The expedition team of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado is credited with the discovery of the Grand Canyon and several other famous landmarks in the American Southwest while searching for the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. Exploration and discovery are two of my favorite things that go hand in hand with turning the pedals […]
Archive | Tires
26″ & 27.5″ Fat-Bike Wheel Comparison
We’re in the midst of testing 4 sets of wheels that range from 26 x 4.8 to 27.5 x 3.8. All 4 wheels are pictured below and labeled A-B-C & D for reference. Starting last November, I ran 27.5 x 50mm Wheelset C and wrote an article about how stoked that I was to be able to ride […]
Product Spotlight – Pub Carbon Wheelset – 27.5 x 75mm
We’re going to get deeper into the 27.5 wheel size over the next few months and the next set of wheels in the spotlight is the Pub carbon 27.5 x 75mm rims laced to DT Swiss hubs with Terrene Cake Eater 27.5 x 4 run tubeless. The Pub Carbon rims have an inside dimension of […]
Maxxis Colossus 26 x 4.8 – Snow Tire Review
About two years ago, back in March of ’16, then BBR Test Pilot, David Glover tested a pair of the Maxxis Colossus, but Moab doesn’t get too much snow, at least, not enough to groom, like we get in America’s Dairyland. This is what Glover shared about the Colossus “The Colossus tire looks to be […]
Terrene 26×4″ Studded Cake Eater – Mid-Term Update
This winter I have been testing out a pair of studded 26×4″ Terrene Cake Eater “light” casing tires. For full specs on these tires, check out my Initial Look. My neck of the woods got bombarded with snow in December and early January but then Mother Nature turned off the snow spigot and gave us […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – How to drop your tire sponsor
The trend of bicycle tire manufacturers choosing to stamp their tires with enormous logos has reached pretty ridiculous (Hi-Viz Yellow) levels. But fear not fellow unsponsored riders…we’re here to show you how to cover up sidewall hot stamps permanently. When it comes to this particular category of dirty tricks, we generally turn to Bike Black Ribbon […]
Terrene Tires – Cake Eater 26 x 4.0 Light Non-Studded Review
Terrene Tires and the Krueger Brothers (Tim & Ryan) sent us an assortment of their newest fat-bike sneakers that they call Cake Eaters. I’ve been spending a fair amount of time riding the un-studded 26 x 4.0 Light construction version mounted tubeless to a set of 80mm wide Reynolds Elite Carbon rims bolted to my […]
Maxxis Minion FRF/FBR 27.5 x 3.8 Review
We’ve been riding a couple of sets of the Maxxis Minion FBR/FBF 27.5 x 3.8 tires for the last ninety days on a variety of bikes and rims. We published a product spotlight about the new low-fat sneakers from Maxxis Here and we also posted an article about a plus/fat wheel configuration that we tested […]
26 x 4 Light Studded Terrene Cake Eater – Initial Look
Terrene is the new kid on the block for tire companies but already have a second studded fat tire tread available in their line up. Last year they introduced the Wazia which falls in the all-round to aggressive range of “knobbiness.” This year Terrene is offering the Cake Eater as a faster rolling fat […]
Surly Edna 26 x 4.3 Review by Ron Stawicki
Getting Dirty With Edna Few bike parts can affect a bikes fun factor like tires. You can roll with a generic stem or hubs and I doubt it’ll ruin your day but mount up some cheap, heavy tires to your favorite bike and you’ll probably want to trade it in before you can […]
Good Times on Mexican Beaches – by Pistil Pete
Ed ~ We ran a story about the Origin8 Supercell tires earlier this year, primarily, due to Pistil Pete bringing them to our attention. After our story published, we sent the tires down to Pete for some desert riding and a beach trip down in Mexico! Our story today comes as a two-part report […]
Fat Bike Tires on Plus Bike Rims
My amigo Thad Carson (taddyhogg) tipped me off that he’s been running the Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8 tires mounted to a set of HED 27.5 x 45mm Raptor rims on his Oddity Cycle Lime Greenis Maximus. He also shared some encouraging reports about how his set-up handled the rocky trails near KC. (KC has super […]
Terrene McFly Plus Tire Review by Smithhammer
Over the last couple months I’ve taken the Terrene “McFly” 29 x 2.8 tire on a variety of overnighter trips, singletrack rides and dirt roads. I’ve even commuted on it, which in my rural part of Idaho is a little different than the typical urban commute, and encouraged me to take a lot of detours […]
Product Spotlight – Terrene Tires – Cake Eater – 26 x 4.0 & 26 x 4.6
Our amigos at Terrene Tires sent us the follow up to their rugged 4 season Wazia fat-bike tire, the Cake Eater. Tim from Terrene shared with us, “Riders asked for a tire a bit less aggressive and lighter than the Wazia and that’s what we’ve developed with the Cake Eater. The new tire is a bit […]
First (& Second) Look – Surly Edna 26 x 4.3 Tire
Our amigos at Surly recently added a new fat-bike tire to a legendary list of names like Bud & Lou – Nate – Larry and now……Edna! I’m a fan of the name, because of my bat-shit crazy, Great Aunt Edna. One of the Darting Sisters, on my mother’s side of the family….each one crazier than […]
