LBS owner went to their site and was pretty impressed with what you got for the price point and may check into getting into their dealer network. From my limited research it seems like with the right tire choice you can gain some decent weight savings as an upgrade when time comes to replace tires. I can also swap some lighter weight parts from my Stumpy and gain back some weight savings also at no cost to me. I just don't see a better fat bike value out there right now considering I have to stay at the lower end of the fat world.

As always additional info is welcome.

On a separate note Co-opski, where are you in Alaska? McCarthy and Kennecott rank right up there as some of the coolest places I've had the chance to explore.

 

[Co-opski]

Girdwood south of Anchorage. I'm lucky to a have a few friends that live out in the Wrangles so I try to get out to Kennecott as much as I can.

 

[Jason911]

Being a avid mountain biker myself, as well as certified instructor and a National Mountain Bike Patroller - I'll throw a few thoughts your way to consider. I've had a unique access and ability to ride more than a few fat bikes - it seems manufacturers are keenly interested on what we have to say about their bikes. A lot really depends on two things: the type of terrain you like to ride & your pocketbook. Truly stellar rides but ones that have a price point to match: Salsa Bucksaw or a Foes H2 Hydro(which you can build on your own). Bear in mind that both of the aforementioned are full squish rides - they float like a pillow full of dreams. The newly released Trek Stache 9 is a great middle of the road, as it rides on narrower 3.5" fat tires or a 9:ZERO:7 anything(also a bike you can build on your own + it's from Alaska!). And at the low end of the price point I'd look to Badger Bikes - where you can get a full-on complete ready to ride bike for just over $900. Keep in mind that this is not a complete list, but just the bikes that stand out in my mind from everything I've ridden.

A few direct links to peruse:
http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_bucksaw
http://foesracing.com/bikes/frames/h2-hydro/
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/trail/stache/
http://907bikes.com/index.html
http://www.badgerbikes.com/#comingsoon

And one more thing - one member of my bike patrol troop is legally blind. And he owns a dental practice.

 

[fortel]

Jason

Thanks for the input. Most of the bikes you mention are well out of my price point. My LBS is a Trek and Salsa dealer but their starting price points push them beyond what I can spend.

I did not know about Badger so I checked out their site. Not bad looking bikes but a few pounds heavier and not really set up to make the switch to a Bluto which I would like to have the option of doing later if funds allow. The rigid fork will be fine for a lot of the riding I do, but for some of the singletrack I would like to be able to do a Bluto swap if possible, the Framed bikes mentioned have the tapered head tube and the ability to do that without rebuilding wheels.

The plus bikes like the Stache are cool, and I test rode one a while back, but for my situation I don't think its a big enough jump from the current 2.4" tires I'm running on my Stumpjumper and the Staches are expensive. My gut tells me a minimum of 4" of fat tire is where I need to be to feel comfortable on my trails with the vision issues I have.

Probably should expand on what I will be riding. We've got almost 20 miles of singletrack in town split between two parks. 16 miles in a stacked loop system, 9 of those in a couple of fast and flowy XC loops, the rest more technical. But a half mile from my driveway is my favorite trail, not quite 4 miles in the loop but a great little loop with lots of rocks, roots, exposed limestone ledges, steep bench cut, etc. and none of it flat. That's where the traction of a fat tire I think would shine (and where I worry the most about stuffing a narrower tire into a crack). But for winter riding, I can pick up our town's greenway trail a couple of blocks away and roll 6 or so miles out and hit the Katy Trail, Missouri's 240 mile rails-to-trail system. In the past I put aggressive knobby tires on my cross bike for snow rides on the Katy, but a fat bike would open things up more.

I will still ride slow, the bike won't make the vision issues go away. But I feel like the fat tires will offer way more forgiveness when I miss a line and make being back in the woods less stressful.

 

[jayspies]

Hey there, I wanted to throw in a couple of comments, as I recently came from the skinny tired world into the fat bike world. Like you, I can afford to have one bike in the stable (kids, life, etc.), and the thing that swayed me about fat bikes versus other genres is the flexibility of the frame. As has been mentioned before, there are many variations on the theme when it comes to fat bikes in terms of components, cost, overall complexity, etc. What I like about a fat bike in general beyond the obvious of the squish of the tires and massive amounts of traction, is that with a simple wheelset swap, you can have what technically amounts to a different bike. Most fat bike frames will accept a 27+ or 29+ rim and tire combo, allowing you to run a faster and lighter set of tires during the summer and a more floaty tire for winter or chundery conditions. Also, fat bikes tend to be replete with braze ons, allowing bikepacking to happen without much effort. I have a Salsa Mukluk and love it, but a lot of decent bikes can be had for under $1,000. The common theme here is that it's really not the bike that matters, it's the rider using it. Getting a bike that will allow you to get out on the trail, get some good exercise and have fun is the most important thing. Components can be upgraded. Find a frame that fits, get a bike that's within your budget, and get out there and ride!

 

[fortel]

jayspies

Thanks for the comments. I'm getting pretty close to deciding the Minnesota 3.0 with the rigid alloy fork will be the bike. Bluto-ready frame and wheels, x7 and BB7 brakes (all stuff I have on other bikes or have had) so easy to maintain, and room to go up to a 4.7" tire if I want down the road. I've got lighter components (bars, seatpost, etc.) on my Stumpjumper that could swap for some weight savings also.

But yeah, I'm tired of not being out on the trails. I'm an old guy with a bad eye that could care less about Strava and power meters and just want to get back to the fun of riding off pavement. My first mountain bike was a Ross Mt. Whitney when they first came out. That seems like a million years ago but I still remember the fun of leaving the pavement on a bike that was meant to be ridden off road. I think the fat bike world will get me back there.

 

[deuxdiesel]

Good for you and not giving up on riding! I have been riding and racing fat bikes since the early Pugsley days. I have had several "racy" alloy bikes and two custom made frames, but currently, I am building up yet another Pugsley frame, this time with a Lefty fork (second time I have done this). I also have a fat tandem made out of two Pugsleys, and both my wife and daughter ride a Pugs as well. Why, you might ask, when there are so many "higher performance" bikes on the market? Simple- comfort and versatility. The steel frame is a little heavy, but it has a wonderful ride feel to it, and a Pugs can run fat 26" tires up to 4.7", mid-fats (27.5 x 3.5) or even 29+ wheels from a Krampus (look up KramPugs on MTBR.com). It also uses normal hubs, just laced offset, so that helps with versatility as well, plus if you run the offset fork you can swap wheels front to back if you freeze up or blow out a freehub. The other choice to consider is the new Surly Wednesday, which is similar to a Pugs but uses a symmetrical rear end and has a 44 headtube that will handle a Bluto or any other fork. Hope this helps (or maybe it just clouds the issue more?).

 

[deuxdiesel]

Oh yeah, Bike Patroller/Trail Builder as well. Fat bikes can really carry a load, and the riding dynamics are hardly effected.

 

[Christophe Noel]

As the organizer of the launch of the Bucksaw, and having the opportunity to take it to Iceland long before the hit dealers, I am a sucker for that bike. I do love it, an it is a perfect platform for the OP's unique needs. But, it is spendy.

http://expeditionportal.com/salsa-bucksaw/

Riding it the morning, as I do most days, I almost had to laugh out loud its so much fun.