... would you consider buying one?

I love the look of them but my heart tells me if I had one then it wouldn't get used enough to justify owning it. The prototype On One Fat frame looks nice and if it goes into production will no doubt be a lot cheaper than anything else ... so , if I'm correct, would you consider buying one?

No reason for the above, just curious :)

I'd love one for the week of snow we have but I'll never actually get one.

I think they have an application beyond snow. Very rocky terrain, soft upland stuff - both of which we have aplenty around here - are more easily dealt with with added tyre volume. I was impressed by how much quicker I could ride rocky stuff, still with a rigid fork on. It would depend on price, but given I have the front end already, I'm some of the way there.

I like the idea of Ian's half fat bike but a 29er Rubber Queen 2.4 if they bring that out won't be far off, I saw the the Conti RQ in 29er flavour on the Orange Strange 29er from pics of eurobike so maybe they will be out in-readiness for the snow, lets hope the Swift rigid forks have enough clearance to take it and they will stay on Stans Crests

I think my next bike has to be a fat bike, and the totally mental looks of the Surly Moonlander is so tempting!

Where have you been DNF - best part of two weeks without you?

I was thinking of starting a poll:

Has DNF...:

a) got lost
b) got blown off a Welsh hilltop
c) sunk into a Welsh Bog somewhere NE of Nant-y-moch
d) been eaten by midges
e) sustained severe burns from an exploding gas stove
f) something else

:)

i had the chance to have a lap of the campsite on my mates new jones with a larry up front at the weekend.

what surprised me is the lack of drag - i had expected it to feel like riding on a flat downhill tyre but it had similar rolling resistance to a normal xc tyre (i normally run racing ralphs for reference)

to me that makes it a bit more viable although i would like to have a proper try on a fatty before deciding.

there are also several bikes that might be on the 'dream bike list' before a fat bike including a dedicated bikepacking bike...

Let's just say the weather in Wales is wet, and I fail to see how anybody can live in such damp conditions! I came I got drowned and thought sod this came home and played local.

I fail to see how anybody can live in such damp conditions! I came I got drowned and thought sod this came home and played local.

Bless ... did the nasty man make it rain

Ideal conditions for a fat bike from the sounds of it!

oh well just makes the trails quieter for us Welsh dwellers if everyone thinks it's too damp to ride here


now what do we need to make a half fat 29er like Ians??

now what do we need to make a half fat 29er like Ians??

Forks, rim and tyre ... tyres are a little thin on the ground at the moment though.

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.p ... nabler29-k

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.p ... lingdarryl

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.p ... tysu-larry

Very tempting indeed, I could sell my mint 29er reba fork and fat bike the front of the Swift at near zero cost.

do I really need it????

You lot are a bad influence to my bike collection :D

You could do it cheaper if you wanted ... a 48mm trials rim can be had for about £35. It won't give you the massive looking front end but it'll certainly look big

http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/26_inch_rear_rims/c25.html

they only come in 26" flavour though??? :?

they only come in 26" flavour though???

It's a 26" rim you want ... the fat tyre on a 26" rim will pretty much be the same O/D as a 29er, so the 26" front with fat tyre matches the 29er rear

I can see why Fat bikes work - what I'm not sure about is what advantages there are to having a fat front on a normal 29er - it'd be great to try it with my Surly KM - but I'm not sure why

I could sell my mint 29er reba fork...

To me, perhaps?

It's a 26" rim you want ... the fat tyre on a 26" rim will pretty much be the same O/D as a 29er, so the 26" front with fat tyre matches the 29er rear

I did think that but wasn't sure

@Ian - I haven't even ridden the Swift with the Reba's on yet due to my knee injury so they are not for sale until I decide if I am happy enough with the rigid forks or a FAT set-up

In fact I haven't ridden the Swift at all much :(

To me, perhaps?

I've got a set of 29er Dual Air Rebas I'd part with. Not mint but work fine, at present living on the front of my Carver.

s8tannorm wrote:Ideal conditions for a fat bike from the sounds of it!

I was thinking pack raft. Was thoroughly miserable and I've got a week in Scotland in a few weeks, wondering how wet that will be!

now what do we need to make a half fat 29er like Ians??

You need to be a bit careful with the list Stu posted ^^ there, as the enabler fork is spaced to take a rear caliper (the offset from the mount to the disc is different from front to rear). Thus, if you went the enabler route, you would need a wheel built up onto a rear hub.

My system is a bit different, in that it uses a Phil Wood 135mm hub, spaced for a front caliper. Pauls Comp also do one, the WHUB. My rim is a Speedway Cycles UMA 2, and the fork a Speedway Cycles steel fork. To preserve the head angle as much as possible, I've also got a +5mm crown race for the headset. All this means that it takes only 10 mins to swap my front end over, as the brakes etc stay the same.

You need to be a bit careful with the list Stu posted ^^ there, as the enabler fork is spaced to take a rear caliper

Enabler fork takes a STD front brake caliper. Pug' fork takes a rear.

Enabler is spaced at 135mm though, so a rear hub is required.

I'm sure there was a reason why I couldn't use an Enabler with my Phil hubbed wheel :?

So, in summary, it's all a bit complicated so if you want to go half fat, do your research thoroughly

I don't think I will be trying to do it soon Ian just concentrating on getting back on the bike at the moment.

As I said higher up if Conti make the Rubberqueen 29er tyre in 2.4 flavour that maybe big enough

Except that you probably won't get a 2.4" tyre in the back of your swift. I struggled with a 2.4 Ardent for a while, before switching to a 2.2", but I've got a Pegasus and I can't recall how they differ in terms of mud clearance. http://twitpic.com/5faose