Product Spotlight – Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8 Minion FBF/FBR Tires
We’re checking out a pair of Maxxis 27.5 x 3.8 Minion FBF & FBR tires. These are the tires that are coming on the new Salsa Beargrease complete bikes for 2018, so we thought it would be a good idea to shine our product spotlight and share some basic numbers with our readers. This is […]
Origin8 Supercell Tire 26 x 4.0 Review
The one and only, Pistil Pete asked about this tire and after our editorial staff took a look at them on the interwebz, we decided to pull the trigger and bought a set for $49 each. We wanted to see if we might shed some light on how these babies, would do on the beach, […]
Terrene Tires says “Let them Eat Cake” with their newest Fat & Trek-Fat Tire
Terrene Releases Newest Fat and Plus Tire Model Bozeman, MT—August 30, 2017 — Terrene Tires announces newest model, Cake Eater, to their growing lineup of bicycle tires. Our amigos at Terrene Tires are releasing their sixth tire model. Cake Eater is a versatile, fast-rolling, studdable fat tire. Continuing with its goal of bringing to market a […]
Product Spotlight – Terrene “McFly” 2.8” 29+ Tires – By Smithhammer
Marty McFly: Hey, Doc, we better back up. We don’t have enough road to get up to 88. Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. Terrene Tires hit the niche tire market hard right out of the gate in 2016, focusing primarily on the gravel, plus and fat sectors (with a […]
First Peek at the 45NRTH Hüsker Dü (two?) 26 x 4.0
So last year the good folks at 45NRTH decided that they wanted to improve one of our favorite fat bike tires, the Hüsker Dü. I have to admit that the luddite portion of my brain kept on telling me that this was pure madness. I thought Hüskers were one of the best all around […]
Maxxis Summit – Plus Tire News
Plus Stuff From the Second Annual Maxxis Summit at Mulberry Gap Maxxis jumped into plus tires in a big way in recent years and has developed what is arguably the most complete lineup of plus sized tires (at least for 27.5+) of any tire company. They have everything from the fast rolling Icon all […]
*NEW* Maxxis Summit – Moosetrak 4.8 Studded Tire
Maxxis recently held their annual “Summit” in the mountains of Northern Georgia at the Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Resort. Maxxis had some exciting news to announce on the fat bike tire front so my podcasting partner Andy and I got to head down and get the skinny on their fat. There will be a following […]
First look at the 4.8″ Snow Avalanche SC & PSC Studded Tires
First look at the 4.8″ Snow Avalanche We recently got hooked up with Vee Tire’s Snow Avalanche studded 4.8″ tires. Vee Tire Co is the only fat-bike tires manufacturer to offer a true 4.8″ studded tire in two different rubber compounds. The Silicone Compound – SC (black) and the Pure Silicone Compound – PSC (white). We’ll […]
Mid-Term Review – Terrene Wazia 4.6
This has been one of those winters where I have been pretty darned stoked to be testing studded tires. It seems like every other weekend has been “studded tire only” conditions due to a big melt and freeze cycle. During this time the 4.6″ studded Terrene Wazia tires have become my best friend because they […]
Mid-Term Check-In: Vittoria Cannoli
I sit here and write this while psyching myself up for another 3-4 hour ride of breaking trail on the Cannolis. It has been a good winter here on the west coast of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan and we have already gotten over 5′ of snowfall. We got the okay from the National […]
Bontrager Gnarwhal TLR – 27.5 x 4.5 Studded Tire
It’s not very often, that we need to borrow a fat-bike to test a fat-bike tire, but it’s happened before with super fat sized tires and the litany of new wheel/hub and tire choices has created a similar situation at times. This time it was Trek’s new 27,5 fat wheel size that created the need […]
Terrene Wazia – First Look!
Terrene is a new name on the fat bike block but is a company that brings some street cred to the neighborhood. Terrene is managed by Tim Krueger who previously worked as a brand manager for Salsa Cycles and is the founder of Advocate Cycles. Terrene recently came out with three tires: the Wazia which […]
Product Spotlight – Framed Carbon Wheels – By Andy Amstutz
Carbon fibers according to Google are a material consisting of thin, strong crystalline filaments of carbon, used as a strengthening material, especially in resins and ceramics. Google says nothing about being a kick ass rim material for fat bikes. I’ve been riding aluminum rims for years and jumped at the chance to test […]
Blackjack Bikes Fate Review
Back in July, I began testing my Amigo Jack’s new Blackjack Fate. We published a first look about the Fate in August – https://fat-bike.com/2016/08/first-look-fate-from-blackjack-bikes/. I pursued this review to see if an open mold, carbon fat-bike could hold a candle to the performance of two proprietary, high end, carbon fat-bikes that I spent time testing last […]
Vittoria Cannoli – First Look!
