Fat Bike?

Fat Bike Crew
Originally uploaded by 3-16

I find I am tempted once again to get a Fat Bike. About 3 years ago I bought a second-hand Pugsley, so I have experienced these things before and kind of know what I am doing.

That said, I ended up selling the Pug after a year or two because I wasn't really riding it that much. I found the bike to be a little too specialized and was frustrated with the performance of the tires that were available then. I thought the bike should have better traction and should track a little better in diverse conditions. In perfect conditions, the ride was magical, but in less-than optimal conditions, I found I was bogging down, or the front wheel was snow-plowing.

In retrospect, I will admit that I probably did not experiment with tire pressures enough on this bike - that probably would have yielded better performance. I also think there is a much wider (no pun intended) selection of tires for these beasts nowadays, and like the idea of a different tire on the front of the bike than the Endomorph.

What's brought this change on? Perhaps it's winter coming, but I know quite a few people now with these things and going on Fat Bike rides together. Back when I had my Pug, it was a cold, solitary ride that wasn't all that much fun, honestly.

If I do this, I'll need to move a few bikes on. I have two nice road bikes that don't see the sun much these days, so those may be going on the auction block. We'll see.

Alternatively, I could put the real fat 29er tires on the Rawland and see what I think of that bike as an off-roader. I would probably change out the Rando bars for Woodchippers, but other than that, the bike is pretty much ready to go with a wheel swap.

That's the most sensible option, which makes it the least likely of my choices, I suspect.