All About Fat Biking!

Fat bikes always turn heads and it’s for a reason! They are fun to ride in every season, and it’s always fat biking season at ERIK’S. People ride fat tire bikes in every condition possible: snow, dirt, pavement, and beaches because if you think it, a fat bike can do it. Of course, what they’re designed for and where they will outperform any other bike, is in the snow.

Why is fat biking so popular?

Fat bikes allow bikers to get outside in months when they would not ride or only use an indoor bike trainer. Even though indoor riding has become more exciting over the years, nothing beats the feeling of riding outside. The thought of hopping on your bike and feeling the Winter air on your face while growing icicles on your eyelashes might sound a little daunting – but it shouldn’t! Once you get moving you WILL be hot, and more importantly excited to keep riding and VERY happy. Beyond that, when dressed appropriately for winter riding, there is nothing to fear, not even icicles on your face.

Are you now looking to get into riding fat bikes, in the winter?  There’s more to it than buying Winter Bike Tires, below is everything you need to know about fat biking.

All the Bikes!

The one thing every fat bike has in common is wide tires, usually between 4 and 5 inches. The width allows for lower air pressure and more traction, as well as more float. Float is the ability of a bike to stay above soft riding surfaces like snow. A bike with less than 4-inch wide tires will have less float, traction, precision, and rolling efficiency in snow and sand. 

Why So Many Bikes?

What differentiates one fat bike from another, and what explains the range of prices, is pretty simple. As you go up in price you’ll find the bikes get lighter, more efficient, and have higher-end parts. Frames will move from steel to aluminum, to carbon. This means frames will be both lighter and provide more pedaling efficiency. Wheels and tires will also be lighter as you move up in price, which greatly increases pedaling efficiency and handling. To take it a step further into having better efficiency, there are electric fat bikes. Electric fat bikes will come with a higher price tag for a simple reason as well: They have a motor, battery, and computer. The end result is that high-end fat bikes are engineered to overcome the inherent inefficiencies of fat bikes, and they do it quite well.  Click here to check out ERIK’S selection of fat bikes for every budget.

The Importance of Pressure

After you settle on a model, the nuances of fat-biking are found in experimenting with the air pressure in the tires. Road bike tires can run as high as 80-120+ PSI, but fat bike tire pressure ranges from 4-30 PSI. Fat tires have so much air volume, a shift in as little as 1 psi will affect the ride. Slick, icy conditions? Take some air out to increase traction. Perfect day and riding on the pavement? Max out the tires to reduce drag. Perfect air pressure is determined not only by the ride conditions but also by your weight and your own preferences. Setting up your wheels and tires tubeless will allow you to run even lower tire pressures while decreasing rolling resistance.

What Else?

In addition to the bike itself, keep in mind your other needs. Things like winter cycling apparel and long-lasting lights are essentials for winter fat biking.

Check out our complete selection of fat bikes here. Or swing by your local ERIK’S to test ride a fat bike.  But just a warning – once you ride one you’ll be hooked!