Uncle Gomez and the folks from Vittoria Tire recently helped Christmas come a bit early and sent me a pair of Vittoria Cannoli 26 x 4.8″ tires to test out. This is a tire I am pretty darned stoked about. The Surly Bud and Lou’s have been the king of the hill for all around […]
Fresh from the Show Floor – Interbike 2016
Direct from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, we have all of the freshest fat and plus bike hotness for y’all! I was going to try to separate the plus from the fat, but there’s a lot of cross-over. I saw fat-bikes that were designed to run plus and even one plus-bike that can run, […]
Bontrager Barbegazi Review
Back in December, we received our set of Barbegazi tires from our amigos at Bontrager and I called dibs on them, because I prefer to run 4.8’s that are moderately knobbed and that accurately describes the Barbegazi (BBZ). I had lost one of my favorite 45NRTH Dillinger 5 tires to a finger sized hole, no doubt, […]
Tires Our BBR Testers are Digging
While getting to test the latest and greatest gear is one of the perks of being a Bike Black Ribbon test rider, all our riders have their own fat-bikes, some more than one, so let’s take a look at what a few of them ride on their personal rigs starting with where the rubber meets […]
Product Preview – Maxxis Colossus and Minion FBFront & FBRear – By David Glover
Last year Maxxis announced they would be adding some more big rubber to the fat bike scene, a snow specific tire and a pair of front and rear specific trail tires. The Colossus, Minion FBF, and Minion FBR, all available in 26 x 4.80 with EXO protection available. A slimmer 26 x 4.0 Minion […]
Grip Studs – User Installable Carbide Studs for Fat-bike Tires
Fat-bike.com friend, Sam D, was looking for a way to stud the fat-bike tires that he currently owns and likes rather than buying a new set of dedicated, studded fat-bike tires. Grip Studs offered the perfect solution. Let’s see how Sam likes them! Grip Studs are a versatile option for those who prefer using tire […]
Otis Turns Two – Fatback Review – The extended club version
Otis’s Story Timeline 12/25/2013 – Otis’s Introduction and Naming – http://fat-bike.com/2013/12/fatback-190-product-test-episode-1/ 12/25/2014 – Otis Turns One – http://fat-bike.com/2014/12/otis-turns-one-%E2%99%A6-fatback-long-term-review/ 2/5/2015 – Otis Gets Pimped – http://fat-bike.com/2015/02/otis-gets-pimped-part-one-otisgetspimped/ 6/18/2015 – Otis’s Pimped Parts Review – http://fat-bike.com/2015/06/hed-rims-onyx-racing-hubs-paul-skewers-6-month-review/ That brings us to today and a story that could be called Otis Gets Pimped, Part Two! I had planned all along to apply some sort […]
Product Preview – 3 NEW Tires from Bontrager
The folks up in Waterloo sent us some of their new tires this week and we thought that we might just as well march them out and throw the old product spotlight on them for everyone to see. The Hodag is back in Bontrager’s Fat-Bike Tire round-up for two thousand and sixteen and is joined by […]
Interbike 2015 – The Good, The Fat & the ?
It’s Day 3 – Part Two of the Interbike rodeo championships at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. We walked six miles yesterday and we’re looking to set a new strava, personal best, today at the ole trade show. (Can you strava a trade show floor?) Much of what we saw in the fat and plus bike […]
Vittoria Bomboloni – 26 x 4.0 – Review
By : Steve Meurett It’s said first impressions are often correct, but not always correct. Mounting a new pair of tires on a fatbike and making a snap judgement on one or two rides isn’t fair – it requires rolling out on different soil conditions and with pressure adjustments to offer a well rounded opinion. The […]
World Premier! The Surly Wednesday
Back in July, I was dispatched to Utah for a mission, to document and photograph, Surly’s new fat-bike. I was also headed there to attend the Quality Bicycle Products, western dealer round-up, called Saddle Drive. After I shot a slew of photos of the new Salsa’s, I met my contact, John Fleck (special ops edition) in the Needles […]
Salsa Beargrease X01 en Fuego
So you get a new fat bike as winter 2015 comes to a close and the thought is, “O well, that was nice, put it in the bike storage until next winter so I can ride it again.” Wrong homie. I took out Salsa Beargrease X01 on the red dirt bacon strip of Cuyuna […]
Product Spotlight – Vittoria Bomboloni 26 x 4
Our friends at Vittoria Tire found us a set of Bomboloni 26 x 4’s’ah, to put through our tire testing regiment. Sven and I saw these bad boys, back at Sea Otter and we’ve been waiting to get our hands on them, ever since! Our test tire’s casing measured 96mm wide, when mounted to 65mm Marge […]
Surly Big Fat Knard Review
By : Chris Zito Knards When Surly first came out with the Pugsley I found myself one Christmas Eve riding the shores of Lake Michigan wondering, “Could cycling get any more fun?”. Well, it has. It’s called the Knard 26×4.8. Obviously, there has been a ton of evolution in the “fad” that is referred to […]
Jumbo Jim 4.8″
Being part of the Bike Black Ribbon crew has it´s benefits. Not only did I have the opportunity to ride an awesome fat bike from MAXX this winter. This bad girl was also equipped with a pair of, hard to find, Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 4.8” tires. These babies are as rare as a worm in a tequila […]