Page 8 - Jan_14

Fat Happy

and

Big Wheels Keep Mountain Bikers Pedaling, Even in the Snow

By Evan Johnson

WITH THE ARRIVAL of lasting snow and midwin- competed in the Sustina 100 Winter Endurance Race
ter conditions, people are returning to their favorite across the frozen arctic. The company designs solely
wintertime outdoor playgrounds for Nordic skiing, fatbikes and has since made headway in making the
Alpine and backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, and, massive bikes lighter. Their latest aluminum frame—
increasingly, mountain biking.
composed of super-lightweight 7005 aluminum—is

Yes, that’s correct; mountain biking in January. due to be released next September.
This winter, while kicking or skating merrily on skis, The secret to the success of these big-wheeled
or marching along in your snowshoes, expect to catch machines is in the tires. As bikes developed over the
sight of bundled-up cyclists cruising the woods, trails, past five to seven years, riders became more aware of

and even closed beaches on beefy tires.
the advantages of a wider tire. In years past, the wid-
These oversize mountain bikes—or fatbikes, est mountain bike tires were 3.8 inches wide. Today,
as they’ve come to be known—are the latest trend fatbike riders sport tires 4.8 inches wide on the widest
in wintertime outdoor recreation and they’re rapidly rims to absorb bumps, float on top of snow, and pow-

taking to the trails. The tires measure from 3.5 to 5 er through soft sand. While the bottom bracket on
inches wide, and some riders opt for low tire pressure most mountain bikes is 68 or 73 millimeters wide, the
and use studded tires.
bottom bracket for new fatbikes are 100 millimeters
Ryan Thibault is the owner and head operator of wide. Fatbikes also run on lower air pressure—using
Mountain Bike Vermont, an event promotions orga- as little as eight to 10 pounds of air pressure where

nization and resource for all things-riding related in conventional mountain bikes sport 30.
the Green Mountain State. As an avid mountain biker But the fatbike craze hit the mainstream when
who rides hard for much of the year, he says he won’t major bike manufacturer Trek introduced its own
let a change in seasons dictate his ability to pedal. With the sport booming, more trail network systems offer rentals fatbike model, a slick looking machine called the
to explore the backcountry. Photos by Herb Swanson.
“There’s such a high level of fanaticism in mountain “Farley.” Illustrating the popularity in the trend, the
biking in the summer that it’s really hard to put it Bike manufacturer Surly produced the first bike entire inventory was purchased before anything was
aside for an entire season,” he says. Before fatbiking, suited for conditions most would find intolerable for rolled off the factory floor. Other manufactures such
in the event of a midseason thaw, he and his friends two wheels. Titled “Pugsly,” the bike had several tech- as Kona, Specialized, KHS, and Norco have all pro-
would take their mountain bikes and try to ride on duced fatbike models. More companies have begun to
nical specifications to accommodate the massive tires.
the snow.
Surly later released a second model, the Moonlander.
design their own models and are slated for sales floors
“We were ill equipped, but we had fun doing it,” The increased interest in this new form of biking next year.
he says. “Now, (with the fatbikes) it’s one more option gave rise to a number of boutique bike manufacturers,
to get out and play.”
Trail access and festivals
some of which produce exclusively fatbikes or fatbike
Buzzword
components. Many of which are produced in states Ryan Thibault at MTBVT describes fatbikers as
with dramatic winter weather: Colorado, Wiscon- a sub-group of a broader biking community in
At first glance, most fatbikes resemble traditional sin, Michigan, Maine, and Minnesota are all home Vermont.
mountain bikes from the ’90s. Fatbikes are hardtails to small manufacturers—Alaska as two, but none, so “Mountain biking has always been a subcul-

and lack front suspension, using the tires to absorb far, in Vermont.
ture,” he says. “It’s a subculture that people have al-
any bumps. Unlike agile and lightweight singletrack Greg Matyas, owner of Speedway Bike Shop in ways been proud to be involved in. We’ve always felt
bikes, fatbikes are typically heavier and slightly less Anchorage, Alaska, first began producing “Fatback” we were of the same ilk.”
wieldy, trundling along over terrain. The concept is bikes after getting tired of riding the widest tires As mountain biking has grown in popularity,
simple—a hardtail bicycle with a very upright stature available on 29-inch Snowcat rims. Matyas said the more people have come to Vermont to explore some

designed for cross-country riding.
motivation behind designing the bike was “perfor- of the best singletrack and cross-country riding in the
Justin Carter, a technician at the Old Spokes mance-oriented geometry” and a more symmetrical Northeast. The community of riders has expanded
Home in Burlington, says in the past three years, the frame.
dramatically, but a core group of riders, Thibault
popularity of the fat-wheel has increased as evidenced Alaska-based bike company 9:ZERO:7 has been says, now rides on fatter tires.

by the trends in major producers.
making fatbikes in a region intimately familiar with “Right now, the fatbiking community has a very
“It’s like the buzzword in the industry,” he says. snow. The idea for the company was born in Febru- solid core and so you can go out on any given day and look
“We’ve seen a lot of evolution in a short amount of time.”
ary 2004 when founders Bill Fleming and Jamey Stull
at the tire tracks on the ground and probably discern

8 VTSPORTS.COM
JANUARY 2014