Frame
From the side a fatbike looks pretty conventional but stand to the front or rear and you’ll see the stays and fork legs are much further apart than usual to make room for 65 to 100mm wide rims and 3.8 to 5in tyres.
Geometry
Geometry varies, with fatbikes designed for adventure touring or racing tending to have steep head angles (70-71 degrees) and short top tubes, while more trail-orientated models are generally slacker (68-69 degrees) and longer.
Fork
The RockShox Bluto is the only mainstream fatbike suspension fork, but do you need one?We’d say not for snow or sand, but for trail riding, hell yeah! The Bluto gives up to 120mm of squish over and above what the fat tyres ofer you.
Standards
Like in every area of cycling, there are competing ‘standards’ on fatbikes, particularly when it comes to hub widths. Most manufacturers seem to be settling on 150mm front and 190/197mm rear now though.
Tyres
The biggest influence on the ride of a fatbike is its tyres. Pressures need to be kept low for optimum grip and minimum bounce – between 6 and 10psi is normally about right. The tread and rubber compound are important too.
All you need to know…
What to wear:
Aside from the mandatory beard we recommend at least one prominent tattoo, and finish the look of with your best Iron Maiden T-shirt!
Where to ride:
Anywhere! Seriously – a fatbike will be fine on your local trails (unless they’re super-gnarly DH runs) and take you to places your regular bike won’t.They’re great for carrying loads of kit too.
Whom to watch:
Ned Overend is an old-school MTB legend who’s been winning XC races since the 1980s.The American is now 60 years young and crushing fatbike racers left, right and centre!