{"id":3389,"date":"2015-02-20T05:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T13:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=3389"},"modified":"2020-10-07T18:32:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T01:32:14","slug":"skinny-fat-bikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/skinny-fat-bikes","title":{"rendered":"The Skinny on Fat-Tire Bikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fat-tire bikes are taking over ski towns from Colorado to California. The best part? You don\u2019t need deep powder snow to have the best ride of your life.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve spent time in a mountain town lately, you may have noticed people riding around snow-covered streets or trails on bikes that look like beefed-up mountain bikes. These are fat-tire bikes\u2014built for riding on snow, mud, sand and other variable surfaces thanks to up to five-inch-wide tires\u2014and they\u2019re experiencing a major upswing in popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really a breakout year and everyone\u2019s jumping into the fat-tire business,\u201d says Tahoe Mountain Guides owner Ken Long, whose Truckee, California-based guiding operations starting offering fat-bike outings this winter. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a reason for that: It\u2019s a really fun sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fat-tire bikes aren\u2019t entirely new\u2014most credit their origins to Alaskan bike pioneers in the 1980s\u2014but more and more bike manufacturers started making modern fat-tire bikes over the last decade and now, these burly bikes make up one of the fastest growing niches in cycling.<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/p>\n

Photo by Grand Targhee Resort<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Ski resort towns from Crested Butte, Colorado, to Driggs, Idaho, to Mammoth Lakes, California, are becoming hot spots for fat-tire bikes. Wyoming\u2019s Grand Targhee Resort became one of the first ski areas in the country to allow fat bikes on\u00a0their\u00a0Nordic trails starting four years ago, and in Colorado, Nordic trail systems are now open for biking in Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Winter Park, Durango and other places.<\/p>\n

Surly Bikes, based in Bloomington, Minnesota, released their popular Pugsley fat-tire bike<\/a> in 2004 and over the past four years sales have grown rapidly, according to Surly\u2019s international marketing manager Tyler Stilwill. \u201cJust like mountain bikes in the \u201980s, some are convinced fat-tire bikes are a fad. Maybe they\u2019re right, but only time will tell,\u201d says Stilwill.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ready to buy a fat-tire bike, Stilwill recommends riding as many as you can beforehand. \u201cThey all have different qualities,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you ride it, really put it through the paces. A ride around a parking lot won\u2019t tell you much.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re brand new to fat-tire biking, there are a growing number of options for rentals and hiring a guide. For example, at Tahoe Mountain Guides<\/a>, an experienced guide will take you on a custom, six- to 10-mile route\u00a0and will teach you bike-handling skills like breaking, shifting and cornering. \u201cIf you can ride a bike, you can ride a snow bike,\u201d Long says.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to wear ample layers of warm, waterproof clothing and wool socks under water-resistant trail runners or winter boots. In your backpack, carry an extra pair of dry gloves and a warm layer, along with plenty of food and water. Before you head out, you\u2019ll also want to check with local shops or guides to find trails that are open and suitable for fat-tire biking.<\/p>\n

\"Crested<\/p>\n

Photo by Xavier Fane<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Getting the right ride for the conditions is all about tire pressure. \u201cThe tendency is to add way too much pressure to fat-bike tires,\u201d says Sean Riley, co-owner of Crested Butte Fat Bike and Rental<\/a>. \u201cTo take advantage of those extra-fat tires they need to be at a low enough pressure to float properly on the snow. It\u2019s important to bring along a little hand pump to be able to adjust tire pressure easily to suit the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best part, perhaps, is that you don\u2019t need perfect powder snow conditions to enjoy a fat-bike ride. \u201cWhen the snow isn\u2019t great for skiing, it\u2019s great for fat biking,\u201d says Riley. \u201cThough the tires are fat and floaty, the snow needs to be somewhat firm. So the harder, icier and crustier the snow is, the better it is for biking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fat-tire bikes are taking over ski towns from Colorado to California. The best part? You don\u2019t need deep powder snow to have the best ride of your life. If you\u2019ve spent time in a mountain town lately, you may have noticed people riding around snow-covered streets or trails on bikes that look like beefed-up mountain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[87,25,2115,326,285],"internal-tag":[517,1675,495],"class_list":["post-3389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-colorado","tag-cycle","tag-fat-tire-bike","tag-megan-michelson","tag-surly","internal-tag-california","internal-tag-pre-redirect-cycle","internal-tag-united-states"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/skinny-fat-bikes","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Skinny on Fat-Tire Bikes","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/skinny-fat-bikes","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/skinny-fat-bikes"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/02\/Credit-GrandTargheeResort-e1448305635416.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/02\/Credit-GrandTargheeResort-e1448305635416.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["colorado","cycle","fat-tire bike","megan michelson","surly"],"dateCreated":"2015-02-20T13:00:28Z","datePublished":"2015-02-20T13:00:28Z","dateModified":"2020-10-08T01:32:14Z"},"rendered":"