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Welcome to the World Premier of Ken and Andy’s Fat Camp Podcast here on Fat-bike Radio! Ken and Andy will be presenting fat-bike tech through their podcast and this week they are delving into making your fat-bike more Summer friendly.
Look for The Fat Camp Podcast monthly on the 2nd Saturday of the month beginning June 13th right here at fat-bike.com!
Show Notes for Podcast #1: Converting your fat bike for summer riding.
There are 3 basic options that may be open to you right now:
- Light fast rolling 26×4” tires and possible some skinnier/lighter 26” wheels
- 27+ (aka 650b+) wheels and tires
- 29+ wheels and tire
- Your wide hub spacing makes for super strong/stiff wheel
- Instead of $$ towards two bikes, you can put your money towards a 2nd set of wheels and/or higher end wheels.
26×4” The tried and true setup for summer fat bike riders
- Been done for years now so no point in spending a lot of time on this
- Discuss pros of this route compared to + options:
- Discuss cons of this route compared to + options:
- Go tubeless if at all possible.
- Decide on rim width
- Discuss geometry effects
Plus sized options:
- Pros of + size options:
- Cons of + sized options:
- Which do you go with? 27+ or 29+?
- Short answer: If your bike is designed for 4” tires only, go 27+ and if your bike is designed for 5” tires, go 29+.
There is a Long Answer too! Listen and learn!
Other things to consider when “summerizing” your fatty
There is a great article on Meriweather Cycles page where they interview Travis Brown!
I bought a fatbike to ride a fatbike. D5’s front and rear are in the dirt and loving it! The huge air volume makes for a comfortable ride and I thoroughly enjoy it.
Hit the sand and make ’em squishy, Hit the hardpack and pump ’em up to 8 psi and pedal. There’s no intent here to take the fat outta the fatty. And besides, it was prescribed by my cardiologist. So the fat is Dr. approved! YAY!
Love the show! I too am riding fat bikes for my health. I have lost over 70 lbs since I came back to cycling last July. I ride 6 days a week taking Sundays for a rest. My daily rides average around 15 miles in the dirt and about 4 on pavement getting to and from the Trails. I hope to be down to 190 by December. I ride with 8 lbs in front and10 in the rear. I am looking to get a Single speed fatty in the next few months. I hope ypou do a Segment reviewing how to install a Cycling computer on a fat. PEACE-LOVE -AND FATNESS
what a bunch of blah blah blah! holy smokes.
I am currently working with my local custom bike builder, Durango Bike Company, to build a (hard-tail with Bluto fork) 26 x 3″ Plus bike that can be converted into a 26 x 4″ Fat bike by simply changing the tires. The Plus /Fat 26 will essentially be a 26″ Plus bike with enough wheel clearance to support 4″ Fat bike tires with the geometry adjusted to obtain good ride-ability for both tire sizes. No second wheel set is required. What do you think?
Sounds like a great project! Maybe you have already designed this in but you may want to spec an EBB on the frame to adjust for the different tire diameters between 3″ and 4″ using the same 26″ wheels. Either that or just make sure you have plenty of BB clearance for the 3″ tire setup and realize the BB height will be higher with the 4″ tires. Best of luck on the project!
Good call, Ken! One of my pet peeves is BB drop on dirt rides is annoying.
Roadies shall never apply to dirt…
Ken and Andy,
I absolutely loved your inaugural podcast. I cannot wait to hear more. I am an aspiring bike-tech geek. I have been riding for many years, but am just now getting into the tech aspects of tweaking the ride experience. I am rolling 26×4 right now, but am fascinated by the idea of 27.5 plus (I have a carbon beargrease setup). Thanks again for putting this podcast together, I eagerly await your next episode.
Grace and Peace,
Robert Taylor
Really enjoyed the first show! Keep it up, looking forward to many more!