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Reader’s Ride(s) – Brad’s Family Fat-biking!

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Earlier in the summer Brad sent me a note with a photo of his son Noah and Noah’s Specialized Fat Boy 24. Over the next few weeks he sent us a couple of updates and ended each note with the phrase “Fat bikes are fun!!”

I bought the family fat bikes this spring. They seem to suit our needs real well as they are so versatile. What’s more amazing is how 8-year old Noah jumped on his and is tearing the trails up. The pneumatic suspension seems perfect for the 2-3′ airs.

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Later Brad reported:

We have hundreds of miles on our fat-bikes now. We have done everything from paved bike trails, beaches, single-track to downhilling. Fat bikes truly are fun. They create conversation where ever we go. Most everyone wants to know what the big tires are for and how hard are they to pedal. We have three different size bikes and let people try them, everyone comes back with the same ear to ear grin I had when I first ride mine (Specialized Fat Boy Trail).

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The Fat Boy 24 has been perfect for Noah (now 9 years old!). It is so versatile and gives him a reasonably priced full suspension-like bike that fills many genres.

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The Specialized Hellga has also transformed my wife into a mountain biker! I couldn’t keep her riding for more than 30 minutes on her old bike. On the Hellga she will now do rides up to 15+ miles. As time goes on she is getting more comfortable riding tighter and more challenging single track. We can’t wait to do our local trails this winter and keep the fitness going and I would like to build a trailer to carry surfboards for when we camp at Cape Cod.

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Fat bikes are fun!!!

Right on, Brad! Keep the reports coming!

4 Responses to Reader’s Ride(s) – Brad’s Family Fat-biking!

  1. thub September 29, 2016 at 11:26 am #

    Fat fun for the whole family! Thanks for sharing Brad. Great to see kids bikes getting the minions out on the trails and beaches. Order yourself up some Nextie carbon rims for that bad bike, ditch those tubes, lose 3+ pounds off the wheel set and you’ll never need another bike.

  2. Doug D September 29, 2016 at 12:00 pm #

    Fat bikes are fun. I like how you point out that for kids, fat tires work better as suspension than suspension does (in most cases). Both my kids moved to fatbikes when they got tall enough to ride. My wife, Tania has one for bikepacking. We bikepack year-round, though Tania has yet to do a full-on winter bikepack trip.
    On paved paths and roads, we all generally use our skinny bikes, but when the roads turn to trails…
    Here is a link to a family fatbikepacking trip we did in the spring (I have been riding 29+ in summer).
    https://coldbike.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/family-bikepacking-at-lake-minnewanka/
    I also wrote up a trip we did in late summer this year, this time Fiona rode her 24″ mtb.
    https://coldbike.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/emergency-elbow-loop-bikepack-augustseptember-2016/

    • Brad September 29, 2016 at 9:09 pm #

      Nice trip reports. Such beautiful scenery. This is what I am working my family towards. I have done some kayak packing trips in the Adirondacks but really want to do bike packing. Great adventures that your kids will never forget.

  3. JD October 6, 2016 at 3:05 pm #

    That’s awesome Brad.

    I’ve done the same thing with my family. My kids are totally addicted to their 20″ and 24″ Charged Cookers. My little dude (9) has a Kona Makenna hardtail and it’s collecting dust in the garage for his sweet little Cooker. They can now go everywhere we go. My daughter (11) was wobbly and unsure on trails until she got on her Cooker, now she’s rolling with all the confidence of an experienced rider for her age. It’s awesome to see that transformation.

    I finally got my wife onto a Salsa Mukluk and she’s trying really hard not to let go of her full squish Enduro but she’s falling farther every day too.

    I’m still hammering along on “Lickity”, my faithful ICT but I’ve recently expanded my horizons to add a buddy to Lickity’s parking spot and have a bright orange Foes Mutz coming my way next week. Of course, Lickity will be getting ALL of my attention for the upcoming winter but I just had to try one of these with full squish. :0)

    Happy Trails Everybody!!!

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