While the mountain bike is a true friend to many cycling crazies, a new crop of riders is slowly embracing the fat bike for their cycling needs. It offers advanced biking features that are absent in the conventional mountain bike. Let’s define what a fat bike is and its benefits over the traditional MTB. Table of Contents What Are Fat Bikes? Benefits of a Fat Bike over a Mountain Bike. Features to look out for when purchasing a fat bike or a mountain bike. Overview of biking needs.

1. High-Performance Fat Bike and Mountain
Bike

2. Introduction
Cycling might have been primarily utilized for the purposes of transportation back in the day but now,
it is also a popular leisure activity in the world over. According to Statista, around 12.4% of the
American population cycled on a regular basis in 2016. The same report also claims that between 2014
and 2017, the number of cyclists went up from 43 million to 47.5.
Professional cyclists utilize both mountain bikes (MTB) and high-performance fat bikes to ride off-
road, mostly over rough, uneven terrain. These bikes are specially enhanced with features designed to
handle wet and muddy ground, mountain terrains, trails, sand, and even snow. This includes such
things like durable wheels, fat knobby tires, powerful brakes, front or full suspension, lower gear
ratios, and straight handlebars.
While the mountain bike is a true friend to many cycling crazies, a new crop of riders is slowly
embracing the fat bike for their cycling needs. It offers advanced biking features that are absent in the
conventional mountain bike. Let’s define what a fat bike is and its benefits over the traditional MTB.

3. Table of Contents
What Are Fat Bikes?
Benefits of a Fat Bike over a Mountain Bike.
Features to look out for when purchasing a fat bike or a mountain bike.
Overview of biking needs.

4. What Are Fat Bikes?
Fat bikes are off-road machines with wide tires (4.0 inches or more) designed to offer an extra grip on
the surface underneath. They have a special designed aimed at reducing the cumulated pressure
between the bike and the biker by increasing extra contact surface. For this reason, these bikes are
excellent for riding on mellow sandy beaches wet stone and snowy grounds.
Fat bikes find their origin in Alaska where cyclists enhanced their mountain bikes with two rims on
either side and increased the number of tires to four for a better riding experience. With the growing
interest in these bikes, the market has exploded with different materials or construction, pricing,
standards, and availability.

5. Benefits of a Fat Bike over a Mountain Bike
Is a high-performance fat bike really worth it if you have a normal mountain bike? Is it deserving of all
the hype around it? We will give you some of the benefits of a fat bike to help you see just how much
you need one if you are a cycling guru.
1. It lets you beat the weather
If you are reading this, chances are you are passionate about cycling and could care less about the
ever-changing weather patterns. The only problem is, you lack the right bike; the kind that will neither
slip on asphalt/wet stone nor sink in snow or mud. If you fit the description, a fat bike is for you. It
will get you from point A to point B without endangering your life or giving you a bad riding
experience.
2. It is versatile
A fat bike will take you anywhere you want to go—muddy grounds, snowy hills, and wet stone—with
zero hassle. Forget about the days of tying your bike to a pole and walking the rest of the journey
because the bike couldn’t handle the terrain. The fat tires offer excellent grip and traction on the worst
of terrains.

6. 3. Enhanced comfort
Unlike mountain bike tires that need lots of pressure to perform well, fat tires give you comfort with as
little pressure as 15 or 10 psi, perhaps even lower. In addition, fat tires have no suspension because it
has been integrated into the tire. This increases their elasticity and helps absorb shocks with the end
result being increased comfort. Beginners particularly have an easy time learning how to ride the bike
because of great balance.
4. Excellent floating
With fat bikes, you can experiment with your tire pressure. The right pressure lets the tires roll through
the snow perfectly. Ideally, there’s no standard when it comes to determining your PSI but on average,
if riding on snow, you want to keep in the range of 5-8psi. Having wide tires means running to the low
end. Too much or too little pressure makes the bike a tad bouncy.

7. 5. Easy to maintain
Since fat bikes are rigid, you don’t have many parts that are prone to damage. Buying one will hurt
your wallet – that’s given but with the less likelihood of repairing it, we’d say it is quite a buy.
6. Easy to Ride
One of the top questions that bike retailers often get from buyers looking to buy fat bikes is whether
they are hard to ride. Well, to be sincere with you, the answer is a NO. On the contrary, fats bikes are
very easy to ride. In fact, after many customers test rides the bikes for the first time, most of them
become surprised at how they are easy to ride. The large tires of the bikes provide more control and
balance, giving the rider the confidence to continue and to seek more adventure.

8. Features to look out for when purchasing a fat bike
or a mountain bike
With all the fat bike and mountain bike models available in the market, how can you get the right fit
for you? We will give you a few features to look out for. Thankfully, most bike stores allow demos
with some actually renting bikes. This gives you an opportunity to put these features to test before you
shell out your cash.
1. Hardtail or full suspension?
Most mountain bikes and fat bikes have an in-built suspension to help the tires roll perfectly over
uneven ground, keep traction despite the terrain, and act as shock absorbers during high jumps and
drops. If you are looking to ride on technical terrain with a high level of speed, the full suspension type
might be for you as the bikes have forks both at the front and at the rear. Hardtails, on the other hand,
have a rigid rear including a set of forks. This is great for climbing, pedaling which is why it is the
most preferred option for most cross-country riders.

