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http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pugsley
http://specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/mountain/fatboy
http://www.momentum-cycles.co.uk/

After driving past momentum cycles a few times I noticed that their window display was not all what it seamed, below the rather boring carbon mega expensive looking road bike they had a very weird and interesting looking phat bike (a Specialized Fatboy to be precise). I had to take a look at this...

After talking with the owners of shop they mentioned that they were getting a couple of phat bikes in for demo purposes (surly pugsley phat bike to be precise) so I had to put my name down for a test ride. I've always been interested and confused by phat bikes, they were originally designed for sand and snow but now days there are plenty of people running them for winter use with the mud as well as a few more hard-core riders that use it as their main trail bike. But are they any good?

The two things I was interested in was the wheels and the bike as a whole. The wheels that measure in at 26" by 3.8”wide on front and 4.8” on the rear on 84mm wide rims! WOW With this you can run them at seriously low pressures to create a huge footprint to allow loads of grip and spread the weigh in very soft ground conditions. The bike build is made up of a very robust set up of cable disc, microshifter (old skool), and a steel frame, all this weighs in at over 15.5Kg!

Out on the tails the bike weight and the tyres become very apparent straight away, there is no way of getting around the fact it is heavy but I was surprised about the fact the tyres were not as noticeable, they rolled surprising well for the size and offer a lot of grip but not a lot more than regular sized tyres. Because of the size and lower pressures in the tyres, they acted as a very basic suspension removing any small bumps from the tail. Where the tyres come in to their own was the mud and water logged parts of the trails, yes the tyres would grip in to the mud and stop you in the tracks but with dropping down to the granny gear you would be able to carry on pedalling over the mud (I normal tyre would sink into the mud and stop you completely in your tracks).

On the ups the weight comes in to play again slowing you down straight away, you won't to wining any races on it, on the down it was an interesting story. The tyres offered a lot of grip and conference (even the brakes which would normally be classed as rubbish were very effective with the extra grip of the tyres), it was a lot of fun. The biggest problem that I found was the frame geometry, just say it was very old skool. In a world of long top tubes and slake angles, the frame had none of them and made for a nervous ride on the downs and technical sections.

As I know with my 29er, not all bikes are the same. The Surly is not the perfect phat bike for me and a lot of people, it weighs too much and is too expensive (£1600 expensive to be precise) but this does not mean I'm against owning a phat bike. They are a lot of fun to ride and the looks they people give you is priceless. The Specialized Fatboy for example is cheaper (£1500, well a little), lighter with aluminium frame and carbon fork (14.5Kg area) and more importantly more trail orientated geometry. If you spend a bit more you can even get a suspension fork for it but this leads to other questions and problems. Does it need a suspension fork? Yes and no. If you want a phat bike for winter mud or distance rides then no, the tyres do a good enough job. For the people than want to be different at the trail centres then yes, a fork would be a good bet as the tyres do act like a pogo stick in the rough. If I had the money I would go down the route of a carbon phat bike to make it as light weight as possible and use it as a every bike, then again I do think just a normal hardtail would do the job...

Firstly I pick up on your last point, you don't own a Fat bike for speed or your only bike unless you live in the Arctic.
I use mine for fun and for legal training, I'd agree that with a heavier bike is slower up hills but not by much (as you know when I've done night rides with you guys)
My opinion of the fat bikes are, get one for fun or training for your propper bike.
I feel the need for a suspension fork on mine due to hitting trails fast and in the dry where it really is a great fun and fast bike but although tyres act as your spring there is no damping and you end up boining along the trail.
To get the biggest grin and satisfaction try one in epping in the dry over all the roots, where others have to take avoiding action or slow down, on a Fat bike you point and go.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/rise-of-th ... e2015.html

I admight that when riding it i did have a lot of fun and was surprised (in a good way) how well it went over mud and boggy areas but if i had a spare 2 grand sitting in the back pocket and had a garage space for another bike (not just to replace), I would be hard pushed to convince myself it would be a good purchase (though looking at the second hand market, that would be a different ball game).

Well i have decided to sell mine, as of today i'm gonna take some pictures and put it, as much as i love it, i'm not using it.

Let me have a go before sold.
Danbury Drops

Of course matey.

Nice read matt - thanks for the write up. Similar to other feedback ive heard from riders. They are just fun to ride.

How did it go round corners - could you lean it over?

You definitely notice more giro but you get used to it

Yer, you can lean it over like a normal bike in the corners, probably feels a little bit more stable/predictable but you can still get it to slide if you want. I'm I great believer of ride with the style of bike that the people you ride with own (so no one is at an advantage or disadvantage on a ride) so not sure how fast you would be compared with others ect but then again strava can't measure fun can it.

Let me know if you want some pics of the bike for a review section