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.