9. 2. Flotation
Apart from suspension, flotation plays a key role in the selection of a fat bike. Typically, you have two
subsets of fat bikes – those whose tires measure 4 inches and those that are 5 inches or wider. Both
options are awesome for riding off-road and offer excellent flotation than a mountain bike. Still, you
have to be able to match your tires to the available space on your frame and to the width of the rim.
Therefore, as you shop around, think of how much floatation you want.
Obviously, if you will be riding around your city over smooth paths, you don’t need anything fancy.
However, if you are going deep into the sandy beaches for an entire week, you will do well with the
widest tires available.
Additionally, be sure to keep the width of the rim in line with the tire width. As a guide, use 65mm –
80 mm wide rim for a 3.8 in tire and 80 – 105mm wide rim for a 4.8 – 5 in tire.

10. 3.Geometry
Mountain bikes, like fat bikes, are inching towards slack head tube angles. A while ago, fat bikes
focused on stability and comfort over design. This is slowly changing and cyclists worldwide seem to
fall in love with the idea of slack bikes. Even with the new geometrical concepts, the mountain bike or
fat bike is still stable and can cover all rough terrain in good speed.
When buying a bike, go for a size that perfectly fits your frame. You don’t want to compromise
discomfort while riding. If you are averagely sized, it is recommended for you to go for a smaller size
rather than a larger size. This way, you avoid the challenge of planting your feet too low during a
quick mount.
Additionally, you want to set your saddle a few millimeters lower than other bikes. Since most fat
bikes have a wide Q factor, you would be better placed with a lower seat that ensures your feet are
adequately apart from each other.
So in summary, focus on certain geometrical elements of a bike such as the head angle, seat tube
angle, suspension design, suspension travel, component try like handlebars, gears, and brakes.

11. 4.Size of wheels and tires
The size of your tires and wheels is a huge subject of consideration when buying both the high-
performance fat bike and the mountain bike. For MTB, the 29” wheels, commonly referred to as 29er,
are the largest. Having large wheels means more momentum and a perfect roll over technical terrain.
The only disadvantage is that they are heavier and have quite a lot of flex in the frame. The best (and
rather expensive) solution is to get light and stiff options that can easily maneuver through twisting
trails.
27.5” or 650b wheels are a favorite to many riders for the simple reason that they are quite agile and
responsive than the 29er wheels but still roll perfectly through rough terrain. You can also go for plus-
sized wheels which usually measure 27.5+ for more traction in snowy and muddy conditions.
As for fat bikes, you have 40in and 50 (or 50+) in tire sizes. Just like mountain bikes, the latter is
offers better traction and enhanced rolling through tough terrain like snow, wet ground, and sand.
However, the former is still the most popular choice because it still offers you quite a good biking
experienced without the weight and high cost that comes with wider tires.

12. 5.Gearing
If you are hoping to cycle for hours on end perhaps during a tour, be sure to check on your gear. With
the increased weight of the rims, tires and camping items means, you need a low gear. Essentially,
most fat bikes are 29ers meaning you the choice of gear will have to match the larger diameter.

13. Overview of biking needs
Now that you have an idea of what to look out for when selecting a mountain or fat bike, let’s wrap
this up by giving you the specifics. What should you consider for your specific biking need?
Cross country cycling: You want an efficient bike that is lightweight and which has minimum
suspension and travel for your cross country (XC) needs. It should also offer maximum forward
momentum through its gearing that maximizes efficiency and speed. For the most part, XC racers
love hardtails with the full suspension slowly rising in popularity as well.
DH bikes: These are specially designed for sharp descents and ascents. They can easily tackle high
jumps, drops and even rock gardens. DH bikes have massive travel on the forks and on the rear
shock. They also feature slack geometry that places the center of gravity on the rear for enhanced
stability when riding over steep terrain.
Trail bikes: Trail bikes are technically fitted for all-purpose riding. They feature suspension travel
often measuring between 110mm and 140mm and 67 degrees head angles. Both features help trail
bikes climb and descend effectively.

14. Enduro racing bikes: Designed for fierce and rigorous endure racing, these high-performance
bikes can cover large distances and larger terrains than trail bikes. They have slack head angles in
the region of 65-55 degrees for effective rolling on technical descents. This, combined with their
steep seat tubes (approximately 73-75 degrees), gives the bike power and traction during climbing.
Fat and mountain biking is now in full bloom. Riders push themselves to greater heights (literally) by
the day which means the market has to catch up with them. And it really has. With the right knowledge
on which features to look for when buying a bike, you will end up with a one-of-a-kind product that
will keep you outdoors all day long.
RSD Bikes is a renowned bike manufacturer in Toronto, Canada. Since they launched the business in
2012, they have strived to take the business of making bike frames to another level. For instance, they
have been partnering with top Taiwan fabricators who are known to make some of the finest handmade
frames with high-end quality and precision. Their bikes are so versatile and are designed to be ridden
in any terrain.

15. The End
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