Fatbikes Becoming Popular With Winter Enthusiasts

Written By Body Wipe Company Tags: Fatbikes , Winter Cycling

You may have been out snowshoeing or cross-country skiing this winter when a cyclist rode past. At first it might have been strange to even think someone was crazy enough to be riding his or her bike on the snow, then you catch a glimpse of the bike and find it even stranger! A fatbike is a bicycle with over-sized tires, typically 3.7" or larger and rims wider than 44mm, that are designed for riding on soft unstable terrain such as snow. Although fatbikes have been around for 10 years, they are becoming more readily available and popular over the last few years. The average fatbike ranges in price from $700-$2000. While fatbiking on the snow is generally much slower than riding dry trails, the lower friction and alien texture of snow–when conditions are good–replicates the sensation of riding on trails during the summer. The key to riding performance on a fatbike is the tire pressure. On a typical mountain bike the tire pressure is around 30 psi. On fatbikes, the tire pressure is much lower. In softer snow conditions most people will keep the tire pressure around 4 psi and in harder snow conditions increase the pressure up to about 8 psi. As with most new sports or activities, word of mouth or print may get you interested, but it is when you try it out for the very first time that you really know if it’s for you…dress warm and have fun fatbiking! I guess biking is not just for summer anymore :)